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Stephen Harmon

Gardner

English 10 Honors

27 February 2015

Reflection

My interest in anesthesiology began as I watched my brother-in-law advance in his career. He has

had opportunities opened up to him that have allowed him to travel. His job allowed him to live in a

beautiful home in the east bay. Whenever he talks about his job it always brings him joy. As I have grown

up I realized these are things that I want as well. As I researched this I became even more convinced that

this is the career for me. One of the first things I realized is that I can go to school and stay close to home

if I choose this profession. I really enjoy serving other people and the idea of making someone

comfortable before a surgery definitely appeals to me. I have always been intrigued by the human body

and helping others is a great concern of mine. These two interests are key factors to anesthesiology

making it my perfect dream job.

The person who I contacted was Doctor Joseph J. Janakes. Dr. Janakes is the associate director

and head instructor at the program of nurse anesthesia. Dr. Janakes explained to me that although he

specializes in high risk obstetrics his greatest satisfaction is in teaching at the Samuel Merit Medical

School. Dr. Janakes explained to me that in his line of work he does not engage in a lot of biological

research instead he teaches and performs more hands-on activities such as labor and teaching. Dr. Janakes

outlined some the skills required for the job: you need to be very personal, calm, and patient. Having an

early introduction to medicine is key to success in college he said. Another interesting factor in his email

was his view on school, high school specifically. He said that when he was in high school he did not take

all honors or AP classes, instead he took the classes he wanted. He took several hard classes and honors

classes, but he didn’t overload on his schedule. The free time that was allotted, he spent doing track and

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studying anatomy. This time scheduling allowed him to maintain good grades and allow for the pursuit of

personal interests, which truly helped him in future college classes.

After receiving this information and researching this profession I have found that I desire this job

even more. The pay is well beyond average and the reward/work is indeed satisfying. If I don’t decide to

choose this career in my future I know that I am bound to choose something in the health field. The final

piece of information that he shared with me was in regards to the financial burden or cost should I choose

this route. I now know that the medical field is an expensive field to pursue; as a result, I will actively

save money, apply for grants, work towards scholarships, and seek out loans. Conclusively, this field of

education is my true passion and I will nothing that goes against achieving this goal.