What are your main responsibilities or activities in your current position?
As a physician, my main responsibility is to provide health care to members of the Canadian Armed Forces. As a flight surgeon, my scope of practice is sometimes narrowed to the more focused demographic of air crew, and in Cold Lake this is further narrowed to predominantly fighter pilots. Flight surgeons also manage care for all air crew, act as the physician onboard aeromedical evacuations, and have responsibilities for medical aspects of flight safety investigations. The best part of all this is flying in both rotary and fixed wing aircraft, sometimes for specific medical purposes, and sometimes for familiarization with rigors of flight.
How does your current work relate to your graduate degree?
An important part of doctoring is critical thinking. Philosophy is a great foundation for seeing the errors in someone’s reasoning. Another would be ethics. Medicine is full of ethical dilemmas, so a solid foundation in ethical reasoning and the history of ethical debate is a real asset.
What do you like and what do you find challenging about your current position?
Medicine is a very rewarding field to work in. It's easy to focus on how rewarding it can be to save a life, or even just make someone's sore throat feel better, but what I appreciate most is the perspective I get from my job. I regularly see people who are suffering, vulnerable, or struggling. Sometimes it’s physical, and other times it’s mental health. It really makes you appreciate what you have. I get to wear a flight suit to work every day, which isn’t far removed from pyjamas… and little things like that make me happy every day.
Is your current career path as you originally intended?:
I had originally intended to do a PhD in philosophy and work as a professor. A BA and an MA in philosophy definitely isn’t the usual path to a career in medicine (or the military), but it’s worked well for me. Focusing in aerospace medicine is something I wanted from the moment I first became interested in medicine.
What motivated you to pursue graduate work at UBC?
Doing an MA in philosophy was a natural progression from my BA and was part of my route toward a PhD and eventually teaching. UBC was a natural fit, as I already lived in Vancouver and knew the department.
What did you enjoy the most about your time as a graduate student at UBC?
The philosophy department at UBC is full of really welcoming faculty and graduate students. Going in every day was a lot of fun. And as a place to live, Vancouver is second to none.
How did the graduate degree at UBC help you achieve your career and/or personal development goals?:
What key things did you do, or what attitudes or approaches did you have, that contributed to your success?
Hard work is important, but I’ve found that for myself, it’s essential to emphasize the direction of that hard work. Dedicated, regular practice, toward specific goals, has worked well for me. But it’s also important to take time for yourself. You need to sharpen your axe. Rest and relaxation can be as important as the hard work. Don’t neglect your mental health, and recognize that rest, like work, requires practice to do it well.
What is your best piece of advice for current graduate students preparing for their future careers?
My advice would be to develop your resilience. This can be done a number of ways. Broadening your horizons through travel is probably the most enjoyable. Failure is the least. But those who do well in the end have often failed along the way, learned from their mistakes, and reinforced their resilience along the way.