Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Meet a physician: Dr. Kenneth Lin

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed for a career profile on the website OnlineCollege.org, which provides comprehensive resources for people who are going back to school or considering changing careers. Although my career thus far is hardly representative of most family physicians', it does illustrate the diversity of opportunities available in this medical specialty, and ought to put the rest the tired notion that students must choose residencies in internal medicine or pediatrics in order to "keep their options open." Here is how the profile begins:

Dr. Kenneth Lin is a board-certified family physician practicing in the Washington, D.C. area. He is also the associate editor of the medical journal American Family Physician (AFP) after having his first article published in it during his third year in residency. In addition to writing, editing, and working towards his Master of Public Health degree, Dr. Lin maintains a blog, Common Sense Family Doctor. It is centered around developments in primary care health policy. Initially, the purpose of his blog was to learn more about the blogging community after AFP showed interest in moving into social media and social networking. Now, Dr. Lin continues to blog out of sheer enjoyment, and uses it as a way to integrate all of his various interests into one source.

I encourage students and others considering a career in primary care to read the full profile on their website. Many thanks to staff writer Amy Tran for assembling my ramblings into a coherent narrative.