Leveraging resilience

My mother always quoted Lao Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.” I never realized what this meant or what the future held. As a ten-year-old boy growing up in our small village in Nigeria, where truancy and neglect thrived, I knew I was destined for a different kind of future. Yet, little did I know that great things in life take time and, sometimes, come with numerous challenges and defeats. Growing up, I had an overwhelming sense that emergency medicine (EM) was a noble profession. My sister frequently visited the emergency room (ER) for a chronic illness, and the physicians consistently provided exceptional care. I wanted to be like them, so I applied to medical school, which no one in my village had attempted. After an intensive one-year pre-medicine program, I failed to enter medical school. Instead, the university offered me admission to study physiology. I went home shrouded in shame and refused to return. Feeling shattered like a broken mirror, my mind whirled with many questions. My failure made me doubt myself, and I felt like I had disappointed my family, which deterred me from moving forward. My mother encouraged me to continually be grateful for every opportunity life has given me to make a difference. Reinvigorated with enthusiasm, I returned to school and worked hard through the first year. After achieving a high cumulative grade point average, the university permitted me to transfer to medicine. I vividly remember my parents' pride when I graduated from medical school, ranking among the top graduates. Not giving up on my dreams—initially battered by failure—was a testament to my perseverance. A few years later, my sister was critically ill and was taken to a community hospital that lacked diagnostic resources and the expertise of an emergency physician. There, we lost my little sister. I was devastated and far from home. I often wonder if she would still be with us if there had been trained personnel and resources in that ER, and that harrowing event altered my life trajectory. This loss fueled my desire to become an exceptional emergency physician whose career would breach the gap between preparedness and intervention of acute, time-sensitive emergencies. The death of a loved one comes with lessons: it teaches us to appreciate life and cherish every single moment we have with them. I decided to pursue clinical training in the United States. The United States Licensing Examination (USMLE) and residency application would take me a few years. I struggled financially. My clinical work schedule conflicted with my studies, but I refused to give up. Nothing good and worthwhile in life comes easy: it requires dedication and a “regardless of how hard it is, we will get it done” mindset. Perspective is key—a growth mindset plays an integral role in how we navigate and approach life's ups and downs. So, I became very strategic and deliberate with my time because time lost cannot be recovered. Subsequently, I completed my USMLE steps, left Nigeria, and started residency training. Among the most rewarding, gratifying, and eye-opening experiences my residency training offered, the ER rotations and my attendings' outstanding clinical and practical skills stood out most. They endeared me more to pediatric EM. But rumor had it—pediatric EM was a highly competitive subspecialty—the chances of matching were downright slim. I was petrified and jumped on many scholarly projects, which overwhelmed me, and I drowned and ghosted my attendings. In being deliberate and tactical, I sought suitable mentors. I met two master sculptors—Professor Muhammad Waseem and Dr. Kevin Ching—whose unrelenting guidance harmonized the disparate threads of my residency life into a tapestry of purpose. Gradually, my narrative changed under their mentorship. Their unwavering patience, wisdom, and influence empowered me to accomplish impressive academic success, which enabled me to match into a competitive fellowship program—a testament to how critically important having mentors is in this journey. Indeed, it takes more than a village. Every step, a brushstroke of courage. Every fall, a lesson molded in resilience. Every rise, a testament to my unyielding heart. As I reminisce on Lao Tzu's words, I am grateful for the steps of discovery and the road less traveled that shaped who I am today. The journey won't be easy, and we will fail at some point, but we must remember why we started. We will conquer the world if we hold onto the course, grow from our failures, and never give up on our dreams. The author declares no conflicts of interest.