Life's journey often takes us down unexpected paths. When I made the decision to apply to anesthesiology in medical school, I never imagined my future self working in oncology – attending tumor boards, performing nerve blocks, and leading goals-of-care conversations, sometimes all within in a single day. Most of all, I never anticipated experiencing the sense of inner fulfillment so early in my career – the feeling that stems from building meaningful longitudinal relationships with my patients and their families. Every day, I am humbled by the challenges that my patients face, not only dealing with the complex symptoms of their underlying disease and associated treatments, but the emotional and existential stress of living with, say, a cancer diagnosis and preparing for the multitude of unknowns along each step of the way.
Prior to residency, I had no exposure to palliative care. I admit, as a medical student, I had...
