Trust the nudge, even when it doesn't make sense
In 2021, I left a job and a field of work I loved to pursue a career change into medicine. I was scared and wondered about many things, like if I’d ever get the chance to travel as much as I used to. I daydreamed and felt nostalgic for the countries I’d fallen in love with on my work trips back when I was working at an environmental conservation nonprofit. Ghana, Peru, Mexico, Mozambique, to name a few...
2 years into the premed program, I was looking for a clinical experience opportunity. As a premed student, I was required to complete a minimum of 120+ hours of patient-care volunteering and clinical experience and, despite having already completed several hours in hospitals, I still hadn’t completed my requirement.
A research position with an amazing focus of study and the smallest prospect of travel stood out to me, but it wouldn’t fulfill the requirement I needed. I would need to speak Spanish to work on materials related to a South American project and, despite what was stated on the original job description, I was later assured that there was a 99.9% chance that I would never need to travel. It made the most sense to give it up and keep looking, and my schedule was already too overwhelming to add anything else without a justifiable reason. But something told me to take it anyway, so I did.
A few months later, I was asked if the Portuguese on my resume was good enough to support research related to their Mozambique project. I assured my teammate it probably wasn’t, but that I was eager to practice. My enthusiasm must’ve counted for something, because with my Portuguese vetted as “good enough,” I was onboarded. The task was to attend zoom meetings with the Mozambique team and support the research remotely…
…The next day, I woke up to an email from my boss asking if we could meet to discuss the work I’d be doing. She informed me that my teammate had a conflict in scheduling and would no longer be able to travel to Mozambique in the timeframe needed. I was then asked if I would be willing to travel on short notice to launch the study myself. She explained that this had been the reason for why my teammate wanted to know what my Portuguese was like the day before. I don’t think I let my boss finish speaking before I blurted yes.
So for one week, I had the privilege of collaborating with health experts and psychologists in Maputo to launch a pilot study related to the intergenerational transmission of trauma, maternal depression, caregiving, and infant development. I’m honored to have been a part of this work and to have worked alongside amazing people and experts in their field. Not only did I get to travel after all, but I got to work on an amazing research topic - related to Psychiatry, Women’s and Public Health -, gain clinical experience in the field, practice one of my languages, and go back to a country I knew and loved. And all because of a nonsensical intuitive nudge.
I can’t help but wonder how many times I’ve held myself back from what I wanted because I listened to my mind over my heart. I learned so much on this short trip. Most of all, I’ve learned to follow the nudges, even when they don’t make sense.
