{"id":6043,"date":"2015-12-15T11:29:28","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T16:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/?p=6043"},"modified":"2016-01-04T11:18:45","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T16:18:45","slug":"alec-fisher-points-of-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/2015\/alec-fisher-points-of-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Alec Fisher: Points of Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a former highly ranked competitive surfer, Alec Fisher \u201919 learned a valuable life lesson from the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about surfing is if you don\u2019t land something or if you have a scary fall where you are stuck under water, you have to keep getting back on the board\u2014keep trying and keep going because every time you paddle out, there is always an opportunity to improve no matter how good you are,\u201d says the first-year Geisel student.<\/p>\n

Passionate as Fisher was about surfing, another passion beckoned. With high school graduation looming, Fisher reached the proverbial fork in the road and had to decide whether to continue surfing professionally or go to college. Craving intellectual stimulation, which surfing lacked, he chose college intending to become a physicist. But during his freshman year at Johns Hopkins University he fell in love.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of sheer spontaneity I took a neuroscience course and loved it,\u201d Fisher says. \u201cIt\u2019s a fascinating field and I ended up majoring in neuroscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enthralled with how changes in brain function affect people and the creativity needed to help alleviate patients\u2019 pain and suffering, Fisher decided to become a physician in order to help solve these complex problems. \u201cI wanted to go into surgery in order to make an immediate impact on these patients\u2019 lives,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

His desire to become a neurosurgeon pushed Fisher to another point of transformation. Self-described as someone who is always changing and growing, he was not ready to fully commit to medicine, so he postponed applying to medical school. Though difficult to make, he felt it was the right decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to experience life outside the classroom, to be a contributing member of society,\u201d Fisher explains. \u201cTeach for America<\/a> stood out as one of those opportunities where I could make a valuable impact yet still be able to achieve my goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to be just a body technician, I want to hear about who my patients are and help them get to the place they want to be.\"<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

- Alec Fisher '19<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Teaching high school physics for two years in a large urban school with a student population of approximately 5,000, on the border of Compton and Watts in Los Angeles, proved to be a hard-won rewarding and humbling experience. South of downtown Los Angeles, Compton, with its relatively youthful population, is one of the oldest cities in the county. And Watts, a neighborhood in South Los Angeles with an equally youthful community, is among the most densely populated in the city.<\/p>\n

Despite his sunny disposition and charm, Fisher didn\u2019t immediately command respect from his cynical students. He looked more like a peer than their teacher. \u201cAt first it was really difficult, but I was eventually able to build relationships and earn their respect by putting in extra effort outside the classroom\u2014playing sports together during lunch and making time to sit and talk with the \u2018troubled\u2019 kids,\u201d Fisher recalls.<\/p>\n

He believes teaching taught him what it means to be underserved and misrepresented. \u201cI learned how to connect with others and that gave me a model for how treat my future patients,\u201d Fisher says. \u201cI didn\u2019t immediately see the value of that experience, but when I left I felt more confident that I could make a difference in the lives of future patients\u2014knowing how to establish a relationship and listening to understand rather than lecturing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equally important, his experience shadowing a neurosurgeon influenced his bedside manner. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be just a body technician, I want to hear about who my patients are and help them get to the place they want to be,\u201d Fisher says. \u201cThe neurosurgeon I shadowed was the kindest, most open-hearted person I\u2019ve ever met. He made his patients feel comfortable because he took time to get to know them.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the southern California native interviewed at Geisel, he felt instantly at home despite the exceptionally frigid winter weather. \u201cIt was 19 degrees below zero when I woke up that day and it didn\u2019t get much warmer, but I loved it,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI received a warm welcome and was so happy to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He so enjoyed talking with first-year medical students during his interview Fisher is returning the favor by leading campus tours for Geisel interviewees. \u201cMaverick, my puppy, and I really enjoy showcasing this place,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel warm and at home with all of the friendly and caring people here who are as enthusiastic as I am about learning and teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fisher\u2019s intuitive choices have led him down the right road and he summarizes them this way, \u201cBeing passionate about what you do is essential,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m passionate about sports\u2014surfing is still one of my favorite things\u2014and I\u2019m passionate about the work I\u2019m now doing. Passion for me is the most important thing in life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A highly ranked and dedicated competitive surfer, Alec Fisher ’19 decided to give up the sport to pursue a life in medicine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[659,409,227,442],"class_list":["post-6043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news","tag-alec-fisher","tag-medical-student","tag-student-experience","tag-student-profile","author-12"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/12\/Alex_Fisher-web.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4r3h1-1zt","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6043"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6082,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6043\/revisions\/6082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}