I like to think of our CMA meetings as family reunions.
Rather than a formal handshake, you are greeted with an embrace. Instead of exchanging business cards, you receive holy cards and scapulars from your friends’ latest pilgrimages. Like at any family reunion, we share stories and meals. Yet what sets us apart is a connection made not by blood, but in the Spirit –– not merely in a home, but in the Church.
Our last reunion was at the Medical Student and Resident Boot Camp on the lush green campus of Mundelein. Each day began with daily Mass, where we were nourished at His table, and each evening ended with stories shared over the clinking of glasses and silverware at dinner. In the course of the day, we were hard at work together: we read excerpts from Humanae Vitae, applied principles of the Ethical and Religious Directives, and developed practical strategies for addressing ethical dilemmas. We shared experiences and insights with the group, learning from our mentors, and in turn becoming mentors to aspiring doctors. Our family grew closer as we sought Truth together.
To carry what we learned to our larger CMA family, I led a session at this year’s Annual Educational Conference called “Catholic Match: Navigating the Residency Application Process for the Rising Catholic Physician.” This session equipped medical students to discuss issues of conscience during their residency interviews. Residents shared their own interview experiences in order to prime medical student for the challenge that lay ahead. Students drafted conscience statements and practiced them in mock interviews before receiving feedback from their resident mentors. After the session finished, several students expressed that they felt better prepared to articulate their conscience. At this reunion, we succeeded in preparing our newest “siblings” to proclaim their Catholic identity.
At the end of this reunion, we all went home with more than just the usual conference swag. Rather than generic pens and chapsticks, our CMA family gifted us Lourdes water and the Magnificat. This reflection of our Catholic identity is magnified as our roles as mentors and students transform into that of brothers and sisters in Christ.
I can’t wait to see my family next year!
Cecilia Jojola is a Family Medicine physician and Fellow of Quality Improvement at UC Davis and Mather VA in northern California. She is a recipient of Our Sunday Visitor Scholarship for this year’s conference.