this is a normal response it is adaptive and appropriate it is a mechanism of checks and balances if you didnt question or take other

people 's thoughts into consideration you would always be making decisions in a vacuum and not benefit from the insights of others you can look at it several ways 1. that it is normal to question when you feel like someone you respect is questioning you (but also remember that those people are experiencing dissonance and theirs is no more relevant than yours so it is YOUR choice to be affected by it or not) 2. to take it as a moment to remind yourself of all the reasons you made the decision in the first place. This could be a reaffirming activity instead of one that makes you doubt your decision 3. If you cannot seem to be reassured by going through the list of reasons you choose in that favor, perhaps something has changed for you since you made the decision and it is worth revisiting.

Why vet school? -Study and teach about animals and people together, for always, for the right reasons -helping people in the immediate is fulfilling to me -natural inlet into envirovet, CDC one health, etc -research because I want to, not because I have to -flexibility: private practice, government, lab, market - Physiology: learn it! -do what you are good at: help people help animals, in the immediate and use your writing skills for the other stuff (the bigger picture stuff) -the skill set I want, not the one that I should want. Ie: critical thinking, problem solving, diagnosis, surgery, how to heal. -teaching: the kind of teaching I want to do: technical know how, not esoteric pedantic thought processes -be involved with one health without being forced to be involved with one health -you will be happy, therefore you will be successful. why will you be happy? You can always have the capability to help a suffering animal, to lend a word of advice to a worried owner, or to do bigger and better things, but it will be your choice, not what is expected of you. -lifelong learning, if I want it. Flexibility if I dont. -26 years of sustained interest Why phd? -maintain my network -cheap, gain money, not lose it -greater decision making processes (ie: I can be a PI and research things) -bigger impact -bigger impact potential skill-set -Wont lose my One Health opportunities

-work life balance. If I can get a job outside of academia, I can have the best of it all. I can help animals, help people, make money, go home at 5pm, but not feel the crunch of a whole lot of debt come down hard on my -continue to work in public health, public health loan forgiveness after 10 years instead of after 25. Life long learning in disease prevention and disease cause -cluster analysis, why is this happening now? To these people? -dabble in everything! Not just clinical medicine or state jobs -work at UC Davis, or another UC forever. Great climate, lifelong learning -do things like study acute renal failure in humans and animals in sri lanka and Nicaragua!!!!