Lelach Rave, MD, FAAP
WCAAP Executive Director
For all of us who work in medicine, July marks the beginning of a new year. Medical students become physicians and begin residency training. Residents complete years of supervised learning and step into independent practice. Careers advance, new chapters begin, and many of us measure time by signposts planted firmly on July 1.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting many of the new pediatric residents beginning their journey at Seattle Children’s Hospital. WCAAP hosted a gathering for them on the evening after their first day of orientation. They are a lively, thoughtful, and remarkably talented group. As they shared stories of past adventures and current passions, I felt both proud and grateful to welcome them into the pediatric family.
What struck me most was how familiar their motivations sounded. Like so many pediatricians I have known over the years, they spoke about expanding opportunities, nurturing potential, reducing barriers, and helping children thrive. They were drawn not simply to the science of medicine, but to the possibility of shaping futures.
As I reflect on this particular July, I realize that this is the year I have officially spent more of my life as a physician than not. More than half of my life, I have been a doctor.
Some of you may read that and think, “Wow, she is old.” Others may look back at your own halfway point and realize it passed many years ago. Regardless, it feels like a milestone worth pausing to consider. How has being a physician shaped the way I spend my days, my energy, and my attention? How has it influenced the people I surround myself with, the causes I care about, and the way I understand myself?
For many physicians, medicine becomes a significant part of our identity. At first glance, that can sound like ego. But I think for many pediatricians, it reflects something deeper. It reflects the values that drew us here in the first place.
We spend our professional lives focused outward. Like all physicians, we are entrusted with caring for others. But pediatricians are uniquely oriented toward the future. Every day, we invest in possibilities that we may never fully witness. We help children develop, families flourish, and communities grow stronger. We plant seeds whose full impact may not be visible for decades.
Because of the nature of our work, we cannot spend too much time dwelling on the injuries and disappointments of the past. We must believe that growth is possible. We must look for the next step forward. We are asked, every day, to imagine what could be and then help build it.
When I think about the pediatricians I have had the privilege to work alongside, I realize how profoundly that orientation toward the future shapes who we are. We are builders. We are teachers, coaches, mentors, and advocates. We celebrate small victories because we know they become larger ones. We look for potential when others see limitations. We are, by necessity and by choice, optimists.
That realization leaves me thinking not only about our profession today, but also about its future.
How do we ensure that the next generation of pediatricians finds their way to this work? How do we help talented young people see pediatrics as both a calling and a viable career? How do we create a healthcare system that values prevention, relationships, and long-term investments in children’s health enough to support the people who choose this path?
Just this morning, the WCAAP Healthcare Transformation Committee had a fascinating conversation with representatives from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. They are exploring and advocating for the concept of Universal Primary Care in Washington. One challenge they already recognize is that any successful vision for primary care depends on having enough primary care clinicians to deliver it.
Our conversation quickly turned to the question of workforce. What will encourage medical students to choose a career dedicated to prevention, relationship-building, and laying the foundation for lifelong health? How do we address the financial and structural barriers that steer so many talented people elsewhere? And perhaps most importantly, how do we help young people who share our values recognize that medicine—and pediatrics in particular—can be a powerful way to live those values every day?
The future of child health depends not only on the children we care for today, but also on the people who will care for them tomorrow.
So whichever anniversary you are marking this July – your first month as a physician, your retirement, your own halfway point, or simply another year spent serving children and families – I invite you to reflect on how this profession has shaped who you are in the world. I would venture that not only are your patients the beneficiaries of your career choice, but that you, yourself, are better for having chosen this path.