Credit the COVID-19 pandemic with at least one positive outcome: It inspired people like John Gregory to pursue careers in medicine.
When the health crisis began in spring 2020, Gregory was in his final year at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, pursuing an undergraduate degree in wildlife biology with veterinarian school as a next step. When the world shut down due to the virus, he began to reconsider.
Gregory horseback riding in the Wyoming Bighorns. Photos courtesy of John Gregory.
“I had already considered human medicine at that point, because every job I worked at in vet clinics, I realized I loved talking to the people more than working with the animals,” Gregory says. “Then COVID hit, and I saw a lot of suffering. I thought it would be great to be able to help and participate more directly in situations like that. That was a motivator that set me on a track to say, ‘I should at least explore this.’ I've been exploring it for the past three years, and I finally decided to jump in. It's time.”
For Gregory, “jumping in” means attending the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he will begin his four-year medical school journey in July.
“I'm excited to be back in school. I'm excited to be challenged in that way,” he says. “The thing I'm most excited about is meeting my classmates. Everybody has a different walk to medical school, and it's going to be so fun to hear about different people's backgrounds, their expertise, their interests. Being around a group of diverse, driven, and passionate people — that just thrills me, I'm excited to jump into that.”
Medical preparation
Gregory grew up in California, but a love of the Rocky Mountains brought him to CSU, from which he graduated in late 2020. He has worked a variety of health care jobs since then — including medical assistant, EMT, and medical scribe — all in preparation for applying to medical school.
“I was trying to see it from a bunch of different sides, because I don't have anybody in my family who works in medicine,” he says. “I wanted to make sure I understood what I was jumping into before I spent four years in school and a lot of money and time and effort. Those jobs helped me figure out what my life is going to look like. Certain parts were not as fun, but there were also parts that made me say, ‘Whoa. This is way cooler than I thought it was going to be.’”
Gregory and his wife in Seville, Spain.
For example, Gregory he says, he was worried that working as a doctor, where you spend much of your time around patients who are suffering, might be daunting. In reality, he found it to be a quicker road to meaningful interactions.
“I learned that there's this vulnerability that comes with a doctor-patient relationship — an opportunity to touch somebody emotionally,” he says. “Being an EMT really helped me with that. I'm in an ambulance, I'm called to somebody's house, and they're not having a good day. But as a coworker once pointed out to me, ‘What other job can you have where people invite you into their home without asking any questions, and will answer any question you ask them?’ There's a trust and a vulnerability there. Yes, you're exposing yourself to people who are suffering, but also you get this opportunity to make an impact.”
Back to the Fort
Much about the CU School of Medicine and its curriculum appealed to Gregory, including a focus on work-life balance and a newly adopted longitudinal integrated clerkship model that brings students into hospitals sooner for clinical, hands-on training that better prepares them for careers in patient-centered medicine.
Gregory backcountry skiing in Colorado's Elk Mountain Range.
As a CSU alumnus and former aspiring vet, Gregory is especially excited to return to the CSU campus as part of a 12-student cohort at the Fort Collins Branch campus of the CU School of Medicine, which allows students to take cross disciplinary courses and collaborate with veterinary students and environmental health students through CSU’s One Health Institute.
“I am blown away that I can access this intimate learning environment, and I am so grateful that there is room for me to take advantage of my preference for learning in small groups,” Gregory says. “The One Health program immediately appealed to me, having graduated from the College of Natural Resources at CSU and after pursuing veterinary sciences for so long. I could not imagine a program more tailored to my interests.”
