Not all paths to medicine are straightforward. Some are long, winding, and involve an entirely different career trajectory.
The latter was the journey for University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine student Josiah Shaw, who, at 39, is hopeful that this spring he’ll land a place in a residency program for emergency medicine. It’s a specialty he sees himself in long-term.
Each March, the National Resident Matching Program releases results to applicants of residency and fellowship programs. At the School of Medicine, CU Anschutz students gather to open their letters together. For many, it’s a moment that hinges on years of hard work. Residency is among the last big steps toward a career as a physician.
When Josiah Shaw first set foot in the emergency department as a tech, he knew it was a place he wanted to be long term. Photos courtesy of Josiah Shaw.
During his undergraduate studies, Shaw hadn’t considered a life in health care. He earned a degree in engineering and went on to work in the industry for 10 years, but bubbling under the surface was always a desire to do more. He wanted to spend his days helping people on their worst days.
Validating a calling
An industry slowdown presented an opportunity to finish pre-requisites to medical school and study for the MCAT.
“As a non-traditional student, it sometimes felt like getting into medical school was like wandering in the wilderness,” Shaw says. “There’s not a clearly marked path. I had a community of friends and family who supported and believed in me, but I didn’t have a guidance counselor or anything like that.”
Getting the call he was one of 184 students accepted into the CU Anschutz School of Medicine felt unreal, Shaw says. Four years later, he’s excited to jump into honing his skills in a fast-paced emergency department.
“What led me to medicine, and what has really resonated, is the human connection and the human stories,” Shaw says. “Frankly, I think that's a big part of why I am hoping to match into emergency medicine. It is just like the crucible of human stories. It's such a privilege to get to be there and hear those stories and to be present with people for whatever is bringing them to the department.”
Josiah Shaw, middle, and his parents at the White Coat ceremony.
Although Shaw is the first person in his family to attend medical school, he credits his motivation to the anecdotes he grew up hearing from his mom and dad who worked in health care as a nurse and therapist. “A consistent theme to their most memorable stories was the impact that simply being present and listening can have,” he says.
When Shaw was completing his pre-requisites, he also got an EMT certification. That led to a job as a tech in two emergency departments. It was 2021, so hospitals were still experiencing heavy waves of COVID-19 patients.
“My first weekend as a tech I remember thinking, ‘This is amazing. I love this.’ Up until then — because it had been two or three months since I had resigned and left my engineering job — I was waking up in a cold sweat every other night thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, what have I done?’ Then, I started working as a tech, and it was so validating.”
Shaw says he was overwhelmed in the best way. That feeling still holds true as he awaits the next leg of his journey.
Overlaps and life lessons
Since those early days of knowing the path to becoming a physician was the right one, Shaw has seized as many opportunities as he’s been able to in medical school.
He’s served as class co-president all four years and helped with the independent student analysis, a crucial part of the school’s reaccreditation process.
“That was a really great way to advocate for my class and champion the strengths of our school,” Shaw says.
Josiah Shaw, center, and classmates and friends Monisha Lensink-Vasan and Emmanuel Cruz after running the Colfax Half Marathon.
Taking the longer road to medical school, and ultimately finding a career in medicine, has had its perks, Shaw says. Engineering and medicine are much different, but some lessons have transcended professions.
“People often say, ‘Wow, that's such a big change.’ In a lot of ways, yes, it for sure is, but it's still problem solving and it's still working together with people from all different types of disciplines to achieve a common mission,” Shaw says. “My favorite days in engineering were when I got to go out to the field and work with the construction foremen, meet the crews, and check to see how the projects were going. I viewed that role as how I could support my team. There’s a lot of overlap between that and emergency medicine. It’s such a team sport.”
