I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii where most of my immediate and extended family remain. When I left home for college, I always thought that one day I would move back to “Paradise.” Turns out life had other plans for me.
Looking back, I realize that it all started the day I left for college. On this day, I happened to meet my now husband (Paul) on the airplane. We were both moving into the same freshman dorm. He was also born and raised in Hawaii, and we were both headed to Saint Louis, MO of all places—I call it fate lol.
Long story short, I was attending Saint Louis University’s (SLU) Medical Scholars Program and stayed at SLU for medical school as planned. I then went to my first choice, Case Western/UH Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, OH, for my Internal Medicine Residency and IM Chief Residency. Some of my fondest memories are from my residency. I loved the people and met some of my best friends there, but for a girl from Hawaii…. those Cleveland winters were rough.
Paul was doing his Orthopedic Residency in Columbus, OH and, if I am completely honest, that’s how OSU got on my radar for GI fellowship. However, when I interviewed at OSU, I was very excited to learn how supportive the fellowship was in my desire to pursue a career in Esophagology. Like other programs, OSU was going to provide strong clinical training, research opportunities etc, but it was the flexibility and supportive leadership that stood out to me. True to their word, I was able to tailor my fellowship to align with my career goals.
One of the things I didn’t expect about this fellowship is how supportive it is of family planning and parental leave. As a co-chief fellow during my third year, I took 12 weeks of maternity leave to have my son without needing to extend my fellowship. Probably more surprising is that four other fellows had babies that year and we made it a priority to support everyone’s parental leave while creating an overall balanced schedule. We often make a lot of sacrifices in our personal lives for our careers; it was a blessing that having a baby did not have to be one of those sacrifices.
I decided to join the OSU faculty after graduation. There were many reasons for this, but a big one was the camaraderie amongst the attendings. It was really great to have solid support my first year out of fellowship, and I was also able to start my career as an esophageal specialist. Many of my mentors have become good friends and this played a big role in my decision to return to OSU.
Which leads me to where I am now. This year, we’re in Tennessee for my husband’s Orthopedic hand fellowship. You would think a couple of Hawaii locals might like the warmer weather. Turns out we both prefer the Midwest! We considered moving to California or back to Hawaii after Paul’s fellowship to be closer to family, but after some deep reflection we decided the high cost of living wasn’t right for our family at this point in time.
The decision to move back to Columbus was pretty easy when Paul found a job he was excited about in Ohio. We knew that Columbus is a family-friendly city and a great place to settle down. There are a lot of great neighborhoods with good school districts to buy a house. We are particularly looking forward to visiting the Columbus Zoo, the COSI science museum, the Botanical Gardens, and the Scioto Mile splash pad with our little one when we return.
As for my professional life, OSU is a place of opportunities and I’m very excited to grow my career as an Esophagologist. You never know what life has in store for you, but it sure has been an amazing ride so far.
By Megan Chan, Assistant Clinical Professor, Gastroenterology (Officially back at Ohio State!)