By Lisa M. Belisle
Originally published October 4, 1995, Portland Press Herald

A father’s inspiration leads to a daughter’s dream slowly coming true.

For me, the harbinger of autumn has always been the boxy yellow school bus, making its steadfast way down the country lanes. It doesn’t seem long ago that I was a small child, awaiting the bus with a mixture of anticipation and abject horror. I don’t feel old enough to be packing my own child’s lunchbox.

Fortunately, I have the dubious honor of never having gotten beyond the status of student.

This means that not only am I still not earning a paycheck, but I continue to pay for my education. It also means that I can continue to pack my own lunchbox. My husband is a very patient man.

My uniform frequently consists of hospital scrubs and a short white coat, complemented by a pocketed stethoscope and demure green nametag proclaiming me to be “Lisa M. Belisle, UVM (University of Vermont at Montpelier) College of Medicine.”

I decided to be a doctor at a reasonably young age. I never got over the earliest impressions of my father as a fresh-faced family practice resident and honorary baby-catcher. I was most fascinated by his special white sneakers, worn only for deliveries. He seemed to work pretty hard (as did my mother, in his constant absence), but he loved caring for his patients. He was, and remains, a loved and respected physician. It was my hope that I could become half the doctor he is.

I am now well on my way to obtaining that revered “M.D.” But I am still very far away from being a doctor of my dad’s experience. The road has been long, taking me from  Yarmouth High School to the University of Maine, before I graduated from Bowdoin College in 1992 and left for the Green Mountains.

Maine has the distinction of being one of the few states without an allopathic medical school. Although D.O. medical students receive an excellent education at the University of New England in Biddeford, those who seek the degree of M.D. must go elsewhere. Many of us are partially subsidized in nearby states through the Finance Authority of Maine.

At UVM, I spent the first 18 months in the classroom, studying “basic science” subjects such as biochemistry, anatomy, pathology and pharmacology (and many others). We also practiced physical exam skills — on each other. It allowed me to see what it felt like to be a doctor, and a patient, simultaneously.

Then I returned to Maine for my clinical education. Energetic and enthusiastic, I took on “clinical core” courses, which then included obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery and psychiatry, and now includes family practice. I did these rotations at the Maine Medical Center, where not only did I see great medicine being practiced, but I cared for my friends, neighbors and relatives.

Caring for people I knew and will continue to know is my reason for studying medicine in Maine. I have held the hands of dying neighbors and the babies of high school classmates. I have seen my relatives through illnesses, surgeries and prolonged hospital stays. I have been present for the best and worst moments of people’s lives. I have had the privilege of being “Lisa Belise, UVM College of Medicine.”

Now I am at the beginning of my fourth, and final, year of medical school. As I look forward to a three-year residency in family practice, I am fortunate to have worked with some wonderful Maine physicians, nurses, patients and staff people. I am blessed to have an understanding husband and child. I now have one sister in her first year of medical schoolat UVM, and another in the process of applying. I can honestly tell them that I don't mind being a perpetual student, even if I don’t get to ride on a yellow bus anymore.

Good luck, Amy and Adelle. Thanks, Dad.