Pediatric Oncology is the study and treatment of cancer in children. For my interview, I choose one of the most respected men in the field; Dr. Richard Ho, the Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Ho has been working at Vanderbilt for several years and is considered one of the most reliable and hard working specialists on the Vanderbilt staff. In addition, he was my pediatric doctor (until I turned eighteen), so I was very comfortable asking him to take some time out of his day for an interview. He was very welcoming, and was not hesitant about any of the questions I asked. .
On a weekend home from college, I was able to go to Nashville for the day and pay Dr. Ho a visit. On my walk to his office, I saw changes that were being made to the hospital - more bright and pleasant colors on the wall, and a lot more smiling faces. It was a very upbeat day at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.
As I knocked on Dr. Ho's office door, he came around the corner wearing a Mickey Mouse hat and pulling a little girl with a nasogastric tube (NG) in a little red wagon. The little girl, who I later found out was named Sara, had been recently diagnosed with bone cancer. Dr. Ho then invited me into his office where he offered me a lollypop as he said "so I hear you're a big bad college student now?" "Oh yes!" I replied, "I'm going to the University of Tennessee to be just like you!" In shock he said "oh, well I must have rubbed off on you now didn't I?" I laughed and replied "maybe just a little," with full sarcasm in tow. .
Before my visit to the lovely Vanderbilt Children's Hospital I made a simple list of questions to ask. Nothing extravagant, just something so that if I got stuck, or there was ever that dreaded awkward silence I would know what to say.
I have known Dr. Ho for some years now, so I was completely comfortable with him. The interview process was quick and easy, I was in and out in twenty minutes.