One physician’s philosophy on giving back

We have a voice to demand clean air, safe drinking water, and open natural spaces.

INTERVIEW BY LIBBY ELLIS

"As a doctor, I want to be part of a community that offers a great quality of life. Living in Utah provides that for me and my family.  There are great mountains for skiing, deserts for hiking, and huge swaths of unpopulated land just a short drive away. 

So when I read about the dismantling of Bears Ears in December, I was appalled.

A dear friend and fellow physician called to express her sadness and outrage and asked, 'How do we help?' As doctors tasked with safeguarding healthy communities, we had to do something to help preserve our monument.

Let me backtrack to give this sense of urgency a bit of context.

Becoming a doctor is an arduous and costly process. Medical school and residency involve hard work and long, hard hours. Income just covers expenses. The reward is the opportunity to serve through providing care, working to heal and comfort patients. Young doctors don’t learn to see themselves as having resources to give outside of work. Once we finish training we begin to attend to the life neglected while achieving career goals.  I recall having a sense that, 'I do enough contributing' — my time outside of work was for me. It sounds selfish now, looking back. 

So doctors pay off loans, perhaps have children, and lay down roots. The constant worry lifts and life becomes a slow awakening. I reconnected with the original values that motivated me as an idealistic student.  I realized that doctors, with our special training, have a much greater calling. We have a voice to demand clean air, safe drinking water, and open natural spaces. And, especially when united with colleagues, we have financial resources to back up our values and interests in protecting undeveloped, beautiful lands for the good of the public. 

It is disconcerting to see what is happening in my state. I can no longer take our parks and monuments for granted. 

When President Trump shrank both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, it was a serious wake-up call.  I did my research and found the Grand Canyon Trust." 

Now, Katie is using her resources to help protect Utah and the Colorado Plateau, and rallying her friends and colleagues to join her in becoming Turquoise Circle members of the Trust.

Join the Turquoise Circle ›