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COM Outlook . Summer 2012
Operation Task Force-Philippines to assist
with the Global War on Terrorism. I was the
forward engineer commander, which meant
I was the engineer in charge of everything
from toilets to building combat trails in
the south region of the Philippines for the
largest combined special-forces operations
I think the United States has ever—or will
ever—run. It was, and still is, a war zone
featuring real bullets. Not fun.”
Four months later, in a stroke of luck
that could be construed as either injurious
or advantageous depending on how you
analyzed the circumstances at the time, Dr.
Kretchmar experienced a severe bout of
both peri- and myocarditis. “I was medi-
cally evacuated first by helicopter to a small
hospital on a nearby island, and then after
I stabilized, by private jet to Manila, where I
spent a few weeks getting the best medi-
cal care the Philippines had to offer before
returning home to Texas.
“So there I was in my late 30s/early 40s,
teaching English at a nice, small university
while trying to figure out what I just saw
and did in my whirlwind military tour of the
beautiful southern Philippines,” he contin-
ued. “I was also buying and fixing up various
types of real estate and working for all my
professor friends to remodel their houses
to pay off my astronomical student loans
and fund my charity in Vietnam. In my spare
time, I took premed classes. I was happy
and hard at work because I knew I would be
in medical school soon.”
Making the Medical School Transition
Dealing with the complexities and
responsibilities that accompany being a
medical student are arduous enough for
those in their 20s, so imagine the numerous
challenges the brave triumvirate of Drs. Cof-
fin, Kretchmar, and Potter did—and continue
to—contend with on a daily basis.
From finding time for their spouses and
children to juggling numerous other personal
and professional commitments that many
of their younger medical students have yet
to cope with, being a medical student of a
more-mature age can prove problematic but
also richly rewarding.
“For me, the challenges include the
responsibilities that come with age and
extended families,” said Dr. Potter, who
has been teaching anatomy and physiol-
ogy as an adjunct faculty member at Miami
Dade College’s Wolfon Campus since
2010. “However, my husband Tony and I
got married later in life, so we have cats,
not children. The benefit of being older is
that after 15 years of marriage, my husband
knows how to support me, which is a great
help and blessing.”
However, in order for Dr. Coffin to
pursue his NSU-COM degree, much more
upheaval was involved from both a geo-
graphic and emotional standpoint. Although
his three children are all adults, with the
youngest being 22, Dr. Coffin made the
difficult decision to relocate to South Florida
without his wife, Dana, so he could focus
on his coursework. “When I came to NSU, I
chose to get an apartment near the school
by myself, so either my wife or I would travel
back and forth every two weeks or so for
visits,” he explained. “This really gave me
extra time to focus on studying and keeping
abreast with the workload. But when I was
home, I made it a point to spend sufficient
time with my wife, family members, and
friends to maintain those important relation-
ships and have a strong support network.”
For Dr. Kretchmar, being approximately
20 years older than his medical school
peers does present some obvious challeng-
es—as well as a far-reaching perspective on
the overall medical school experience. “Ob-
viously, at this age, the slope of the learning
curve is much steeper,” admitted Dr.
Kretchmar, who credits his wife of 14 years,
Mariana, for keeping him sane. “Short-term
memory deteriorates with age, and I have
short-term memory deficits to begin with.
Moreover, my expertise is so far outside the
biological/physiological sciences that I might
as well have come from Mars to attend
medical school. On the other hand, I do not
have the same fears of my fellow students.
They are trying to figure out how to ‘rock
their rotations’ and compete for top slots
or residencies at what they believe are the
right hospitals. They are looking at medicine
as a way to make a living and excel. These
are not issues for me because medicine is
not a way for me to make a living at all. I
have already done that. Medicine is for me a
calling, an avocation done for love and not a
vocation done for money.
“After I’m done with my medical school
responsibilities, I go home and play with my
son before reading and preparing to help
people again the next day,” he added. “I don’t
have to compete or try out for residencies.
I know there is a residency out there for a
guy who wants to help people heal. That’s a
perspective that only comes with age.”
Dr. Potter wholly endorses Dr. Kretch-
mar’s “with age comes wisdom” philosophy,
which has allowed her to try new things,
like become both a teacher and medical
student, and overcome long-held fears in
the process. “One morning, I woke up and
suddenly I was not so afraid of things,” she
said. “For example, an often-cited study
found the majority of people rank death
below public speaking in order of personal
fears. Now I am not so afraid to speak in
public—if I can read from a prepared script.
Also, I am beginning to learn that if you stop
worrying about yourself and take a moment
to care about the other person, that person
may
cut you some slack
and perhaps
“Obviously, at this age, the slope of
the learning curve is much steeper
.
Short-term memory deteriorates with age, and I have short-term memory
deficits to begin with. Moreover, my expertise is so far outside the biological/
physiological sciences that I might as well have come from Mars to attend
medical school.” - Dr. Joshua Kretchmar