In Her Own Words: Kaylie Goldner

In our current “In Her Own Words” series, Forester women who are making a difference in the world as advanced healthcare professionals are sharing their stories. Less than 10 years after they earned their bachelor’s degrees from Huntington University, these women have already traveled unique paths to careers in healthcare practice. They have become dentists, physical therapists, physician assistants, medical doctors, and more — and this is only the beginning.

The story that follows comes from an interview with one such Forester.

Kaylie Goldner (2018)

Doctor of Medicine

Currently in her three-year internal medicine residency in North Carolina, Kaylie Goldner is learning to apply her MD in one of the many specialty branches available after medical school. She hopes to pursue a fellowship after completing her residency. Although her path has already included lots of training, she finds herself in awe of everything she still wants to learn.  

At what point did you realize you wanted to go into medicine?

I knew that I liked medicine starting in middle school, so pretty early on, because I loved the science of it. But then I think once I hit high school, that’s when it officially hit me. I took an anatomy course…I just really loved the physiology of everything. That kind of started me on the path.

Why did you choose your area of practice?

I liked being the decision maker. I think I just knew that from the very beginning — that I didn’t want to be in a position in life where I had to defer to someone else. I wanted to know the answers, and I was okay with the responsibility of that. And, granted, as an MD you don’t always make the decisions, but I think I wanted to be a part in making those decisions, so that’s why I chose the MD route.  

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned along the way?

Probably that I will never know everything. Because there’s always more to learn, and I’m consistently humbled by what I don’t know. It’s almost like the more you learn, the more you realize what you don’t know.

Was med school anything like you expected?

It was a lot like I expected, I think. Because the first two years felt just like college, because it was studying lectures all the time; your nose is in a book. Tons of studying time — that was maybe what I didn’t expect, because we only had four hours of lecture a day and then I just had to be disciplined enough to study for the chunk of the day that was remaining. And that got depressing sometimes. But I think it was a lot of what I expected.

I thought maybe I would feel a lot more accomplished sooner, but I just always felt like there was so much to learn, and how in the world was I going to learn it all? I felt like a novice at everything the whole time. You think, “Oh, medical school. By the time you finish, you should feel like a pro, right? Boss of everything.” No.  

What are you proudest of when it comes to your career?

What comes to mind is the personal development, developing more confidence in the realm of medicine. Because there’s a lot to be self-conscious about and uncertain [about], especially when you just don’t know the answer. But confidence in explaining my answer that I’ve chosen, regardless of if I’m sure of it — I think that’s been an important thing that I’ve learned, especially in residency. There are going to be so many cases where I’m going to have to make a decision and I’m not completely sure, and there’s no way to be sure, perhaps. So I just need to be confident and be reassuring to the patient in that situation.