APMA News - January/February 2022 - 7

thoughts from the ceo
The Road Less Traveled
The final lines of Robert Frost's famous poem, " The Road Not Taken, " are: " Two
roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, And that has made
all the difference. "
This poem has always been one of my favorites. To me, it represents personal choices
in life, and as I look back on my life, I recall several pivotal moments. The first was
choosing where to go to college. Growing up, I was a huge Notre Dame fan, and it had
been my dream to go to college there. But with three siblings and my desire to go to
medical school, I did not think it would be fair to my family. So, I applied to West Virginia
University sight unseen because my father went there sometimes on business and said
it seemed like a nice college town. I was accepted and, because weather hampered my
plans to visit, I ended up attending without ever visiting until orientation. It turned out to
be a great choice for me, and I had a great college experience.
As graduation approached, I applied to a handful of medical schools (five, to be exact),
not realizing how competitive they were or that most graduates applied to many more
schools than I had. When I did not get into any of the five schools, I had a decision to
make: Take a year of graduate school and re-apply or find another path to take. My
mom knew a woman whose son was a podiatrist, and she said he was doing great and
loved his profession. I spoke with him by phone and visited some podiatrists in my area.
I liked what I saw and decided to apply to podiatric medical schools. I was accepted
by the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine (now Temple University School of
Podiatric Medicine). Just as with West Virginia University, my educational experience and
subsequent residency training were great. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to do
a second year of surgical training at a combined program at Lutheran Hospital and the
University of Maryland Hospital at a time when having two years of surgical residency
training was rare. At the University of Maryland Hospital, I was on the orthopedic service
at a major teaching hospital with a shock-trauma center. I finished my program not only
with a certificate for a second year of surgical training, but also a fellowship in Podiatric
Surgery in the department of Orthopedics-yet again, a path not normally taken.
In 2005, I was offered the opportunity to come to APMA as the director of Scientific
Affairs. This opportunity meant leaving private practice and active patient care behind,
but I felt it was the right decision to make. Not the normal path for a practicing podiatrist,
but it has worked out well for me.
The point being, as we go through our lives and careers, there are significant crossroads
and decisions we must make. As we begin a new year, with new decisions and
opportunities, it's worth reflecting on the fact that sometimes, the road less traveled can
turn out to be the best one.
James R. Christina, DPM
Executive Director and CEO
APMA.ORG
apmanews
7

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APMA News - January/February 2022

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