Paige Elyse Stevens ’16
Pediatrics
Palo Alto, California
I am famous for being hardworking and determined. I remember my mom telling me as a kid to “just get a B” and stop being so stressed. Now my husband has the task of constantly reminding me to stop over-committing and to tone down my perfectionistic tendencies.
Too many to count! Medical school was one of my favorite seasons of life because of the incredible relationships, outstanding teachers and mentors, and constant learning. I will never forget the memories that our class made together during a retreat that we planned in the mountains during our senior year. The yearly Pine Springs Ranch retreats stand out as favorite times spent with classmates and faculty. I will never forget all the late nights of studying in the study carrels and reviewing flashcards with my study buddies; I
still use many of the little mnemonics that we came up with in my clinical practice and when teaching residents. The people I met in medical school have been and continue to be my best friends and I am so grateful for the formative years that we shared together.
I have the privilege of working with patients and families during some of their absolute worst times in the pediatric ICU. As hard as it can be sometimes, knowing that I get to support families and patients through their most chal- lenging days/weeks/months is what keeps me going.
I would have been a teacher. I love teaching and mentoring students and know that some of the most formative people in my life have been the teachers who have invested in me and my education over the years. I love medicine because so much of what we get to do is teach the next generation of physicians and teach patients and families.
I would love to be able to cook better. A running joke in my family is that I have about five recipes that I recycle all the time. It’s a good thing I married a chef!
I will never forget Randy Roberts preaching a sermon titled “Wow” at our baccalaureate service during graduation weekend. He encouraged us to remember the WOW of medicine and constantly be inspired and awed by the things we see, the relationships we form, and the impact we make. When things are hard, taking a moment to pause and reflect on the incredible privilege that it is to be a physician is what I do to reset myself.