Brendan Delaney

EDPS 105
Career Interview

1. Tell us about the interviewee. Include the following information.

Name: Christopher Milan Phone #: (989) 858-5355

Name of Employer: McLaren Medical Group

Official Job Title: Osteopathic Physician

Email Address: chrismilanmedical@gmail.com

How the interview was conducted: Phone Call conversation.

2. In your own words, how would you describe your job/position and what you do? What’s

a typical day like? If there isn’t a typical day, describe the tasks/activities that you spend a

major part of your time on.

Dr. Christopher Milan is an Osteopathic Physician at a Family Practice that works with

patients for health maintenance, keeping updated on their immunizations, and preventing

medical emergencies at all means possible. It’s simple… for Dr. Milan, everyday is a long day.

On a typical day the doctor will wake up at 5:00 a.m. for a refreshing morning run. At 6:30 he

enters his home office and fires up the computer to analyze lab results, checks the medication

refilling schedule of his clients, communicates with other local physicians for updates and

discussion, and completes a hefty amount of paperwork. This is just his preparation.

Approximately a quarter before 8:00 a.m. he arrives at the clinic and immediately begins

distributing his paperwork to the nurses, and at 8:15 a.m., he begins seeing patients. At noon he

returns to his clinic office and re-examines and updates the charts regarding the progress of his

patients and determines the allotted requirements for their refills. This continues to 1:15 p.m.
when he resumes seeing patients until the end of the clinic’s business hours at 5:30 p.m. From

5:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. he again studies and analyzes the charts of progress regarding his

patients to determine their medical circumstances and what is still required for their treatment

and/or recovery. At 11:00 p.m. he returns home for the end to his day. At 5:00 a.m., the entire

process starts all over.

3. What do you enjoy most about your job? What do you dislike? What would you most

like to change about your occupation if you could?

Dr. Milan has always loved that his Family Practice allows him to work with generations

of the same families in the Health Care profession. He sees it as an honor to witness a family tree

unfold and considers his patients to be family and friends. He is a very social individual and

treasures the interaction with clients required in his work. On the other hand, he has developed a

strong disliking for paperwork! He prefers to be active with a hands-on approach, and with the

recent requirement to enter all the information into a computer system, it has caused his work to

become very mechanical. He mentioned that because there is no way around the computer

system, if he could change one thing it would be to at least have a faster computer!

4. If you were hiring a person for your job, what would you look for? What particular

strengths, qualifications, and/or personal qualities do you believe contribute most to success

and happiness in your line of work? Why?

“Have a personality!” Doctor Milan has noticed a significant increase in skill levels of

college graduates with computers and keeping updated with information, yet they lack the ability

to communicate effectively with their patients. In regards to hiring for the position, there is

undoubtedly a focus on medical competence, but there must also be a strong indication of
enthusiasm and dedication. In the Health Care field, one must be very adaptable and “go with the

flow.” It is critical for doctors to be able to cope with sudden changes in medical circumstances.

Dr. Milan and I embarked on a Medical Mission trip to Matagalpa, Nicaragua together and while

answering this question he mentioned how much he saw himself in me. He considers me his

blueprint and recognizes the enthusiasm in me that he had at my age for learning and working

with people. He is very correct in that sense, for we both consider people of all cultures and

backgrounds to be very interesting and never want to stop learning. We just have this burning

desire to live life to the fullest!

5. What were your childhood interests? What did you think you would be when you grew

up?

He always thought he would be a Forester because of his love for the outdoors and

constantly found himself exploring the wilderness. However, all the experiments he completed in

his junior-high classes sparked his interest in the sciences. He remembered deciding that he

wanted to be a a doctor in the eighth grade, and was further encouraged through high school

social interactions and more in-class science experiments.

6. What was your major in college (if you attended)? How well did your education prepare

you? Does your work relate to any experiences or studies you had in college?

Dr. Milan’s undergraduate degree began at Central Michigan University and later

transferred to St. Norbert College to study in the Health Sciences. He especially enjoyed the

emphasis on the sciences at St. Norbert’s. He attended Medical School at Michigan State

University and was very intrigued by the and hands-on experiences available to students and

loved studying the human body as a whole. He firmly believes that Michigan State’s program
thoroughly prepared him for his career as an Osteopathic Physician. In fact, upon graduation he

traveled to Britain to work with world-renowned doctors and received compliments from his

superiors from Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands. He distinctly recalls being asked where he

attended school because his techniques were so efficient and he was considered well trained by

many.

7. Describe your career path… What was your first full-time job? What career changes did

you make? What led you to you current occupation? What decisions did you make along

the way?

After Medical School he completed a year-long internship in Traverse City, MI where he

enjoyed experiencing a little bit of everything in a Hospital setting. After the internship he was

offered a two year residency position as an assistant professor at Michigan State University.

Following those two years he decided he needed to take a break and traveled to Asia with his

wife to visit his brother. Upon his return to the United States he accepted a position to work in

Idaho for three years where he enjoyed working with the hispanic population of immigrants in

the state. His job was to cure the diseases they caught in their homeland. In his experiences with

the immigrants, he developed a strong appreciation for the preciousness of life after witnessing

the work ethics of the people he was helping and an understanding for the unfathomably brutal

circumstances they were trying so desperately to escape. This forever changed his perspective on

people and further fueled his passion to help their overall well-being. After a while he and his

wife desired to start a family, thus returned to Michigan to be in closer proximity to family and

established his business in Gaylord where he continues to practice to this day.

8. What have been the biggest influences on your career? And who has helped or influenced

you along the way (mentors, co-workers, family members, friends…)?

Though he never had much interaction with any doctors, he was always extremely

appreciative of the support and given to him throughout the years by his wife, siblings, and

parents. Whenever life became tough he knew he could lean on them for encouragement. His

family always understood his passion for the job and the dedication it would require.

9. What sacrifices do you have to make for your career? What would you do differently?

What do you value most now?

Alone time! Due to the increased amount of time required to enter data into a computer,

he has spent a significant amount of time in lonely silence. He remembered feeling the same way

in Medical School when all of his friends went out for the night yet he stayed behind in the

library to study. He reminded himself that it was needed if he were to succeed, but the hours of

silence and lonesomeness where and still tend to be quite extensive. The most difficult parts were

the holidays or weekends when his siblings would return home and enjoy time with their parents

or boating on a lake… yet on campus he remained. Sometimes he had to simply shut himself

away from the world to stay focused and remember what was important at that time in his life.

His only regrets are not traveling more as a younger child, however that was not in his control as

he was raised with many siblings and his parents were focused on affording their college tuition.

In regards to values, Dr. Milan is extremely devout in his faith and remembers working on-call

hours and reciting prayers or asking God for strength and bravery in his future task as he drove to

the emergency room late in the night. His time as an Osteopathic Physician has instilled within
him a deeper form of love for all human life and a sense of patience and understanding so that he

is able to communicate with his clientele. He has learned that through listening with compassion,

people are much more willing to open up and also trust in his guidance.

10. Tell me about a time when you failed. What did you learn?

Before graduating, Medical Students must pass a three-part Board Exam before receiving

their license and thus certified to practice. At the end of Medical School, Dr. Milan thought his

studying was enough to prepare him without studying specifically for the Board Exam… which

resulted in him not passing the first round and not becoming a qualified Physician. This taught

him a great deal of humility and rather than panic over the possibility of an end to his career he

decided to buckle down and continue his studying (this time concentrating on the Board Exam)

for the next round of evaluations in six months.

11. What advice would you give a recent college graduate about your occupation? About

life in general?

Regarding the occupation, the ability to adapt and “go with the flow” is critical.

Circumstances will be ever-changing and emergencies will imminently arise- always be ready!

As to life in general, he strongly recommended finding what you enjoy and pursuing your

passion into your work. However my favorite part was the question he constantly asks himself:

How can I be of service to others? This is what everyone should consider when evaluating their

career. Also, always make time for family, friends, and the faith- and try to run four or five days

of the week!
12. Ask one thoughtful question of your own. Write the question here: Does your job ever

cause you to question the decency of humankind because of the abuse we are willing to

place on our bodies? (Then answer it!)

“Your body is a gift, and it your responsibility to take care of it.” He is always so sad to

see the addictions caused by medications that relieve pain and wishes people would try to

address the complications with their body instead of just temporarily numbing them. He

considers these pain relievers to negatively impact someone’s quality of life when they are

heavily used and is disappointed to see that his patients feel no responsibility to improve their

own situation.The only hope he sometimes notices is when a mother who has previously abused

her body becomes pregnant. Usually the mother will realize that she is now responsible for

another life and is able to dramatically change her habits for the baby’s sake.