| Seattle, July 25 --
The setting was clear: on June 30, Vincent Hsu had completed his
preventive medicine residency, the last bit after years of
training in internal medicine, infectious disease, and epidemiology. The question was simple: which job should
he take? The decision was agonizing, but early this month
the choice was made-- to move to Orlando, Florida and join an
infectious disease practice--which surprised colleagues, family,
and even himself. Although days were spent deciding on
the best course of action, the final choice seemed a bit
unexpected. "If you
asked me two years, one year, or even four months ago, I would
have said that I would have been heading to Asia to work in
international public health," Dr. Hsu, a medical epidemiologist
with Public Health - Seattle & King County,
states. "However, a series of circumstances led me to discover an
exciting career opportunity that I just couldn't refuse."
Those circumstances began in February when he traveled to Orlando to
attend ,
ironically, a preventive medicine conference, where he was introduced to an
infectious disease physician in the area. The career opportunity,
based at Florida Hospital, involves both a mixture of direct patient care and hospital
epidemiology, which involves controlling
the spread of bacteria and other organisms in the hospitals. Grace plans to return to nursing, and
maybe take some extra coursework for an advanced degree, but not
before they first purchase a home and settle down. Where the
Hsus will live is unclear, but they would like to be within a
short commute of the main Florida Hospital campus.
Although their immediate future is now
settled, Grace and Vincent will never forget their wonderful
year in the Emerald City. "We'll really miss the wonderful
friends we've made this past year," laments Grace. The Hsus have
also enjoyed the variety of weekend activities. "One weekend we'd go on a short hop to
Vancouver or Victoria," says Grace. "On weekends at home, it was
Green Lake church choir Friday and Saturday, then Holy Family
choir on Sunday." (Holy Family is a Catholic church that Vincent
plays as organist.)
The Hsus are hopeful for the future and are
looking forward to a good life in Central Florida, but it
remains to be seen how well they can adjust to new jobs and
locations. At the very least, they plan to make frequent trips
back to the Northwest. "We really love Seattle," Grace
continues. "This is one city we felt we could really
connect with, that really felt like home. And maybe, just
hopefully, we will return someday."
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