A flight to success
Merry Thomas
bonanza staff writer
May 30, 2004
If it hadn't been for a failing airline industry, Connie Hahn might still be working as a flight attendant and teaching skiing instead of practicing her dream career.
"It's so easy to keep on being a ski instructor, and then one day you realize you're 35," she said.
Hahn's wake-up call came after US Airways purchased PSA, the laid-back company which in the 1970s featured flight attendants in colorful miniskirts and a big orange smile on its airplanes.
That era ended abruptly as USAir (its name at the time) began to pull out of the West Coast and Hahn relocated to the East Coast. She began to take notice that many of her new friends had advanced degrees. Hahn had a two-year degree in business, but as the airline industry's problems escalated, she saw the proverbial writing on the wall.
"I wanted to be ready for something, not dependent on corporate ups and downs," she said.
The realization resulted in a huge change of lifestyle, as Hahn moved back to Incline Village and began to take science classes at the University of Nevada, Reno - one class a semester. During this time she met her future husband Chris Hahn, "the eternal motivator," as she calls him.
"I told him that if I had it to do over again, I'd go to medical school," Hahn said. "And he told me I was young and smart and I could do it."
Next, Hahn talked to a counselor at UNR about her career aspirations. The counselor told her it would be harder as an older student, but she could do it if she kept her grades high and did some community service.
"They said they already have enough brainiacs, and could use doctors who are good with people," she said.
Reflecting on her career of serving people, enjoying helping others and teaching, she said she thought she'd fill the ticket well. She had stopped flying and teaching skiing and she sold a car, rented out her condominium and applied for scholarships to make ends meet so she could continue with school.
While taking classes, she joined classmates in the honors club, becoming president of the Premed Honor Society, and she found a mentor. Hahn graduated from UNR's premed program in 1998 with a 4.0 grade-point average.
"I was fortunate to be one of the top 10 female graduates," Hahn said.
During her premed work, Hahn had become particularly interested in osteopathic medicine - a unique philosophy of medicine that emphasizes the interaction between the body's nerves, muscles, bones and organs.
"Andrew Taylor Still developed osteopathy 130 years ago; he found that if he manipulated a person's body he would get well faster," she said.
Doctors of osteopathy have a philosophy of treating the whole person, of integrating the body's systems to treat, diagnose and help prevent illness and injury.
Thus, when it came time to choose a medical school, Hahn wanted a school that specializes in osteopathy. She and her new husband discussed the situation.
"I found three schools within two hours' flying distance (a parameter they'd agreed on), and we decided we would be separated no longer than two weeks at a time," she said.
She applied to three schools - was accepted by all three - and chose the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine - part of Midwestern University, a century-old institution that had originated in Chicago.
"It best suited my needs," Hahn said.
The four-year program entailed two years of classroom study during which she and Chris flew back and forth. The last two years were a bit easier, because she was allowed to complete some of her internship rotations nearby, in Incline Village with Dr. Jay Schroeder and in Reno with Dr. Brian Juell.
"When I first went to the school, the call was for family practitioners," Hahn said.
She studied every aspect of medicine, and each time she was introduced to a specialty - from neuroanatomy to dermatology - she would become excited about it, convinced that was the area for her.
"My friend Joanna Koch said that's why she went into family practice - she gets to do it all," Hahn said.
She has focused on three aspects of medicine: rural medicine, women's health and serving the Hispanic community. In Incline, she has been able to sample these areas while helping Dr. Rick Tietz at the Children's Cabinet's low-cost clinic.
"I chose a family practice residency at UC Davis, in Merced," Hahn said. "I admire Dr. Koch, and that's where she went. It was fun to see her picture up on the wall there."
The school is only four hours from Incline, but she and Chris will be moving there this summer.
"It's a small county hospital, where as a resident I'll have a lot of responsibility and autonomy," she said. "It depends on the residents, not like a big city hospital, where residents may not even be missed."
In the meantime, Hahn will be graduating this week in Arizona. She's looking forward to the busy summer's settling down into the routine of 15-hour work days as a resident.
"It has been such a team effort," I could not have done it without Chris, she said. " It really is true that it's never too late for people to achieve their dreams."
She said they plan to move back to Incline in three years.
