A Calling in Medicine Shaped by Service

Former Army flight medic and current third-year medical student Christopher Hixon finds a new mission in medicine.

When Christopher Hixon enlisted in the Army at 17, he didn’t have a firm plan for his future, only a desire to do something meaningful. His decision to become a medic set him on a path that would span more than a decade of military service, three overseas deployments, and eventually, medical school.

“I enlisted as a medic because I thought it would be something good to do,” Hixon says. “At the time, I wasn’t necessarily interested in medicine, but the more I did the job, the more it cemented that interest.”

As a flight medic in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hixon was part of small air crews responding to trauma calls in the field. “Our job was to save anyone and everyone, regardless of nationality or background,” he says. “It was about treating people like humans and doing everything in our power to help them.”

That mission often came with deep challenges. “Being deployed was awesome, because I got to do my job,” Hixon says. “But when you’re a medic and you do your job, it means that people are having a bad day.” He remembers helicopters returning from missions with blood covering the floorboards. “You can’t make this stuff up. Sometimes it was just a gruesome scene.”

Those moments, and the losses that came with them, have never left him. “I worked with some really good people and some outstanding human beings who are not here anymore,” he says. “This kind of work takes a huge toll on people. I feel very fortunate to have worked through some of those demons and still be here.”

When he left the Army after six and a half years, Hixon carried those experiences into civilian life. He enrolled at the University of Utah, determined to follow the suggestion of a physician he had worked with overseas: apply to medical school. But the path forward was unclear. “There’s a lot of language and culture that doesn’t carry over,” he says. “I had people who helped me figure out how to tell my story in a way that made sense.”

Even with that guidance, the process tested his resilience. He applied to medical school several times before being accepted. “You’re putting your whole life out there for people to judge,” he says. “It’s a tough process. You just have to keep going.”

The determination that carried him through combat and through years of rejection is the same one he now brings to his studies as a third-year student at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “Resilience and not quitting, that’s what the military taught me,” he says. “This is a really tough process. You have to be willing to adapt, change on the fly, and be critical of yourself.”

Hixon’s experiences also deepened his understanding of mental health. For years, he followed the unspoken rule he had learned in the military: keep it together, no matter what. “I used to be one of the ‘bury it, bottle it’ people, and that pushed me into some pretty bad places,” he says.

It took time and the encouragement of his father for him to seek help through the VA. “I started seeing a psychiatrist, and that was really helpful for me,” he says. “It was instrumental in protecting my mental health.”

Now, as he prepares for a career in physical medicine and rehabilitation, Hixon says those lessons shape how he connects with patients. “You’re not going to say anything magical that fixes what someone is going through,” he says. “The most important thing is being present while they face it.”

Although Hixon started medical school before the launch of the Military Medic to Medical School Program, he believes it will be a lifeline for others who share his background. “Going at it without guidance was hard,” he says. “It’s great that this program exists now to make it a little more streamlined for people coming out of the service.”

Looking back, Hixon says his story wasn’t something he planned. “There were so many points where things could have gone differently,” he says. “Life just has a funny way of working out. I’m proud of what I did as a soldier, and I’m grateful to still be here, doing work that matters.”