We are finishing our first day of our medical school career. It's been a long day. Two and a half hours of anatomy lab, an hour of embryo lecture, 2 hours of clinical skills introduction to H&P and 2 hours of small groups...and inevitably you spent at least 2 more hours in the lab because you didn't get your dissection done in the first shot. Of course you probably should have wedged a few hours of studying in there too. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. And a little overwhelmed. And it's only day one. Seven more class days until we have an exam (yikes!).
But we can do it!
If you didn't know already, I have already done part of this year and I have a request for you over the next 10 weeks. Actually, the favor doesn't just end after the next 10 weeks, it applies for the next 30 years as well.
Don't let medicine make you hard. You are a human with feelings. Use those to your advantage. They will make you a good clinician. I actually wrote about this a little bit last year with the help of someone WAY smarter than I. You should read this post first, called Letter to a Future Doctor.
I read a book this summer with a similar sentiment that I wanted to share...yes, this goes for you too, my old M2 buddies! Here's a short excerpt from The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman.
The desensitization starts on the very first day of medical school, when each student is given a scalpel with which to penetrate his or her cadaver: "the ideal patient," as it's nicknamed, since it can't be killed, never complains, and never sues. The first cut is always difficult. Three months later, the students are chucking pieces of excised human fat into a garbage can as nonchalantly as if they were steak trimmings. The emotional skin-thickening is necessary--or so goes the conventional wisdom--because without it, doctors would be overwhelmed by their chronic exposure to suffering and despair. (274-275)You are already getting more proficient at dissection. Don't let your schooling make you desensitized and machine-like. I'm sure today was a bit rough for a few of you who were just seeing your very first cadaver or possibly having your very first experience with someone who has died. It is overwhelming to think about all of the pain and hurt that our patients experience each day. But you do not need to be a hard person to survive in this field. You can be a caring individual who is also quite knowledgeable about all things medicine related (except biochem...let's be real. No one knows what's going on there).
Empathy will be one of the greatest skills you learn over the next four years, if you haven't already mastered it. It's one of the PEARLS that you'll learn about in a few weeks during ICE lecture. Use it to your advantage. One of the awesome things about medicine is that we can treat disease and care for illness while simultaneously having reverence for life and the person living it.
Just this morning we learned about the first 28 days of life during embryo lecture. The beginning of life is seriously incredible! If you don't think so yet, just wait until we learn about how many things can go wrong at every. single. step. of development. Life truly is a miraculous event!
For the next four years you are a medical student, but you are also a human. Don't forget that side of you amongst all of the books. As a person who frequently uses the healthcare system, I prefer well-rounded clinicians that I can talk to and that show empathy, but may have to look up small details about obscure complications more than I like someone who has all of the anastomoses of every artery as well as the 5 billion biochem pathways memorized, but can't hold a conversation with me.
Just remember, we're hoping to treat people, not machines. Good luck with the first exam. You survived the first day! Just a few hundred to go until you're called Doctor.
Much love,
-j
