Internal Medicine: Day 4

Today was my first day on internal medicine. I'm at a hospital that's new to me (it's huge as well), but I felt pretty comfortable all day. I think I'm starting to fit in with medicine and enjoy this time as a third year med student. My responsibility is to learn as much as I possibly can, and I feel like I'm doing a good job at that. We were only in from 7a-3p, such a short day, and I was pleasantly surprised to be driving home by 3:30. So nice!

My attending is a very good teacher, and she loves to watch us learn and work through problems. We spent a fair amount of time with her today, and she was really helpful in teaching us the basics of internal. She also gave us a motivational speech that I will try to share with you:

"My niece is in the army, and she was struggling through bootcamp. Being about 5'0" and a small frame, it was particularly difficult for her to run the drills with her 50pound rucksack on her back...she called me crying, saying that it wasn't fair to make her carry such a heavy load, she is only a tiny girl and it's much more difficult for her than it is for her 170 pound male peers. You know what they carry in their army rucksacks? An emergency kit, a life-pack that can keep them nourished and alive when they are stranded until rescue can arrive. Of course she needs to carry it, if she can't, she doesn't belong in the army, she doesn't deserve a chance of being stranded without proper supplies in tote! So she has two choices - To quit, or to just do what has to be done. It's not always easy, and for some it is harder than for others, but if you set your mind to it, you can do whatever you wish. I would carry an elephant if it meant that I can get or do what I want. You really can do anything you put your mind to with enough willpower and self-determination."

Then she went to speak about the importance of looking the part of a physician, keeping calm in stressful situations, handling things with tact and care whilst always exuding a sense of competence and confidence. As the leader of healthcare groups, it is our responsibility to handle the stress of medicine with a calm mind and a confident demeanor. She is the epitome of a well hearsed woman, a physician who plays her part perfectly. Which lies in stark contrast to the book which I have finished reading, Delivering Doctor Amelia. The moral of that story was to be yourself, be genuine, don't pretend to be the person that the medical schools rear you up to be. Be who you are, or you will get beaten down by the profession. So I have mixed feelings - be confident and put your patients at ease, or be genuine and be able to live with yourself even after eventual mistakes are made? There surely is a nice balance?

Here are a few of my favorite excerpts from Delivering Doctor Amelia: