This week, I send prayers and healing thoughts to the victims,
families and friends of those impacted in Aurora, Colorado. May
happy memories of their loved ones remain strong and may healing be
swift and complete for those affected by this heinous crime.
This past week has been a lesson in perseverance. The coming
three weeks will be a matter of academic survival! The past week
has seen success, failure, moments full of a feeling of achievement
followed quickly by a humbling bumble.
Many times over the past week, I just wanted take a break, catch
a movie, nap by the pond, or in other words, lounge around resting
my brain and doing nothing. Thoughts ran through my head such as,
"What's the use?! This isn't going to matter in 4 weeks anyway! I
study my tail off only to see a score like this?! I may as well
just study a little; it's not going to change my score that much
anyway." Well, that plan didn't hold an ounce of water.
As I pondered the inevitable case write-up, study for whichever
test in one of my classes/labs happened to be the one that was next
on the calendar vs. taking a nice break, I thought about my future
patients. If I went to see a doctor about a health concern and was
seeking advice, counsel and expertise, I would want that person to
be fully engaged with our conversation. While I know that the
doctor cannot know everything, I would expect him to listen, get a
good understanding of why I was coming to consult him, and use
every tool in his kit to do his best to get to the bottom of the
matter.
While that thought crossed my mind, I took a deep breath,
hunkered down and finished up the work that I needed to accomplish,
as aggravating as that was at the time. This is the ethic I want to
carry forward with me. Understanding that I cannot know everything
and I will fail sometimes. In those times, I must understand the
learning opportunity presented while we are still in the "safety
zone" as students. I must carry the experience forward to have the
best understanding that I can muster to be the best doctor I can be
for my fellow human beings.
I am building a strong tool kit here at NUHS that, used
properly, will help me as a doctor to better understand the
maladies of my patients. This tool kit will help with researching
the problems I need to have a better knowledge about. and
consulting with colleagues who may have worked with a condition
such as this before. Finally, this tool kit will help with putting
together a solid, healing treatment plan to help patients return to
a basis for health where that is possible.
All the talk about "sticking to work" aside, I did take a break
Saturday night to enjoy a movie and a relaxing dinner. Remember,
"Vitamin R" (rest, relaxation, rejuvenation) is one of the
"Determinants of Health"!!! That being said, Sunday morning
daybreak at the garden was a nice recharge. This week's pic is of
one of the sunflowers. By the way, the garden is coming along
nicely! Looks like we will have a bumper crop this year!
I'm thankful this week for Albert Einstein's words, "It's not
that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems
longer." This is a man who was considered one of the smartest
folks to set foot upon this planet and he described his success
through perseverance. Thanks for the encouragement Al, I'll take
it! See you next week!