...I learned in medical school...almost...
When I handed in my sheet of 125 ridiculously large darkened circles in the form of the last shelf exam I'd ever have to take for basic sciences, Dr.Brown pointed me to the imported Danish Kringles he'd brought for the class and handed me a small packet of useful information, "Earl's Pearls for the Boards" as an aid to studying for the Step 1 exam. As a tribute to Dr.Brown and his phenomenal pathology course, I thought I'd share some of my own pearls I've learned along the way the past two years of medical school:
1.No matter if you move one hour or twelve, a move to a new city might as well be a move to the moon. There's nothing easy about it.
2.Medical school has been the most challenging thing I've ever done in my life. It's also been the most rewarding.
3. Days in class without days outside make Michele a very cranky person. I have to come to realize that I have an annual quota of outdoor time that has to be met in incremental periods of time.
4.T.V., except House and LOST, rots your brain. Read a book instead.
5. Everyone thinks that the perfect ice-breaker for an aspiring physician is asking "What kind of doctor do you want to be?" My answer at the moment: I haven't a clue. I've ruled out GI surgery, urology, and anesthesiology. The latest flavors of the month are family or pediatric infectious disease. Who knows? Ask me in two years (but remember you'll have to call me Dr.Gourley).
6.Just as we aren't perfect on the outside, we aren't perfect on the inside nor do we stay the same. Life is about learning how to deal with our imperfections and changes and the imperfections and changes of others.
7. How great is our God!!! People wonder how I can be a doctor and be a Christian. How can I not be? From the 6,000 foot peaks of the Smokies to the tiny ridges on my tiny fingertips, are the inscriptions of God's fingerprints. In every biochemical equation, in every anatomical system, in every neurological pathway is evidence of our Creator's handiwork. His design and creativity astound me. If mountains and fingertips had been left up to me to create, we'd have shaded triangles and fingerprint-less stick fingers.
8.Every person is of value. No engineer has ever designed a pump that rivals the efficacy or reliability of our heart nor fabricated a material as strong as our bones. There has never been a computer created that can process the amount of information that our brain does every second. Every day our body defies statistical improbability to create hundreds of thousands of hemoglobin molecules than comprise that which we know as blood. We are an incredible an amazing creation. I think if we could wake up each morning and remember this and remember that everyone else around us is just as amazing, it'd make the world a better place.
9.Diet and exercise have a profound effect on health. Spiritual and emotional well-being have an effect on physical well-being. Likewise, physical well-being has an effect on spiritual and emotional well-being. Most physicians only treat symptoms, not the well-being of a person.
10. Don't press so hard against a closed door that you fail to see the five open ones around you.
11. Sometimes we do so much that we forget to be. We go and do and do some more and never remember the purpose behind our doing. It's important to take a few moments every day to stop and reflect on our purpose for being here.
12."communication is health...communication is happiness" as is quoted from Virginia Woolf's Mrs.Dalloway. Open communication with our friends and family and especially with God is one of the most difficult and one of the most important things we can do. Start and end each day with raw, honest prayer. Trust me, days are better, not necessarily easier, when this is done.
So there you have it...twelve important lessons I've learned over the past two short years. Many have been learned in "Jonah" moments of my life, but I'm thankful for each one of them. Per usual, I leave you with a quote:
"A problem is a chance for you to do your best." -Duke Ellington
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2 comments:
Well said. I especially agree with #4 (although I have to admit to watching a couple of the carious forensics shows, as well). To this point, I've had roommates who owned TVs. In the fall, I'll be living by myself, and am seriously considering not buying a TV at all. Maybe if I fill my living room with books and CDs so there's no place to even put a TV, I won't be able to cave in.
Addendum: TV, except House, Lost, 24, NBA playoffs, and FIFA Wordcup rots your brain. :)
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