The days really feel like they just go by so fast. Part of it could be that the days are relatively short/ flexible compared to other jobs I’ve had, but only by maybe 2 or 3 hours on the shortest days. The days I spent in the hospital shadowing on the other hand at times felt much longer. And then even on the days where I spent hours after clinic in the hospital it never felt like I was doing busy work or tedious work.
Yet when I come home there’s still so much to do, a lot of which feels like tedium. Whether it be studying or doing research or whatever. These things are important for me to be able to actually be able to be a doctor at some point, but it’s all just so unrewarding in the moment.
Today I got to see a lot of patients who I’ve seen in the past sometime from the first week to last week. It’s nice to be there for the follow-up and a little heart-warming when they say they remember me, though it’s probably not hard to forget the awkward med student from just the other week, or they are just saying so.
As I go a long in my medical career, I hope I don’t develop the cynicism that I often see in medicine. It’s easy for healthcare providers to recognize patterns among their patients and which creates certain expectations as far as outcomes, patient adherence, patient perspectives, and attitudes. It’s natural. It’s what we do as humans. We recognize patterns and think and act accordingly.
I’m speaking very generally, but I’m just saying, when it comes to helping patients reach their health and life goals, I can approach each individual situation with a genuine optimism for success.
nANIMOv 