Today was the last day of classes in the conventional sense; the end of the course-based portion of my degree. Or as some people may see it, the ending of an era. In the new year there will be classes here and there but everything is changing. Gone are the days of being spoon-fed information from lectures and studying specific details for the sole purpose of passing exams. In the new year we study to heal. We study for the day that a nervous patient in the ER looks us in the eye and asks "What's wrong with me? Am I going to be okay?"
In January we start our transition into the hospitals. We will be asked to read and read and read some more to further enhance our knowledge base. We can no longer ask our instructors "Is this important to know? What's on the exam?" because that responsibility is now on us. We as individuals must decide what is important for us to know. There is no right or wrong answer. There is no set list of things to know. Small group cases are about to be replaced by real life people whose symptoms and experiences can't be summed up by any textbook or study guide.
The year of 2017 brings on the transition into real life. A world where things are not perfect; where the system is understaffed and people are overworked. And I know I am not alone in meeting these changes with mixed feelings, mostly a nervous excitement for the unknown. There is something comforting about routine. Over the last year and a half we all developed our own specific formulas for success. A little bit of A, a dash of B, a lot of C, and boom we pass our exams; rinse and repeat. But now we are starting anew, having to adjust to new learning styles, social dynamics, and exam questions. Change is terrifying because it is so destabilizing. Having started over in so many ways throughout my life, I've come to know that the unknown can beautiful if you give it a chance. In the face of these new challenges I know that I will stumble, fumble, and likely fall. Yet, eventually I will adjust and regain my footing more stable than ever before.
In January we start our transition into the hospitals. We will be asked to read and read and read some more to further enhance our knowledge base. We can no longer ask our instructors "Is this important to know? What's on the exam?" because that responsibility is now on us. We as individuals must decide what is important for us to know. There is no right or wrong answer. There is no set list of things to know. Small group cases are about to be replaced by real life people whose symptoms and experiences can't be summed up by any textbook or study guide.
The year of 2017 brings on the transition into real life. A world where things are not perfect; where the system is understaffed and people are overworked. And I know I am not alone in meeting these changes with mixed feelings, mostly a nervous excitement for the unknown. There is something comforting about routine. Over the last year and a half we all developed our own specific formulas for success. A little bit of A, a dash of B, a lot of C, and boom we pass our exams; rinse and repeat. But now we are starting anew, having to adjust to new learning styles, social dynamics, and exam questions. Change is terrifying because it is so destabilizing. Having started over in so many ways throughout my life, I've come to know that the unknown can beautiful if you give it a chance. In the face of these new challenges I know that I will stumble, fumble, and likely fall. Yet, eventually I will adjust and regain my footing more stable than ever before.
