Get your priorities straight

From the dusty hallowed hallways of Oxbridge to the chilly tute rooms of Monash, various personalities flavour the big cooking pot that is med school. We'll always have the med geek poobahs, criers, ghosts, clowns, ass-clenched acheivers and one trick wonders. As a meddie myself, I appreciate and even celebrate our differences....as medical school would not be as fun without all the drama.




But things usually take an ugly turn when each one of us places certain expectations on other students which turn out unfulfilled. When this happens, a guy usually takes out his AK-47 assault rifle and runs amok, pumping hot lead into every infidel in sight........my bad, the little voices in my head must be talking again! What I really mean is the formation of rivalry, enmity and distrust among the students themselves. I'm sure that at some point in med school, most of us may wonder how 'that someone' got through the med interviews in the first place.




Coming back to the point, it doesn't really matter if we have conflicting personalities. The last time I checked, it's not really our God-given mandate to shove our ideals down everyone's throat, or on the other extreme live to please everyone. Not everyone would be that eager to attend every lecture, buy the latest textbooks, examine each other or dress up neatly to tutes for that matter.








What really matters is our shared passion in the field of medicine, most importantly our compassion towards those entrusted in our care. I might not be experienced enough to make the best judgement, but I hold on dearly to some unshakable principles. We might not get along with each other as well as desired, but what keeps us together is our shared responsibility towards our patients.

Contrary to popular belief, the most important education we receive on the way to becoming medical practitioners does not come from med school itself. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means downplaying the necessity for top rate medical skills and knowledge. I would just like to reemphasize the fact that not even the best education from John Hopkins would hold a drop of value if we do not genuinely care for our patients. No amount of lectures, textbooks or tutes would teach us compassion. And such wordplay comes to mind:

Patients will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

Can I have an A-M-E-N to that brothas and sistas? :P