Again, the questions about pre-med and medical school life. Was
it painfully busy? Were you cut off from old friends? Do you have any
regrets?
In a nutshell:
It all falls into place.
The
good news is that its possible to be a part-time beach bum while doing
fairly well in Pre-med & Med, to bake a doctorate and digest it
too. Life is not meant solely for academics, least of all while
one pays no taxes. So many other things to learn, experience, & do, both the worthwhile & the decadent, and too few chances to live it up yet still emerge unscathed. (
Ah, Youth!) So, if you already
have clear short term objectives,
the following are tried & true tips learned from most remarkable family
elders...
- Early Organization
- Strict application
- Discipline, discipline, discipline
...as
paraphrased from snooty Latin (Plan like Caesar, etc) for this
presumably limited, frivolous mongrel of a relative. Thank God
that they'd put me through years of special lessons to enhance my
"pedestrian capabilities", lessons I'd now add to the philomath's kit--
speed reading & comprehension. Thank God too that I'd kept that Stanford-Binet score close to my chest, because their low expectations allowed for self-study on marine-themed weekends.
The bad news is that in the clinical
training years after medical school, scheme results aren't quite as
sanguine. True colors will then show, and in more ways than just a faded
tan. At the bottom of the clinical totem pole, both hands are tied by
the insolence of disease, its disrespect for social schedules, but
mainly by insistent conscience.
 |
| Dali, Still Life Fast Moving |
Maybe its the day of your first normal delivery (
with the baby narrowly missing the bucket). Or when you first recognize a syndrome from separate clinical signs (
oh, how sweet it is!) Or even when you miss out on warm shock because you're just too focused on scut work (
and you stop being in awe of your resident). Whatever, the day will come when strangers' fates are undeniably in your hands. Hoping to do a Pilate, the beached doc may yelp, "What the heck is this?!" (Answer: the
Practice of Medicine) but, inside of
yourself, despite all procrastination, simply this: Its Time. After years of dodging it, you'll acknowledge your astounding ignorance with truest humility, and
finally learn your craft.
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