Thou shalt not

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This is a post of frustration. Don't get me wrong. I love what I'm doing. But I think it's okay to get frustrated and tired and maybe a little burnt out at times. I'll get out of this funk, but, for now, I'm in a funk. I think a big part of the problem is that over the past 2.5 years of medical school I have been just accumulating knowledge (actually it's been nearly 27 years of accumulation). Massive amounts of knowledge. However, in the current role I play as 3rd year medical student, there are very few outlets to release that knowledge. Tests are the most common, but I'm pretty sick and tired of them too. In my day to day activities, I have very few outlets. Consequently, it has just bottled up inside of me. I kind of feel like this:

I kind of feel like an ostrich...I have wings but can't fly...so I guess I'll just bury my head in the sand.

So I've learned a lot of lessons. Most of them are positive, but I've also learned a lot of things NOT to do. I hate to get all Old Testament but here's my list as it stands in this moment:
Do NOT complain about patients
Do NOT complain about nurses
Do NOT complain about other students
Do NOT complain about residents
Do NOT complain about doctors
Do NOT forget why you're doing what you're doing
Do NOT make the patient just a number
Do NOT make the patient just a burden
Do NOT micromanage
Do NOT be afraid to ask for help
Do NOT forget Haiti and Kenya and India and Egypt and ....

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Comments

[G'ma Newell]

Do not ...
DO NOT forget to look ahead to when you can help someone in pain. Your G'pa and G'ma have experienced lots of help from doctors and nurses. Blessings!