"Connections" by MSIH first year blogger Jensen Reckhow

Over the past few weeks, we have spent a lot of time in the hospital interviewing patients. The experience has been incredibly valuable, and I am grateful for the opportunity: having a conversation with a stranger in which you efficiently gather important information while making them feel at ease and understood is a learned skill, and we really need the practice. As we attempt to cultivate this skill, vulnerable and ailing patients expose themselves to us, patiently complying as we bumble through unknown and sometimes sensitive territory.

The contribution patients make to our medical education is invaluable and significant, yet this generosity does not stand alone. Time on the wards exposes the intricacies of the healthcare team, and the essential role of all of its players—a reality that is often lost on medical students, and perhaps even some physicians. The role of the physician is of course important. However, so are those of all the other team members: the social workers who best understand the patient’s support systems, values, fears, and future; the nurses who know the ins and outs of daily care; the family and friends who, by default, know the patient as a person first. Each member comes with a perspective, set of priorities, and skills, and it the artful integration of these that allows for the highest quality of care. In our limited clinical experiences thus far, we have received guidance from people in each of these groups.

The interconnectedness of medical training probably seems obvious to most people. There is no “I” in team, and students are always a burden on those who teach them. Yet somehow I feel that this gets lost in the shuffle during medical school. As we juggle our studies with extracurriculars and personal enrichment, we become increasingly focused on our own needs and lose sight of just how many people are responsible for our successes. For a group of people that derives motivation from understanding and helping others, this seems strangely out of sync.

            Naturally, most of this is our own doing (feelings of self-importance tend to be rooted in ignorance), but some of it is structural. Medical school is a test in independence and self-reliance, a time when we must learn to manage more than we can handle, to support and provide for ourselves without significant oversight, to cope with stress and ensure success. Furthermore, most of our time is spent with our fellow classmates, which allows us to fall into bad habits of making excuses and glorifying our problems. I understand why this happens—medical school is stressful and challenging—but I also think it is something we need to be aware of and change.

            This is my last blog post, and I want to end it by stating my personal mission, in which I hope my classmates will join me as we enter finals (and the many greater challenges to come). When it is easiest to be selfish, I want to prioritize balance. I want to balance the tunnel vision that helps me work efficiently with the global perspective that my success does not occur in a vacuum. I want to thank my professors for sharing their wisdom while I struggle through difficult exam questions, to remember the patients who make me feel vulnerable and inept and help me grow. I want to shadow doctors and social workers and clinical psychologists and nurses. I want to be self-aware, tenacious, and humbly grateful, because the opportunity to be a part of this team is a special one, and I want to earn my place.