Fast forward through life

I don't really like telling people that I'm in medicine. My willingness to admit that I'm in medicine is even smaller when the person I'm talking to is new to me. Why? Because people tend to make a big deal out of it. Telling people that I'm in medicine suddenly changes their view of you, and while some people do enjoy this sudden burst of respect, admiration etc. bestowed upon them, I find it fake - how can your opinion of me change so rapidly simply because of a title!? I will then hear (again) about how privileged I am. While this is true, I believe that people don't understand fully why those working in healthcare are privileged. Yes physicians will never go hungry, they'll have a nice car or house, they're respected and they have job security etc. But you can get that with other careers too without doing another 10 years of school, going $100,000 into debt, or losing a lot of sleep.

The greatest privilege in medicine for me is the impact it has on my life. I began a summer elective in rural town (population about 25,000). I spend most of my time in the emergency room (ER) and on my second day working there I realized the beauty and true privilege of being in medicine. The privilege that healthcare workers have is the opportunity to see life in fast forward! In the hospital, I would watch babies being born, I would watch children with injuries, adults with various ailments, and elderly people with all sorts of complaints and an eye for someone to listen to them. It is truly fascinating to watch an entire lifecycle in one working day. However, I have the privilege of listening to all of these patients when they are in need. This truly makes you appreciate life as a whole, especially the days when your health is strong.

Soren Kierkegaard once said "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.", maybe the privilege of medicine is that we get to peak ahead.