H is for Happy

It has been one week so far since clerkship began (third year medicine). Everytime I enter the hospital, I feel excited, happy, enthusiastic, and motivated to learn. Although we haven't begun our actual rotations yet, I'm pretty confident that the same attitude will carry on throughout the year. Sure I'll be tired, sleepy, hungry, but that's all part of the fun! I believe what makes a hospital a happy environment for me, is that I get to serve people and I get to think. Both of those are big reasons why I entered medicine. Sure there are a lot of careers where you get to to serve and think, but there's no other career where you get to know someone on such a personal level during critical times of their lives, and to depths that even family members don't have the privilege of knowing.
If there's one thing that I've noticed about myself over the years, it's that I like to serve people. I guess there's a certain level of joy and pride in seeing the result of my actions, and that motivates me to learn more and do better. By the same token though, this means that when things go wrong, which I'm sure they will as a third year student, it'll be a bigger blow to me. But that'll only motivate me to work harder. One of the surgeons who was teaching me how to suture yesterday told me if everything you do goes as you were taught or as you read, then you've simply gained knowledge. However, it's only with mistakes, or when thing's don't go as planned, that you finally gain experience. I thought it was some nice words to live by. We'll see how next week goes! :D