stubborn goats

With frustration, I learn to practice acceptance and compromise.

Context:
I chose medicine not for fame and fortune. Sure it crossed my mind several times that it would be a financially secure career path, but only in the setting of a strong desire to take care of my parents when they are older. Anything above that is cherry on top.

So when I meet/work/come across people that blatantly tell me that their primary goal in medicine is having power and influence through the development of specialized knowledge, it is jarring. I understand the important of legacy…after all, I work with patients on a daily basis in which when their health turns south, hospice talks can consist of what we desire to leave behind. However, when this goal is combined with domineering phrases and minirants about how having knowledge puts you at an advantage over others, it’s a bit uncomfortable to me. I think it’s just worrisome to me to think of physicians (or soon to be physicians) that seem to crave the power dynamics of the medical world. I’ve never been one to back down from an argument but I also know when to step back to try and understand where someone is coming from. That’s just who they are.

Nonetheless, stubbornness is different than perseverance and I hope that people realize that the beauty of medicine is that you will never know everything and you’ll always be learning. And that’s why I love it.