Looking Forward

My very last day at UCSF was capstoned with an hour of reflection. Some of the great teachers and clinicians gave us heartfelt inspirational talks about graduation, becoming a doctor, and entering residency. Some spoke about the deep meaning of their work every day, and their passion was contagious. I could hear in the voice of one of the homeless clinic preceptors the importance of taking care of those with very little. I remembered the importance of teaching as I listened to an instructor's excitement about seeing a new class each year. I laughed at the humor of a neurologist who asked us to balance levity with reflection. But the most substantive exercise, surprisingly enough, was touchy-feely. One of the great Brain, Mind, Behavior professors asked us to meditate, and we did. Meditation is often hard because it requires some suspension of disbelief; for those of us who meditate infrequently, it feels like a sham. We're just closing our eyes. Our mind is wandering to lunch. But he guided us with a soft and reassuring voice; we were moved. We thanked everyone who helped us through medical school, we wished them well. We thanked those we didn't get along with, and also wished them well. Collectively, I felt something special as we ruminated on the people in our lives, and not only those most important to us, but those who are nameless and would otherwise have been forgotten. I don't think we do enough reflection, and it was wonderfully refreshing to do so.