Length of Training

I recently watched a beautiful documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, about one of the best sushi restaurants in the world. The master chef, Jiro, has dedicated his entire life to learning the art and craft of sushi. The documentary examines his life, his values, how he distinguishes his sushi-making, how he selects his fish, how he trains his apprentices, his personality, and his accomplishments.

I mention this on this blog because of an amazing fact. In Jiro's restaurant, sushi apprentices prepare food for an entire decade before they are allowed to make one dish: tamago or egg. Ten years of training before one is good enough to craft the simplest dish! This is dedication, a true lifelong study to become the world's best. And maybe that's what residency is like. If a sushi apprentice has to spend ten years descaling fish, massaging octopus, and cooking rice, perhaps it makes sense that medical training is as long as it is. It really takes years of practice, experience, obsessive-compulsive perfectionism, and commitment to become a master at something.

Image shown under Fair Use, from Wikipedia.