One of my friends Jason wrote these thoughts at the conclusion of his internal medicine residency; I was really struck by them and felt they were worth sharing.
1) I’ve heard a lot of regrets, but I’ve never met anyone on their deathbed who regrets spending too much time with their loved ones.
2) Ensure makes a filling, somewhat nutritious and extremely quick meal when you’re on call and on the run. Chocolate is delicious, vanilla is pretty good and strawberry is tolerable. Glucerna is distinctly unpalatable. Elemental tube feeds (don’t ask) are not meant for oral consumption for a reason.
3) If you wake up in the morning in good health and are free of chronic pains or the onerous weight of a serious diagnosis looming over you, you’re already much, much luckier than many and have much to be grateful for.
4) If a patient starts very inappropriately hitting on your medical student while he’s in the process of doing his first rectal exam, and if said patient then offers to set you up with her underage friend when you politely tell her to lay off your medical student, you know the day is off to a good start.
5) When you can’t think of the right words (or there just aren’t any), sometimes just pulling up a chair and quietly holding someone’s hand is the way to go.
-Jason
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