Student perspective

by Hasini Reddy

In this, the last week of classes for the third years, there are several issue to grapple with. These are the last few days of chaotic frenzy as we study intensely to the last exam. Of course, we meant to use those two weeks of Christmas vacation wisely, but somewhere between the eggnog and the shopping, our wisdom was used to justify procrastination -- possibly the best developed skill of three years.

We do take small study breaks simply to admire our two brand new long white coats for clerkship. (Free, I might add, or -- as someone noted while waiting for student loans -- at $3,125 each, a real bargain). Some of us are rushing to book electives, racked with indecision as to where to go and what impact it will have on our futures. But in the end, the decisions mostly have a disturbing element of randomness, yet the outcomes will probably be more or less equally beneficial.

At such times, a thought I find oddly comforting is that if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. This is probably not a a piece of advice you want to take with you when preparing for clerkship.

We all, at this point, have varying degrees of confidence which can be calculated by a complicated equation involving elective experience, intimidation factor of first supervisor, knowledge, and tranquillizer use. Confidence is inversely proportional to the number of ER episodes you've watched where the clerk or resident makes a seemingly irrelevant error, only to be yelled at by the whole hospital and threatened with dire consequences or expulsion by the higher echelons thereof.

However, we're all fairly bright and eager to learn, so I'll just mention two pithy nuggets before we begin the adventure. The first is to all our supervisors and co-workers who will be drawing on extraordinary reserves of patience and kindness in these first few months and is from James Thurber. "It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all the answers." Remember this, and note our efforts as we ask so many questions but may not know so many answers.

The second nugget is to my fellow students, on the threshold of this new stage of our lives. "The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportional to the embarrassment he can tolerate." I'll see you all in a year, when we've all aged by a few decades.

Last updated 18 Jun 1997 by