Words I'd use to describe med school: Collegial

Medical school has provided me with the opportunity to meet some incredible people. I've already used the word Honour to describe medical school, and now I'll explain why I feel medical school could be described as Collegial as well. From inspiring classmates to amazing physicians, I've been inspired by so many of the people I have met, and how much I feel a part of a profession that works together to provide patient care.

I've written about some of my amazing classmates (more than once), but not yet about the amazing doctors I've met. Based on my experiences with doctors ranging from the high-profile leaders to the average family physician, being part of med school has made me feel as though I am a part - not just an observer - of a collegial body of professionals.

By the time this year is over, I will have had the opportunity to meet the president of the Canadian Medical Association and my province's medical association multiple times, at both conferences and events held specifically for my school's medical students. These individuals are frequently in the media and it's a great opportunity to be able to speak with them in person.

As well, I had the chance to sit as the student representative for a board of director's meeting for my province's medical association. I was surprised that I had already met or knew of many of the physician representatives there, either through shadowing, at conferences, through initiatives I've worked on or because their children are in medical school, and how many more of the doctors that I didn't know who were willing to get to know me and make sure I didn't feel left out.

Finally, some of the doctors I've been most inspired by are those who don't have fancy titles or national profiles. At conferences, society dinners or through shadowing experiences, I've had so many experiences where the phyisicans have been willing to approach the medical students and make us feel welcome and at home. Rural doctors especially are always trying hard to show us how much they love their jobs, and how well they can balance their lives and professions. And they tell great stories - from what it's like to be a rural doctor, to, well, stories that end like this (best told in a Scottish accent): "So there he is, pants at his ankles, nekkid from the waist down, nurses watching, singing 'Away in a Manger' in Portuguese...with a sigmoidoscope up his arse!"

No group of people is perfect, and I do hear of the disparity in perspectives of the specialists association and the family practitioners association, especially on issues such as fee distribution. But personally I've felt overwhelmed at the feeling of acceptance that I've experienced, and I genuinely feel that two years ago I wasn't just accepted to medical school - I was accepted into the medical profession.

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Words I'd use to describe med school: Honour

There are a number of words I'd use to describe med school. This blog post is the first of a small series I'll devote to expanding upon these words.

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I've heard people joke about it before. "You know, you're lucky... as a doctor you're one of the few people who can get someone to to take their pants off for you within minutes of having met them!"

That's not necessarily always a fun thing, considering how unpleasant it is to perform a digital rectal exam on, say, a patient who has lost control of their bodily functions and hasn't showered in weeks.

But that borderline crude statement has a lot more to it than just humor.

Statements like that only scrape the surface of the depth of the honour it is to be able to practice medicine...something that we med students can occasionally tend to lose sight of when we are in the midst of 80-hour work weeks on the wards, or in our tenth 15-hour study day in a row, or when we've just been humiliated by a preceptor in front of both our colleagues and patients.

While I can use this blog to complain about finals or how much stress I'm feeling at times, I probably don't say enough that I do feel honoured to be a part of this profession.

There are so many ways in which this honour is revealed. Here are a few I can name:

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• Medicine: a profession to which people are willing to donate their bodies...their most personal possession....after they die. It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: a profession to which people are willing to give you a huge amount of trust just because you are a part of the profession. Depending on where you look, physicians may not be the #1 most trusted profession, yet around the world, they almost always fall in the top 10 (BBC: Doctors #1; Harris: Doctors #1; Ipsos Reid Canada: Top 5; Reader's Digest Australia: Top 10). It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: one of the professions in which there are so many sides and approaches to the common goal of health, and in which those various health professionals are starting to work harder to work together to achieve this goal. It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: one of the few reasons that a driver, though enraged by the thick of traffic, would still be willing to pull over. I've seen people grumble when a cop turns on the siren to whiz through a red light, but never when an ambulance has come through. It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: one of the few professions legally allowed to self-regulate by the Canadian government. It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: the reason why people will open up to me their deepest secrets, the greatest extremes of their emotions, their first and last moments on this earth...all because of my field of study. It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: one of the areas of study that thousands of the most intelligent university graduates fight for the chance to be able to enter every year. It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: one of the professions where you are able to call some of the most brilliant, accomplished, fascinating and devoted people your colleagues. It's an honour to be a part of that.
  
• Medicine: one of the professions with a longstanding legacy throughout centuries, and is continually looking back into its history and deep into its future to better itself for the good of the patient. It's an honour to be a part of that.

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Even if I could think of all the reasons why it's an honour to be studying medicine, I don't think all of them could be put into words.

That being said, I know I've missed some... if anyone is reading this and can think of some I've missed, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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