my passion for medicine grows every single day, not because i love the science or its technicalities, or how i'm getting better at diagnosing and managing patients; but for the impact that medicine as a whole continues to make in my life. it keeps my emotions going. it makes me feel... human. the people i meet daily come and go but i still tend to remember most, if not all of them. there are certainly the few who have left footprints in my heart - those who have inspired me and shaped me into the type of doctor i am becoming. interestingly enough, they are doctors, patients, nurses and even other members of staff (like receptionists) alike. even more interesting, there are 2 doctors, a couple of patients, 1 nurse and 2 receptionists at the one GP practice i am attached to at the moment who are well on my list. they are people whom i will remember way into the future and will always keep me in check on why i am in medicine in the first place, should anything bring me down. tomorrow is my last day at the practice - i have been met with heaps of gratitude and encouragement from everyone, and not just the usual, "thanks, you've been great, you're a good student, all the best in the future!" but words so incredibly kind and affirming that will be etched in my memory for a long time, all by different people.
so really, is it crazy that when one of my GP tutors (whom i will not see anymore as she is off tomorrow) shook my hand and thanked me, i actually teared? or does it just succinctly show, in one emotion, how overwhelmed i was by the amazing experience i've had in the past 4 weeks and the gratitude i have towards her and everyone else at the practice? never before had a placement, be it in hospital or community, have such an effect on me. i am ever grateful to be attached there and to have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and gain mountains of experience in medicine.
