When, at the age of 39, I turned up for my first day at Medical School, I was consciously aware of the type of students who I would now encounter. Inevitably, they would mainly be big fish from small ponds having arrived fresh from top grade A level results. The concept of failure would be alien to them and their experience of life as I now understand it would be rather more limited. I expected them to be competitive with a desire to be the best.
What I encountered when I met these people was a great surprise to me. In the main, they did arrive fresh from shining A level results. While I had expected them to be competitive, I had seriously underestimated the lengths to which they would go to try and establish some form of advantage over their peers. It was part selfish, part ruthless and part focused. The three inevitably become blurred. Of the many aspects of their behaviour which surprised me at the time, one incident in particular still puzzles and disturbs me. During the first few weeks of Medical School, a senior member of the teaching staff addressed the year to report an incident which had surprised even themselves - and heaven knows they would have seen plenty of competitive behaviour over the years. It transpired that one of these students had happened upon a book in the library which they identified as being particularly helpful. To avoid the unthinkable outcome of any other student getting their hands on it, the student in question had hidden the book in a separate part of the library used so seldom that it was unlikely to ever be found. Even after four years, I still can't quite understand the motivation for such behaviour. At best it speaks of insecurity but at worst it is just plain selfish.
The reason I write this today is that these are the doctors of tomorrow. In attempting to think the best of everyone, I like to imagine that the student in question learned their lesson. I am not convinced that they did though. In early August, students like this will embark on their medical careers as junior doctors with responsibility for the patients in their care. It may well be that such a student will become an excellent junior doctor and enjoy a glittering career awash with recognition and plaudits. The other possibility is not quite as appealing. The irony from my perspective is that the students who I encountered at Medical School were evidently intelligent and so had nothing to prove. How wrong I was. Knowledge is very important but the ability to share and work within a team is far more important.
In life, we all like to achieve our best regardless of our job or career. I would like to think though that most of us like to help our colleagues if we can. I would like to inject some balance in to this piece by saying that I also encountered some students who showed huge maturity in spite of having just left school. As parents it is our responsibility to teach our children well. They will grow to be the people we have created and nurtured. Looking out for the other guy is surely one of the most important lessons for all of us. The world we live in becomes more self orientated all the time so it is the duty of all of us to think of our fellow man.
As a mature student studying medicine, my advice to others seeking to do likewise would be to give it serious thoguth. It is not an easy ride and, from my experience, being married with a child affords you no special consideration. I have only ever sought to be treated the same as everyone else but sometimes feel as though I get a raw deal. Next year, I spend fifteen weeks in general practice in Tenbury Wells. All the other general practices are closer to Denbigh than Tenbury Wells so it seems strange that I should be sent there. I will though, seek to make the most out of my time in Worcestershire in spite of the time I will have away from my family. I have learned that even when the odds seem stacked against you, there is always an opportunity lurking. You may rest assured I will find that opportunity and embrace it.
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