The 8th quarter pinning ceremony is now behind us. Dr. Lamm, the clinic director, opened with a speech explaining how many before us have been given this right of passage and now it is our time to take the leap into patient care.
A speech from a field doctor sort of summed it up by explaining what we are feeling right now is normal. There is a lot of pressure to perform and a new system to learn at the clinic. She explained that in time, we will see health conditions in practice that we never thought we'd ever see. My feeling is that people who have gone to Western States will be better able to detect and deal with bad problems that we think live in textbooks right now. The other speeches felt more or less like pep-talks. Words like, "It's going to get harder, but it should" and "You know what to do but you are just a little awkward about it" were spoken and reaffirmed by telling us it will get easier and develop into an unconscious competence in time.
There is only one way to get to the other side and that is to head straight into the depths with determination. When they spoke of the increase in intensity, it is so true. For instance, in class you study a lot to memorize patterns for conditions and you regurgitate it onto a scantron form during an exam. The information is logged in the brain but when it comes to actually extrapolating it in a competent, efficient manner, the knowledge flow sort of jams up like trying to squeeze a golf ball through a straw. Over time we will be used to this process and we will know exactly what to do in an efficient manner. I guess this is the point of slowly working us into the system this quarter.
Time to add more knowledge to the noggin and prepare for Monday morning's exam.
All for now
Your post reminds me of my teaching journey. All the hours of lectures, prep classes, mock lessons, and mountains of reading suddenly turned into a puddle of mush when I first faced a classroom of kids. But it really did pay off when the glare of reality dimmed a bit. You just have to dive in and trust yourself, and the knowledge will surface and support you. Each experience will be a moment of learning and growing and gaining more confidence. Embrace it and it will become part of what defines who you are.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen. Your comment really does outline exactly how it feels. I am just thankful for my 10+ years of coaching athletes and personal training because without it, trying to learn to work with people one-on-one would be a nightmare with all the other things needing attention. The technical side of things will blossom with experience. Thanks again for the comment.
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