BLOG: It’s great to be 24 — again
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There’s an old joke about a priest and a rabbi taking a walk.
The rabbi asks, “Father, in your faith, when does life begin?” The priest replies that whenever a sperm and an egg unite, it creates a new DNA hybrid, and this constitutes new life. The priest asks the rabbi the same question. The rabbi replies, “Ah, life begins when the kids move out and the dog dies.”
For us working professionals who spent our first two to three decades preparing for our professional careers, life really begins when we finish training. With residency and fellowship, that means for many of us life begins around age 30. For me, who just turned 54, that means I officially turned 24 years old again. (Why do I wear different sized clothes then?)
A word to the medical students reading this who are 24 for the first time. Sure, you have a lot to enjoy. You have great skin, few commitments and you don’t need bifocals. Our first go at age 24 looks very nostalgic, but this time, we have thicker wallets, certainty in our careers and — for most of us — precious families of our own.
If most of us could give our previous 24-year-old selves some advice, it would be, first, don’t worry about most of the stuff you’re worrying about. Your personal life and professional success will work themselves out, not always the way you’d expect. Make little decisions with your head, and make big decisions with your heart. As a physician, learn a new procedure or skill every year. It will keep you current in your art, and it’ll be good for your patients. If there’s one thing you should work on, it’s your communication skills. Few of us are as good at communicating as we think, and it’s what patients value most. Keep an open mind about new technology and new people who cross your path. Remember that the single most valuable part of your career will be the relationships you build with both patients and colleagues. Mostly, enjoy every single day exercising the privilege of helping your patients with their health. We are truly blessed to take care of them when they are most vulnerable.
It feels good to be 24 again, with plenty of time to learn, grow and get better at what we do. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go out and buy some hair gel.
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