Reason # 432

I was reminded on one of the reasons that medicine appealed to me. I had to go down to visit my gastroenterologist in order to switch meds due to insurance differences. Nothing really changed about my situation (I have some weird dysphagia that is controled with proton pump inhibitors) so we started talking shop. She was very supportive of my decision to enter med school and said that she was proud of me. When asked what year I'm in (my first), her face showed an obvious grimace at my reply. She hated the didactic part. In a nutshell, she said that she didn't remember *blankety blank* from that part of her medical training. This is from a doctor who's waiting room is peppered with numerous awards for her practice and care. She also said that I won't regret it. While it's possible to get burned out, there's always something else new to try with an MD. She loved her practice. And that was the heart of one of the reasons I chose medicine. Everybody got's gripes about what they do but at the end of the day, she made visible impacts in her patient's lives. I saw it firsthand. Want to know how fun it is to be out to dinner with your wife, or worse on a business trip with your CEO and CSO, and have food get stuck at the back of your throat? It won't go down and it won't go up. Let me tell ya, it ain't fun. And this doc helped me to treat that successfully. It was a good, yet not so subtle reminder that this will all be worth it in the end.