Trust Me, You're Making a Difference

As a student, it’s easy to feel invisible and like the small fish in a big pond. Sometimes it’s easy to feel that you’re not doing much or playing a big role. But the unique thing is, we often don’t have the same deadlines and time constraints our preceptor has, so we can spend some extra time with our patients. At first it may not seem like much, but it means a whole lot to a new mother who has a thousand questions and is nervous to bring her firstborn home, or the patient who doesn’t understand how to take their medication but you explained it in a way he/she can comprehend now. 

I’ll never forget the sweet older woman I greeted each morning of my inpatient rotation: she was always the first patient I’d go check on and she told me one day how grateful she was to see a familiar face each day. I’d never thought about how her nurses, doctors, and PAs were continuously changing over, but I had been there each morning before breakfast. Even if I was able to make a difference for a few patients while being a student, it was worth it. 

✤Courtney