Every morning when I head in to work, I stand outside my apartment building waiting for the silver bus to come by and pick me up. "HealthLine," as the bus is called, is a collaborative effort between Cleveland and its two major hospitals to build up the city. HealthLine is great: it's a hybrid electric bus with its own dedicated traffic lights and lane. And every day I ride, I run across interesting people.
Just the other day after work, I was sitting toward the front of the bus with two interns (remember, I'm not an intern anymore), and we were talking about their current rotation and how they were happy to be nearly done with the first month. Across from us were three high school kids talking about their future careers. The kids were in gym clothes, and between them they held a basketball, football and book bag.
After my friends got off the bus, I overheard the kids talking about how "August is the worst month to go to the hospital because of the new doctors." I chuckled and replied, "It's actually July, guys." One of the kids perked up and asked, "Are you a doctor?" I replied that I was, and he quickly moved to sit across from me and began asking a slew of questions about how to become a cardiologist. It was so refreshing to see the interest and curiosity in his eyes. Even when I taught high school, I loved the way a few kids engaged and actively took interest in their future. We spoke for another 10 minutes, and he asked me for my email. I hope he sends me an email so I can guide him to a shadowing opportunity.
I had a similar experience recently during the week known as "Ohio Homecoming." I signed up for a community service project at the local high school, renovating the gym and classrooms. I feel it's important to give back to the community in a way other than providing healthcare. While I was helping paint a mural of Martin Luther King Jr., - my hands were covered in paint (I'm still apprenticing) - I had the opportunity to speak to several kids about college and graduate school.
It's great to watch medical students follow residents, residents follow fellows, and nursing students shadow great nurses. The flow of knowledge is exciting. I hope to be able to translate this later in my career, teaching medical students and residents. I'm fulfilled knowing that my experiences can help others cultivate their knowledge base and curiosity. So the next time you see someone younger than you or in training, take some time and make an effort to teach them. The gratification you get may become addicting.