Greatness Originates in Small Acts of Kindness

People perceive greatness as something that comes from grand gestures or remarkable achievements. However, the field of medicine has shown us time and time again that the origin of true greatness lies in small acts of kindness. Seemingly minor acts of generosity and compassion have the power to not only improve the lives of our patients, but to inspire future generations to follow in our footsteps. Even as a premed, I strive to embody these values so that when I become a physician, I can inspire future generations of providers to do the same. This realization dawned upon me during my senior year of college when I shadowed a team of plastic surgeons at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health Center. Each morning, I would accompany the residents on their morning rounds and observe their thought process for each patient’s next steps. I also witnessed a number of procedures from start to finish, including breast reconstructions, cleft lip and palate procedures, and skin grafts for burn patients. I felt truly blessed to observe life-changing procedures being performed and even more fortunate to see the positive impact that physicians can leave on patients. Upon reflection, one particular patient encounter stands out to me. It was the middle of the week, and the plastic surgery team was receiving a number of different consults from the emergency department and trauma bay. We were sitting in the plastics team room when the upper-level resident heard a “ding” on her p...
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: blogs