I've probably said this before, but it's amazing what people will tell us just because we're going to be doctors. The trust that complete strangers put in us makes me want to do good.
Today at lunch a guest speaker shared her experience as a survivor of a gang rape that occurred ten years ago to the date, on campus during her freshman year of college. She was emotional in front of us, but even without her emotion her words were enough to make us emotional. She told us that because we were future health professionals and could handle "the gory details," she would tell us the parts of the story that she leaves out for college audiences.
People like her, and we are privileged to hear from them all the time (substance abusers in recovery on Monday, stage IV cancer patient last month), subject themselves to telling their story again, publicly, because they believe in us. They believe that by sharing, they will make us better physicians and better able to help others like them.
The next step? As a physician told us yesterday, "You're only allowed to ask the patient a question if you're going to do something with the answer." It's not knowing for knowing's sake, but knowing in order to provide better care.
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