Do better. Be better. Think better. We are relentlessly slammed with this pressure to do and be and think better. It comes from inside our own heads, and from an illusion that medical students should be able to ‘handle it’. We are inflated by those fleeting moments of praise from a consultant or an inspiring patient encounter, but this feeling is too often swiftly replaced by an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.
It was in my eighth week of clinical learning that I witnessed my first death. The inevitable day in my career in medicine arrived early. A moment that I hadn’t thought much about prior to it happening. I assumed that because I was a medical student I would be able to brush it aside.
The third quarter of an AFL match has traditionally been coined the “Premiership Quarter”. The quarter where title contenders rush out of the blocks and build an unbeatable lead that brings enough momentum to carry them to victory. The quarter where champions, time and time again, somehow muster the determination and verve to bring out the very best of themselves. The quarter where prior mistakes can be remedied and forgotten. The most important quarter where teams set themselves up for success.
The Auricle 