Going into medical school, I found it difficult to imagine that I could uphold all of these responsibilities – yet, at the same time I realized I was entering what was considered a noble profession, one that many in the general populace look up to, admire and hold in esteem. In starting out, I would say much of the nuts and bolts of this was fostered in Longitudinal Group, where I found myself really getting to know a group of complete strangers, who grew to become some of my closest classmates. It was one thing to know to be empathetic and to behave like a professional, but there was much to be practiced. Part of my growth was facilitated by the nurturing and welcoming environment, and part of it was also being able to work with good people. Some excerpts from near the end of second year really did help cement examples my growth:

“Yang has a demeanor that makes it clear that I would want him to be my doctor. He is empathetic but professional, and understands the material well, and works hard to stay on top of things.”

“Yang is very well rounded with everything going for him. He is super smart, interacts well with patients, and has a great sense of humor. Your patients are going to love you once they get to know you!”

With all of this, I realized that I had come a long way – it felt very familiar and comfortable to interview patients, to get to know them. However, it was less the endpoint and more the process of going to LG on a regular basis and becoming invested in these clinical skills that are going to serve me for the rest of my professional lifetime.

My development of clinical skills and focus on patient care continued into third year. One instance in particular was a pediatrics patient, who was 6 or 7 years old. She had been transferred from outside of Columbus and what family she had here was few and far between when it came to visiting. Early during her stay, she was found to have been attempting to climb out of her bed and had a near-fall. Following this, it was determined that her bed railings needed to be up for her protection.

We had finished rounding on her one day when I noticed that not all of her railings were up – only three out of the four. I took the initiative to bring up the last one. As we left the room my attending noticed this and as it turns out, there is a policy in place at Nationwide Children’s that only a maximum of three out of the four railings can be up, as having the child completely closed in increases the chances that they will attempt to climb over as opposed to getting out of bed in a normal fashion, putting them at more risk for an injury. My attending still recognized my initiative and intentions and wrote about it in my evaluation:

“I was impressed with Yang’s concern for his patient’s well being. As an example – he was the only one to put up one of his patient’s bed rails amongst the entire rounding team as we left the room after examining the patient. He was interested in learning and performing well. He was an active member of the team and interacted well with everyone.”

It was somewhat embarrassing to be instantly corrected by my attending about this when it happened. However, he quickly reassured me that he greatly appreciated my concern for the patient and understood why I did what I did. It became a learning opportunity for the entire team as this policy was a subtle but important point when it came to patient care. More importantly, even though I made a mistake, it was for a reason where I committed myself to patient care and the well-being of somebody else, embodying many of the principles expected of me and my classmates.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

Truly, I hope to be able to repeatedly be compassionate, to consider the patient and to make a habit of good patient care and my daily interactions. Nothing would please me more than to know that I am giving my all to my patients and serving as a role model to those around me.

Professionalism:

  • Consistently demonstrate compassion, respect, honesty, integrity, accountability, altruism, prudence, social justice and a commitment to excellence in all professional and personal responsibilities.

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