This Week's Closing Thought
Let me say it right upfront: YOU ARE NOT A NUMBER!
Did you read that? Does it register with you? It better because, as a whole, students and doctors are absolute idiots. I say this all the while knowing I am guilty as well. Let me elaborate. I am sure I am not the only OD who took the MCAT, I did fine and was in the 50th percentile. I could have retaken it over the summer and I am sure I would have got in, however; the process opened my eyes to what I wanted out of life and Med School was not it.
That being said, I was absolutely embarrassed of my score. You know how this goes, we do not tell anyone and if we do, it is followed with “don't tell anyone!” What's wrong with us? In school it was taboo to talk about grades and such because we for some reason thought they reflected our self worth. I remember going to a campus tour and asking a medical student (yes, a student already in medical school, doing fine, on their way to being a doctor) what they got on the MCAT, merely to see if I had a chance, and they refused to answer, even seemed a little offended. We do the same thing in private practice. How many patients do you see a day? What's your gross? So on and so forth. Its dumb and a decade later, I have finally started to realize we do not get report cards anymore. Self evaluation is paramount and your value in this world is not tied to some dumb number or grade. If you are a student, learn this now; and if you are like me, out in this world living life, I hope you know your value is beyond gross sales or spreadsheets. If you don’t, send me an email and we can have a look beyond the numbers!
