What Internship Looks Like XXXIV: A Sponge in the Ocean

You’ve probably heard the “joke” that learning in medical school (or nursing school, or physician assistant school) is like trying to drink from a fire hose (or a fire hydrant). It recently occurred to me as an intern that the practice of medicine is like being a sponge trying to soak up the whole ocean. That could lead to a depressing, fatalistic worldview, in which you throw up your hands because “it can’t be done.” Or, it could lead to a kind of awe and reverence for the vastness of medical knowledge, humility from the understanding that no one can master it all (no, not even the gunner going into Neurosurgery), and patience with the learners of all levels around you. From one sponge to another, we’re in this together.

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