Temporary Optimism

I complain a lot about medicine and medical education on this blog. There's a lot about medicine and medical education to complain about. I've got a lot more to get out too, so don't expect that to change any time soon!

However, sometimes things turn out well and we actually do good work. I actually had a pretty good day today. I got to help some people in what I consider to be a meaningful way, where I got to use counselling and half-decent communication as much I suggested new investigations or medications. Plus, while I was running around trying to get everything done in time, I did manage to take enough time with each patient to do a good job, which has not often been the case (more on that later).

So colour me an optimist, if only for the day. Medicine is rife with serious, patient-harming problems, but if you keep an eye open for opportunities, sometimes those problems can be overcome or mitigated. Today had several of those opportunities, so it was a good day.