I have a rather energetic dog, who needs a lot of walking. Inevitably, he meets other dogs on these walks. I then meet a fair number of other owners. Not all of them I particularly want to talk to, but most are good for a conversation and it's a great opportunity to get some perspective on life outside of medicine.
I've had the good fortune of meeting a few people who have physicians in their lives, including some physicians I've met through medical school. It's been very revealing to get an outside perspective about the benefits - and challenges - of being a physician. In particular, I've appreciated hearing the effects of the career on the physician's family. Medical training is tough on the person going through it, but I'd argue it's just as tough if not tougher on their family. Some of these conversations have been good reminders that I'm not in this alone and that I need to consider the effects my career is having on those around me, particularly my partner through all this.
It also touches on a central criticism I have about medicine as a discipline - we're too separated from the patients we serve. Most physicians come from wealthy families, went straight from the academic bubble to the bubble of medicine, and then end up as a reasonably wealthy physician. Physicians live in nice but expensive neighbourhoods, their kids go to good schools (often private schools), while their vacations and hobbies are often pricey and/or eccentric. A typical physician has little free time and few intrinsic ways to interact with those not in healthcare or not at a high socioeconomic level.
Yet, people of all backgrounds own dogs. And through my dog, I get to meet a lot of them, even as I'm knee-deep in the muck of medical training. It's not much and I don't feel nearly as grounded in my community as I did before medicine (or at least before clerkship), but it's better than nothing. This is one of the many reasons I'm thankful for my furry companion.
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