Proud To Be A Doctor, Inspired By A Nine Year Old
After a long weekend there are procedures to add to an already-busy schedule, colleagues are on summer vacation, and of course there are many “action tags” or ”tasks” — or other likewise unreimbursed chores — to check off the to-do list before clicking in the pedals for a pre-dinner ride. And so it was recently.
Today, though, Jack was visiting. It was a good decision to ask Jack, our nine-year-old nephew from Hoosier-ville, to accompany me for some evening errands.
I had forgotten the unabashed curiosity of a nine year old. Nine is indeed a good age for children — a sweet spot, so to speak.
After asking me if he could have my iPhone, in a test-the-waters sort of way, Jack then asked me:
Hey, John, do you like your job?
Yes, very much.
Do you cut people open?
Yes.
Is it gross?
No.
How do you know you aren’t screwing up?
(Pause) Thinking of something smart to say, I ask:
How old are you, Jack?
Nine.
It took me more years than you are old to figure it out, and even then doctors aren’t perfect, but I try really hard not to “screw up.”
Hey John, can I see your iPhone?
Thanks, Jack, for making me proud to be a doctor.
JMM
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
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