To the healthcare graduates of 2023,
You are about to engage in a ritual that has taken place for generations. The pomp and circumstance that accompanies graduation is a reflection of the traditions of academia that are passed on to each successive generation of graduates. It marks the completion of your formal medical training. You have spent many hours learning the corpus of knowledge required to be a healthcare provider. Graduation represents the dedication and discipline that you have shown in the endeavor of understanding the intricate workings of the human body and learning how to apply that knowledge to heal the body and lift the spirit. It is an effort for which you can be proud.
During your training you have been given a taste of healing. You have begun to experience what it means to take on the responsibility of caring for a fellow human being. Now, you are about to embark on a career in an incredible profession filled with rich tradition, prestige, and honor. Practitioners of medicine are consistently highly regarded by the public. But more importantly it is a career that is infused with dignity and meaning. As you have already experienced, you will be given the incredible opportunity to touch a life.
At the same time, you are entering a difficult and demanding profession. You will face significant challenges and pressures. You will face an ever-changing landscape of new studies, new techniques, and new technologies. You will be expected to be alert in conditions causing physical and mental fatigue or stay awake when everyone else is sleeping. You will be required render care impartially and with grace to people who insult you, disrespect you or disregard the work you do. As you engage with humanity, you will face the tragedy of lives cut short by illness, injury, and the malevolence of others.
Your spirit will soar in moments of elation and crumple in moments of defeat. You will experience times where your work is infused with meaning and purpose and others characterized by cynicism and burnout. You will have opportunities to see your fellow man at their best and at their worst. Your character, resilience, and resolve will be stretched and tested. The highs you experience will propel you forward, and the lows will cause you to grow. In the end, if you allow it, you will develop wisdom.
The hallways of the hospital and corridors of the clinics are filled with people who now have the privilege of calling you colleague. From those of us who have traveled this path, we applaud your accomplishment and welcome you to the healthcare profession. And we leave you with this charge: Medicine is not just a career; it is a calling - not just to care for the patients that seek our services but to leave this world in better shape than we found it.
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