Dinner with Dean

Last night was a Thanksgiving preview. Our college dinner featured the Dean of UCSF and a harvest theme, complete with decorative squash, pumpkins, turkey, asparagus, potatoes, and white table clothes.

In bringing the medical students together with the dean around four tables arranged in a square, we were able to to interact with the dean and learn a bit from his wisdom in an informal setting complete with food.

I had known a great deal about his legacy, spanning decades of health policy work in the anti-tobacco campaign, development of nutritional labels and anti-retrovirals drugs. Also, he has served a number of US presidents and as dean at Yale School of Medicine before coming to the West Coast to become our Dean (among other accomplishments). I did not know that he is an avid spinner and that he is a Springstein fan.

What I got from our interaction was that he really cares for medical students. Although we lack the extensive knowledge and years of experience, he believes we have something unique to offer to our patients, which is "time."

When asked how we were adjusting to entering medicine and if it had hit us that we are going to be doctors, there was a mixed response. Excitement, uncertainty, happiness, intensity- just a few of the feelings mentioned.

We were also asked if any of us felt like "frauds?"

And for some of my classmates, the term strikes a cord--some of us continue to have our doubts about why/how we ended up here and feel like we have yet to earn our short white coats. We worry about not knowing the answers, or not being able to retain information for more than 1 week after an exam.

But that is too be expected. The dean looks forward to witnessing our transformation from year 1 onward (me too!). And he reassured us that learning is just beginning and that we will soon feel less like frauds and more like doctors. Let's hope...

Image: "Thanksgiving."
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