Sep 30, 2019
"The nature of clinical medicine teaches us to hear difficult stories from patients without being knocked over by them. But I think it will require intentional awareness and self-reflection throughout my career as a physician to respect every heavy moment for its immense worth." Medical student Nicholas Lenze reminds readers that although the normalization of the extraordinary may be a common experience in medicine, it doesn't have to be harmful if physicians remember to notice and remain aware of the people and happenings around them. This essay was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the September 2019 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.