Humility

Humility.
These days I find myself doing the things I did years ago as a medical student. Assisting whatever provider I’m observing. Anticipating their needs, finding ways to be helpful, giving gentle reminders, using humor to put patients at ease, and attempting to learn while remaining unobtrusive.

There’s a part of me that’s incredulous about the whole experience. What am I, a full-fledged, senior Western AND Chinese Medicine physician, who’s seen thousands of patients, with tens of thousands of patient encounters, doing playing this “bit” part again? It’s demeaning! It’s beneath my station!

But then I remember that over my career, I’ve played this role again and again. That of the learner on the lowest rung of the ladder. Eager to trade acts of service for tidbits of knowledge. This, the role of the observer, student, or assistant is the essential currency of the mentorship system of education.

In medicine, we use the term, “scut work,” to describe the menial tasks assigned to the medical student, intern, or assistant – trivial or unrewarding tasks that nevertheless need to be done. In truth, those on the lowest rung of the educational ladder provide healthcare’s unsung lubricant which makes any healthcare scenario flow smoothly. In some ways, this kind of “scut work” is essential to learning. The best CEO in the world has done many of the jobs associated with the positions in the company. Without that experience, members of the C-Suite risk being “out of touch” with the needs of the employees, or the actual day-to-day operation of a business.
Yes, I am well accomplished. But I got here because I changed, washed, and folded the sheets on my acupuncture tables, cleaned the toilets, took out the trash. I got here by not taking a paycheck so that I could make sure my staff got paid. I got here by selling books and holding needles at conferences for more senior acupuncturists. And most importantly, I got here because many people, whose names I don’t even know, did the same for me.

A great person isn’t necessarily defined by that one thing that they’re well known for. They’re defined by their actions during the rest of their lives. They’re defined by the actions that make them human and there isn’t anything more human than helping others.