4 Comments

The most important topic I taught to my grad students--who were mostly doctors, nurses, and other caregivers--was skepticism. Cynicism is merely skepticism's slightly less lovable fraternal twin.

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I wish I could gift every new doctor the book "Brain on Fire" by Susannah Cahalan. The story of how a young woman developing an autoimmune encephalitis after a viral infection and being brushed off as having anxiety even by the top doctors in the area is sobering. Hearing the current stories from those suffering from Long COVID and POTS and not being believed by doctors is in the same vein. It is so important for us all to stay humble and stay curious.

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Good advice for anyone in customer service, too. The stakes aren’t as high, but the dynamics are similar.

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I’m a physician. I realized that a lot of my cynicism early in my career was due to exhaustion. Burn out. I learned to not rush to judgment. Over time.

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