Both residents who in general felt he had nothing to offer them, leaned over and asked him to break the tie -what was most important. He smiled knowingly and stated that the correct answer lies in the fact that they even cared to ask his opinion. The greatest discovery he said was the mentor. Each of you will become a living page in the textbook of medicine and all will have mentors who will stay with you the rest of you careers. When you doubt - you'll remember that he believed in you.
Many faculty are here who experience that zest.
Get to know them - they're there for you. But all does not always appear to be so wonderful with our profession if you listen to others or the media. There has been a tendency today to treat medicine as a business, health care as a commodity, patients as covered lives or consumers and doctors as providers. Quality, it is argued, is sacrificed to profit and efficiency. A little perspective is provided by the anecdote from Dr. John Owen, a recently retired faculty member and a mentor to me.