In medicine it is really better to have learnt and lost...

When I climbed up the two flights of stairs to reach the anatomy floor, the distinct pungent odour of formalin tickled my nostrils and as I looked up I found my eyes transfixed by a fresco of a human skeleton standing nonchalantly with a skeleton under his/her (I still don't know if that skeleton was a male/female :) )left hand with the words that would soon become a part of my life; "In anatomy it is better to have learnt and lost than never to have learnt at all." Obviously, I didn't realize how profound this statement was because I hadn't been confronted by anything like learning human anatomy. I later realized that no matter how much we studied in medicine not just anatomy, there were always going to be things which we would forget; things which we wouldn't use for years on end; concepts which would change everyday and life would only become more complex. I realized that a lot stuff we were studying was not going to appear on tests; would not affect patient care; would not make a difference to anyone but we studied it anyway! Then there was all that stuff which was going to make all the difference; stuff which was going to change lives and that was the kind of stuff you didn't want to ever forget. Unfortunately you realize a lot of this only in retrospect. This theme carries on to residency as well. I really wouldn't want to forget any of the stuff I am learning, reading, hearing everyday but if you don't use it; you lose it. The joy of understanding a concept and applying it probably surpasses any other; but what happens to all the other stuff? I hope I can keep learning for the joy of learning but at the same time not lose heart if I forget something but study it all over again like I will never forget!

What is true learning?

The motivation for learning has changed. It had to. Every single thing I learn now can change someone's life including mine. The differentials, the treatment options, the management plans...it's a sense of ownership; a sense of responsibility beyond scores, ranks; the stuff that makes you want to make a difference, the stuff that makes the difference. There's so much and there's finite time. When there's no time to lose, how can I stop? Medicine is changing every moment but where are we headed? Prolonging life by the years but are we really adding quality to those years? What I learn today, will it be passé tomorrow? What I learn today, will it stand the test of time? What would I have to unlearn? What would I have to relearn because the human memory fails me? What will keep evolving, what will perish; wish there was some way of predicting.
Medicine is as much an art as a science. Let me not sacrifice art for science and let me not forget to objectify. Either way the more I practice the more I will learn and perfect my ways. Yes, some I will learn, and some I will forget but no matter what I will be a better person for I learned. A part of me will change perhaps forever; I guess that is what true learning is all about. Changing and learning how to change and how to be that change. Perturbing as it might be, making my peace and anticipating that my sense of peace will change too. And knowing well that I am not alone in this process, I can't be more thankful to those from whom I learn; my patients, my teachers, my books and lives...mine and that of so many others!