June 6, 2023
by Tom Console
Today is June 6th, D-Day. There is no event in history that better personifies the concept of baptism by fire than this day in 1944.
There is no group of people who lived this idea more than those brave soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy and parachuted in behind enemy lines. They went headfirst into the teeth of the enemy and were victorious.
While my baptism by fire cannot in any way compare to Normandy, the lessons of establishing a foothold and going for it still apply.
We all have our own baptisms by fire—this is the story of one of mine in a peacetime, academic setting. I’m a veterinarian student at the University of Pennsylvania about to enter my first day of an emergency clinical rotation with actual animals. Here’s the note I walked into:
“Your 6am patient treatments are to be completed no later than 7. Best to get started around 5 so you give yourself enough time to finish those up. 8 to 9 is mandatory grand rounds presentations. 9am through 10:30 are student patient round presentations, your medical records must be completed by then. Use the hour between treatments and rounds to work on those. From the end of student rounds until 6pm you will assist with any emergencies that come in. At 6pm you will do your patient treatments, and that is the end of your day. You will figure it out. Good luck.”
Frankly, this stressed me out. While the dramatic television shows depicting (human) emergency rooms is to some degree an exaggeration, the pace and intensity between fiction and reality are at times very similar.
Not only was it my first emergency rotation, which is stressful, but it was also with large animals. I’m not a large animal person. I’m a small animal student. The only real similarity between large and small animal medicine is the fact that they all have four legs.
I was intimidated. This was a high-stakes arena where, for the first time in my life, a animal’s well-being actually depended on the decisions I was making.
While this type of learning environment, a Baptism by Fire, can be overwhelming, it’s also a place of incredibly rapid, in-depth learning and skill development if you can place yourself in the right mindset.
At some point or another, we are all thrown into the fire. You’ll be put into situations where there is information overload, a lack of familiarity and confidence, and a lot of pressure. You must take a breath, be a sponge, and ask all your questions.
Take a Breath
You feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or defeated. You are on the verge of giving up. You want to quit. When you start to feel this way, remember to stop and take a breath.
This simple act will ground and center you. Take a moment and clear your head.
Remember why you are doing what you are doing. I’m not a large animal major, but that emergency rotation is an important part of my curriculum and of my journey towards becoming a veterinarian.
And at the end of the day, I’m hands on helping sick animals feel better. Where else would I rather be?
Deep breaths will stop the emotional bleeding.
Be a Sponge
In any new, unfamiliar environment, there will be a lot of novel information being thrown at you all at once. Be highly observant and try to soak in as much as possible.
Practice skills where you can. Watch people who know what they’re doing and have real world experience.
Make sure you understand how you learn. I am an extremely tactile learner, so I made sure I got as much hands-on practice as I possibly could. If you can learn a few new things every day, you’ll be an expert in no time.
The key is to stay engaged on the task at hand and be in the moment. You can’t retain it all. But you can digest a significant amount of information both consciously and unconsciously.
Ask All Your Questions
You will naturally have a lot of questions. Ask them! Don’t be afraid of ranks, titles, or hierarchy. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking questions. And when people give you answers, make sure you remember them.
Write them down, recite them back; whatever works for you. If you make a concerted effort to learn new information, people will notice and be more willing to help and teach you in the future.
In college, I had the belief that I was the smartest guy to walk into any room. It makes me cringe knowing that I once had the ego and naivety to think I possessed the intelligence required to pick up any random subject matter and quickly excel.
Luckily, one day my ROTC Commander called me out on it. And it stuck.
I now walk into every room assuming I am the dumbest guy. Not because I don’t value my own intelligence or self-worth, but because I now understand that it’s impossible to know everything. Moreover, everyone else in the room has their own experiences and knowledge to share with me, if, and only if, I am willing to place my ego to the side.
This does wonders for learning. When I accept that I’m not the smartest person in the room, my mind is more open. I learn more new things and thrive when placed in an uncomfortable situation. Do not let ego get in the way of expanding your knowledge base.
Be Baptized
Occasionally baptism by fire is the best thing that can happen to you. Sometimes you’ll be able to prepare in advance for the adventure that’s about to begin. Sometimes you won’t.
Regardless of your preparation, if you can take a breath, be a sponge, and ask all your questions, you can thrive and not just survive in the fire.
**A special recognition to the service members of D-Day. The Greatest Generation was called that for a reason – we are eternally thankful**
Tom Console is a regular contributor and now a member of The Maximum Standard (check out Meet the Team). Below are links to his other articles:
Lessons from the Operating Room
Organized Team Sports: The Great Leadership Academy
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