A digression

My fourth post. Five more weeks of internship. This summer is disappearing faster than I can type pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. What's not disappearing is my writer's block. I could write about the data analysis I did to explain how our pharmacy was able to dispense more products than it purchased. (Still haven't figured that one out but the data might have lied, if physical laws hold.) I could describe bedside barcoding and the challenges associated with its implementation. I could outline the reasons the pharmacy department chose to hold off on the wikipedia idea, for now they say. But none of those things is condensing into fine stories in my mind.

Instead, I will talk about the most important lesson I learned this summer. It starts with the importance of taking initiative. My most meaningful assignments to date were the ones I brought onto myself. And not one of the pharmacists the interns had the pleasure of meeting this summer did not go the extra mile. They all went so far beyond their job descriptions that they had to squint, I imagine, to read their job descriptions, and they excelled. The benefits are obvious. That isn't the lesson. The truth is... I'm slowly realizing that what really matters is having free time. Sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? But without free time, there is no opportunity to take initiative. The goal is always to improve the status quo. What is valuable now will not be valuable forever. A crammed schedule blinds us to what is better and what could be better. Have some idle moments, and they keep our minds fresh and open to new possibilities. They make it possible for us to seize the new opportunities that emerge. The danger is that we never realize our schedules were maxed out until we are idle. Because it's so natural to become wrapped up in our work.

With this revelation, I am restructuring my agenda to include "nothing."