Ambivalence at 10 000 Feet

Abstract

Description The transition from medical neophyte to seasoned physician is a gradual process spanning the course of many years. However, there are various milestones throughout the experience that capture increases in decision-making capacity and responsibility, such as the switch from pre-clinical to clinical medical education. Medical students in their clinical years are endowed with an abundance of knowledge from their pre-clinical years and are just beginning to synthesize and apply that information to patient care. "Ambivalence at 10 000 Feet" captures a reflection of a third-year medical student on the theoretical decision to provide emergency medical care in the absence of other trained medical personnel.

Keywords: Hippocratic Oath; emergency treatment; humanities; medical education; medical ethics; medicine in the arts; moral duty; poetry; self-efficacy.