“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Aristotle
Though medicine is based on facts and evidence, family medicine is all that
and
it draws on the heart, emotions, and social constructs of community, team, and family. We learn the technical aspects of medicine from reading, being tested, and attending lectures in medical school.
Nonetheless,
we really start to solidify what we are taught in medical school when we are given the opportunity to practice what we have learned with our teams, with our patients and their family members in practice.
Residencies, preceptorships, and mentorships throughout our professional careers are
so
critical. Practising alongside our teachers while we interact with and support patients helps us to develop competency and confidence because that is when the heart becomes engaged! The heart comes to be educated when emotion, caring, compassion and, sometimes, even frustration are present. That is where the learning moves from the mind to the heart.
