Rushing to take care of every person in the room, constantly checking fluid levels and carrying trays full of equipment, I started questioning whether this is something I could do for the rest of my life. My legs were aching after the ten hours of standing and I started to wonder if I had claudication and peripheral artery disease like our last CBI. I was covered in stains that were not of my doing and trying to remember the allergies of everyone I was responsible for. There were people snapping at me, looking down on me and treating me as if I did not exist. I realized this was truly not the career path for me and I was so thankful to return to the medical field on Monday.
I was not at my community clinical experience or a capstone, but rather I had returned to my alma mater to work my old catering job for a 1000-person dinner. It was a perfect decision because it allowed me to make some money and combat my loans in any way I could, and I was able to help out my coworkers and catering family on their busiest night of the year. I had worked that dinner multiple years in the past and had been catering throughout my undergraduate career, so I was ready for an easy night (and free food). However, I had forgotten just how tiring and physically demanding the job truly was and how little was given in return for minimum-wage work. While I am not advocating for or against raises in minimum wage (this is not a political piece), what I had realized is how far removed I was from such labor, even though this was a huge part of my daily life for years. In catering, a glass really is half-empty and it is your job to fill it. You can’t sit, can’t wear gloves to clear used utensils, and can’t let a smile leave your face.
As a first-year medical student, I am at the bottom of the totem pole and have to make sure to keep patients, residents and attendings happy, but it is such a different level of being “on the bottom.” As Dr. Moffitt mentioned in our last doctoring session, even as first-years, when we put on our white coats, we garner respect and have power, even if it does not feel that way. I have always known how fortunate I am to be in medical school, but after catering that dinner, I realized especially how lucky I am that I have the opportunity to do something I am passionate about every day.
Working that dinner and having some guests (including peers) treat me as if I was beneath them because I was clearing their plates was extremely frustrating. I realized you cannot know someone based on their occupation. It was always hard for me to see some patrons be so rude to even my supervisors, who cater full-time and are some of the brightest, most caring people I know. I had not had that feeling in a long time because of my new characteristic of “medical student.”
I always questioned why physicians are stereotyped as having a superiority complex (and while this is not true for most of the compassionate, empathetic physicians I have worked with), I now wonder if this is because after wearing the white coat for so long, we just become used to having that authority that we can forget what it was like to not be in such a position. I had even painted a different picture of catering in my mind than what was the reality I experienced, and it was not long ago that it was my job. The experience made me grateful for where I am in my life, but also reminded me how throughout my career, I need to remember to always stay humble and appreciate the people who provide the services I use daily. As Albert Einstein once said, “I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.” While I feel that I honestly do this, I need to remember it and live it every day of my life, no matter where my career takes me. I do not want to forget what it was like to be a caterer, and just as I feel privileged to be in medical school, I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked in food service and experience what it is like. For us first years especially, we should all feel fortunate to be at the “bottom” of this totem pole.
Jenna Koblinski is a member of The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, Class of 2021. She graduated from The University of Arizona in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in physiology and a psychology minor. She is an aspiring dermatologist. In her free time she loves to dance, socialize, and watch anything and everything on Netflix.