Rotation 3

Posted by Stephanie Burke at Friday, September 04, 2015

Making the best out of the unexpected

As you know, rotations are learning experiences; they are intended to challenge us, equip us, and shape us as we progress in our pharmacy education. There will be rotations that you are incredibly excited for, and there will be rotations that you are not very excited for. However, even those experiences that are not our favorite are learning opportunities. This is a challenge I faced in my last rotation. It was the one I had been looking forward to the most, but the experience was very different than what I was hoping for, and not necessarily in a positive way. It took me some time to adjust to (or rather, accept) the responsibilities and routine of the rotation. After two weeks of grappling with my disappointment, I finally made the conscious decision to accept my circumstances and focus on the positive aspects of the rotation that I could then further build upon. Following this change in perspective I was able to find more enjoyment in the work that I was doing and I was also able to better engage with those around me.

This is such an important lesson for us, as students, to learn early on. We will all be faced with disappointment or circumstances that cannot easily or readily be changed. However, we must be able to focus our efforts and energy on the things we can learn from – good or bad – and the aspects of the situation that we do enjoy. We will only be hurting ourselves and our own personal growth if we choose to focus on the things we don’t like, or the things that are not going as planned. 

So make the most out of the unexpected!