Wang Leili, PLA General Hospital, Ninth Medical Center
In the world of medicine, the flywheel effect is like a beacon that illuminates our path.
Let me start by telling you about the flywheel effect. Imagine a huge, heavy flywheel, lying there quietly. To get it turning, at the very first moment, you have to exert all your strength, round and round, pushing hard. Every lap was full of hardship, and every effort seemed to struggle to make it turn noticeably. But be assured that your every effort is not in vain. When you continue to exert force and accumulate to a certain extent, this flywheel will suddenly break through a certain key node, and then, it will rely on its own inertia and the power accumulated before, and turn quickly and steadily, without you having to exert so much force.
In the field of medicine, this effect is so clear and profound. I remember when I first stepped into the temple of medicine, facing a mountain of medical textbooks, each page seemed like an insurmountable mountain. Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology...... Those dense words and complex charts made me feel extremely lost and confused. Every knowledge point requires me to chew, understand and memorize repeatedly. At that time, I was immersed in reading in the library every day, and under the night light, I was tired but still persevering. It's like the initial phase of the flywheel, where every effort seems so small, but I know that they are all building up strength for the future. Finally, the first experimental operation class was ushered in. Nervousness and anticipation mingled in my heart, and I carefully picked up the lab equipment, only to find that my hands were trembling slightly. The first operation did not go smoothly, and the results were not satisfactory. However, I did not give up, and with the help of my teachers and classmates, I repeated the experiment again and again, constantly summing up lessons and lessons. Every attempt is an effort to push the flywheel forward, and although the process is full of setbacks, I can feel that I am improving a little bit.
When it comes to clinical placement, the real challenge has just begun. When I faced a patient for the first time, I was filled with nervousness and anxiety. I don't know how to ask about my condition, and I don't know how to give them comfort and confidence. Under the guidance of experienced doctors, I worked hard to learn the skills of communicating with patients, learning to observe their expressions and subtle reactions. Every consultation, every case writing, is a step for me to push the flywheel. I remember a patient with a chronic disease, after many treatments with no obvious results, I worked with the members of the medical team to repeatedly study the medical records, consult a large number of literature, and adjust the treatment plan. During that time, the pressure was intense, and I often felt physically and mentally exhausted. However, we did not give up and kept trying and improving. Finally, after a period of treatment, the patient's condition improved significantly. At that moment, I understood that all the previous efforts had not been in vain, just like the flywheel finally began to accelerate after a long initial push.
On the road of medical research, the flywheel effect is even more vividly reflected. Exploring a new treatment can take years or even decades. From the initial hypothesis, to the design and implementation of the experiment, to the collection and analysis of data, every link is full of uncertainties and difficulties. Just like the study of a rare disease, at the beginning, the research team is faced with problems such as scarcity of samples and limited research funding. But with their dedication to science and their responsibility to patients, they persevered. After countless days and nights of struggle, a key clue was finally discovered in a chance experiment, which opened up a new situation for subsequent research. This is precisely the stage of rapid development of the flywheel after a long initial push, breaking through the critical point and ushering in the stage of rapid development.
The development of the medical profession is inseparable from the continuous improvement and continuing education of doctors themselves. The speed at which medical knowledge is updated is overwhelming. In order to keep up with the pace of the times, we need to constantly learn new theories and new technologies. Participating in various academic conferences, continuing training, and reading a large number of professional literature, although we may not see significant results in the short term, if we persist in the long term, our medical level will be improved unconsciously. Just like a senior doctor, although he has a high degree of attainment in his field, he still maintains his enthusiasm for learning. Every year, he participates in academic exchange activities at home and abroad to apply the latest research results to clinical practice. As a result, his medical skills have become more and more sophisticated, bringing hope to more patients. This is also the embodiment of the flywheel effect, continuous efforts and accumulation, and ultimately bring about a qualitative leap. In the medical team, collaboration between members also follows a flywheel effect. When you first start working together, you may have conflicts and misunderstandings due to your different working habits and ways of thinking. But with the passage of time, we gradually found the best way to cooperate through continuous communication and running-in. For example, in an emergency operation, the anesthesiologist, nurse and doctor need to work closely together. At first, the surgical process was affected due to poor communication. But everyone quickly adjusted, supported each other, and finally the operation was successfully completed. Since then, the team's collaboration has become more and more tacit, and the efficiency has become higher and higher, just like a flywheel that is driven by team members, turning faster and faster.