Marine Survival Weekend (From the Archives)

As a faculty member of the Alaska Family Medicine Residency program, I had my share of teaching during our infamous Wilderness Medicine Weekend excursion. In January, it involved snow cave construction, and in May, it involved marine safety. The first spring, I participated with 2 other faculty members and 9 residents. We were dropped off on a small uninhabited peninsula in Prince William Sound. We pitched tents, dug a latrine, secured the food in a bear-safe manner, and crafted the group shelter and campfire before covering didactic material. We headed out by kayak the following day, wearing our drysuits for the glacial waters. Our destination was Blackstone Glacier at the end of the bay. We first stopped at an inviting glacier where gushing meltwater enticed us to explore. After pulling our kayaks on shore, we were up to important educational activities such as documenting shenanigans, as seen in the 1st photo below. I was amazed at how the drysuit booties gripped like Spiderman's feet. They held onto the slippery rocks beyond imagination. After about an hour, we decided to continue on our mission. There was one major issue as we descended to the beach - the kayaks were GONE! 

You can imagine everything this Florida girl, who was also responsible for the residents, was thinking. All of those thoughts led to, well, a sinking feeling would be an understatement. But then, I spot ed the two experienced residents in the second photo with their kayaks. They said something like, "Oh no, do you think the change in tide carried off your kayaks?" and "Surely, you didn't just pull the nose of the kayak onto the beach and expect it would be secured?" One glance at their self-congratulatory looks, and I knew. We spread out and found all of the missing kayaks stacked neatly behind some underbrush where they had hidden them. Relief was very shortly followed by humility with a bit of embarrassment. I had grudgingly learned a valuable lesson.  

Isn't this the same clinically? Some of the lessons that stick the best are those that humble us the most. So, the next time you learn in this manner, reframe rather than ruminate on it. The upside is truly that the lesson is likely near-permanent, never to be repeated.