Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
Practice Perfect Editor
Assistant Professor,
Dept. of Podiatric Medicine,
Surgery & Biomechanics
College of Podiatric Medicine
Western University of
Health Sciences,
St. Pomona, CA

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was never one of my favorite holidays. I always felt it was a "Hallmark holiday" in which one purchases an overpriced greeting card, flowers, and a box of chocolates in a superficial manner of showing appreciation for one's lover. I somewhat begrudging bought cards for my valentines, wondering, "How is a card given on one day going to demonstrate my love?"

Sitting here thinking about the upcoming holiday I'm wondering about opinions. Opinions are, in many cases, voluntary things. Take my initial dislike of Valentine's Day. I chose at some point to deride this holiday, though I could have just as easily embraced it.

It's a funny thing about opinions. They're subjective animals, chameleon-like, with a high propensity to change. That, my friends, is what I am doing with my antipathy to Valentine's Day. I tell you today, on this Valentine's Day, I am now converted.

Why should that be, you ask? Why my seemingly arbitrary conversion? Because opinions are arbitrary. And for the simple reason that one day or one act can demonstrate your love for others. Is not love a conglomeration of individual acts and experiences that lead to a whole greater than the sum of its parts?

When I think of my 15 year marriage (20 year relationship) with my wife, I don't consider it as one monumental thing, but rather the confluence of countless moments, events, thoughts, and emotions. In many ways, my career as a podiatrist is much the same thing. There was never one moment in which I felt "now I'm a podiatrist." Granted, I graduated podiatric medical school, perhaps the moment one might equate with the wedding ceremony. And granted, I graduated from a residency, another milestone. Was this the moment I felt I was actually a podiatrist? No.

Tonight's Premier Lecture is
Post-Op Shoes - Dilemma
Brian Rell, DPM

Becoming a doctor was a very gradual thing, the summation of all those individual moments. It was that moment in clinic when one of my attendings taught me how to effectively counsel my patient. It was that moment when I watched one of my younger residents succeed. It was that moment when I participated in a code in the ER and I watched another human being die before my eyes. It has been every quiet moment in the examination room with a patient who put their health into my hands. It was every smile, every tear, every wince of pain both from my patients and me. It was a million countless moments.

Just as my relationship with my wife changes and evolves over the years, so too does the sense of what I am as a podiatrist change. It is for this reason that I'm changing my opinion of Valentine's Day. One day, one moment, is part of that greater whole, and I can appreciate that. I choose to take this day to recognize and reflect on those relationships most important to me. I hope you'll do the same. Happy Valentine's Day.