"Last Lecture" Professor Dies

Randy Pausch, the famous professor who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year died today at the age of 47. (I had blogged about him on Pallimed here and here.) His initial foray into the public eye was from his 'Last Lecture' at Carnegie Mellon being posted on You Tube and getting over 3 million views on how to 'Achieve your Childhood Dreams.' This popularity led to a wonderful and inspiring book and his further advocacy for pancreatic cancer research. He is a great example of how even in the face of death, meaning can still be found, and contributions can still be made.

For those who have not seen it here is the video of his lecture below:

One of my favorite parts of the book is when he relates a story about a football coach who was particularly hard on him in drills as a child. An assistant coach inquired about how Randy felt about the coach riding him. He replied he didn't care for it too much. The assistant coach shared that it actually was a good thing because when he stopped critiquing you it meant he had already given up on you. I think this is a great inspiration for timely feedback in medical education. If you don't give it, have you already given up on the trainee who needs support and teaching?

If you have read the book, please feel free to share a part that resonated with you.

Added(07/27/08) (thanks to reader Jane for the link to the video below):