Don't do med!
I often wonder why I'm doing med... like WHY? why am i so narrow-minded? from a kid, I've always wanted to be a doctor - not knowing what it really means to be one... maybe it's an Asian thing...For the past two days, 3 doctors have tried to persuade me to quit med. (rrrright..) Yesterday, 2 orthopaedic surgeons were scrubbing in and they had a minute to talk to me. "which year are you? 3rd year? you can quit now. not too late" And i was like "why? isn't it rewarding?" They said it's hard work and not rewarding. If you're smart enough to get into med, you can get the same pay (if not more) with other jobs. Patients are unreasonable. They expect too much. etc etc etc........... On a positive note, they said 'it's not toooo bad...'
FANTASTIC.
Then today, an Asian female anaesthetist was telling me how crap it is to work in such a health care system, where patients expect too much. They *blame* people when things go wrong. "it'll only get worse... quit before it's too late"
EVEN MORE FANTASTIC.
.......... Anyway no way that i'm quitting. I'm not the kind that just quits in the middle of something. Plus, i can't imagine myself doing anything else. I like the feeling of SECURITY. At least i'm guaranteed a job at the end of this... And it ought to be a fulfilling job... i mean.... I "HELP PEOPLE".... @_@.....
posted by Unknown @ 9:56 PM
4 Comments:
u will make a great doctor tiff.
hey tiff...
lol sometimes i get similar feelings...
i always thought: of course i am going to love what I chose...
but sometimes i reali wished i stay in china and study chinese and writing... or just work in a chinese medicine store...
sori.. reali random comments... ^0^
u r doing med 4 a purpose.
hey tiff...
i share your sentiments... from time to time, we get these messages not to do medicine... it is a demanding career, it seems unrewarding at times... i don't want to pretend it'll be any different... but then again, it is quite a privilege to be doing medicine...
what i like abt it - you really do get to know patients, and see them for who they are... - i've met so many remarkable ppl (both dr's and pt's) who have so much to share, their experiences, their triumphs and woes, ups and downs, bits of advice etc... they often have really intricate stories that really grab me and enrich my day-to-day life... our training enables us to be in a position to help ppl understand themselves better... we find pt's at a time when they are searching, for meaning, for understanding, for companionship... we can help provide all of those, as well as treating their physical illness... when you realise that the career is enabling you to give so much, tho it can be frustrating, then you'll realise it's worth it...
i'm doing gp now - i guess i get to see this side of things more, where patients are wanting to talk and be understood, and simply giving some of your time becomes a therapeutic exercise for them, and a rewarding one for you... we come out of the consultation and talk to others about the medical side of things, but keep the memory of people's life stories and anecdotes in our ever-expanding personal treasury...
also - when you look at the reasons why ppl complain about med, they cite things that are really kinda mindstate-related... those ppl who advised u not to do med - if they meant what they said - were probably in a negative mindstate inside at the time... pay, unrewarding, patients having wrong expectations - the flip side being that the pay is easily in the top few % of ppl nationwide, there are many rewarding moments (maybe ppl get desensitised and find them no longer rewarding?!?), patients with wrong expectations are usually amenable to good information and communication...
i have to say, too - illness can be a shaky time in ppl'z lives when they're trying to find God, or understand His ways... i've already come across several patients in my very short clinical experience who i've been able to talk to abt Jesus, and what He did for us (including my semester 9 long case exam!!!)... so, God might well use us for His purpose in the clinical setting...
lastly, i know that God will continue to guide you, so keep looking for what you can become for God... ;p and be happy that He's called you!!!
God bless,
dave
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home