Change must begin from within for it to be wholesome, complete and permanent
I was pondering over a conversation earlier today with some colleagues who were complaining (or a more apt term, bitching) about the amount of work they had to finish and how certain exercises were a complete "waste of time"
What made me feel uncomfortable was how much I saw an older version of myself reflected back to me. I could see where they're coming from, but I could also see how very short sighted they were.
A wonderful professor once told me, "You chose to be a doctor, but the unfortunate patients do not choose to be ill". Every exercise made difficult in medical school is difficult for that one reason; to equip ourselves with as much knowledge as possible to make the right clinical decisions when it is our turn to carry out our duty.
To illustrate, today's subject of bitching was around how much time they had to waste waiting around to have their intubation and ventilation assessment completed. What they couldn't see was this was probably the only time they were going to be properly assessed on a model, and the next time the occasion calls for an intubation; it could be a real medical emergency. In less than a year my colleagues and I will be the first line junior doctors seeing patients day in and out 24-7.
How has the reality of the situation not sunk in for these people?
And how can they be so self-absorbed after being run through the mill on a day-to-day life of a clinician? Being assessed takes time, and clinicians in general are lacking of that very one thing; TIME. What is so urgent that we need to sort out other than being competent at life saving procedures? The generic answer would be : to study for exams lah. But my instantaneous reply would be : but you're completing medical school to be a competent junior doctor, not to pass exams.
I guess in short, people should really question their motivation for doing something. If the motivation to study Medicine is not to help others; then the entire exercise is truly indeed pointless.
Of course in that discussion, all my thoughts were just bouncing around in my head never voiced out. I have grown tired of trying to talk sense into these sort of colleagues. Change must begin from within for it to be wholesome, complete and permanent. All my thoughts will just fall onto deaf ears, or even worse come back to bite me in the ass with rumors flying about that I am both judgmental and a class A bitch.
No thanks, I will confine my thoughts to myself and here.
What made me feel uncomfortable was how much I saw an older version of myself reflected back to me. I could see where they're coming from, but I could also see how very short sighted they were.
A wonderful professor once told me, "You chose to be a doctor, but the unfortunate patients do not choose to be ill". Every exercise made difficult in medical school is difficult for that one reason; to equip ourselves with as much knowledge as possible to make the right clinical decisions when it is our turn to carry out our duty.
To illustrate, today's subject of bitching was around how much time they had to waste waiting around to have their intubation and ventilation assessment completed. What they couldn't see was this was probably the only time they were going to be properly assessed on a model, and the next time the occasion calls for an intubation; it could be a real medical emergency. In less than a year my colleagues and I will be the first line junior doctors seeing patients day in and out 24-7.
How has the reality of the situation not sunk in for these people?
And how can they be so self-absorbed after being run through the mill on a day-to-day life of a clinician? Being assessed takes time, and clinicians in general are lacking of that very one thing; TIME. What is so urgent that we need to sort out other than being competent at life saving procedures? The generic answer would be : to study for exams lah. But my instantaneous reply would be : but you're completing medical school to be a competent junior doctor, not to pass exams.
I guess in short, people should really question their motivation for doing something. If the motivation to study Medicine is not to help others; then the entire exercise is truly indeed pointless.
Of course in that discussion, all my thoughts were just bouncing around in my head never voiced out. I have grown tired of trying to talk sense into these sort of colleagues. Change must begin from within for it to be wholesome, complete and permanent. All my thoughts will just fall onto deaf ears, or even worse come back to bite me in the ass with rumors flying about that I am both judgmental and a class A bitch.
No thanks, I will confine my thoughts to myself and here.
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