Source: inhabitat.com
The facts could have not been less ugly even if we chose to ignore it. Whether you are talking about medical students or doctors, both are too busy to notice how much medicine has consumed and changed us. We used to be care-free, content and happy teenagers until we learned that people can actually die from taking antibiotics! Then, as if by magic, we become as uptight as a violin string and decided that happiness was not supposed to be a part of us and parted away from the normal life. We believe that God sends us to Earth for a special mission to just ‘heal’. We forgot how much simpler are things done before without unnecessary over-thinking, experiments, or hypotheses. Hence, this article is written with the intention to serve as a check-and-balance of what have we forgotten to do since medicine first meddled in our everyday life.
“We just have to work on our perception on things. It might be a lot easier than we think it is.”
Be thankful. You are not the only one who finds studying is hard. And, contrary to popular beliefs, there are a lot of other fields of working that has since silently regarded as more difficult than medicine. It includes architecture, pharmacy and engineering, among others. Yes, there is a momentary feeling of superiority as medicine involves dealing with life and death in a daily basis, but if we come to think about it, every other working fields serve the same purpose too whether directly or indirectly. We just have to work on our perception on things. It might be a lot simpler than we think it is.
You could not go a thousand miles in an hour. Slow down! Rushing is a common routine to all of us. Attending ward round in the morning, and the next minute we found our lifeless selves dashing for case presentation in class, then seated for a two-hour sleepy lecture. Some of us sacrificed the night’s sleep burning the midnight oil just to be ahead of everybody. Nobody dictates that if you slow down your tempo, things will not move! It will still move but with a comfortable pace, allowing enough time for you to think calmly and making use of your mind better. Many medical negligences happen when we do not obey our built-in nature of being calm.
Patients are human. Unlike what you think, patients actually realise the mutual benefits they can get out of the procedure you are doing but they hold no obligation to agree on every occasion. The patient may be insecure about their ailments or simply cannot stand the pain. We should not allow our curiosity or interest to affect someone at their expense or it will look like it only benefits us, not the other party. If you listen to your own heart, you will find everyone, including you, want a better treatment. Patients will eventually learn to appreciate every kind gesture that you can offer but do not despise the bad ones!
“Unfortunately, appearance counts in almost everything no matter how much you hate it”
Grooming. It is often forgotten that the way we physically present ourselves in front of people reflect who we are from the inside. If a medical student wears a battered T-shirt with hair unkempt, you can tell that he is not much of an organised or a neat person. Unfortunately, appearance counts in almost everything no matter how much you hate it. Studies shows that family members of people in hospital intensive care units place more trust in doctors who are well groomed, in a white coat or scrubs and wearing an easy-to-read name tag. Our outward appearance is important in reflecting ourselves being knowledgeable, honest and ethical.
Medical jargons are not needed in normal conversations. Our friends who are not from our medical circle of friends would often complain about awkwardness whenever they got caught up in such conversation. Always remember to speak a language that everyone can comprehend and be respectful of the others. Even if your friend or patient is very knowledgeable, they would still be confused with most of the terms. If you do have a good intention of propagating your knowledge to the society, be sure to explain them in a layman’s term because sometimes the use of medical lingo is unavoidable. Why is this important? Sooner, we are going to utilize this reminder when speaking to patients. If people do not understand your health plan for them, how will that improve their well being?
Overstating the word ‘stress’. In medical school, stress is perceived as an important part of a good student and a pride to some. You can choose to be a laid-back person and excel at the same time. There is no telling that a successful medical student has to be tense or hung up. We love overstating stress because it keeps us messed up, disoriented and gives us a false feeling of accomplishment when we managed to confront it. It signals that only a stressful medical student is committed to medicine. This is not true. We are given much flexibility in our mind to develop a perspective on problems that we face every day. For those just starting out, stress is there to be managed and conquered by the right mind, not to be wept upon!
“I could enjoy freedom in using my knowledge to help people without being dictated what to do.”
Meaning. When I was a kid, I did not know that I am going to be a doctor. I wanted to become a journalist. I was really interested in it that I could spend every morning reading the newspaper like no boys at my age had done. I tried to find the reason behind the wars that happened during my time so I went up searching every detail and still confused because of its ambiguous and biased reporting. Over the years, I realised that journalism is only about delivering news that favours one party. I was largely disinterested going in depth with the field. I then found my ‘meaning’ with medicine. I know that I can make changes within my own limits and capacity in a more tangible way. I become instantly happy when a patient smiles at me. I could enjoy freedom in using my knowledge to help people without being dictated what to do. Be sure to look deeply at something until you found your meaning!
Ameerul Aiman is a 5th year medical student in Ain Shams University of Cairo, Egypt. Know more about him under the Young Columnists tab.