Even before starting medical school, when people asked what I wanted to specialize in after graduating, I told them internal medicine. During medical school I really enjoyed learning about the various disease, how to treat this, how to manage that. When people asked if I would ever consider surgery, I would reply with “never” and “it’s not for me”.
There is nothing wrong with internal medicine and I really did enjoy my rotation through internal medicine core or almost all my other cores for that matter. While I do think that every field of medicine is important, and they all play their part, I just didn’t find satisfaction at the end of the day. If I had to be honest with myself, I was really disappointed that I didn’t enjoy internal medicine more. While I did like it, I didn’t love it and I could not see myself in that field for the rest of my life.
What surprised me the most was that I was in surgery that I found the most enjoyment, the most satisfaction. During every day of my rotation I went home exhausted, but happy. Sure there were long days observing and helping in the operating room and changing dressings on the floor, but I was happy doing it. I went home feeling like I accomplished something, that what I did mattered, that I had help improve my patient’s quality of
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life. Even getting little to no sleep while part of the trauma team did not bother me. It didn’t matter if I was deep asleep in a beautiful dream, I actually enjoyed being awoken in the middle of the night because it meant I could go down to the trauma bay and be part of a team of medical professionals and help save a life. I enjoyed early morning suturing under the guidance of residents and learning when we would use different kinds of stitches and in what scenario would we use one suture over another. But for me, the crystalizing moment was during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The surgeon needed his hands free to use another instrument and asked me to help drive the camera. Maybe it is because I am lucky enough to be part of a generation that grew up with arcades and video games, but driving and orienting the camera wasn’t difficult. I was also lucky enough to rotate with doctors that weren’t just skilled surgeons, but were also excellent educators. As they explained the purpose behind their every move, it just made sense and fascinated me. Although I was discontented with internal medicine and really enjoyed surgery, I never thought “maybe surgery”.
For some reason, even though I wasn’t excited managing CHF and diabetes when I was on the medicine team, I enjoyed pre-op optimization so that patients had the best possible chance of recovery. Most importantly, in surgery I felt like I was actually helping to solve a problem. A patient presents with some issue and we are able to operate and fix that problem and hopefully prevent it from coming back again. By the end of my rotation I realized that even though I might enjoy certain aspects in fields besides surgery, I would never feel as happy and fulfilled as I would be in
surgery.
...anding, so it's important to take the time out to remember how many lives you're changing and how your life has changed by your patients. Remember every smile, take pride in every stride towards healthier patients and never forget that a career doesn't have much meaning if you're not happy in it.
I knew I wanted to work with people; I wanted further involvement, I wanted to see the results of my hard work, I wanted to make a difference in others lives. I went back to school to become a Surgical Technologist. As a student, I accepted a job at the hospital I interned at. After being in the operating room all day, I constantly was asking to stay late to finish a case or help with whatever needed to be done. I fell in love right away with this new profession.
I have not decided whether I want to be either a general or pediatric surgeon, but it might change in the future once I experience different fields. One thing I learned was that surgeons have to spend a lot of time before and after the operation. One skill I believe I have that is important for this career is that I am prepared to do everything it takes to help my patient, and I am creative in creating new solutions in doing tasks. I think this career interests me the most is because it is broad and is continuously being evolved into more advanced, deeper areas. The hardest part of this profession is number of years of education needed, and the great amount of hours needed to work. The rewarding aspect is that I am saving lives and doing what I enjoy. Right now, I need to do my best in my undergraduate years to prepare for my medical school. In ten years, I want to have completed medical school and begin my residency at a hospital, and be happy about my
Oddly enough, I liked giving obese, old patients bed baths, helping them to the bathroom, and cleaning their bed pans. But, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t exactly what I loved doing, but I knew it was part of the job, and I willingly did the dirty work. By the end of my junior year, I knew I loved the hospital environment and wanted to eventually work there; however, I just didn’t know in what capacity. Fortunately, during a slow day in my last semester of shadowing, a nurse asked me if I would like to see a surgery being performed. I quickly accepted the offer, and I got to watch a surgeon perform an eye lift procedure. This experience, one of the most interesting I had ever witnessed, made me realize the area of the hospital that interested me most, the operating room. More specifically, I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. The path to become an orthopedic surgeon is not a quick nor easy one. To become an orthopedic surgeon, one must first be accepted into medical school, graduate medical school, and then complete post medical school requirements such as residency and
A question I have been asked more often than not, “What would you rather be if not a doctor?” Well, my journey as a doctor has seen a share of crests and troughs, but I will not have it any other way. I am a book lover, and every good read is time saved; I have trekked mountains, and every step brought forth a sense of achievement; I have been recognized for my English debating skills many a time. Every cup held was precious, but none of it so fulfilling and rewarding as another human being trusting you with his breath. This texture of human relationships is unique to this profession, and is probably what makes it sublime to the eyes of a common man.
...le feel comfortable yet not feel any pain before, during, and after surgery requires much more responsibility than it sounds but in the end it is probably one of the most rewarding careers out there.
Furthermore, there are times where you will stand in surgery for ten hours plus. However, we also spoke about the many pros to being a surgeon. The first and main positive aspect of being a surgeon is that after you put in those hours and hard work, either someone is alive because of you, or they at least had the best chance of survival. Furthermore, Dr. Shamash told me that no matter how much work or what the outcome is, working inside of a human’s body is fascinating and amazing in addition to rewarding. In the end of the day, your life has more meaning and purpose than the majority of others.
Throughout my final ten weeks at my placement, I have grown and overcome so many obstacles. I have accomplished a wide range of skills since the beginning and have been improving on them as I gained experience. At my placement as a student nurse, I have gained a lot of confidence, skills, knowledge and experiences that have helped me act and work in a professional way. All the experiences I have had during the ten weeks of my student years have helped me in shaping me into a professional.
They have allowed me to experience the environment and given me a measure of what I will have to combat and accomplish in this field. I have learned so much about medicine and the different methods that they actually use in the field. I have been able to see how doctors work in their actual field and the impact that they have made upon their patients. This has given me more determination to work harder and the conviction that I can help many people as a doctor. I will be able to work hard to accomplish my ambitions and use this knowledge I have gained to help me on the way to becoming a
In order to determine whether or not clinical medicine was the right career for me, I started shadowing Dr. Richard Turner in the ER. Through my experiences with him, I learned that medicine is a problem solving process. As I watched, he would take a patient's history and try to piece together the correct diagnosis by deciding which scenarios were more likely than others. I was attracted by the dynamic nature of each patient's diagnosis and the necessity for an open mind. My hobby of flying has taught me to look at everything in life with a new perspective and to assess the situation from as many angles as possible. Watching Dr. Turner has confirmed my perception of a medical career and the nature of the work involved. Since I love puzzles and problems, the problem solving aspect also increased my desire to become a physician.
“As surgeons, we are able to test our hypotheses and see rapid, graphic results from our work. It is immensely satisfying to completely excise a cancer, convert a cold, bluish ischemic limb to one that is warm and pink, relieve the pain of an intraabdominal catastrophe or help a scarred patient gain better appearance and function.” (American College of Surgeons) This states that their satisfaction comes from seeing successful operations, thus their emotional stability is boosted and well maintained with successful operations. 94.5% reported in a study, that as surgeons they would take on another leadership role.
All in all being a surgeon has been a lifelong dream of mine. As a surgeon you must be prepared for anything every single day of every single year. Some may be able to handle that others might not. Surgeons may arguably have the hardest, most stressful job. They have another person’s life in their hands and that person may live or die based on the actions of that surgeon. The work is tuff, the education is rougher but being able to withstand all that, and fighting each and every day to reach my ultimate goal is well worth it. Once I start I won’t turn back, being a surgeon is what I want to do, since I’ve started highs school I have had my eyes set on this job and giving up isn’t a option. After learning all these things I have, I want to be a surgeon. This job saves lives and being able to do that will make my life worth wild.
Personal Statement Choosing internal medicine as a specialty of choice, to be honest, was an easy choice. As a curious student, I loved every aspect of medicine. The decision to choose internal medicine came during my third-year rotation. I was amazed and awestruck by the thought process my attending and the rest of the team would use to come to a diagnosis and in a few instances going beyond the diagnosis, in terms of thinking about the financial constraints and various cultural aspects. It made every day feel like a chapter from a Sherlock Holmes novel
Though working within the medical community was something I desired I found myself too attached to the science behind the procedure than the actual performance of the procedure. I was under a pretty distinct impression from everyone I met that since I liked science and more specifically biology I should be a doctor; as if there were only one career choice for those interested in any scientific field. It wasn’t until heading to university that I truly realized I could be a scientist and not a doctor; the terms were not mutually
When I was at my rotation in medical school, after seeing patients in the medicine unit and learning about diabetes, hypertension, and various other diseases, I immersed myself in the field. I tried to figure out ways of contributing to the specialty even though I was just a medical student, and made up my mind to become an internist. After finishing my internal medicine rotations, I was sent to complete obstetrics and gynecology rotations. During the rotation, I was watching the senior doctors delivering babies and treat different diseases that women encountered. I looked at the new mothers and witnessed their happiness which drove my motivation in obstetrics and gynecology. After three months of obstetrics and gynecology rotations, I began a pediatrics rotation. Seeing the children there growing and overcoming whatever ailed them, with all their tears, pain, and joy, made me so overwhelmed I wanted to become a pediatrician.