074: The joys of medicine

"Save one person, is akin to saving the whole of humanity." (Quran, 5:32)


I am now in my fifth year of medical school - the penultimate year. Just shy of 1 and a half years till graduation. This year has proven to be a large upgrade from last. Fourth year was spent acclimatising oneself to clinical work, getting lost in the endless corridors of hospitals and fidgeting with blood results and stethoscopes. Each touch on a patient was greeted with utter caution and anxiety.

But after a year of practising, each of us grew in confidence. We now know what the consultant is talking about when she says, "Send an MCS, I think she has a UTI. Have you done an AMTS? She might need a TWOC." Yeah, medicine is filled with strange acronyms that can only be truly learnt after repeated exposures to them. 3 weeks in, and I have taken blood unsupervised, examined a patient with Ramsay Hunt syndrome and wrote in patient's notes during morning ward rounds. Basically, I feel more useful. Although I still feel like a nuisance from time to time, taking up coveted floor space in already crowded wards.

However, day by day, I am reminded of what a true privilege it is to be a doctor. For one, you are able to help people in their times of need. In times of pain, loss and loneliness, you are there to go through them with your patients and hopefully provide them with some relief. Most times just being a listening ear is enough for them to unburden their distress.

Secondly, patients trust you with their deepest darkest secrets. Even as only a medical student, I have heard countless beautiful and heartbreaking stories - all ranging from "My late husband knocked up my sister" to "I lost my son two years ago, he overdosed on heroin." Everyday I collect strands of people's lives; diverse and colourful. I have to pinch myself to think that this is my future job!

Lastly, you make a difference everyday. In the wards, no doctor leaves on time. They willingly stay 3 hours or more after the end of their shifts, motivated by the fact that their work is important. If the work stops, people might die. It truly epitomises the happiness of pursuit. The work drives you, it fills you with warmth and satisfaction. It lights you up inside. Although the work is indeed hard and demanding, seeing your patients being wheeled out of hospital better than when they came in, makes it all the more worthwhile.

So I hope that if my future self reads this, I am reminded that to work as a doctor is a true privilege. And if done with the right intentions, will be a source of light, love and happiness for many years to come, inshaAllah.