This is the customary photo I took in front of my first ever conference poster, Alhamdulillah. Being a doctor in the UK involves so much more work outside routine clinical care. To get ahead, everyone has to go the extra mile through doing audits, getting published in medical journals, presenting posters, conducting research, teaching medical students and assuming leadership roles in hospital. On top of all that, one also has to have time to study for professional exams (which one has to pay for, by the way!).
Although I can't complain about the multifaceted aspect of my job (I love complexity), it does require me to be very organised. For instance, tick box projects that can take months to finish were thought of weeks before I started my job in hospital. And as you get more senior in this profession, the less time you have to involve yourself in extra-curricular activities. And as I am currently child-less, there is no time like the present to get shit done.
And because most speciality training programmes are quite competitive, doctors haven't the luxury to leave important life choices to the last minute without taking years out of training to "find yourself". For instance, as my heart is set on the rigorous life of being a future paediatrician, my CV has to reflect the commitment to that speciality throughout my years in medical school and work. And it is not enough to just say "I love paeds", you have to back it up with evidentiary support through certificates, feedback and projects. I have learnt long ago that if it wasn't on paper, it unfortunately means it didn't happen.
Sometimes it does feel a little soul destroying to constantly compete. I was discussing this with my other medical colleagues over dinner the other day and we all agreed that in medicine, there is always another staircase to climb. In medical education for instance, a clinical fellow can upgrade to become a professor followed by being programme director, then a dean. In leadership, a consultant is super seeded by a medical director, who is super seeded by a chief medical officer of the hospital, then the region, then the country. There is always room to improve and there is always something to climb. In the larger scheme of things, I am pretty much at the bottom, and looking up feels very daunting.
However, as scared as I feel, I also do welcome these challenges. All greats started somewhere, probably where I am standing right now, so bring it on, King Kong!
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