Is Medicine a Job or Lifestyle?

Although I am early in my career as a
physician, I still grapple with this
question and come up with a different
answer depending on the day.
When I was younger and deciding
whether a career in medicine was
meant for me, I remember being told
by a mentoring physician, "Medicine is
a lifestyle, not just a career or a job.
In medical college, you're faced with a
tremendous amount of material to
learn. You are afraid that if you don't
do well, you won't get your dream
speciality branch. You study more than ever.
You are in the reading room so much that
you know where the best seats located
During your internships, you work long
hours at the hospital, study for
exams, and work on finishing your targets. You find the best
bathrooms in the hospital and the
interns who are most willing to help
you practice your presentation before
rounds. Your college friends have
their first jobs with paychecks, while
you are signing a promissory note for
yet another loan.
During your intern year, it just gets
harder. No more cosigning your
orders; they have your name as the
responsible physician. Walking into a
patient's room saying, "Hi, I'm dr singhai, the intern physician taking
care of you" is different from saying
you're the medical student.
You work long hours and miss
holidays, weddings, and birthdays.
You have to figure out the hospital
system and how to make it work for
you and your patients. Your patients
identify you as their physician. You
celebrate their good news and mourn
their bad news. You also figure out
how to eat lunch while calling a
consult and signing out for your
afternoon clinic. Some sort of bodily
fluid,amniotic fluid winds up on your clothes at least
once during the year, if not more
often.
It probably seems like medicine takes
over your entire life. However, I
strongly disagree. Through my career
and experiences, I have met
wonderful patients who have taught
me that no matter the hand dealt to
you, you will always win with a
positive attitude and humor.
I have congratulated brand-new
parents on their beautiful baby. I have gained
friends who know what to say after
I've had a bad day at work or broken
up with my friend, or when I find
myself feeling homesick. I have gained
coworkers who I still want to go out
with after work, even after spending
80 hours per week in the hospital with
them.
I have lived in cities I probably would
never have lived in, and figured out
how to navigate from point A to point
B. I have learned that sometimes it's
okay to just be by yourself. I have
seen my parents beam with pride at
my medical college graduation and
each time they tell someone that their
son is a doctor. I have gotten
the chance to work with juniors and
pass on what I know about medicine
-- and sometimes a little about life as
well.
So yes, some may say medicine has
taken over my life, but I believe it has
given me much more than it has
taken away................