I remember when I was working in General Surgery and I was having fleeting thoughts of surgery as a career. There was one moment that made me realise that I definitely didn’t want to do it.
I was a SHO in general surgery at this point. I was referred a patient from the ED to assess whether he needed an emergency operation.
He did.
I looked through the patients medical records and noticed that the Consultant General Surgeon (Attending Surgeon) for the day was someone that had carried out another operation on him previously.
“Oh, it seems that Mr Soandso did your emergency hernia operation last year.”
“Who?”
“Mr Soandso! Erm…..”
“I can’t remember him”
It made me realise that I was contemplating surgery as I wanted to have an impact on peoples lives. And of course you do have impact being a surgeon! Acute operations are often life saving! But patients forget. They’re so disorientated in the hospital during these acute admissions that they can hardly remember anyone after an admission!
Meh, not for me. I want to have a real impact on peoples lives and also be rememebered by them. I think it’s important to be honest with yourself and be honest with what actually drives you to do what you do.
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