too good not to share.
do visit her blog (but since she is a doctor, and a busy one at it, she
rarely keeps it updated stethoscoped
[all] Sharing is Caring
Posted by: "Muhammad" mordmmmxi87@yahoo.com mordmmmxi87
Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:41 pm (PDT)
http://aanahusainy. blogspot. com/>Surviving Housemanship
<http://aanahusainy. blogspot. com/2010/ 06/surviving- housemanship. html>
I remember the feeling of apprehension on the first day of
housemanship, or internship as they call it in Ireland, where I first
trained. When I was a medical student, almost finishing up my final
year, I could not wait to graduate. It was not so much of impatience to
start working, it was more of the thought of finally free from exams!
However, on day one of life as an intern, as I walked into the hospital
where I was about to be part of, what came to my mind was "Am I ready
to practise in the real world? What if I can't remember what I learn?
What if the specialists hate me? " It's probably normal to feel that
way no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves that we are now
ready to become doctors! ( I am sure the patients would fear more
knowing new interns are coming in )
Looking back, the apprehension never really dies as each day passed by,
but it became less each day as confidence grew. My 6 months in the
county hospital was wonderfully challenging and... to put it simply,
educating. And to me that is what housemanship/ internship should all be
about.
I learned a lot as an intern, not just in treating patients, in
managing cases and in becoming a good doctor.I also learned good
interpersonal and communication skills... with colleagues and patients
alike. I lovingly recall the wonderful people I worked with, the
helpful nurses and ward clerks, my registrars and senior house officers
that keep encouraging us and teaching us new things all the time, and
of course the specialists, the bosses that despite their vast knowledge
and experience still treated us interns as part of the team. Teamwork
-that was what I gained most as an intern there.
After 6 months working overseas, I decided to return home. Initially I
dreaded the thought of completing my housemanship in Malaysia. It was
probably because of the 'horror' stories I've heard about the hardship
of working as a houseman home. But to my surprise, it wasn't as bad as
I thought it would be. Maybe because I pictured worse. Or maybe it was
because I managed to complete my housemanship in a university hospital
which I heard is less busy than a general hospital. Of course, life is
not a bed of roses. There are times of hardship, ups and downs, as in
everything in life would be, but it is never the end of life.
Of course I can recall moments of pressure, especially coming from
individuals, although I am grateful that this was rare. Maybe it was
due to the fact that my first 6 months experience as a newly graduated
intern was relatively more pleasant - in the sense that I was working
in a peripheral hospital or district hospital , which was smaller in
size with less number of patients. Nevertheless, the conducive
environment and the motivating staff were the two key factors that help
me to develop my working attitude and mould me to become the doctor I
am today.
However I need to stress here that I am not undermining the working
environment back home. I have nothing but respect to all the housemen
that manage to complete their housemanship here. Is is tougher being a
houseman in Malaysia compared to being an intern in Ireland. This is
just my personal opinion based on my short experience working as both.
What I found most different is the number of critically ill patients
being treated in the general ward. When working in Ireland, most of the
critically ill were managed in the intensive care unit or the high
dependency ward. But this is a challenge in Malaysia as there are less
intensive beds to accomodate the vast numbers of critically ill
patients. That is why I am amazed at the skill and confidence of a
fellow houseman managing an emergency case in the general ward, being
the first person to attend such cases, not an anaesthetist medical
officer as it would be in the ICU or HDU.
Unfortunately, the downside is, as a houseman, hungry for knowledge and
experience, you will have to be careful in enquiring the right facts
and learning new skills. Sometimes, the burden of work will force a
houseman to learn from another, which can be disastrous if the
'teacher' himself/herself is not well-trained. I suppose due to the
increasing awareness and the numbers of medicolegal cases in the
western world, they are very careful at allowing an intern to perform a
difficult procedure without supervision. However, in a crammed hospital
with sometimes extension beds, this is probably a luxury. A houseman
sometimes finds him or herself in a difficult place to manage on
his/her own not because of lack of support, but because the senior
officers also have their hands full managing cases. That is why I can
understand why a fellow medical officer can easily loose his/her cool
when a houseman makes a mistake. We do not expect housemen to be
perfect but at the same time we want to protect them and ourselves from
making mistakes that could cause a loss of life...
All in all, what I can summarize is that housemanship or internship is
an oppurtunity for each new doctor to prepare him/herself in becoming a
good medical practitoner and a team player. You have to be strong in and
out and be positive always in facing the challenges of the medical
world. You might be yelled at whether justified or not... but just
remember, being scolded for a mistake is better that being regretful
when a patient dies because of something that we do or do not do. And of
course, at the end of it all, you become a better doctor each day if
you learn from your mistake and try your best to do better.
Just remember why we became doctors in the first place. For muslims,
doing your best is an act of faith and sincereley treating your
patients and their relatives, and working together as a unit, all has a
reward, if not in this life, in the hereafter... insyaAllah.
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i hope this can inspire us to be good muslim doctors. may Allah help us
in becoming one
wallahua'alm
