Students aspiring for a medical career never have it easy, they say! From gruelling entrance exams to an intense five year study, there is a constant academic and work load on doctors. Perhaps that is the reason educationists insist on educating medical aspirants about the challenges and pitfalls ahead.
For a medical student, an MBBS degree is the first step in his medical career. This is generally followed by, among other things, a specialized degree like MD. It is opined that studying in a medical school is a difficult proposition simply because of the sheer amount of knowledge you are expected to gain. This is not to discourage prospective students but to present a realistic assessment of the amount of hard work that needs to be put in.
More often a practicing doctor has to report at work during odd hours. It could be an emergency or a long operation, doctors need to put in long and continuous hours at work and be mentally prepared for the same. General Practitioners typically work for long hours throughout the day while the workload is much more for resident doctors and specialists like surgeons. Needless to say, this brings with it enormous challenges and sacrifices, particularly with respect to family and personal life.
Lately, doctors have complained of high workload due to an increasing number of patients coupled with a stagnant number of specialists. This is all the more reason to prepare oneself for the tough job ahead. Also, a study conducted in the US in 2008 has found that some 80 percent of doctors argued that the volume of paperwork they had to fill out each day increased drastically over the last few years. Furthermore, some 63 percent of them said that, due to the fact that they had to spend more time with their reports, they had to cut short the time they allotted to each patient .
It can be seen from the above instances that medicine is considered one of the most challenging professions. However, with the amount of knowledge it gives and the respect it commands in society, many consider it to be a worthy tradeoff.
- Sumeet Seth (views expressed in the article are that of the author)
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