Things to Learn in the Final Year of Medical School.
By a Doctor Who Once Quit Medicine After His First Call
By a Doctor Who Once Quit Medicine After His First Call
I was on-call in Medicine on my first day of internship after medical school, and the next morning I decided to leave the medical profession forever.
I left the hospital after finishing my 30-hour call, packed my bag, traveled five hours to another city to become a cleric.
Yes — that’s how it really happened.
But this is not how it ended.
Those narrow-minded terrorist mullas — as most people inside and outside believe — rejected me on the grounds that “we already have too many people who have dedicated their lives for Allah. Now our Ummah is in need of people who should dedicate themselves to Allah’s creation: human beings.”
So after two days, I was back in the hospital.
Now the hospital rejected me.
But since I was working unpaid, after a little resistance I was back on duty.
This is not an answer to your question.
But maybe it is.
Never Work for the Consultant — Always Work for Your Patients
One of the first things you learn during internship is this:
You are not there to impress consultants.
You are there for patients.
Remember that.
Corrigan’s Secret Door
Leave your ward as soon as you are finished with your work.
Don’t stress yourself unnecessarily.
Leave the ward from the hidden backdoor and come back when you are relieved.
Sometimes survival itself is wisdom.
Internship Will Stress You — Learn How to Relieve It
During internship you will get a lot of stress.
Relieve it.
Some relieve it through sports, religion, prayers, meditation, talking to friends, partying, sex, or simply sleeping.
Find your own way.
But do not let stress accumulate inside you.
Give Presentations
Give presentations in every department during your internship.
It gives you confidence.
I still remember my Cor Pulmonale presentation.
The confidence you gain from teaching others stays with you for years.
Eat Whenever You Can. Sleep Whenever You Can.
Save your energy.
Do not compromise your diet.
You will lose your immunity against diseases if you stop eating properly and sleeping properly.
Internship punishes unhealthy habits very quickly.
Death Will Become Familiar
I worked in a very busy hospital.
I saw three to four deaths almost every day.
More than 150 patients died while I was running Code Blue — and I am being very careful with that estimate.
I made a habit of reciting the Shahada (Kalima) in front of dying patients so they may remember.
If possible, I would advise the same to you.
Death changes you.
Medicine changes you.
You will never remain the same person after seeing enough people die.
Don’t Be an Enthusiast
This may sound strange, but hear me carefully.
If you follow all the points above, there is a strong chance that you will become enthusiastic about medicine and choose your future specialty based purely on excitement.
Don’t do that.
At that age you are young, emotional, energetic, and idealistic.
You may choose a specialty you will later regret.
Choose your specialty according to your life preferences.
One day you will get older.
You may have children.
You may have a husband or wife to look after.
You may need more money.
At that stage, “passion” alone may only frustrate you.
Choose wisely.
The Golden Period of My Career
After five years of medical school, the most golden period of my career was my internship.
I was an irresponsible, trouble-making, menacing student in medical college.
I barely made it through.
But after the incidents I mentioned above, I realized that for helping patients there is no way around medical books.
I became serious.
That is when I started enjoying medicine.
Take Full Responsibility
I took responsibility for every patient I saw.
I never trusted anyone else with my patient, even though I was the most junior person around.
I remembered their names.
I talked to them.
I spent time with them.
I read about their illnesses during my calls.
Taking vitals, drawing samples, doing procedures — I always tried to do them myself.
Of course, I studied first, learned from seniors, and practiced carefully.
Because of this habit, I started diagnosing diseases and doing procedures that even some third-year postgraduate residents were afraid of doing at the time — liver biopsies, CVP lines, and many others.
I am in Orthopedics now, but even today, in emergencies, I still use the skills I learned during internship.
People become impressed.
But the real reason was simple:
I considered myself responsible for my patients.
Enjoy the Adventure
Enjoy the adventure of medicine.
NG tubes.
ET tubes.
Chest tubes.
Giving Isoptin or adenosine in SVT.
Managing myocardial infarctions.
Running Code Blues.
I still remember the night we had three MIs and one SVT simultaneously.
It was awesome.
All of them recovered.
Moments like these stay with you forever.
Read the First 30 Pages of the Oxford Handbook of Medicine
Treasure.
Absolute treasure.
Seven years later, I still remember lines from it.
Some books do not merely teach medicine.
They teach you how to think.
The Night That Changed Me
On that very first on-call, four people died.
I still remember the number.
And I still remember the names of at least two of them.
There were only two interns attending those deaths.
I was completely new.
I knew absolutely nothing.
The other intern was already busy with another patient when another Code Blue happened.
We called our senior on call.
She said:
“Do whatever you can, but these patients are already geriatric, so consider them Do Not Resuscitate.”
That sentence put a hole in my chest.
The statue of the Doctor inside my mind shattered that night.
Medicine stopped being romantic after that.
It became real.
Build Your Own Collection
Take pictures of every unique case you see during your internship year.
Save them.
At the end of the year, you will be amazed by your strange album.
Medicine gives you stories no other profession can.
Finally
Be a good doctor.
Because we lack those nowadays.
Not successful doctors.
Not famous doctors.
Good doctors.
Prayers for your future endeavors in this beautiful field.
