Introduction
Medical school has been a great experience for me. It has been a learning experience for me as I tackle the daily challenges in the institution. In my junior years, I longed for the time I will join this elite profession and finally my dreams and hard work have come true. It will take four years for me to be a fully qualified doctor and that is my ultimate goal. Some key pillars of the profession have shaped the whole journey.
My Professional growth
The journey to being a doctor has not been a smooth ride all along. The white coat ceremony is a milestone for all I have undergone along the journey. I have put so much effort and hard work that I long for the moment I will graduate from medical school. The long lab sessions and late night studying are among the costs one has to undergo in this profession. It does not matter whether I will practice medicine, become a volunteer, or work in a clinic since I will have graduated and made my dreams come true. The white coat symbolizes the choices I have made. I decided that I would do my best to improve the livelihood of my fellow human beings by offering medical services to them no matter the conditions. It is a commitment that I have made to myself and will live to honor it. This is an elite profession that comes with its own set of challenges. As a doctor for instance, I will be expected to always tell the truth to my patients to build on their faith and enhance their treatment. On the other hand, some of the information I will have to share with my patients may cause undesired results that may compromise their treatment. For instance, a patient suffering from a condition requiring a radiology procedure such as compound tomography (CT), he/she may not be interested in knowing the number of people dying from cancer because of exposure to radiation. In such a context, the doctor may choose to withhold such information so that the patient may not fear the procedure. This is among the many scenarios that doctors have to deal with in their day-to-day activities. With all this in mind, I was honored to join medical school in an effort that one day I will get a chance to practice what I will learn.
Throughout my learning process, I have learnt that there will be cases where my skills in decision-making will be tested to the limit. In such a case, I will have to consider all the available options putting the health and recovery of the patient at the front. This is referred to a fiduciary relationship whereby the doctor makes decisions for the sake of the patient. This decision has to be above put above all other factors. For instance, in case a patient requires a life support machine for his/her sustenance, but family members object to this, it is upon the doctor to decide whether to obey the family members or to put the patient’s health first. This is a tough decision for the doctor since it is upon the duties of the doctor to safeguard the lives of patients but other factors may hinder this. In other circumstances, the patient may not have enough funds or insurance cover to cater for medical expenses and as a doctor the best thing to do would be to offer the next best alternative that is affordable to the patient. This is a key skill that doctors have to learn so that they can be effective in their line of duty. In life, choices have to be made depending on the various scenarios that life presents to us. It is upon doctors to have a rational mind and come up with a decision that a will be of the greatest benefit to the patient both economically and towards his/her health. Medical school offers such challenges through practical assessments and examinations where doctors have to portray the skills learnt and demonstrate their ability to solve problems.
This professional also calls for sacrifice. It requires that doctors put their personal affairs at bay and focus on patient matters even when on leave or off duty. For instance, a doctor may be planning to attend a family dinner but then an emergency case comes up. At this point, the doctor will have to put his/her affair aside and attend to the patient. This is referred as altruism principle and is one of the major principles I have learned in medical school. The principle states that doctors and other major players in the medical field should put patient affairs before their own. People were born to be social and in their day-to-day lives have to interact with both friends and relatives. These people require our attention so that we can strengthen the bond between us and to keep our lives balanced. At times, they can take so much of our time that we end up not performing our roles in the conflict kicks in when we settle down to our wives/husbands who would sometimes make us spend a lot of time together failure to which can lead to break ups. As doctors, we are required to balance our time and sometimes sacrifice one activity for another. This could seriously affect our relationships but our partners should be in a position to understand the situation.
In the medical field, other players such as pharmaceutical companies come into play. These institutions generate income through selling and manufacturing of drugs. In their business, they may try to retain customers by giving gifts and other incentives to doctors so that they may prescribe their products to patient. However, at times, some of the drugs tend to be defective. As such, the pharmaceutical companies try to misuse the existing doctor patient trust between the doctor and his or her patients. Once a doctor prescribes a drug time and time again, it is bound to be easily accepted into the market. The whole issue to do with pharmaceutical industries requires a solid foundation before tackling it. This is because it could the break through a doctor requires while tackling a condition with the patient or it could be an income generating activity for the company which is an unethical and I totally disagree with it since this can hinder doctors from offering a more affordable and effective solution to patients instead of sticking to one option.
On the other hand, the pharmaceutical institutions could be offering free samples to doctors for the exploration in order to find new ways to tackle diseases. This great step could eventually lead to a better solution to the patients’ conditions either through economically and in terms of medicine. Health matters play a great deal of peoples’ lives and pharmaceutical companies should be encouraged to assist in improving the lives of people. However, the aiding of pharmaceutical companies should not come at a cost that is higher than the human life. The act itself, of engaging in unscrupulous deeds, eliminates the original aspect of engaging in saving human life. For if one cannot save one life, then engaging in acts of saving many more defeats the purpose of sense.
Confidentiality between the patient and their doctor is of great essence in this profession. This ensures that information given to the doctor by the patient is not shared with anyone else. This puts the patient in a relaxed mood, as some of the information given could be embarrassing to the patient if known to the public. However, there are cases where doctors have to share the information with other people concerned with the patient where the patient’s condition could endanger their lives. For instance if the patient is suffering from a psychiatric condition that may make the patient commit a crime or cause injury to family members, the doctor can reveal that information to relevant people to help prevent such crimes. It is also in their duty of this profession, doctors encounter different kinds of patients. As doctors, we have to adapt to this condition so that we can make the lives of those concerned better and easier.
There are those patients who will refuse to follow instructions given by the doctor. This may be because of personal beliefs or other reasons. In such a circumstance, it is upon me as the doctor to talk to that patient and explain to him/her the importance of taking his medication correctly. Since I will be the one handling the patient I wouldn’t refer him/her to another doctor since his/her trust is fully in me unless in a situation where the patient is so non-adherent and there are more health risks involved. Such a situation could also call for the doctor to call for the help of the family members revealing the condition the patient is suffering from so that they may support him/her to take the dosage. This has to be done in a way that will not disrupt the relationship between the patient and the doctor and also between the family members.
Conclusion
I have outlined the various issues that I have come along in my development to being a doctor. Some of the issues I have already encountered while others are still yet to happen. The medical school has offered me the knowledge so that when such a time comes I will be in a position to make informed decisions and continue the pledge to serve people and respect the profession.
Works Cited
American College of Physicians (2003- ). Ethics and Human Rights Committee, Lois Snyder, Cathy Leffler. Ethics Manual. ACP Press, 2005.
Ethan B Russo, Fernando Ania, John Crellin. Professionalism and Ethics in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Routledge, 2012.
Kerry J. Breen, Stephen M. Cordner, Colin J. H. Thomson, Vernon D. Plueckhahn. Good Medical Practice: Professionalism, Ethics and Law. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
World Medical Association. Ethics and Medical Professionalism. 2013. http://www.wma.net/en/20activities/10ethics/50professionalism/ (accessed Feb 27, 2013).
