Medicine is Personal: Deep Down to My Soul
Author: Anuja Mali
Keywords: women in medicine, women in surgery, passion, professional development, professional journey
“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
One of the truths about choosing to study medicine is that, from the moment you decide to go down that road, you are bombarded with the same question.
"Why medicine?
You'd think that once you get into the medical school, you'll never be asked that question ever again, but you are.
I am a first-year medical student aspiring to become a surgeon. I know I know- SURGERY? And how are you so sure about it? You have just started your med school. You haven’t even seen the patients. Do you even know how much time and hard work it takes to become a well renowned surgeon? So, how do I respond when people ask me if I'm scared about how long it takes to become a doctor? There's the classic "you'll get older anyways so you may as well be a doctor!” For me this is different. “There is a special joy that comes with the practice of surgery. Surgeons, indeed, are distinguished by the art and craft of their ability to perform surgical procedures or operations.” And as a disclaimer: the length of training is a non-issue to me. We live our dream every day and if it's what you want and what you're passionate about there is no reason to elude your calling.
Each person defines success in different ways. To know even one life has been improved by my actions affords me immense gratification and meaning. That is success to me. I want to have the ability to provide care and treatment on a daily basis as a physician. I hope not only to care for patients with the same compassion with which physicians do, but to add to the daily impact I can have by tackling large-scale issues in health. And not forget the day when I’ll do my first surgery, when I’ll treat my first patient or listening to the heartbeat of the first child I’ll deliver as a doctor.
There is something sacred, empowering, about providing support when people need it the most. I think medicine is rewarding and eye opening but simultaneously challenging and helping people at their most vulnerable time is a privilege. To me, empathy is the essence.
My reason for sticking with medicine from 6th grade till all these years is due to my intrinsic and fierce desire to help and save the lives of others. I want to be a hero, not with weapons or superpowers, but with a scalpel. The knight in shining scrubs. It's such a profound feeling that it's quite hard to explain what it's like. It's not something that can be learned; you can't be taught to want to be a doctor. That intense thirst for medicine, it just is, and there is truly no other way to put it.
Truth be told, it's not something you can explain in simple terms. It's a very personal dream; a very strong dream. And the desire to help others is unexplainable. But you're the only one that fully knows why you do medicine. And why you want to pursue the hard journey. And why you want to go through it all. I have no doubt that the next ten years will be similarly unpredictable, but I can assure you that no matter what obstacles I face, my goal will remain the same. And I know with certainty that this is the profession for me. Medicine is personal; deep down to my soul.
About the author: Anuja Mali is a first year medical student who is aspiring to become a trauma surgeon. She is driven by a curiosity to understand human health especially in women! She is also passionate about academic research and can't wait to approach the clinical practice. (Instagram: @anujaamalii)