My Potential to Pursue a Challenging and Rewarding Profession in Medicine

My interest in medicine comes from my curiosity of the human body, my desire to help others and my own personal experiences. Suffering from asthma gave me a motivation to learn more about pulmonary diseases and respiratory medicine. Through my research I came across articles such as ‘Asthma-related deaths’ in the BMC Medicine which informed me about the treatments of asthma and how fatal the condition can be if it is not taken seriously. After my mother was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I became curious as to its effects and why it occurs. This experience allowed me to be kind and patient and practice caring for others.

Work experience in a pharmacy has given me the opportunity to talk to others about medical conditions. During my time there I came across patients who had questions on medications I was unfamiliar with. My gap in knowledge allowed me to seek help from the pharmacist. I was able to convey what the pharmacist told me to the patient clearly, in a way which they understood. Working there showed me that communication skills are important and how important it is that a doctor uses them be able to listen intently and communicate clearly with patients. Relying on my peers also taught me the importance of teamwork and how doctors usually work with people in different professions to help a patient.

Whilst visiting Bangladesh I required urgent surgery on my right hand due to an infection. During the surgery I was given the opportunity to observe the doctor in his work and his leadership skills such as giving clear instructions to nurses to support him. Talking to him afterwards gave me an idea of how important leadership can be, as if he is not confident as a leader, faith in the profession may be lost. This showed me that the values of doctors can be universal as many of the values which the Bangladeshi doctor portrayed is reflected in documents such as ‘Good Medical Practice’ by the GMC in the UK. Reading through this document has also taught me the values which doctors need to uphold such as honesty and integrity. I was also able to attend a basic life support training course through which I was able to learn how to use a defibrillator, basic CPR and basic manoeuvres to perform if a person is choking. Practising on a dummy demonstrated my manual dexterity skills and being in the presence of my instructor put a lot of pressure on me to do it correctly. Surgeons need excellent manual dexterity skills to perform operations successfully, this experience taught me to control my nerves.

My time as a waiter put me in many situations where I needed to prioritise levels of importance such as which orders need to go out first. I needed to work as a team to deliver orders efficiently. I was also faced with customers who took longer than usual to order. I remained patient and kind in these situations as a doctor should be when diagnosing a patient. Through my EPQ on ‘Does Islam stand against science?’ I was able to learn organisational and time management skills as I needed to allocate time to spending on research and writing drafts. It also gave me the chance to form conclusions through analysis of different scientific and Islamic text as this was the premise of my essay.

In my spare time I like to play sports with my siblings, it provides me with a good work-life balance which is important as a doctor needs to relax sometimes so stress isn't an issue when working. Talking to doctors and members of the multi-disciplinary team has taught me some of the troubles involved with being a member of the profession such as long unsociable working times and not always being able to help a patient. They also informed me of the unique satisfaction of helping a patient and the exciting ever changing nature of medicine. As such, I feel ready to pursue such a challenging and rewarding profession which can enable me to learn about something I am passionate about which also helps people in a positive way.