TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN MEDICAL PROFESSION – 5 NEEDED MINDSET
I often receive messages and emails from many young people, some are planning to go to medical school, some are medical students; and there are also friends who are young doctors just out of school.
You confided to me about your experiences studying and practicing medicine.
I feel very happy that you trusted and shared with me. The longer I stay in the profession, the more I feel that the medical profession is truly a very special profession, it brings a lot of meaning, but also comes with many challenges.
There are many doctors, in Vietnam, and in the US, for many different reasons, who have left the profession. Many medical students also decide to follow another path after a few years of studying medicine. There are also tragic cases when doctors and medical students commit suicide because they cannot stand the pressure.
That’s why today I want to share 5 essential MINDSET to have when you want to pursue a medical career. When you equip yourself with these mindsets, you will have the resilience and steadfastness to live in the medical profession.
1. FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS IN THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY.
People who study medicine and practice medicine always need observation, attention, curiosity and critical thinking skills.
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For example, when examining patients, you feel that many patients treated with drug A recover faster than drug B.
You can ask a question, then learn from it, and perhaps launch a study to verify whether your hypothesis is correct.
It is thanks to questions like these that international medicine is increasingly developed, there are more accurate ways to diagnose, there are effective medications with fewer side effects, and are easier to use for patients.
In addition, critical thinking skills are also necessary when you read and filter information from research articles, to determine whether the research is reliable, whether the conclusions are reasonable, whether they are applicable to your patient group or not.
2. STUDYING MEDICINE IS LIFETIME LEARNING.
Medical knowledge is updated over time. There are treatments that were recommended in the past, but are no longer used with information from new research.
The knowledge we learn today will be old tomorrow.
I still remember, when graduating from medical school, the principal shared,
“Today you graduate, becoming doctors. You have officially left school. But that doesn’t mean you can stop studying. I hope that you will nurture a love for yourself with me. learning. Learning to become better and better. Learning to save people.”
That’s why, if you are a medical student, when you feel bored with having to learn dry information, it feels like it will never end. One thing I want to tell you is that one day that dry information will help you save people.
Every time you learn something, think about how you can apply this knowledge to better diagnose and treat patients. Apply what you learn to clinical work, to treat patients. Don’t study mere theory.
And rest assured, when you have finished learning the dry parts, the remaining parts will be much more interesting!
3. HUMAN MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE IS RELATIVE AND LIMITED
The doctor does not know everything, does not have answers to all the patient’s questions, which is completely normal.
- “Why do I get lung cancer when I have never smoked and have lived a very healthy life all my life?”
- “Why was my child born with a deformity when I was very careful in everything and no one in my family had such a problem?”
- “Why does my neighbor who takes this medicine not have any side effects but I do?”
Patients will always have these questions, and many more questions for which we cannot find absolute answers.
And there is one thing my teacher once told me,
“It’s OK to say you don’t know.”
That means we can honestly say that we do not know the cause.
That is not incompetence, but showing humility, knowing the limitations of the medical profession. It is an acceptance and recognition that,“Medical knowledge is limited and there are questions that no one knows the answer to.”
There are also diseases that have no cure.
This used to make me feel very uncomfortable. I used to feel helpless when I saw the patient getting weaker day by day because of terminal cancer, but couldn’t save him.
But when I tested it again, I understood that doctors are people, and people don’t know everything. Even though patients are cared for by a team of excellent doctors at a top hospital in the US with the most modern treatment methods possible, there will be cases that are beyond our capabilities and knowledge.
And learning to accept limits is accepting that we are human, not God.
4. ACCEPT YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES AT TIMES
And in the same way, when we accept that we are human, we also accept that there will be times when we will make mistakes, in diagnosis and treatment.
This is inevitable.
No matter how careful we are, what careful measures and processes we have, we can only bring these things to the lowest possible level, but cannot completely eliminate them.
That’s why, when something unexpected happens, in addition to being honest and hoping for the patient’s forgiveness, we need to learn how to forgive ourselves.
Because if we don’t forgive, we will forever live in torment. That’s not good at all, don’t let yourself lose confidence; become depressed; live in regret; reduces the quality of medical examination and treatment for future patients.
5. DON'T TAKE MEDICINE STUDY TO BE EVERYTHING
When deciding to pursue a medical career, most people have enthusiasm and passion for the profession. Everyone wants to devote their time, talent, and effort to the profession.
And that is completely right.
However, don’t consider the medical profession to be everything.
Our lives, in addition to work and dedication, also have other aspects such as family, relationships with friends, and other hobbies and passions.
Don’t just study and forget about other things.
I used to be a bookworm before. After eating, all I can do is go to school. Come back from school and continue studying. A 24-hour day passes like that. One day I felt like my life was boring and boring.
And suddenly I became disgusted with studying. Feeling like life has been out of balance for too long, so I’m exhausted, and I want to change, want to do new things, explore the world out there.
And at that time, I had a time when I absolutely didn’t want to touch books, didn’t want to study, just wanted to play. Even though I know that doing so is not good.
After a while, I regained my balance, studying and playing, making life more meaningful and interesting. And not only entertainment, I also learned many skills such as photography, blogging, video making, business, etc. v. to become a better, more comprehensive version of yourself day by day.
Thanks to that, today I feel proud every time I introduce myself, that I am not only a family doctor in America, but also a businessman, coach, content creator, and motivator.
Medicine is just a part of my identity.
That’s why, I want to send a message to young people – don’t limit yourself to studying medicine. Always look for opportunities to develop all the gifts that life has given you.
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