It's been a while since I graduated. Exactly 1 year and 2 weeks ago. Reflecting back I've achieved quite a lot in the past 1 year and I think I am obliged to do a short summary to celebrate this wonderful year.
Transition.
From a student to a doctor. It was not easy, yet not too difficult. What we learned in medical school is useful to a certain extent, but most of the skills that were required in the past 1 year were not all thought in medical school. Well, knowing how to take a history, physical examination, procedures, basic medical knowledge... these probably contribute to 1/3 of the job, the rest of it were picked up along the way. Being able to call myself a doctor, I need to step out of the shoes of being a medical student to take charge of things. It was painful to walk barefoot in the beginning but soon I found my perfect boots and have been hiking the ups and downs with ease.
A change of scene.
Leicester good fun for the past 5 years. Small, close-knit, everyone knows everyone. Moving to Birmingham was quite a change. Being a much bigger city it is quite scary to move all the way not knowing what to expect. I'm always the lucky one though. Last minute house hunting, and I viewed the one and only one which I decided to take it on the spot and moved in 2 days later. Great landlords A&S have been looking after me like mum and dad, bless them! Being in a house of non-medics, with a very optimistic perspective of life (and also hard-core party animals) is a liberation and a celebration of bidding goodbye to student life. I settled in pretty easily. Birmingham - my third home!
New people.
A&S the perfect landlords and housemates and their bunch of interesting and ever-cheerful and friendly friends are the first big welcome present in Birmingham. At work, being foreign trained (non-birmingham graduate), it took a while to blend in and to get to know the rest. Thanks to lovely H, my work partner for 8 months (2 jobs in a row), I get to know some of the most fabulous, smart, posh yet down to earth people. And West 2 - it's the place to nurture professional contacts/relationships and friendships althought the actual job itself was lousy for educational purpose. H, A, J, C - my lovely barbie dolls of West 2, can't imagine the 4 months without you girls! And the rest of the F1s in QE - I've learned a lot from all of you great people, thanks!
Hard work vs Learning vs Progress
Started off to try to prove that I'm not just another dump junior doctor with limited resource, to fighting stress in a highly challenging job, to filtering out all the nasty contacts to make life easy, to knowing the right place, right time, right people, to using little tricks and lies that makes things work and makes everyone happy, to a semi-acomplished well equipped, well connected, well motivated junior doctor who proves to be an important asset in any team he is in... I've channeled in quite a lot of effort. Staying late to solve complicated cases for job satisfaction (or plain frustration at times), taking humiliation in pride, learning from mistakes, turning anger into motivation, all the ups and downs turned a year of ordinary FY1 training into a character building important foundation in a lifelong career.
Career Aspiration
People who knows me would know that I've considered - Diabetes/Endocrine, Paediatrics, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Oncology, and finally Radiology for a career. Well, a year of exposure and immersion in the reality of medicine has finalised my choice - Radiology. The only challenge now is to get a training post! 20:1 competition ratio, second in the list of all specialties (after ophthalmology)... but i'm ready for the challenge. I've found the path and i've venture a little down the path, planted some seeds along the way, which I believe will soon blossom and flourish! Have faith and work hard - nothing is impossible.
Chill and Fun
Having a regular income is such a blessing. Good food, drinks, party, shopping, holidays etc. Been on a few holidays, went home 2 times... life couldn't be much blissful ;)
Future
Well... that's unpredictable but there's already a plan. Work hard and play hard along the way, can't think of anything better than that!
22 July 2010
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