today a work experience student spent some time tagging me to see what my job is like. it felt a little nostalgic, and I can still recall my week of work experience with a urologist almost exactly ten years ago. it was exciting, everything seemed so new and so "cool", and nobody mentioned any of the potential obstacles in my path.
unfortunately (for the student and me both), I am nowhere close to being a urologist, and my job isn't nearly as exciting. I tried to explain my day-to-day jobs to her- preadmission clinic, writing scripts and discharge summaries, reviewing patients... but I guess it wasn't that interesting, because I lost her after a couple of hours. Seriously. I was writing a letter and when I turned around, she was gone.
which is a shame, because she missed seeing first hand many of the highs and lows of the job. things such as:
1) seeing how hard it is to try and co-ordinate your lunch break so that you can meet up with your friends as you wolf down your food in 15 minutes. (You do this anyway because your shifts may never align so that you can meet up outside of work).
2) seeing how repetitive and mundane some jobs can become.
3) coming close to tears when you find out that your last patient has a very bad type of cancer and that he can choose not to have kids with his young wife, or have kids but never see them into primary school. And then consenting him for a major operation that is not going to save his life, but may perhaps give him some hope and make him more comfortable towards the end.
4) trying not to be rude to a patient who came in making demands, sarcastic comments, and who had a million medical comorbidities but whose greatest ailments were her permanent scowl and inability to control her tongue. And for the Christian work experience student, being stunned to realise that you can never love as much as a God who sent his son to die so that this person might be cloaked in innocence and purity.
5) going home (yet again) an hour after your designated home time, despite your best planning and efforts.
and ten years ago, I never would have been able to imagine myself in this role. I'm quite sure I would have imagined something much more glamorous.
unfortunately (for the student and me both), I am nowhere close to being a urologist, and my job isn't nearly as exciting. I tried to explain my day-to-day jobs to her- preadmission clinic, writing scripts and discharge summaries, reviewing patients... but I guess it wasn't that interesting, because I lost her after a couple of hours. Seriously. I was writing a letter and when I turned around, she was gone.
which is a shame, because she missed seeing first hand many of the highs and lows of the job. things such as:
1) seeing how hard it is to try and co-ordinate your lunch break so that you can meet up with your friends as you wolf down your food in 15 minutes. (You do this anyway because your shifts may never align so that you can meet up outside of work).
2) seeing how repetitive and mundane some jobs can become.
3) coming close to tears when you find out that your last patient has a very bad type of cancer and that he can choose not to have kids with his young wife, or have kids but never see them into primary school. And then consenting him for a major operation that is not going to save his life, but may perhaps give him some hope and make him more comfortable towards the end.
4) trying not to be rude to a patient who came in making demands, sarcastic comments, and who had a million medical comorbidities but whose greatest ailments were her permanent scowl and inability to control her tongue. And for the Christian work experience student, being stunned to realise that you can never love as much as a God who sent his son to die so that this person might be cloaked in innocence and purity.
5) going home (yet again) an hour after your designated home time, despite your best planning and efforts.
and ten years ago, I never would have been able to imagine myself in this role. I'm quite sure I would have imagined something much more glamorous.
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