Profession doctor

In difficult moments of life, we seek help from our relatives and friends. But sometimes, to solve global problems, especially those related to health, simple advice is not enough, and we rush to the doctor. This is the only person who can help preserve health, and sometimes even life. International Doctor’s Day is a holiday for all those who have chosen for themselves the most humane profession in the world – to treat people. Traditionally, this day falls on the first Monday in October. Every year, there are more and more people who want to enter a medical university. What qualities should a future doctor have? And what difficulties can be expected?

A bit of history

The profession of a doctor is one of the oldest – it has existed since the prehistoric period. Already in the primitive era, the first healers appeared who knew the properties of plants and knew how to use their healing power. Thus, sufficient experience gradually accumulated, which gave impetus to the emergence of medicine as a science.

The founder and “father” of medicine is the ancient Greek healer and physician Hippocrates. He was the first who began to classify diseases, refute superstitions and investigate the causes of various pathologies. And the progenitor of experimental medicine is considered to be Galen, an ancient Roman surgeon and philosopher. He made an invaluable contribution to the development of disciplines such as physiology, neurology, anatomy, pathology and pharmacology.

About responsibility and difficulties

As a rule, children are determined in advance with this profession, at least a few years before graduation. So the daughter of my friends has decided to become a doctor for several years now, but her parents do not approve of her choice. Their fears are related to common ideas about this profession: blood, wounds, too long study.

First of all, you need to understand that the deep urge that pushes a person to choose this profession is the desire to help. If someone made such a decision for himself, especially in his school years, that’s great. Most schoolchildren have no idea who to be after receiving a certificate. Therefore, if your child has made up his mind and takes some steps towards his future profession, this should be encouraged and supported in every possible way, and the necessary qualities should be developed. It cannot be said that the profession of a doctor is more difficult or harder than others, but, naturally, a person who embarks on this path must keep in mind several important points.

Firstly, the doctor becomes independent in his field much later than specialists in other professions. In ordinary universities, after five years of study, a person can work on a par with colleagues and quickly climb the career ladder. In medical higher education institutions, the learning process is really long. A student becomes a doctor not at the moment of receiving a diploma, but only after years of work. The Institute provides a base, a foundation, the ability to work with information. Narrow-profile training is carried out after the institute and takes at least five years (two years of residency, three – postgraduate studies). And of course, taking into account the fact that doctors are responsible for people’s lives, the first timid steps in the profession are tightly controlled by more experienced mentors. Therefore, the doctor sets off for independent swimming much later, and this is important to understand.

Secondly, despite the high demand, the profession of a doctor is not paid very high on average, although the income of doctors depends on many factors. You need patience and an understanding that a future doctor will not be very financially successful for a significant part of his life. As they say, there are not many good doctors, and even fewer wealthy ones. If an understanding of these aspects is present, then you can safely enter a medical university.

About personal qualities and choice of profession

The doctor is a multicomponent profession. On the one hand, this is pure science, on the other hand, science on the verge of handicraft. Our activity involves constant communication with people. The specialist must have a knowledge base, the ability to communicate with patients and be ready to perform mechanical work. Another important quality of a future doctor is the ability to act with a cool head. Of course, the desire to help is the locomotive of the profession, but it is important to understand that every day we have to deal with many different cases, and we cannot pass every story through ourselves. It is the ability to not succumb to emotions at the right time that will allow you to make the right decision when choosing a treatment tactic.

There is a common misconception that doctors have busy work schedules. This is not always the case, but over the years the line between work and stay at home blurs, even if you spend only a few shifts a week on it. You should always be “included” in the work. You answer calls and continue to consult outside the hospital. With the advent of telemedicine, it became possible to constantly discuss some working moments with patients or other doctors. You always keep your finger on the pulse.

I was born into a medical family. Mom is a biologist, and dad is an oncologist. He studied cancer and made several important and fundamental discoveries in carcinogenesis, which made it possible to fundamentally change certain algorithms for interacting with carcinogens. I grew up talking about medicine, spent a lot of time in the oncology center since childhood, I have been familiar with this environment since I can remember. I simply did not consider other professions and always knew who I would be – a clinical oncologist.

Andrey Vsevolodovich Kukushkin, PhD, endovascular surgeon, radiologist at the European Clinic

– My parents were doctors, and some of the relatives were somehow connected with medicine, so there was no question of choosing a profession. Interventional radiology (endovascular surgery) attracted me with the possibility of performing therapeutic interventions in the most atraumatic way, while the effect of these interventions in some cases is either comparable or exceeds the possibilities of open surgery. In addition, the low invasiveness of such an operation makes it possible to help patients who are contraindicated in extensive surgical intervention.

When I started doing endovascular surgery, there was no such specialty in Russia yet. Most of my colleagues moved into this specialty from radiology or surgery, so I had to become a radiologist first. The most difficult thing in my specialization, which is also the most interesting, is to influence the focus of the disease without affecting healthy tissues and organs, which requires high precision and thoughtfulness of actions. During the intervention, the surgeon sees a three-dimensional picture, can touch the tissues, and the endovascular surgeon sees a planar picture on the monitor screen and how and where the instrument goes, with the almost complete absence of tactile sensations.

If I were not a doctor, I would probably choose the profession of a jeweler or a watchmaker. As for applicants, in my opinion, one should not become a doctor who wants an easy life and is not ready to “Study, study and study again!”

Vladimir Alekseevich Osheichik, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Oncologist, Surgeon at the European Clinic

— Surgery is one of the most interesting areas in medical practice. This specialty has always seemed attractive to me, so I received the appropriate education. Most of all I like to operate. But this is also the most difficult thing – to bear responsibility for the patient’s life.

To become a doctor, one desire is not enough. The profession requires a special mindset, a developed intellect and the presence of certain character traits, for example, the ability to persistently achieve a goal. People who have consciously chosen such a profession should understand that only years of study and practice can turn an amateur into an experienced specialist.

Ivan Vyacheslavovich Petkiev, anesthesiologist-resuscitator, head of the department of anesthesiology and resuscitation, medical director of the European Clinic

– The choice of profession was influenced by the feeling of my own helplessness before the illness of one of my relatives. And what I like most about my work is the satisfaction you get when you manage to help a patient, improve his quality of life, save him at a critical moment, support his relatives. And the most difficult thing is to lose patients, to feel that you are sometimes powerless in the face of a disease in the last stage or an advanced case.

As a child, I studied at a specialized educational institution, thanks to which I had the opportunity to enter the police school, but I chose medical education. Probably, if it were not for medicine and not for work in law enforcement, I would be engaged in legal activities.

If we talk about who suits the profession of a doctor, then in my opinion, anyone can become a doctor if they wish. But in order to become a respected self-sufficient specialist, you need to have diligence, discipline and healthy ambitions.