Suzanne’s TLS 10 Questions
Suzanne, a frequent blogger and our this year’s Regional Advisor from Ireland, has accepted this week’s TLS challenge to complete the 10-point medical school questionnaire. Read on to find out more, and don’t forget to look here for more information on how YOU can take up the 10 question challenge.
Here are Suzanne’s responses:
1) Why did you decide to study medicine?
I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was two. I’d never spent any time in hospital and besides the family G.P I wouldn’t have had any contact with doctors. But when I was two, I announced I was going to be a doctor. As I grew up I never wavered, I just became more convinced it was the ideal job for me.
2) Can you share some things that you wish that someone had told you before you applied to study medicine?
I am currently studying nursing with the intention of going into medicine. I can honestly say I never expected the nursing to be quite so exhausting. I like the physically demanding aspect of the work, but on occasion it is very emotionally draining. My first placement was on an oncology ward, and having never lost anybody close to me it was a shock to be surrounded by people who were dying. The patients I nursed on that first placement will always stay with.
3) What profession would you be in if you weren’t in medicine?
I’ve never wanted to do anything other than medicine. I did work experience once and one of the consultants asked me ‘What would you do if you don’t do medicine?’ I answered that there was nothing else I could see myself doing. He told me that that was the right attitude; medicine is not a career someone should go into if they are torn between two professions. It is hard sometimes being in nursing. It’s bittersweet, I enjoy nursing but it is tough feeling that you are working in the environment you know you want to stay in and yet you are a million miles away from having the role you want to play.
4) What is your biggest motivation?
It sounds arrogant, but my biggest motivation is probably my desire to be the top of my field. I also hate not knowing the reason or the cause of something, so I like to find answers as to why a body is breaking down and then fixing them.
5) What are you most interested in so far and why?
Surgery! I loved my surgical placement. The first time I scrubbed in, I felt like I had come home. I knew I was exactly where I wanted to be. Within surgery, maybe orthopedics or cardiothoracics. I spent six weeks on an orthopedic trauma ward and it was one of my most enjoyable placements. I remember seeing a very young patient take her first steps after three months in a hospital bed. It was a humbling experience.
6) What has been your most difficult module so far and why?
We were required to do a literature review for a research module last year and I hated every minute of it. I love reading articles and writing about them from my own view point but after six months I was fed up! I chose to look at compartment syndrome as a potential complication of surgery. It is an interesting topic, but after the first fifty articles I’d definitely had enough!
7) What is the most memorable positive moment in your medical studies so far?
Scrubbing into an aortic valve replacement. It was breathtaking. Watching the woman be placed on the bypass machine was so different to how I’d ever imagined. It felt unnatural to watch the dynamap flatline, as though we should be jumping into action, but it did confirm for me that cardiothoracic surgery was going to be a major personal interest.
8 ) What is the worst horror story in your medical studies to date?
There are two that stand out for me. The first occurred when I was working in my part-time job as an agency healthcare assistant. A woman was being moved to a private room for what was expected to be her final few days. The nurse removed the woman’s IV cannula and the woman began to bleed profusely, and ended up dying as a result of blood loss. It was a horrific way for anyone to die and it very upsetting to see. Unfortunately, I was only on the ward for the day so I never had the chance to follow up on what caused such an unexpected result. The other experience happened during an A&E placement. A young man came in after trying to hang himself. We had to do CPR and if I close my eyes I can still see his face and feel his icy cold chest under my hands as I did chest compressions. He didn’t make it and he left a young family behind. These experiences were both disturbing but they have helped me become a stronger person.
9) Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? realistic version
a. Wishful Thinking
A top surgeon in my chosen field. I will have worked all over the world and be considered a real life House M.D….Seeing as this is the wishful thinking version I’ll also say happy with a man just like Dr. House! (Hugh Laurie if you’re reading this, get in touch!)
b. More Realistic Version!
Honestly, it sounds cheesy but as long as I am qualified as a doctor and completing some kind of surgical training I’ll be having all my dreams come true. I’d really love to do volunteer work abroad.
10) Can you share some tips/advice for others – a) wanting to study medicine b) already studying medicine?
My advice for both is the same; don’t give up. If you are determined that a certain career path is for you then don’t let anything stop you. Anything worth having is worth fighting for!