Did I really make the right choice?
-Written by Agrima Kapoor
The journey of a medico starts from the moment he or she clears NEET. With a heart full of emotions of apprehension, excitement, joy, relief from the tedious journey, and accomplishment; one thinks that the major task was getting into a medical college and that’s done. Everything else will be a walk in a park and why would one not think this way?
After all we have people around us applauding us for our success, our parents are on cloud nine for their child’s first big achievement and the direct input that goes into our brain is “ahhh I have worked hard and achieved my goal ”
Then comes the most dangerous misconception “AB TOH MAZE HI MAZE”. But little do we know that it’s the beginning of a “never ending” journey.
Without a shadow of doubt I can say that every medico gets the thought, “did I make the right choice” at least once in their journey and the word ‘at least’ understates this baffling question. So, is there an answer to this “most thought of” question?
Coming from a background of doctors I had always known what I was signing up for but a lot of us don’t understand until we actually put ourselves through it. This profession is thought of to be unparalleled, which it definitely is, but unparalleled, in the sense of being the most time demanding, most exhausting, slowest in the race of providing success; but also when it comes to the feeling of satisfaction of treating someone, the happiness when people shower you with blessings for curing them (shower of attendants’ aggression is also expected at times), your overall growth as a more patient, rational and knowledgeable person. If you have love for the subject, if you really feel like you can go on working for hours and you enjoy it, if the constant exhaustion makes you feel accomplished at the end of the day; then definitely you did make the right choice.
To think about it, this question itself is wrong because if becoming a doctor is put as an option with other choices on a list then it’s pretty much the wrong decision. It’s Right when that’s the only thing you want to do in life, knowing that the most important requirement of this profession is the devotion towards it.