A Medicine State of Mind

Wow, my first post. I welcome me to the world of blogging (thanks Gaya). I write this fresh (I don't know if that would be the appropriate word since I am anything but fresh) from a 36-hour duty day from my current Pediatrics rotation at Silliman Medical Center. I'm tired, dirty, hungry and I feel the coming of a cold and probably contracted a strain of a gastroenteritis virus from my patients but I can't help but feel good at the same time. You see, I never really knew why I got into medicine. I guess I just felt at that time that it was the next logical step for a physical therapist who did not want to go looking for the money abroad. And it was the next likely challenge. There were moments during my PT internship that helped make that decision though -- like the time I helped my Spinal Cord Injury patient at Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center stand and take his first steps, his mother came up to me and thanked me and definitely made my day. The time when I helped a 2 year old Cerebral Palsy patient achieve standing balance, the look in a stroke survivor's face when he can feed himself again -- all these small things brought a smile to my face and helped me enter the world of medicine. Since then, I graduated and currently I am in my 3rd to the last month of my postgraduate internship, and I have to confess, I have never loved medicine more than I have today. As corny as it sounds, It's helping others Healing Diagnosing illnesses Talking with people Having people trust you with their health and lives Having friends who share the same passion It's getting free food from sponsors for expanding your knowledge It's having guidance from venerable doctors who want to teach Mostly it's feeling that I am making a difference. It's feeling that God's healing touch works through me. As I end this first post, well, I've gotten used to life every three days (Duty every 3), the sleepless nights (though still happy and busy nights filled with noodles, pan de sal, and cafeteria cheese bread), and the lifestyle of medicine. It's something we as future doctors have to take in stride, a state of mind that we are His instruments of healing, and that in the course of doing our jobs, have time to smell the proverbial roses.