My Mentor/ PF#1

"Sir, I need to ask about-"

"About Anything except anatomy!"

"...about something irrelevant...?"

"Irrelevant?!Great! Anything you want!"

"Well, about the residency... about surgery... you see I want to do Orthopedics... and I'm wondering, you know, because I'm a woman, if it can be done...?"

"Hmm...have you done Orthopedics?"

"We 've just completed the subject today"

"Have you been on rounds at all yet?"

"No..."

"Well, the residency of Orthopedics in Greece consists of one year of general surgery and 4-5 years of Orthopedics... And you know, the surgeries done are enormous... well... they're very... "butcher" surgeries!!! They need physical strength and mostly strength of soul. That's why you're less likely to see women heading towards that direction... and the few women who do, well I don't know if you've seen any... but they're a bit "butch" if you have a look at them too...!!! It's not the kind of surgery where you can just sit over a table, looking through a microscope, working with little detailed movements. And even if you decide to work only on hands for example, that will be something that will come very late in your life. This is a very mature decision, one that you can't and shouldn't take just yet.

So, on a first basis you have to choose between surgical, medical and lab work-"

"Surgical! I love all surgical subjects and I keep trying to convince myself to take a liking into something medical but I just can't-"

"It's too soon, you're "immature" right now... When you are to think on choosing your field of specialty, you'll find that you'll be thinking of several practical issues as well... Surgery is mechanical type of work-"

"Exactly! That's what I like about it!!!"

"No, this is a decision you should make with maturity. Don't choose your field of specialty just because you were inspired by some subject or some teacher. What you want can change, and will change. It's very relative. Something may seem very heroic to you right now but you won't want a career to be completed when you're 40-50 years old and only to find yourself working in a dungeon till nighttime. Neither will you want to be working in private practice till midnight trying to get a few bucks to raise your kids... You have to think about those things too. If you were asking me what I would do, if I were to chose once again being as mature as I am now, well, I would do many things differently.

I am not trying to let you down, or disappoint you in any way, do you understand what I mean by all this?"

"M- hm"

"Just wait till you get to rounds. You'll see different things, you'll get into the OR, you'll beg a little for the surgeon to maybe let you help, and then you will be able to decide if you want to work like that forever, okay?..."

"I understand, you are very right... But- IF I decide it, can it be done?..."

"Anything can be done... Specialties, PhD's, anything you want. You can do everything you decide."

"Thank you sir...!"

"You're welcome... have a nice day...!!!"

*I still love Orthopedics... I want to be a mechanic/doctor more than anything in the world... Let's just wait for rounds till I "finalise" it...*

*I decided to post the above so that I would remember what it takes to making the right decision, whatever it might turn out to be.*

*He did take much time for me, I really appreciate that, and I feel better after asking, because the fact that 'I can't make the decision yet despite wanting to' is exactly what's bothering me all of this time. Now that he pointed it out, it's clear that I will 'know better' later and the gaps in my mind will be filled by then...*

*Don't be inspired by "some teacher"- what if it's you sir?*