Career musings

Sometimes I get dismayed with my career and think about shifting gears. I'd get all sorts of what ifs. What if I didn't become a doctor? What if I'd become a nurse or a physical therapist? Or maybe gotten out of anything medical, maybe one of those Travel Guide Jobs which seems very enjoyable, or maybe an entrepreneur where earnings have unlimited potential. But then I could not really think of any other job that would give me as much fulfillment and as much enjoyment. So here I am, still a doctor. Even if I am tired of the politics, the government policies which limit our practices, etc etc. The good with the bad. That's what we have to take when we go on our beloved calling.

Why I don't want my kids to go into Medicine...unless they really really want to

For an indeterminate number of years, I have heard people telling me that being a good doctor is a great career choice. And I have always thought so. You are respected in the community. You actually fill a need -- healing patients. People look up to you. There's always a need for good doctors. And, the biggest misconception of all -- doctors are rich.

Well, I wish all the above stated reasons are all correct. But now I believe that the situation is no longer the same. People still respect doctors, but not at the same degree. Many people see doctors on a HMO basis and do not anymore care who sees them as long as they do not have to shell out cash for it. What they do not know is HMOs do not always pay properly and on time, that's why sometimes other doctors shun them if their private practice is already packed enough.

Healing patients will always be a thrill and a satisfaction booster, whether or not there is money involved. That's why I'm still here in this career and in this country. I'm sure you know of some good doctors who look for greener pastures, jumping at the chance to get Anesthesiologist Jobs, for example, in the United States and other Western countries where the pay is perceived to be higher.

Which brings me to the last point. Not all doctors are rich. Many doctors are rich because they have successful practices, but for every successful doctor, there are many other community doctors, moonlighters, company physicians and others whose income are probably equivalent or even less than a call center agent's salary.  My husband and I earn enough for our needs, some of our wants, we scrape enough to pay our son's tuition, and that's about it.  Hopefully by next year we can afford to have both kids in school without borrowing money.  And hopefully we can finally have a place we can call our own.

Thank goodness we love our jobs, notwithstanding.  Otherwise, we would have shifted careers already, seeing that it's actually less rewarding, financially and non-financially, than people give it credit for.

Going abroad and starting all over

I just added another friend on facebook.  She's a former batchmate in Medical School who's now based in the United States and practicing OB/GYN. As far as I know, the surgical specialties are the more difficult to get into so I am very happy that she's now doing what many of us only dream of -- practice her medical career in the specialty of her choice in what is still considered as the Land Of Milk and Honey by most Asians, notwithstanding the country's current economic woes.

My brother said that sometimes it's all a matter of being willing to start from the lowest rung, which most people would not dream of doing. Maybe he's right. I feel though, that at the moment I not very willing to go through another round of examinations, but sometimes I envy those who actually had the guts to go and risk everything they have towards a future of uncertainty, but which ultimately turns out to be a good decision.

Maybe, one day, I'll decide to leave the Philippines and my depression over what seems to be permanent state of non-improvements here in order to improve our station in life. But I'm not really sure I can and want to start from the bottom of the Medicine Totem pole. I feel that I can no longer go through all those countless hours of "duty" in the hospitals. Well, we'll see, I might just change my mind. Or I might just look up another job. Who knows, maybe a real estate job with bentleyforbes is what we need to improve our lives.

Canada

My brother is in Canada. He's now a permanent resident there. He told me that it's a nice place, maybe I should consider moving there with my family. I told him that if I do so, I probably would have to take another round of board exams before I can practice medicine, and I'm really not sure if I want to do that. The thing is, not all occupations can be immediately translatable if you move to another country. I do not think a Philippine attorney could simply be a Texas Work Injury Attorney just because he wants to.

I know that my medical license is good only for the Philippines. If I go elsewhere, I am not considered a licensed doctor. At my age, I am quite tired of taking exams. Told my brother that I'll just become a problogger or something if ever I migrate. Hahaha!

Healthway Congress

Last Wednesday, I attended a congress by Healthway. It was a pretty productive day for me. Since I've specialized, I no longer update myself on the new trends in other specialties via formal lectures and congresses like these. It's also good because I found myself relating to these topics both as a doctor and as a patient (or parent of a patient). For example, the lectures on antihistamines and topical spray steroids had me think of my son's chronic allergic problem and made me think of putting him on a low dose maintenance therapy. The dermatologist went through the different approaches to acne treatment. Is there a role of vitamin b for acne? Does diet play a part too? What about stress? All these were tackled. Being somebody who was plagued by acne during my younger years, the lecture is quite an eye-opener for me.

For most of us doctors, the most fun lecture was the least medical.  Former beauty queen and now image consultant Abbygale Arenas showed us the basics of looking more professional and more trustworthy.  It can be summarized in these words:  smile, eye contact, handshake, attire, makeup.


I enjoyed myself.  I even found a new friend.  All in all, it was a morning well spent.  I even enjoyed breakfast and lunch, and there was even free shuttle.  There was only 1 glitch -- we were supposed to end at around 12:30pm.  We ended up at around 3pm.  Which meant that those of us who were supposed to be somewhere ended up late.

Oh well, there's always room for improvement. At least a good thing has been started.

Choose a career, not a job

I always feel that we should really choose the college course that we really have the passion for. While looking for a practical (read: easily hired, high paying) course is something most students will be advised to do, the fact is that demands for the different occupations change throughout time.

A few years ago, IT Jobs were the in thing, and people who are in IT could be sure to get a good paying job. But with positions filled up, new graduates may find that finding a job is not as easy. Nurses were snapped up by foreign employers, and if you happen to be a nurse and a good one at that, there's a good chance that you would be hired by a foreign hospital with a great salary and benefits to boot. Now there's a decline in hiring, due to a lot of factors.

Now, if you chose those courses because you really like them, you would still be able to enjoy them, even if you didn't land a job as well paying as you thought you would. But if you find yourself stuck in a hiring downturn with a degree in something you didn't even like in the first place...I guess you get the picture.

So I always tell people, choose a course based on what you really really want. Don't just choose a course on the basis on what the job market is right now. Four years from now, the picture of the job market may be so vastly different.

Not a pretty doctora

Unlike most of my peers, I got acne in my twenties rather than in my teens. The stress of medical school manifested itself in my skin condition, I guess. That was a double whammy for me. Not only did I have bad skin, I also didn't have the time to care for it! Well, since I was in UST, I go to the dermatologist when I have the time -- which is not that often! I also lacked sleep and developed some sort of hormone imbalance. Sometimes, if only for the fact that I felt uglier after, medical school seems to be so not worth it. But I guess it did pay off in the end, because I do love my career, even if it is oftentimes frustrating and not as profitable as we thought.

On the lighter side, I wish I had the beauty and the skin of Maricar Reyes, who's both a doctor and an actress. I guess better adult acne treatments came along, or maybe she was really born with skin better than mine which didn't break out when faced with stress.

Hectic

This week is VERY hectic. I work more hours in the clinic, I have to enroll my son, I have to enroll myself, I have to prepare for my daughter's first birthday and we have to practice our presentation for my grandmother's birthday party. Hardly enough time for me to play with my kids, do my writing jobs, blog, do pronexin reviews and update my online store.

I sometimes wish I could just go on a vacation, take things easy. But that won't be possible right now. Oh well, I can't really complain. At least nothing's amiss, everybody's healthy and happy. I could use a little bit more of money right now, but we get blessed with just enough to get by.

I should count my blessings. :)

Career Choices For Women

Times have certainly changed. For Chinese women (and Pinoy women and most women around the world, for that matter) before the 20th century, the only career choice is that of being a housewife.

In the 20th century, women have started coming out of their shells and became more involved in the workforce, although not in today's degree. My ama (paternal grandmother) helped with my angkong's (paternal grandfather) business, doing mostly accounting work even if she was not formally trained in it. My guama (maternal grandmother) didn't really become a career woman, mainly because my guakong (maternal grandfather) worked far away (he was in Iloilo and she was in China then, so she stayed home to take care of the kids.

In my mother's generation, there were now more working women. My mom was a businesswoman, trained a bit by my father but mostly by trial and error and experience.

When it was my turn, my parents encouraged me to be a doctor, even if being a doctor was mainly considered a man's job at the time I was young. My angkong would not have agreed. He thought being in business is the way to go, and I should go into a course like Management or Accounting, both of which I do not have an interest in.

I think all of them would have balked if I had mentioned that I would like to pursue a course in say, hairdressing or makeup. At that time, it was not the career to go to if you have the means to go for further education. It was mainly a skill that's learned through experience. Famous beauticians like Ricky Reyes didn't have any formal training but went on to open a bunch of profitable salons.

Of course, times have changed again and it is practical and glamorous to have a job in beauty and fashion. If I were a kid at around this time, my parents and grandparents would probably not think it's weird if I wanted to go to a cosmetology school in Minnesota (well, it's not really my interest anyway, so they won't really expect that). But if my daughter wanted that, I would let her. It's growing to a be a more professionalized service, and having the right training with experts is the way to go, not only in this field but also in other fields. It also helps if the training is recognized worldwide so if she decides to settle anywhere else, she could still put her training to good use. I also like the fact that some schools actually have job placement services for their graduates!

Also, it's less stressful than being a doctor!