On becoming a doctor

This is a Guest post by Dr Akmez Latona as he enters advanced training in Emergency Medicine At the age of 18, I left my family and home in Mauritius to study medicine. It has been eight years of persistence with ups and downs, pursuing a medical career and choosing to train in emergency medicine. I love emergency medicine. Here is a snapshot of why I love the field so much and why it pushes me to excel. Last week I looked after a young man found by his parents unconscious at his home presumed secondary to a drug overdose. On arrival at hospital he was critically ill with persistent seizures. In the resuscitation room the team and I intubated him to protect his airway and treated arrested the seizures. Whilst the emergent care was being delivered a throng of relatives amassed in the waiting room. Close to fifty people gathered around the trolley as we moved him to the CT scanner. Their distraught cries pervaded the usual serene calm of the scanning facility and continued until we were able to return to the resuscitation room. Post CT, airway and blood pressure support the young man stabilised. I set up for a central line and began to reflect. I sincerely wished he would get better, but this was far from guaranteed despite the best treatment; I hoped I was providing the best treatment, that it would make him as well as he was before all of this. Procedures complete his extended family were able to come and see him in the resuscitation room. His mother looked shattered, drenche...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Guest Post Akmez Latona Source Type: blogs