careernav.

General Description

This is an ideal career for analytical and logical thinkers. As a general practitioner, you assess and treat a wide range of conditions, ailments, and injuries, from sinus and respiratory infections to broken bones and scrapes; you refer more serious conditions to specialists for more intensive care. Specialist physicians broadly work in anaesthesiology, family and general medicine, general internal medicine, general paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry and surgery. 

This  profile deals with other medical specialists including dermatology for skin, nails, hair and ophthalmology for eyes, pathology for disease identification and emergency medicine which involves immediate response medicine and management.

Dermatology deals with a range of diseases involving the skin, nails, hair and visible mucous membranes.  You employ a vast array of patient treatment modalities, from topical and oral medications to intricate surgical procedures, lasers, light and ionizing radiation. This specialisation is  very “visual” as the outcomes of treatment are obvious to both patient and physician, and can be a source of great satisfaction or great embarrassment.

Ophthalmology is all about diseases that affect the eye and associated structures such as the eyelids, extraocular muscles and nerve pathways. It has both medical and surgical approaches, deals with both paediatric and adult patients, and utilizes rapidly advancing technology. High-risk groups such as diabetics are vitally concerned with medical progress in this field of medicine.

Pathologists are experts in the nature, causes and processes of diseases. Over 70% of all diagnoses involve pathology tests. You are the one who provides the evidence to diagnose cancers, infectious diseases, diseases such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. You play an integral role in blood transfusion services. You solve the tough cases using tissue testing including blood, body secretions and tissue samples in order to understand what is causing the illness, or what caused the death. Arguably, this specialisation is the most important of all.

Emergency medicine is about the identification and immediate management of serious and life threatening situations. If you are excited by the pressure, unpredictability and challenge of quick decision-making medicine in which no two cases or no two days are ever the same, then a career as an emergency physician may be for you.

Whilst you are a generalist, your true area of specialization lies in the care and stabilization of the critically ill patient. You will see it all – from minor sports injuries, to car accident victims on life support, from cardiac arrests to asthma patients struggling for air, from injuries inflicted by gunshot or knife to a heroin junkie who has overdosed. It’s also shift work, you’re tired and often running on adrenaline, but it is your ability to make quick decisions and multi-task that will save lives.

What you do every day

Your day is dependent on the branch of medicine in which you practice. There are days for surgery and hospital rounds and days for patient consultation. If you’re into Emergency medicine your there nearly all the time, whereas Pathologists spend time in the laboratory. Irrespective you all start early and finish late and your career commences as a resident working in the major hospitals.

Residency is tough, hard work with long days commencing at 6.30am in the operating room and finishing once the surgeons’ patient list is completed. Your day usually ends around 6pm but once every four nights you may finish at 8am, a 26 hour shift.

Patients trust you and you need to be there for them. Medical training is exhausting, and rewarding both financially and in terms of personal satisfaction. Many physicians and surgeons work long, irregular hours; almost one-third of physicians work 60 or more hours a week.

Personality that best fits this occupation

You must have a desire to serve patients, compassion towards others, be self-motivated, and be able to survive the pressures and long hours of medical education and practice. You also must have a good bedside manner, excellent communication skills, emotional stability and the self confidence to make decisions in emergencies.

Ongoing study throughout your career is necessary to keep up with medical advances so you must have a high degree of motivation and self discipline. Employment opportunities will continue to expand due to a growing and ageing population which will inevitably increase demand for physician services.

Best thing about this career

You can make a huge difference to your patients' lives and to the communities you serve. You are challenged every day as people are different and medical technology constantly changes. The financial rewards can be substantial, so you can afford an affluent lifestyle, but in the end the status, respect and trust afforded to you is the greatest reward.

Worst thing about this career

The downsides of a medical career are: the long time it takes to finally become qualified, knowing that despite what you do people will die anyway, the long hours, and the difficulty in maintaining a work-life balance. There is a growing culture of litigation across the medical industry which has made medical indemnity a topical issue in some specialisations.