something more to say

I apologize for the last reply I have posted. It was not cool. However, I am apologizing not because I have said anything that is not true, it’s because it was totally deviated away from my initial purpose of writing something in this site.

I am actually not a frequent visitor to this site. The only reason I wrote the initial post was to give my side of the story about being a doctor in this country. I want those who have similar background with me to see some light about their future. Sure you don’t have to be a doctor to be successful in this country. But I know it was the dream of many Chinese doctors to be able to do what they love the most in their life.

I have seen so many posts in this site about how hard it is to become a doctor in the States. I have read ‘huangxixi’’s story. I believe every word of it. I think everyone of us is going to encounter one issue after coming to the States, which is find a destiny. For me, it’s going back to clinical practice. Off course, it’s not going to be easy. Should it stop you from trying? I can tell you that I and most of those I know who tried and were successful. This is the message I want to send out.

If a rich kid in America can do it, why can’t you?

I am also tired of hearing about the compliant about the unfair competition in medical field. Come on, life is not fair!!! It’s all depends on how you want to make out of it.

If you can’t perform in the same level like your peer, why should they treat you the same? In fact, you may have all the knowledge you need when you start your residency, you might have been an attending physician in another country, but I don’t think you can perform any better then a third year medical student in the beginning in an American hospital. Your chance is going to be getting better very quickly, before others run out their patience on you. Just think about it, why should they cover you all the time when everybody is busy himself already.

To tell you the truth, I was the only FMG in the program. We had evaluation every five weeks. By the third week, I was given a warning that I might be put in probation. You usually have one chance to be in probation. You will be kicked out of the program if you fail to perform in the second evaluation. When I sit down with my program director by the fifth week, I was told that I was right on the target. By the sixth month, I was considered the most confident resident in my class. By the end of first year, I was the only resident got a letter from the chairman of the department to appreciate that I had been a good role model for my classmates. After my second year grand round, the chairman referred me a letter from some professors stated that my talk was at the level of visiting professor. In the last year, I was the chief resident.

This is the same program who told me that they would never take any FMG when I sent my first application letter in the beginning. It’s also the program who wouldn’t give me a position before they heard that MGH had accepted me. I was even asked “why are you here” the first time having lunch with an attending.

My point is, from my personal experience, I think the United States is the least discriminating country in the planet. You can just image someone from Southeast Asia trying to become a doctor in Beijing, or how your classmates from countryside were treated in your college. America has given us the best opportunity you can ever imaging. It’s all up to you to grasp it and hold on it. If this is not fair, what is it?

The reason I have mentioned about what doctors around me can make in this country is to give those who are still in the process searching their dreams some incentive to work harder. I claimed the process is not that hard because I believe that easy or hard is all relative. You can’t make it until you work on it. Anyone who has their dream to become a doctor in this country shouldn’t be discouraged by the work you have to do. I have plenty successful stories around me.

I was disappointed to see so many argue about money issue. I want to say that money is not everything.

I have a senior classmate who was the chief resident two years ahead of me. He had a job in Florida which offered him so much money even made me feel sick. However, one year later he came back to my medical school became an attending making only 150,000 a year because he missed the academic environment. Enough said about it.

所有跟帖： 

• You bragging personality -ioihihbj- ♀ (99 bytes) () 08/04/2005 postreply 14:01:52

• 回复：something more to say -doremifa- ♀ (739 bytes) () 08/07/2005 postreply 19:58:27

• 回复：回复：something more to say -badfather- ♀ (541 bytes) () 08/14/2005 postreply 16:49:34

• you or your husband? -doremifa- ♀ (302 bytes) () 08/16/2005 postreply 09:08:56

• 回复：you or your husband? -badfather- ♀ (406 bytes) () 08/17/2005 postreply 21:14:20

• tell us how much you make? -doremifa- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/18/2005 postreply 18:27:47

• How come all the fishy people -doremifa- ♀ (87 bytes) () 08/18/2005 postreply 19:42:08