M5

Hard to believe that the final year starts in less than 10 hours time.

The past 4 years have been very eventful indeed. Apart from the mundane clinical work and studying on and off, it has been a real eye opener in the wards - learning experiences and heartfelt moments at anytime and anywhere. Doctors, patients, their families, there's always a learning point somewhere if you care enough to look.

The past few weeks in electives has made it even clearer that how much change one can make is really dependent only on how much time you are willing to spend. Everybody has a story to tell which will influence how the perfect care plan for them is carried out. In the general flow of things in the wards, patients are seen as diseases, nothing more. But if we are willing to take that one extra mile to see the disease as a patient, and to treat the patient rather than the disease, so much more can be done. Changing the life of one patient: it may not mean much in the healthcare system as a whole, but it will mean a world of difference to the patient who is being treated.

In the coming year, though unlicensed, it seems that we are actually working as doctors in the wards. Though it may be so easy to forget about these small things that can be done, it will be worthwhile to note that they can make big differences to the patients. I hope and pray that no matter how bad or tiring things get, I will still remember to treat patients, instead of treating diseases.

May the year ahead be filled with opportunities, both for learning, and for changing lives, God being my helper