The Price to Be a Doctor

<P class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt>He tells the story of a young boy who loses his father at the age of 9. He wanted to study medicine but his uncle was against it because medicine was a long and difficult profession. He managed to succeed and entered medical school graduating with honors. Those were years of intense socio-political turmoil almost twice losing his life.</P><P class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt>He recalls his experiences as a teenager college student and as an intern and resident. Times were then different. How things have changed since in the medical field. His first encounter with death was an unforgettable experience. Despite his desperate therapeutic measures he couldn't save his patient's life.He understood what the 'raison d'etre' was: To conquer it. Death was almost everywhere. Each day someone died. He seemed to become acquainted with and he no longer feared it. He came to accept it not as a tragedy but rather as one of life's unavoidable facts.</P><P class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt>He describes the emotions of his first operation the thrill of feeling like a real surgeon under the scrutinizing look of the astonished anesthesiologist and the skepticisim and worries of the Reverend Mother OR nurse supervisor. The former surprised at his courage the latter concerned about the fetus. He not only performed his operation with success but also his first and last baptism.</P><P class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt>Disillusioned he abandoned his country to face new challenges and difficulties in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags /><st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He wasn't sure if the price paid to study medicine justified all his efforts. The book is an example of the tenacity and dedication of a foreign physician pursuing an uncertain future. A formidable lesson for a new generation of medical students. </P>