May 2013

It has only been two weeks ago, when I finally got a taste of what most experienced medical professionals would call ‘the battle of the fittest’, ‘the ultimate test of will’ or simply, the medical clerkship. When you think about it, the word clerkship which is defined as a person doing office work when searched in Wikipedia doesn’t even sound that intimidating. Based on the handbook of responsibilities given, medical clerks are basically supposed to mostly observe and do much of the paperwork in the hospital setting. But surprise surprise, it’s not as easy as you would have thought.

Maybe it was a little bit more challenging for me since I live an hour and a few minutes away from school, so I have leave the house even before the sun rises up to greet the day on a daily basis and I have to ride the overly-crowded LRT and MRT with my hugely oversized and overweight backpack containing things that would help me last two days in the hospital just to get to my destination without being caught in the never-ending traffic of EDSA. But then, the day doesn’t end there yet. Once in the hospital, you rarely get to sit on a chair. Not because you’re forbidden to, but most of the time, you feel very embarrassed about being seen by anxious patients waiting for their turn in line to be served and you really want to make yourself useful in your designated area, so you walk, or run, around the area, asking the medical staff on what you can start on to keep yourself busy.

By the end of the day, you really just want to crash into your bed and sleep. And sometimes, when you’re lucky, you’re allowed to open up your packed sleeping bag and get some shut eye. But other times, you’re required to stay awake and await possible emergency calls which would require you to report to your senior staff. Actually, even when you’re allowed to go to bed for those lucky ones, you still have to keep yourself alert for any emergency calls that may take place during your dreamy state because unfortunately when they come, you have to get yourself off the bed and back to your post to help out with the rest of your team.

Now I don’t know about you, but I certainly think that any person would eventually burn out when having to go through this routine. To tell you the truth, way before clerkship began, sleeping for less than 4 hours a night already made me a zombie the next day. So in a few months’ time, what would become of me, right?

And so this train of thought led me to think about what if I had the powers that Superman, the man of steel had, for a week’s time. Having the ability to flying, having x-ray vision, having super speed and strength, even excellent memory and thinking capacity plus the ability to heal himself (according to the ever great Wikipedia), I don’t think I could ever complain about the hardships of being a medical clerk at all. I mean, traveling to and from the hospital by flying, carrying everything I need for the duty without feeling the heavy weight on my shoulders, not feeling tired from helping everyone in my post, not getting sick despite being exposed to all kinds of bacteria and viruses lying around the hospital, and being able to remember everything I need to play my role in the field of medicine, even for just a week, I would definitely max out on doing my responsibilities as a medical clerk. I would help out as much as I can in the areas of the hospital where there is definitely a short of staff, especially in areas where some people are restricted from entering because of the infectious nature of some diseases, since I wouldn’t get infected in any way, I would offer my x-ray vision for free for those people needing an x-ray to find out about the damage they’ve incurred in their bodies, I would even help some colleagues get home, if they needed to, to save them the hassle of traveling home after a very long day.

Doing those things for a week seems pretty short-term and feeble, but I actually think these acts of deed would be a big help for those patients who are almost hopeless about their conditions because they could not afford an x-ray or to the medical staff who are on the verge of having a burn out from all the stress they have to endure. But then, this is simply just a hopeful thought that I can help out if I had more.

In reality though, it’s true that I wouldn’t be able to do the very same things I’ve described to help out my fellow staff and the patients in the hospital. But sometimes, you don’t really need any superpowers to create the change you want to see in this world. You just need to go a little extra mile to transform yourself into someone who can help those around you. Like instead of thinking all about the troubles of being a clerk, think about the rewards of being one, such as getting genuine smiles from patients you’ve entertained while they waited for their turn to be called, or appreciative remarks from your senior for your help in sorting out some paperwork or handing out an equipment that he needed for his procedure. A simple transformation can create a big change.

And the same goes for any kind of transformation, even when it comes to looking cool enough to face the day’s challenges. So what are you waiting for, transform yourself with Schick. Free Your Skin.

Per DTI-NCR Permit No.1843 Series of 2013.

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