By: Dr Swathy Elangovan
It is really appreciable to realize how far we have come as women in this competitive world. Balancing professional and personal life for a woman surgeon is indeed challenging.
There is a famous quote which says ‘“the profession chooses us.”
Nothing matches the feeling of being in the OR performing surgeries. Despite the long work hours and time away from family, the adrenaline rush coupled with the sense of satisfaction of saving someone’s life is something only a surgeon can experience.
Challenging aspects faced by women surgeons in their field include: opportunities for scrubbing in leadership roles, cumbersome learning curves etc. Unless you have a good teacher who identifies your full potential and trains you to the best of your ability, it’s difficult for you to come up.
I would like to share one of my personal experience with a patient. It was a sunny day. The outpatient room was flooded with patients. I had to examine patient X. She had swelling in the anterior part of her neck. The swelling was about 4×3×2 cm. Upon investigating her, we found out it was Tirads 4 and got her admitted for further management. I was considerate enough while explaining the condition to her in a polite way making sure she didn’t emotionally break down. She understood her condition and agreed to go ahead with the surgery.
After the surgery, her histopathological report suggested it to be hashimotos thyroiditis. We started her on medication and kept her on follow-up. On the day of getting discharged, she gave me a hug and a box of Cadbury chocolates, with tears in her eyes telling “doc, you were so kind. I don’t know how I would have pulled through this without your support. You were like a sister to me. For a moment I was on cloud nine.” Though there were male residents in my unit, but I was the one who was thanked for my patience and compassion towards her treatment .
Though some days are literally tiring, it is all worth it in the end.
I am proud of being a surgeon.
On the road to becoming a surgeon, passion coupled with determination will enable you to become a good one!
I am Dr Swathy Elangovan 2nd year General Surgery Postgraduate.
I believe that hard work coupled with interest will fetch us laurels.
I am a person who believes writing brings peace .
I enjoy singing , sketching to escape the mundane routine of my life at times.