Interview with My Role Model No 5: Dr Jones. Cardiologist
Dr Jones, a very talented individual, highly smart very intelligent man, who you never can catch unaware with any kind of medical question, happens to be a Cardiology Doctor at Mercy hospital. He is the head of the whole cardio department, and the owner of the whole 12th floor of the hospital. A highly influential Dr, who knows what he is doing and has a say to things in the hospital. I happened to know Doctor Jones because I work in the same hospital with him. When we met 2-3years ago at work, we met at the elevator and he said hows school going and I said great. Then he asked what I was taking in school, I told him i was doing my pre-med, his face got lightened up and he got involved talking to me about how patience,dedication and focus can be the sole key to success in med school.I went to his office and try to interview him for this class, he welcomed me and opened my eyes to see more on this path to success.
He said the road is tough and rough to sail, but smooth and jolly to ride. He said to me After treating conutless cardio{heart} problemed patients with the knife, he became convinced that the patients themselves had an even more important instrument: the will to live. He further said that looking back over his surgeical career, he thought he could see a pattern in which patients who gave up on their own powers and placed their future entirely in the doctor's hands frequently died, and others who seemed to take their destiny in their own hands frequently lived. And that that was a true fact. He said he became the doctor he is today all because of self intrest in wanting to take care of others, and dedication in actually carrying out the care.
I said to Dr Jones what was the path you took, to get this positon today, where u have all this high level of respect in your community and he answered and said, oh no Ibi, u dont want to know!! And I said hell yea Dr Jones, I sure want to know...lol and we both laughed. He said alot,Ibi, trust me alot. He stated by saying, it was a long road that seems never ending, but at the end of it, there's a great reward waiting for you. And I nodded my head in astonishment, like, are u serious, am going to go through this route as hard as it may sound, but trust me I dint say a word out. So he dont feel like am already discouraged on the crooked path. So I listened, and he continued by explaining to me, what cardio was about, and how he managed through all the necessary courses and exams before he attained his degree and before he could hold that knife.
With the rise in diseases like hypertension and high cholesterol, cardiac surgeons are needed now more than ever. Patients with risks of stroke, heart attacks and heart failure, heart disease are getting plentier. He said that as a cardio doctor, they are responsible for performing EKGs, treadmill stress tests, echocardiograms, cardiac catheterizations and angioplasties. But that before you can do any of those to know the degree at which the heart is failing, you need to go through::::
Step 1:Get a bachelor's degree in analytical subject like life sciences,biology, chemistry, economics, engineering or psychology.The next step is medical school, which took him four years to complete. He said that graduation from an approved medical school will result in the title Medical Doctor (MD). He said that as a cardiovascular surgeon, he had to complete five years of training in general surgery before starting a two- or three-year cardiothoracic training program. He also said that, he has some additional training to perform pediatric or transplant surgery. He then added that the completion of the qualifying licensing examinations was the last thing he did cause it was so required to be able to practice medicine. Licensure by the regional licensing authority was requiered and he obtained it.
There is more risk and a longer educational experience trying to be a cardiovascular surgeon, they perform Surgeries. However,he said that many Cardiovascular surgeons also diagnose cardiovascular diseases and either perform surgery if necessary or prescribe appropriate drugs. He said that it took him 5 years of post MD training in general surgery and an additional 2 to 3 years of cardiovascular surgical training. So, your looking at 11 to 12 years of medical training. I was like ok are you damn serious that's added to the already 4 yrs of pre-med and the 4 yrs of med-school altogether 16years or more, get out of here, am already a grand mama then, lol.!!!
Step 2: He said he took the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) to get into medical school, and checked out the Liaison Committee of Medical Education (LCME), which accredits medical schools in the United States and Canada.
Step 3: He said he concentrated on internal medicine in medical school and learned about preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases affecting all organ systems. while the cardiology specialization comes later.
Step 4: He said he had to perform a three year residency program in internal medicine, because it was a prerequisite for every cardiologist. You need to treat patients directly during your residency, so that your level of responsibility increases as you progress through the program.
Step 5: He said he acquired his license to practice medicine in illinois state. This is a prerequisite to getting certified as a cardiologist by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).And then he further continued by saying that for
step 6: He had to get certified by the ABIM. while this required him to attend an accredited medical school and meet certain standards in the residency program.
Step 7: He said he completed three years of cardiology residency once he was certified as an internist, and that this includes performing cardiac catheterizations, EKGs and other cardiac tests.
while the last step, which is step 8: was that he took the American Board of Internal Medicine test to get certified as a cardiologist.And it was after all this test and exams, before he became the great man I think he is today. I nodded my head again for the second time while he narrated to me, on his long journey in getting to his dream.
I asked him when he felt discouraged and unsupported, and he replied saying, there are countless days and nights of study, long years of school, the last eight at your expence followed by three to five years of this house-officer schedule, at a salary of twenty-five thousand a year.When you are in your last year of medical school, still paying twenty thousand or so for the privilege of being there, and with residency still ahead of you,huge loans to pay back,and your college roomates of comparable ability who went to law school, business school may already be earning a six-figure salary, so tell me isn't that discouraging enough. He was trying to say that, few or none of this other professions has a training process that is as long or as difficult as that of medicine, but yet he made me understand that given their onerous training and heavy responsibility doctors on average are not being paid too much for the skills they possess, that is discouraging enough.
I asked him how did u over came the challenges: he said with a strong heart, he did...that was a funny answer, but i believe a concrete one too. he also said that he did, knowing the extent of responsibility that he had, and the obligations he had in doing his job right, and making people to leave with an happy face, fixed the whole discouragement part. But that however, no one is perfect, no one can heal, but God.
