LESSON CREATED BY ALAN LIN USING TED-Ed’s LESSON CREATOR
The Passion Behind Becoming A Surgeon
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Dr. Daria Hamrah is the top Double Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial / Facial Cosmetic Surgeon in America, who runs his practice NOVA SurgiCare just outside of the Washington, DC area.
The Passion Behind Becoming A Surgeon
I really don’t like my job, I love my job. Yes, I get to do what I love, every single day.For many people “going to work” is not necessarily associated with fun nor mentioned with excitement. The perfect examples are “Monday Morning Blues” and “TGIF”. Don’t get me wrong, I love my weekends, but not because I don’t have to work (which as a surgeon, my work never really ends), but rather than having more time to spend with my family, to recreate and decompress.
It didn’t take me long to realize why I love my job so much.
Since I was a little kid, I dreamt of being a doctor or a surgeon. Of course, a big factor was having been exposed to medicine since early childhood, growing up with a father that was a physician. But then again, how many children of parents that are doctors never become doctors? So, I had to dig a little deeper than that. I remembered, since I was in Kindergarten, when someone fell and hurt themselves, I was always the first person on the scene trying to help or put a bandaid on the wound. It just gave me a great feeling, maybe because it gave me significance, which of course is a natural human drive. But it simply came natural to me and I enjoyed the feeling that came with it.
So fast forward, I was in the second year of my practice after many years of education, residency, fellowship, etc. when a patient of mine out of curiosity asked me, “Doc, how many years did you go to school to do this?”. What surprised me was, that I really didn’t know. I had never counted the years?! But why? As I was still surprised at myself, my patient’s face showed an expression of confusion as to why I don’t know the number. So, I asked her to be patient as I had to actually count the years, since the topic had never crossed my mind to that date. So I started counting after high school and to my own surprise I counted to 15. Yes, 15 years. I was shocked. Did it feel like a long time, yes, it was grueling and rigorous. I even remember many nights being on call trying to catch my breath in the trauma center at Miami’s busy Ryder Trauma Center, going to the bathroom, just to get away for two seconds and thinking, “can I continue like this?”. The stress and pressure was overwhelming. But something gave me the power and will to overcome any obstacle. Something gave me the strength to dig deep into my reserves and to do it anyways. Today I know that this magical force was “grit”. Grit is the perseverance and passion to achieve long–term goals. Angela Duckworth, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that grit is a strong predictor of success and ability to reach one’s goals.
Yes, it was passion! It was a desire! It was determination to achieve my long-term goal, to be a doctor. I had no plan B, no way out. I wanted to do this since I was a child. I was dreaming about it for too long and had manifested it too many times in the past. I was destined.
So, many times when I speak in front of a young audience or give a student or an intern advice, I try to ask them the following question first: “Why do you want to become a doctor?” What is your “Why”? Who’s idea is it really? Would you do whatever it takes, no matter what? Of course, the reason is above, but mainly I ask these questions because too many of my colleagues are not happy about their lives and or profession. Why? Because of the stress that comes with the responsibility, long hours, being on call 24/7 and of course not to forget the astronomic student loan debt and financial burden. As a matter of fact, several years ago when a poll asked different doctors about their rate of happiness and whether they would choose a different profession if they had the opportunity, about 68% stated unhappiness and regret. Why do you think that is? Of course, there are many individual reasons for that.
But the common reason and main answer are very simple: They did not choose it for the right reasons. Maybe they chose it because of the money without realizing the cost at which it comes (financially and time-wise), maybe it was their parent’s idea, something they wanted to do and couldn’t and now want their children to do. Maybe it was their teacher’s idea, their best friend’s idea, or maybe they simply thought it was a good idea. Or, maybe, they weren’t taught self-awareness and failed to take the time and dig deep and realize what they really are passionate about. What they dream of every single day. Maybe, they worried too much about what others may think of their choice. Isn’t that what most of us do?
They simply failed to choose or find their passion, therefore it didn’t bring them happiness, not even all the money in the world would do that. To me, happiness is not long-term sustainable, unless you do what you love. By that I mean, what gets you out of bed on Monday morning or makes you dream about on the weekends.
As long as we care too much about what others and for that matter “society” thinks of us or our choices, it will be very difficult to follow our passion and fulfill our own dreams as opposed to someone else’s.
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