The job can be emotionally and physically tough. Every day I choose to stay, I reaffirm my commitment to my profession.
Like the ocean, medicine does not call to everyone. Medicine – and especially surgery – is not like other professions. We can put down the scalpel, we can remove the scrubs, but without the costume, a doctor is still a doctor. There is always a medical journal to read, a case to ponder. We spend our entire lives learning, improving, questioning. Patients stay on our minds as we fall asleep at night. Did I tie that knot tightly enough? Was that scan report accurate? Will that patient return with a complication?
When recruiting students into medical school, I don’t believe it matters what reason they give for wanting to be a doctor. All that really matters is whether they’re suited for the profession – whether they have the requisite abilities, and the necessary thoughtfulness – and that they have the passion for it. As doctors, we are privileged to be entrusted with our patients’ most intimate worries and to take responsibility for their care. We must be able to look inside a person without looking away.
Coming from a non-medical family, could I have possibly known what I was signing up for when I sent in that application at the age of 17? The heartache when things go wrong, the elation when you know you’ve made a difference in a patient’s life. The job can be intellectually, emotionally, and physically tough. Is it possible to know that the life-altering decision you made as a teenager was the right one? When self-doubt settles in, or when you feel you don’t belong, how do you know you correctly diagnosed your calling? These questions are all the more pertinent when you consider the current crisis of morale and poor retention of junior doctors in the NHS.
The only answer I can give is in my commitment. Every day that I persevere, I am reaffirming my commitment to my profession. Last year, the Department of Health floated the idea of forcing junior doctors to serve in the NHS for five years after graduating from medical school--a form of conscription for medics. Any “deserters” would be made to repay the cost of their training, on top of their pre-existing student debts. This would have been disastrous. On the darkest days of the job, one of the things that helped me as a junior was the knowledge that I could leave, even if I never chose to.
医生这份工作是对情感和体能的挑战。一天天，我都选择留下，坚守自己对这份职业的承诺。
不是每个人都适合从医，因为医生——特别是外科医生——与其他职业不同。我们可以放下手术刀，可以磨去死皮，但脱下白大褂下班后，医生还得是医生。我们总有医学日志要看，总有案例要思考，我们一生都在学习、改进和追问。夜晚入睡了，患者还萦绕在我们脑海：那个节我打得够结实吗？那份扫描报告准确吗？那个病人是否会因并发症再来就医？
招募医学院新生时，我认为他们给出的从医理由并不重要，重要的是他们是否适合这个职业——是否具有所需的能力和同理心——以及是否对此抱有热情。作为医生，我们拥有患者的信任，聆听他们心中所忧，为他们的健康负责，因而也必须能够通过这个人本身看到他真正的需求。
我家中无人从医，17岁我提交入学申请时是否知道这意味着什么呢？现在我知道，这意味着出错时的心碎，是得知某位患者的人生因你而不同时的狂喜，是对智识、情感和体能的多重挑战。如何判断你17岁时作出的那个改变人生的决定正确与否？特别是在你自我怀疑或失去归属感时？当你思考目前英国国家医疗体系中存在的青年医生信心不足和流失危机时，这些问题是关键。
对此，我唯一能给出的答案就是我的承诺。我一日日的坚持，正是一次次地坚守自己对这份职业的诺言。去年，英国卫生部试探性地规定青年医生从医学院毕业后须在英国国民医疗服务体系中工作五年——就好像医学生征兵制。“逃兵”除了要交就学贷款外，还要补交受训费用。这么做可能会使问题加剧，因为在我工作最困难的日子里，助我这名青年医生撑下来的就是知道自己可以选择离开，虽然我从未如此。
单词注释
profession 职业
scalpel 手术刀
scrub 死皮
complication 并发症
entrust 委托，托付
diagnose 诊断
pertinent 直接相关的
NHS 英语全称National Health Service，即（英国）国民医疗服务体系
句式分析
1.（1）All that really matters is （2）whether they’re suited for the profession--whether they have the requisite abilities, and the necessary thoughtfulness--and（3）that they have the passion for it.
1.All...is：主句，说明作者认为从医需具备以下三点。
2.whether...thoughtfulness：whether引导的名词性从句，列出两点，即必备的能力和同理心。
3. that...it：that引导的名词性从句，列出第三点，即对这份职业的热情。
简说：英国医生PLAB考试
专业与语言评估考试（
Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board，PLAB）是英国执业医师资格考试，面向国际医学生，直属于英国总医学会（GMC）。报考资格包括受英国认可的医学学位证明、雅思成绩证明及工作和执照证明。PLAB考试分为两部分，考生必须分别通过后才可向英国总医学会提出注册申请，取得执照后方可在英国行医。
链接：https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/61544288
博珂英华：专注财经以及职场英语的知识分享、教材编写和提升课程
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