Sometime in 1989, I recall addressing our teachers, colleagues, family and friends and saying, “We the willing, led by the unknowing have been doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much for so long, with very little. We are now prepared to do anything with nothing.” I cannot remember where I read those words but I quickly committed them to memory and shared them with our guests after swearing to uphold The Physician’s Oath. Almost three decades later, like my peers, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Thankfully, most of them have been grateful.
I was pleasantly surprised to read this on my niece’s Facebook page yesterday:
“6 years,..6 years of non stop reading, non stop learning, 6 years of wonders, pain, joy, tears, laughter..2018 seemed so far away..to think it has actually come to an end is still a wonder, and yet this is just the beginning.What a roller coaster ride,.i thank God for his faithfulness, He’s the only reason I made it…🏽🏽, thank you Dad and Mum, my ultimate support system,…Dr Tamunodiepiriye Oraibi Goma @ Tbilisi–“
So what advice do I have for my niece? Let me put it this way. I had asked your cousins in the last five years if they would read Medicine. One after the other over time, there was an emphatic ‘No’. I understand why. Their dad works most weekdays, most weekends and when he is not at work, keeps busy with community, church activities or holding conference calls at odd hours on development or chatting in the many WhatsApp groups he administers. As far as they are concerned, that is no life and they cannot imagine such a future. They are right.
- Make God your #1 and know His plan for your life
- You have only one life – balance the five domains
- Your parents won’t be around forever
- Family comes first
- Work never finishes but do the right thing everyday and you can never be wrong
- If you earn £10, don’t spend more than £9.99
- You can truly change the world one person at a time!
There’s light at the end of the tunnel and I can assure you it’s not an oncoming train.
Abiye Hector-Goma
Partner, Allerton Medical Centre, Leeds, U.K.