FM JANUARY 2019 - digital edition

“BE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE
PROFESSION IF YOU WANT TO
SERVE THE PATIENT”
PROF LISELOTTE METTLER M.D, PHD
Consultant of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Infertility, and Gynaecologic Endoscopic Surgery, Kiel, Germany
Complete involvement in work typically comes
from one’s own interest and not from anyone
else’s compulsion. This has a lot to do with
the profession of a doctor, as every decision that
he or she makes at work can be life-changing in its
impact.
In this profession, there is always an important
element that can never be taught in the classroom
or read in the textbook. That is nothing but your
dedication, which forces you to go the extra mile to
ensure that the patient actually benefits from your
action.
But this dedication won’t come easily unless you
start believing in it from the time you choose the
profession. In other words, it is more important that
one should select his education of medicine out of
his or her passion to serve the patient community
and not as a part of choosing a career option.
I had the opportunity to work as a senior
consultant in several hospitals not only in Germany
but also in other countries, including India. I also
have many students trained under me in all these
places and was fortunate to work with many of
them later when they became senior consultants or
surgeons in many of these big hospitals. At all these
occasions, I could clearly observe how strongly their
attitudinal differences reflected in their performance.
There were students who were forced to choose this
profession and there were others who genuinely
pursued their aspiration to be in it. Here, one can
really make out how that element of passion in the
latter group helps them excel in their work and how
impactful their actions are in the ultimate benefit of
the patients.
So, let your passion choose your profession. It is
the intuition that you get from your soul that often
plays the most crucial role in your performance, and
in turn benefits your community the most.
— As told to CH Unnikrishnan
98 / FUTURE MEDICINE / JANUARY 2019