MEDICUS May 2022

More than just a junior doctor Dr Monica Zheng Intern, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital I t’s a line that I’m still getting used to, but I’m also realising there’s so much more to it. Internship has enlightened me about things I could not have foreseen. I am one of the increasing numbers of female doctors commencing their medical careers at a mature age, and I am often reminded that my training will coincide with, and be interrupted by, having a family. Along with a few friends in a similar position, I had intended to make my intern year as “productive” as possible. As an aspiring surgeon, I’d made a list of all the courses, workshops and exams that I would need to complete in my first few postgraduate years, with the priority being to complete the General Surgical Sciences Exam in October. It is May, and I have yet to open a textbook. My sister would say, “I told you so”. We hear so often of what we can’t do, that we start to believe it, until we see what we can do. It is well- researched in literature that the largest deterrents to pursuing a career in surgery are the perception that training is incompatible with having a family, and the lack of female surgeons as role models. The highlight of my internship experience has been the opportunity to be part of two surgical teams with female registrars at different stages of their training and family lives. I see their passion for, and dedication to, their craft, and their compassion towards patients in a specialty stereotypically perceived as being tough and unfeeling. I hear stories about their families, their hobbies, and of a life outside of surgery, as well as how they have navigated and are continuing to navigate (and overcome) racism and gender bias experienced throughout their careers. It seems absurd to want to be a part of that, but it is because of them, that I believe I can. With my list of surgical prerequisites, I was fixated on completing them as soon as feasibly possible. Despite many people encouraging me just to enjoy internship, I was stubborn, insisting that I wanted to minimise the time it took for me to enter a training program. Five weeks into my first term, the Plastic Surgery registrar was giving me feedback for my mid-term assessment. “Monica, this is the first time that you haven’t studied and worked at the same time. Allow yourself to enjoy the time that you don’t have to work.” Why did I take her advice and unburden myself of my academic expectations for this year? I saw a woman with two children and a supportive husband studying for her final exams; a woman 20 weeks pregnant with her second child; and women of Asian heritage, my heritage. All surgical trainees. They faced difficulties for various reasons, but they were all doing it. They were all at different stages of their lives, but surgical training had somehow fitted in. Time wasn’t as important as I had thought it to be. What is important, is the life that surgical training and a career will hopefully fit into. As my first year of internship rolls on, the most valuable lesson I’m learning is to accept who I am, and where I am in my life: “I’m Monica. A reformer Pilates and spin class enthusiast; a passionate supporter of the West Coast Eagles, Perth Scorchers and Australian Cricket; an enthusiastic traveller with a taste for food, red wine, gin and an eye for culture, architecture and fashion. I am a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend and a friend. Hopefully, a mother in the future. Hopefully, an orthopaedic surgeon in the future, maybe something else. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter when.” ■ We hear so often of what we can’t do, that we start to believe it, until we see what we can do. It is well-researched in literature that the largest deterrents to pursuing a career in surgery is the perception that training is incompatible with having a family, and the lack of female surgeons as role models. I N T E R N D I A R Y "I’m Monica, a junior doctor from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.” M AY 2 0 2 2 M E D I C U S 43