It was a warm summer afternoon of August, 1999, at a friend’s house when I was introduced to rheumatoid arthritis. It was a casual and startling encounter. His aunt greeted me at the door to take me to the guest room. She seemed to be in her mid-40’s, had a round face with thin reddish skin, painful looking hand deformities and a slow, limping gait; most strikingly, an aura of pain was visible all around her. I asked my friend, concernedly, why she looked so different. He somberly replied that she had rheumatoid arthritis. He opened to tell me how, despite the available treatment, she was unable to complete her education or have a job because she could not walk in the evenings and had severe pains all night every night since her teenage and that she was never married and was dependent on her parents. For a 15 years old me, it was distressing. This experience exposed me to the reality of human suffering. It’s not just the disease, the pain, there is also a taboo which one must endure.
Competition has
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Hence, I joined the same hospital as a hospitalist, which has been an extraordinary experience and I am glad that I made this decision because exposure to diverse pathology, higher volume and faster pace helped expand boundaries of my responsibilities, solidified my confidence in my skills. I am becoming increasingly comfortable with challenges of time and resource management. It has broadened my vision as an internist because to be a good rheumatologist, it is elementary to be a sound internist. To understand the dynamics of executive aspect of modern medicine and its quality control, I regularly participate in the peer review committee, antibiotic steward ship committee and physician leadership