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We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.

Anne Frank

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Friday, May 24, 2013,10:34 PM

on call 36 hours

I've been watching a drama called on call 36h, which is a HK drama revolving around housemen and basic trainees at a hospital. It suddenly reminded me of how I was choosing between med and econs about a year ago. In the show there were many many quotes which reminded me of my exact thoughts when I was thinking about why I was motivated to study med and also why I suddenly realised that the role of a doctor wasn't as powerful as I have always thought to be.

If you're thinking of being a doctor, I would highly recommend watching the show. Most people become doctors thinking that they can save lives, earn lots of money etc I used to really want to take up a job to help people, and being a doctor was an all-powerful and respected occupation. My dad always told me that even if I didn't become a doctor, having more medical knowledge is very important because of what happened to my grandmother. I guess my perception of doctors form mostly based on dramas I watched, and I think those that I've watched haven't been an accurate depiction. But this drama certainly struck a chord with all my thoughts about being a doctor.

1. 一件头：“福伯令我明白到一个人有病不仅是一个人的事，一个人有病会影响情绪，而他的情绪会影响家庭，如果我们可以做多一点，往前走多一点，我们医好的就不只是一个人的病，而是整个家庭。”

I remember this quote very vividly because the main lead was upset with himself for not going the extra mile, and to find out more about why the patient refused to be hospitalised and accept treatment. When he found out that the old man had to return to take care of his wife with Parkinson's disease, it was already too late because the man got a stroke and passed away. From that incident he realised how doctors not only treat the patient physical symptoms, but also mentally/emotionally.

2. 一件头：“不要用你个人的道德标准，去断定一个病人应不应该救，我们是医生，任何病人在我们手上都应该一视同仁尽力去救。”

Two patients was sent into A&E - one a victim and the other the offender of a car accident. There was only one available operating theatre and they had to make a decision about who to save. THe male lead insisted on saving the offender as he had a higher chance of survival. But the female lead was upset with the offender (goes back a long way) and even though he had a higher chance of survival she insisted that they save the victim because she thought it was unfair that they deny the victim the chance of survival. In the end the offender passed away and the victim became a vegetable. This scene I'll always remember, being a doctor entails making decisions about who to save, and thus who to live. Made me realise the ethical choices that a doctor is faced with everytime such things happen.

3. 鱼仔：“有时候我会十分迷惘，医生的责任是什麼？医生每天要不停抢救病人，死亡却是每个人都无法逃避的结局，医生所做的一切到底还有意义吗？”

一件头：“两三千年前 , 医学之父希波克拉底说过 ,不是每个病人都能救活的...没有人可以逃避死亡 ,可是在病人离世之前 ,医生尽全力令他们舒服安详地度过最后的日子 ,就是对病人最大的帮助对家属最大的安慰...这就是医生的使命”

The female lead wrote a letter to the male lead everyday penning down her thoughts as she worked in cardio dept as a basic trainee. Faced with so many patients in critical situation yet she was helpless to do anything, she wondered what the role of the doctor was since she was unable to do anything to save the patient or ease his pain. This was his reply to her and I must agree it's really thought-provoking. It reminded me of how when I was at the hospital, seeing all the 80-90 plus old patients lying in bed and their medical files piled high in front of their beds (often diagnosed with multiple chronic illness and the equipment/medicine simply to extend their life) I really lost confidence in western medicine and the power of doctors. When all methods of saving a patient are exhausted there is really nothing the doctor can do for the patient except by feeding him more medicine and giving him more injections to extend his lifespan by the few days. And while doing that the amount of medical fees that the patient has to bear will continue increasing. At that time I really wondered if doing such a thing was actually helping the patient or just extending his misery. I guess this quote really meant a lot to me because it gave me a satisfactory answer to my question as well.

4. 21.鱼仔：“剧作家莎士比亚曾经写过，期望是唯一能够医治苦难的药物，我更加觉得当你悲伤的时候，期望就像一首能够安抚伤痛的音乐，能够达成期望当然是开心的事，但有时候我们的期望会违背其他人的愿望，难免要作出取舍，但是除了你自己，没有人会告诉你应该如何抉择，有些期望可能不关你的事，你会不懂为何有些人愿意牺牲性命，也要追求一些不会有结果的期望，但若用心感受，你便会学会，每个期望或轻或重都是值得尊重的，可是无论期望带给你安慰，快乐，能够期望与被期望都是幸福的事，因为我们还生存著，就算有多少个期望落空，我们也可以有新的期望直至生命的最后一刻”

The best quote ever by the female lead. Having hope is important because that's what motivates someone to live on. Everyone has his motivation, goals, dreams in life that he wants to achieve, and that's really important because thats what drives us to do things we are reluctant to do everyday, that's what motivates us to challenge ourselves and to push ourselves to our limits. This made me realise how I should always have something to look forward to everyday, cause that's what keeps me going on and stay happy(:

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I'm still at episode 22, total 25 episodes! encouraged my brother to watched too haha pasted the link on facebook(: really sad it's ending though!

I really love hk dramas because it always reminds you the comfort and warmth of having a family. No matter what happens to you your family is always there for you to fall back on and support you. I'm really looking forward to going back home <3 nbsp="">