Is medicine a woman?

The best average grade at WUM Faculty of Medicine for 10 years - do you still feel you are top of your class as a new doctor? 

I do not consider myself top of the class, and I have never felt this way. I have been studying for myself, to feel at ease in communication with patients and doctors, but I would not manifest my knowledge in class. On the contrary, I was often impressed by how well my colleagues were prepared for class, how they were able to study systematically with such short and variable class units. And I don’t think I was viewed as a best student by others; in fact, many of my friends were surprised to see me rewarded at the diploma ceremony. 

The top 10 Faculty of Medicine graduates are girls only - is this just a coincidence?

The female students I have met in the course of my studies were more committed to studying, perhaps they had better planning and time management skills. With a syllabus such as ours, strategic thinking and multitasking seem to be essential. But these are just my observations and I cannot draw any conclusions on this basis. This distribution of results could as well have been due to the higher proportion of women in my year, or just a coincidence.

How do you get such grades, particularly with such strict requirements as those at the faculty of medicine?

Perhaps I was just lucky at some points, yet mostly it was my regular work for six years. When I started my studies, I was not thinking about the average grade, I just wanted to try myself, to find out how much I am able to learn. When I started finding the stuff I learned interesting, when I found out that my results were good, I was just trying to keep up the good work. Most people claim that good grades from university do not determine any aspect of your future work, which I mostly agree with. But on the other hand, the grades were often helpful when I was applying for scholarships or grants for study trips or projects, and it was giving me more motivation to study as a result.

What is most valuable and what is most difficult when you study at WUM?

The most valuable thing is the diversity of choices offered by the school. We have a lot of organizations and study groups created by students and for students. In these groups, you can start doing your research work, but also get some practice, for example on duty at hospitals, or at workshops.  There are also charities where you can help others. What I greatly appreciated was the support I was getting from doctors and academic staff. I am not only talking about teachers but also doctors at university hospitals, who would often devote their free time to sharing their knowledge or academic experience with us.  
What I found most difficult was to keep myself motivated to study for six long and tough years. During that time, I frequently had to study subjects that were not always interesting and that will not be useful in the context of my future career.

What price do you have to pay for such good results?  

The price was my free time which I was often missing. I was often frustrated, burdened by the exams and courses, when I had to give up a trip with friends or another form of leisure. In addition, not only did I have to study but I also had other duties related to my studies and activity in research groups. But I knew the ultimate goal and I was sticking to it. 
Now, over four years after graduation, I have to admit that I have pushed all the negative aspects such as fatigue, stress, sleep deprivation, constant tension out of my memory. What I have kept is the satisfaction and pride about the many goals I have managed to accomplish.

 
Why medicine?

In my case, the choice was mainly determined by practical aspects. I was looking for a profession that would give me certainty of employment and ability to work in various places worldwide. I also wanted my job to be an intellectual challenge, to involve continuous development, to enable me to meet fascinating people, and medicine seemed to meet all these criteria. In a way, I also picked my field of study and my future job through elimination. I could not picture myself working at an office, or having a job with limited contact with other people. 

What specialization are you considering?

I have not made up my mind yet. I hope that the hospital placement will be a great help with making that choice. I am interested in gynecology and oncology. I am considering a combination of these two fields and focusing on gynecologic oncology. Oncology is probably the fastest growing field in terms of diagnostics, treatment, but also basic research that changes and expands our knowledge of cancer. It ensures, even forces us to continuously improve as doctors and scientists.

 
How do you feel about having to combine your profession with future maternity? 

It sounds very hard for me. In medicine, your professional and academic peak is at the age when most women decide to have a baby. Being a mother puts you out of your career environment for months, sometimes years. In many fields of specialization you can try to make up for this interruption by updating your knowledge and keeping track of new scientific findings. But for surgical specializations, for example, women who devoted themselves to bringing up their children will have a “lost” period of years in which they could learn new skills or perfect their operating techniques.
On the other hand, many women put off their decision to have kids because of their work environment and extensive expectations, which puts a lot of pressure and stress on them in later years.
You can still hear people saying that surgical specializations are not right for women, what do you think of that?
I think it has its roots in the stereotypical perception of the role of women in the society. In my opinion, women are aware of the consequences of choosing a specific field of specialization and they should decide on the basis of their intuition and interests. 

What is the most important thing about being a doctor, and what is the most difficult aspect? 

Most important: first of all, I think doctors should have advanced interpersonal and communication skills. Even an expert with huge theoretical background, practical skills, or a valued scientists will not be a good doctor for a patient if they are unable to show empathy, give support of motivate the patient to get treatment.
Most difficult: from the medical perspective, it is the never ending learning and need to improve. But I personally find it hardest to maintain a high level of sensitivity and patience for tough patients, and to be able to distance yourself from your job, to take care about yourself.

 
If there was something you could change about contemporary medicine, what would it be?

There are very many such aspects, yet in the context of our discussion, I would like every woman student, doctor, medic to choose their future career exclusively on the basis of their own interests and predispositions. We all want to have equal opportunities in building our careers and to be assessed only for our competence and experience. 

What are your plans for the future?

Residency is going to take up most of my time during the upcoming years. I would like to get my postgraduate training at a large hospital, perhaps a university hospital where I could also teach students. At the same time, I intend to continue my research work. I would like to combine research with clinical work, so that I could better understand the problems affecting my future patients.

Interviewer: Iwona Kołakowska
University Communication and Promotion Office