The life of a doctor in my country is perhaps nothing like the life of other doctors, especially in those developed countries. In many cases it is frustrating not to be able to develop innovative first world techniques, but on the other hand we learn to feel the warmth of humanity even closer to what we believe and to the effort we get rewards.

Learning medicine

You start gradually to stop going to meetings with old friends from high school, birthdays, family outings, and your new friends from college start to be like brothers and see them so much that you lose any kind of grief, I for example had two great friends and we were always at home with some of us, their mothers became adoptive mothers just like mine in theirs, to keep us awake we threw Coca-Cola cans in the face at the slightest nod, the best part of studying was to make mnemonic rules that I always forgot at the time of the exam, because I remembered the mnemonic but not the result.

You begin to understand that some days you won't be at home or sleeping in your house or any other, how so, because this is where you say to your family, "I'm GUARDING today," which means you'll be in the hospital 24 hours a day, looking out for emergencies. Some days you may not have a lot of activity, as the vast majority of the days remaining may be long enough for you to go to the hospital, enough for you not to close one eye and end up in zombie mode doing stories. Here I make a point and I must point out that, although in other countries the day and night hours are respected in order to establish adequate hours of sleep and avoid malpractice, the Venezuelan medical school in view of the collapse of public practice inevitably ends up making the system "an overload" for the doctors, and that is that many times it is not only 24 hours but even almost 48 hours of an inexhaustible work (I relate it with total experience).

After the guard, there's always the post-guard. At that moment you just fall like a lead to your bed and while your mother takes your vital signs to see if you're still alive (loud snoring is a good sign), she makes you a soup so that when you wake up you can be reborn again.

Time after so many experiences, so many behind-the-scenes stories, so much studying and understanding that most of the time your reasoning gives you the answers after 6 long and careful years, a piece of paper that you always dreamed of.... It is your degree as a surgeon, one of the greatest achievements of your professional life but not the last, there will be more challenges.

I still remember the first day that I was on duty as a doctor, where the responsibility for an emergency belongs to you and the decisions are yours from that moment on, although I was able to sleep, I didn't and every patient who came in made my legs tremble at the thought of a syndrome so uncommon that they would have to interview me on television and offer statements as to why it didn't occur to me. Yeah, he was a little paranoid, but what doctor wasn't in his early days?

Many of us find love around us.... And yes! They also have white coats.

After that came stronger confrontations such as giving tragic news to family members or rescuing them, but not in very good condition, they are part of a doctor's job and especially in emergencies, but they are things that are never taught to you in books. You don't know how to act except as you have been taught at home, with respect, professionalism and in other people's shoes.

Finally, and I believe that the most important thing about being a doctor that sets us apart from other respected careers is that moment when a stranger, family member, friend, co-worker or patient comes up to you.... With one hand he squeezes your shoulder and with the other he pounces on you to give you a hug, the gratitude, a handshake or a present for all those things you do to try to save lives.

A feeling, an emotion

A smile is born and you begin to feel a vibration in your heart, a different rhythm of satisfaction and great emotion, you begin to realize that you are capable of transforming the world with your actions and that not only you notice it... But those who appreciate you.