First, I have to apologize for the delay in this post, I have my parents visiting and It has been a little busy.
Second, I know that some of you following may be getting a little board with my personal story and want to get quickly in the relevant information; but as I said before; I have to mention this background in order to set the stage for what is coming next.
We have reached to where I am now, a Consultant Physician (Hematology-Medical Oncology-BMT) at a major referral center in Saudi Arabia. I consider myself successful in what I am doing but I do believe my personal growth potential will eventually slow down.
My options for now are either:
1. Why bother, continue doing what I am doing (what you better than what you don’t)
2. Consider moving to a different Hospital, but same setting
3. Consider Moving back to the US (I have been contacted several times by my original center in the US to consider coming back and working there), at least now my visa is less of a problem
4. Finally going back home
For option one, I presume you already know my take on that. But, If i was 10 years older and had to take the same decision I would probably opt to take this option. As we get older other factors start playing a more important role in our decisions (such as our kids, social stability, financial stability, our risk taking ability), and putting the whole picture together I think my situation would be ideal (given other options in the region). This is not only a personal analysis this more like an observation, I know several excellent Syrian Physicians in their 40s - 50s who although not 100% satisfied with their jobs in the Gulf Region but don’t want to take the risk of going to another situation which is a little more hazy. But for now I consider that if I do so I may end up with burn out syndrome earlier than I thought.
For option 2, that is not a bad idea. Moving from one place to the other in the Gulf region improves your chances of climbing up the ladder of Administrative Responsibilities (for example eventually finding yourself a head of a Department). But on the other hand, there are many downside of this. First, we are not talking about the US here, there are sometimes considerable differences in the quality between different hospitals, and the good ones are very well know but they are very few, so just being a "Department Head" is not that impressive if you were practicing in a bad place. Second, you local experience will never be taken with the same weight as someone coming fresh from the west (you will not be surprised that after 10-15 years of experience in the region there will be someone with less experience but just coming from the US would surpass you). Finally, moving in the same country is not always easy, there are some "restrictions" regarding switching employers and shortly, if your previous employer wants to complicate your move to the next one he can.
For option 3, that is a difficult one to decide about. You when I think about it the most? This happens mainly when I go and attend a conference. In International conferences there are two types of attendees; the majority (people like me) are listeners who the drug companies want to talk out for dinner so we would prescribe their medications, and the other type (the minority) are the ones setting at the podium who are "the talkers" who most likely look at the listeners as a bunch of lazy physicians who care mostly about the dinner they are going to have after the lecture. I hate the feeling of being a "listener" and many times it comes to my mind that the only way to be a "lecturer" is to go back to the US. In the medical systems Gulf region there is "inferiority complex" for physicians coming from the west, we get many of those visiting professors who whatever they say is taken is a "holy script". Well, maybe I am exaggerating a little bet, but there is a part of the truth in that. I have to add though that on a regional level you would get the opportunity to be the "lecturer" if you work in a good place and have connections. So why cannot I go back? Simply, because I cannot. I cannot do (not physically but emotionally) I don’t have the enough guts to take this decision. I remember back when I was out of medical school coming to the US for specialization was a little difficult decision but it was like a "given". But now I find it difficult to "justify" the amount of pain I will cause for myself and people around us to take this decision. My parents, my kids, my wife and all the people who I feel are in need, I cannot......
So, we come to the last option.........this is the riskiest of all, it is the one that I am not really sure where start from. I am going to propose a theory; if you ask anyone about going returning to Aleppo to work, the statement will be most likely posed in "returning back"; I guess that is were part of the problem is. We think of this as a step "backwards"; is a "Regression" and a sacrifice we are doing. So most people believe they are giving up a better situation and downsizing for a lesser one because they have to do so for their "parents, kids, etc....). I believe that is wrong. The minute we start thinking it about i those terms that is the minute we will be heading for a failure. "EMOTIONAL DECISIONS" enigma last only for a short period of time and will never be a driving force on the long run. I will prose calling this return "moving forward to Aleppo"; let us think about it as a step forward, a move that will help in our personal and professional growth. The growth and success will not necessarily be "financial" or "academic" but it could be something else. We just have to study all aspects of possible growth opportunities and try to build a scenario of a successful move.
This is what I am personally trying to do, and the minute I started thinking about that way I start seeing things I was not seeking before and most important my level of anxiety has lessened. During this journey I will explain how I reached that point and what the things I found are.
Next post
"Why Aleppo, in general as a city not only my city"
Second, I know that some of you following may be getting a little board with my personal story and want to get quickly in the relevant information; but as I said before; I have to mention this background in order to set the stage for what is coming next.
We have reached to where I am now, a Consultant Physician (Hematology-Medical Oncology-BMT) at a major referral center in Saudi Arabia. I consider myself successful in what I am doing but I do believe my personal growth potential will eventually slow down.
My options for now are either:
1. Why bother, continue doing what I am doing (what you better than what you don’t)
2. Consider moving to a different Hospital, but same setting
3. Consider Moving back to the US (I have been contacted several times by my original center in the US to consider coming back and working there), at least now my visa is less of a problem
4. Finally going back home
For option one, I presume you already know my take on that. But, If i was 10 years older and had to take the same decision I would probably opt to take this option. As we get older other factors start playing a more important role in our decisions (such as our kids, social stability, financial stability, our risk taking ability), and putting the whole picture together I think my situation would be ideal (given other options in the region). This is not only a personal analysis this more like an observation, I know several excellent Syrian Physicians in their 40s - 50s who although not 100% satisfied with their jobs in the Gulf Region but don’t want to take the risk of going to another situation which is a little more hazy. But for now I consider that if I do so I may end up with burn out syndrome earlier than I thought.
For option 2, that is not a bad idea. Moving from one place to the other in the Gulf region improves your chances of climbing up the ladder of Administrative Responsibilities (for example eventually finding yourself a head of a Department). But on the other hand, there are many downside of this. First, we are not talking about the US here, there are sometimes considerable differences in the quality between different hospitals, and the good ones are very well know but they are very few, so just being a "Department Head" is not that impressive if you were practicing in a bad place. Second, you local experience will never be taken with the same weight as someone coming fresh from the west (you will not be surprised that after 10-15 years of experience in the region there will be someone with less experience but just coming from the US would surpass you). Finally, moving in the same country is not always easy, there are some "restrictions" regarding switching employers and shortly, if your previous employer wants to complicate your move to the next one he can.
For option 3, that is a difficult one to decide about. You when I think about it the most? This happens mainly when I go and attend a conference. In International conferences there are two types of attendees; the majority (people like me) are listeners who the drug companies want to talk out for dinner so we would prescribe their medications, and the other type (the minority) are the ones setting at the podium who are "the talkers" who most likely look at the listeners as a bunch of lazy physicians who care mostly about the dinner they are going to have after the lecture. I hate the feeling of being a "listener" and many times it comes to my mind that the only way to be a "lecturer" is to go back to the US. In the medical systems Gulf region there is "inferiority complex" for physicians coming from the west, we get many of those visiting professors who whatever they say is taken is a "holy script". Well, maybe I am exaggerating a little bet, but there is a part of the truth in that. I have to add though that on a regional level you would get the opportunity to be the "lecturer" if you work in a good place and have connections. So why cannot I go back? Simply, because I cannot. I cannot do (not physically but emotionally) I don’t have the enough guts to take this decision. I remember back when I was out of medical school coming to the US for specialization was a little difficult decision but it was like a "given". But now I find it difficult to "justify" the amount of pain I will cause for myself and people around us to take this decision. My parents, my kids, my wife and all the people who I feel are in need, I cannot......
So, we come to the last option.........this is the riskiest of all, it is the one that I am not really sure where start from. I am going to propose a theory; if you ask anyone about going returning to Aleppo to work, the statement will be most likely posed in "returning back"; I guess that is were part of the problem is. We think of this as a step "backwards"; is a "Regression" and a sacrifice we are doing. So most people believe they are giving up a better situation and downsizing for a lesser one because they have to do so for their "parents, kids, etc....). I believe that is wrong. The minute we start thinking it about i those terms that is the minute we will be heading for a failure. "EMOTIONAL DECISIONS" enigma last only for a short period of time and will never be a driving force on the long run. I will prose calling this return "moving forward to Aleppo"; let us think about it as a step forward, a move that will help in our personal and professional growth. The growth and success will not necessarily be "financial" or "academic" but it could be something else. We just have to study all aspects of possible growth opportunities and try to build a scenario of a successful move.
This is what I am personally trying to do, and the minute I started thinking about that way I start seeing things I was not seeking before and most important my level of anxiety has lessened. During this journey I will explain how I reached that point and what the things I found are.
Next post
"Why Aleppo, in general as a city not only my city"
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق