Letters

Dear Nadine,

I am a 26-year-old guy. I am the only son of my parents who gave me every facility I needed to become a doctor. But, even after becoming a doctor and doing house job, I am stuck with a modest salary with long hours. Getting a job is easy for young doctors, but those who have to support their families cannot go for specialisation as the amount of studies that is required to clear FCPS cannot be managed by those of us who have to work for very long hours. My father is now old, and I am the sole breadwinner of my family. My younger sister is doing BS on scholarship, so that is not an issue, but there are other expenses that have to be met. My parents thought once I became a doctor, all financial problems would disappear. I feel their disappointment. If I leave my job and study, my family would suffer as my father’s pension is not enough for our household expenditures. Without going for specialisation, I wouldn’t be able to earn what I have in mind. Please tell me the solution of this problem.

Frustrated Doc

Dear Frustrated Doc,

Not getting good salaries is indeed very frustrating for young doctors, but in almost every field the initial income is not very high. Most of the time, newly graduated young people have a lot of problems even finding a job. So doctors are lucky in the sense that they at least don’t face the problem of unemployment. Granted they study hard, but after some initial hiccups most of the doctors do well. Your problem is not getting enough time to study, so you should pen down your daily activities with duration of time noted for each thing you do. I am sure you will be able to slot some time each day for studies. Another thing you can do is to try and find a job with less working hours, even if it means taking a cut in pay till you manage to clear your FCPS. It will be a tight squeeze for a couple of years, but if you want to go for specialisation, you will have to do it. You will have to explain to your father the need for doing specialization, and hopefully he will understand that your prospects will go up after clearing FCPS. Also, perhaps your sister can chip in a bit if she starts giving tuitions at home. People do very well by giving tuitions, so encourage your sister to go for it. Best of luck!