Stepping smartly into a ward where I promptly reported for duty to a patient’s relative who mistook for my consultant – lab coat tails tucked between my legs, I crawled back to the nurses’ counter for help.
It was my first day as a house officer. And I little then knew that this pattern – skipping back to the nurses for help – was to go on till… well, honestly, earlier this afternoon.
We have fought epic battles – together, and at times, against each other, stood side by side in humiliating defeat and jubilant victory.
Today I realise that aside from from my patients, I have learned the most in my career from my nurses.
Someone wise once wrote that a gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials. I am neither gem, nor perfect man, but I can think of no better team to stand together with in the trials of my career and my life.
Originally written on 12 May 2020 in Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor
