Life on the Frontlines: The Hidden Challenges of Medical Practice...

Most jobs are double-edged swords bringing food on our table while also exposing us to some health, physical and mental hazards. No job Is entirely free from risk but for today's post, I'll be writing about a job I feel carries the greatest risk; one that requires extensive level of training and professionalism. Without these, one could die before the job makes your ends meet.

A Medical Doctor ( Surgeon or Physician)
A medical doctor is someone tasked with looking after the health of others. They spend most of their days in the hospitals (for people that took that pathway) and this is a place that houses many diseases- both communicable and non-communicable diseases.

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Owing to the high risk of the profession remains why it's the profession that takes the longest years to train students in...
Despite their expertise, Doctors are exposed to numerous risks, some of which are highlighted below:

• Exposure to Infectious Diseases:

Physicians, especially those in accident and emergency units are constantly at high risk of getting infected because they are in constant risk of exposure to pathogens even before diagnosis of the illness is confirmed.
During pandemics also, physicians stay in the front lines even with inadequate resources putting themselves in danger in the course to save lives; this has tragically claimed the lives of countless medical professionals.

• Violence and Threats to Life:

Not once; not twice but many times have doctors been exposed to violent conducts of some patient's relatives.

The work doctors do is one of life and death and we're not God to have the final say, hence , you can't save every patient you come across.

Most times, the relatives of these patients out of frustration lash out and harm the medical doctor.
For instance, a recent incident in Nigeria saw a doctor shot and killed by a patient's relative and in the patient's relatives defence, he said the doctor was busy asking the patient useless questions instead of treating the patient and that led to the patient's death.

It was very heartbreaking because the questions were what would have helped the doctor have an insight of what exactly was wrong. Or or are doctors expected to share your illnesses too?

• Psychological Strain:

The traumatic scenes of seeing people die almost all the time is something doctors see almost everyday.. someone they were just doing all they could to make sure the person recovers suddenly drops dead one day, not to talk of table deaths during surgeries.
These scenes keep replaying in the minds of most doctors; asking themselves what they could have done different and beating themselves up, blaming themselves for the death even when they did their best. These emotional toll of losing patients leads to depression and even high risk of suicide.

• Extreme Fatigue:

Physicians spend long hours in clinics, wardrounds and surgeries racking their brains looking for a better way to better the lives of their patients, these high-stress situations including life-and-death decisions leads to burnouts.

In conclusion, while physicians may not face immediate physical harms and dangers like some manual labor jobs, looking beyond those physical aspect and combining the risks like health hazards, mental strain and emotional challenges, you will undoubtedly agree that even If it's not the most demanding and high-risk profession in your book, it will comfortably make the top 3 list in the world's list.
Doctors are individuals who give endless sympathy but often receive little in return.
For those of us in medicine, the danger is not just part of the job, it’s a reality we have accepted to save lives and make a difference.

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