HouseJob Chronicles: A Surgery Resident’s Profile.

An interesting aspect of housejob for me, is getting to meet senior colleagues from various backgrounds, with unique personalities and a wide-range of interests in the medical field. 

As part of the HouseJob Chronicles series, I’ll be featuring some residents from my centre (FMCL) who will give insights about the expectations and demands of residency (in Nigeria).

Enjoy!
***

“A good doctor cares. He cares about his patients. He’s not necessarily the doctor with the greatest knowledge, [but] he is empathic and shows compassion.”

– Dr. Fola Aduloju.

Q1. Why Surgery?

Dr. Fola: I’ve always loved the idea and I’ve always been fascinated by it. I studied medicine because I wanted to be a surgeon. Apart from that, surgery is physically and mentally challenging and I loved that too. Also, surgery is very lucrative. I also like the fact that surgeons don’t rely on medications alone, they identify the problem and take it out or fix it. Even the best of surgeons would need the services of another surgeon if he has a surgical problem… he won’t operate on himself, meaning that surgeons will always be sought after.
Lastly, I love the the theater environment.

Q2. What does a fulfilled day look like for you?

Dr. Fola: As a resident, a fulfilled day for me is one in which I have successfully balanced service rendering, academic activity, family life and rest. One hardly experiences a fulfilled day as a surgery resident. There always something that gives for another. This might be different for other residents though

A Surgery Resident’s Profile

Q3. What keeps you going on tough days?

Dr Fola: On tough days, I remind myself that this was the path I chose for myself and I won’t let temporary circumstances derail me. I keep my eyes on the prize and get going. “No pain, no gain.”

Q4. Do you have a favorite mantra? Please share.

Dr. Fola: No favorite mantra, sorry. Lol

Q5. What’s the most life-changing lesson you’ve learnt as a doctor?

Dr. Fola: Life is ephemeral and one must value every day and maximize it like it’s the last. 

There’s a thin line between life and death.

Q6. If not medicine, what?

Dr. Fola: Aviation. I would most definitely become a pilot. That was my first love before the idea of becoming a surgeon came.

Q7. What are your favorite activities outside work?

Dr. Fola: I love reading about music theory, drawing and painting, programming and foreign languages. Unfortunately most of these are time consuming and residency won’t permit. So instead, I just watch TV and sleep when I have the chance.

Q8. How do you keep your “work-life” balance?

Dr. Fola: It’s difficult in surgery. The demands are enormous and time consuming. A surgery resident would always be skewed towards work. When there is opportunity, I hang out with friends and keep myself up to date with happenings.

A Surgery Resident’s Profile

Q9. What are the attributes of a good doctor?

Dr. Fola: A good doctor cares. He cares about his patients. He’s not necessarily the doctor with the greatest knowledge, [but] he is empathic and shows compassion. 

Of course, he hungers for knowledge to improve the quality of patient care.

Q10. What advice will you give to a Naija House Officer?

Dr. Fola: Naija House officers should know that the work environment is harsh and stressful. They should find ways of simplifying their tasks and reducing the stress. In other words, they should work smart.

Most importantly, they should consider getting licensed to practice in other places irrespective of their love to practice in Nigeria. This will give them more exposure and possibly better finance to have an independent and comfortable practice. There are things one does when one is younger, do them now. Lastly, they should go after skills acquisition and thirst after knowlege/self-improvement.

***

Dr. Fola Aduloju, is a graduate of University of Ilorin Medical School, and a Surgery Resident at Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, Nigeria. He is interested in Neurosurgery specialty. 

Cheers!

:::requ1ne:::

    ❤️❤️❤️

BOOK REVIEW|| The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Author: Stephen R. Covey

Genre: Self-help, Non-Fiction

How I came about the book
A few years back, a friend read this book via kindle and what he shared was so amazing that I decided it was a must read. Last year, I bought a copy at a roadside bookstand in Lagos. It took all of N1500, and the book was worth every penny.

Expectations
From what my friend had shared, I knew reading this book was going to impact me in every way.
I especially looked forward to becoming a better version of me and I wasn’t disappointed.

Observations
Can I just say that this book is deep?
And not in the spiritual sense of it.

A lazy mind cannot grasp its many insights.

Lessons
Talk about the mind-blowing lessons in this book. 

It’s not hype. It’s real. 

To keep it simple, I have put the lessons under some sub-headings.

On Habits, Principles & Perspectives:

• -A habit is the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire.
• -There is no short-cut to success, the price must be paid and the process followed.
• -Principles are like lighthouses, they are natural laws that can not be broken.
• -Principles don’t die. They are bigger than people or circumstances.
• -If you’re not sure people trust you, you should ask yourself if you are trustworthy.
• -Private victories precede public victories. Every time.
• -Making and keeping promises to ourselves is more important than making and keeping promises to others.

We are what we continously do, Excellence then is not an act but a habit (Aristotle).

On Responsibility:

• -Responsibility is the ability to choose your response.
• -Between what happens to us (the stimulus) and our response to it, is our greatest power- the freedom to choose.
• -Until we can say we are who we are today because of the choices we made yesterday, we cannot choose otherwise.
• -Many people wait for something to happen before they do something.
• -If you wait to be acted upon, you will be acted upon.
• -“Proactive people focus their efforts in the circle of influence. Reactive people focus their efforts in the circle of concern.”
• -Not to acknowledge a mistake, is a mistake in itself.

That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. Heaven knows how to put a proper price on its goods. (Thomas Paine).

On Effectiveness:

• -Success in one area does not compensate for failure in another area of life.
• -Delegation to time is efficiency, but delegation to people is effectiveness.
• -To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination.
• -Effectiveness deals less with how much effort we put but on whether we are putting it in the right direction.
• -Effective people are not problem-minded but opportunity-minded. They feed opportunities and starve problems.
• -Not every problem that arises is important.
• -We must beware lest we focus on winning the battle that we lose the war.

On Vision & Values:

• -Your mission statement is your constitution, the solid expression of your vision and values.
• -Having a sense of vision about what you’re trying to be not only gives you long-term satisfaction but also short-term excitement.
• -By identifying where you want to be, you discover where you are.

On Discipline & Time-Management:

• -Discipline is the ability to do something even when you don’t want to do it.
• -Not all urgent matters are important, and not all important matters are urgent. It takes wisdom to know the difference.
• -To say YES to what is important we have to say NO to what is not important.
• -The key is not to prioritize our schedules, but to schedule our priorities.
• -Some important activities are more important than others.
• -When your values control your schedule and not vice-versa, you’re flexible enough not to feel guilty when you don’t meet up to a particular schedule.

On Relationships & Loyalty:

• -Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation.
• -Our most constant relationships require our most constant deposits.
• -A quick fix is a mirage. Building and Repairing relationships take time.
• -To make an emotional deposit, what is important to another person must be as important as that person is to you.
• -We must be sensitive enough not to project our own intentions and interests on the behaviors of others.
• -To do unto others what you want them to do to you, is to make them feel as good as you would want them to make you feel by doing the things they would love, not necessarily what you’d love.
• -It’s better not to make a promise than to make a promise that you can’t keep.
• -One way to show integrity is to be loyal to those who are not present. When you defend those who are absent, you retain the trust of those present.
• -Relational problems are a great opportunity to build relationships.
• -Win/Win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions.
• -No man’s success should be achieved at the expense or exclusion of another’s.

On Communication:

• -Conflict resolution is not about my way or your way but a better way.
• -Unexpressed feelings never die, they are buried alive and often wreck havoc in future.
• -Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration. You not only have to be empathic, you have to be confident.
• -We must take time to know a problem before we offer advice.
• -Empathic listening is listening with the intent to understand.
• -Communication is 10% of words, 30% of sounds and 60% of body language.
• -It’s not enough to listen with our ears, we must also learn to listen with our eyes and our hearts.
• -In an effort to understand others, we listen, and by listening, we learn.
• -The best way to look at people’s problems is through their eyes.

On Self-Care and Personal Development

• -Self investment is the single most powerful investment anyone can make.
• -We can’t live without eating, but we don’t live to eat.
• -Your physical health affects your mental health; your spiritual health affects your social health.
• -Improvement in one habit affects productivity in others.
• -That which we persist in becomes easier.
• -Many of us think we don’t have enough time to exercise. We don’t have time not to.
• -A good exercise program is the one you can do in your own home and that will build your body in endurance, flexibility and strength.
• -The person who doesn’t read is no better than the person who can’t read.
• -The law of the harvest governs life- eventually we all reap what we sow.

• The world shapes human behavior but Christ changes human nature.

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Teilhard de Chardin.

Challenges
The book is such a long read that if you’re not determined, you’ll get bored after a few pages.
Secondly, the author made to really emphasize some points over and over which wasn’t necessary in my opinion.

Because I had a hardcover copy I was not able to read it on the go. So I to had to create time at home for it.

Who should read the book?
You already know the answer? *winks*
Everyone.
Whether you’re trying to be an effective student, parent, employee or boss, this book will make you sit up.

Recommendation
I’ll give the book a rating of 4.5/5
Just because it took me all of 3 months at least, to finish it.

***
I hope you enjoyed this review.
Have you read this book?

Pls share your thoughts.

Cheers!

:::requ1ne:::
❤️❤️❤️

HouseJob Chronicles: Financial Wisdom 101

Well, this series was supposed to be all fun but this particular post may take on a serious tone.

Let’s talk about that thing called SALARY!

I know my salary is my business and your salary is your business, but when all is said and done, you can be a great doctor and still be broke.

That’s why I’d like to share some of the insight I’ve acquired, mostly by experience with you.

Since I’m no expert, this post is as good for me as it is for any Newbie House Officer.

That said, let’s dig in.

Now that you have a job, it feels like you have finally arrived.

It is not funny when a few months into HouseJob you start going broke left and right, and just as you finish clearing one debt, another one accumulates.

Here are a few tips that have helped me stay financially sane:

1. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

Sounds cliché, right?

Trust me on this one, your salary can develop invisible wings and fly away overnight.

As a doctor, you should have clear-cut SALARY GOALS.

And the best time to decide that is before you earn your first salary!

What are your immediate Post House-Job plans?

*Port abroad?

*Write Primaries for residency in Nigeria?

*Take a well-deserved trip to Dubai?

*Get married?

*Buy a Car?

Whatever it is, you’ll probably need a substantial amount to follow through.

The average Naija Houseofficer has a “take-home” of 100k (minus taxes and other deductions).

So what will you do with all that money?

Spend it all? Or Save some of it?

What will be your Spending:Saving Ratio?

50:50?

20:80?

10:90?

60:40 is comfortable and works well for me.

So find out what works for you, and make it work.

2. HAVE A BUDGET

Maybe you never had a budget as a medical student because pocket money was not an issue.

Now that you’re earning your own pay, it’s wise for you to have a basic budget.

It’s hard to plan a budget, it’s even harder to follow through.

The goodnews is that a budget should serve as your guide and not your master.

Before that alert hits your phone, get a pen/notepad and write out your budget.

* How much goes for feeding/groceries?

* How much for utilities? transport? rent?

* How about emergencies?

Having a budget may not make sense to you initially, but soon you’ll realize its importance.

3. BE GENEROUS BUT APPLY WISDOM

Here in Nigeria, doctors are a big deal as far as an average family is concerned.

In some families, a doctor is seen as a beacon of hope to alleviate all forms of financial distress.

While there is nothing wrong with meeting some of the financial needs of your loved ones, don’t throw caution to the wind and think you can solve every money related problem that arises.

You’re not the GREAT Provider.

It is even more tricky for guys, when “baes” of different sizes and shapes are involved.

Bros, your name is not Santa Claus. Receive sense in Jesus’ name!

Before you became a doctor, there were needs. Now that you’re a doctor, there are needs.

God forbid that you lose your medical license or fall ill, there will still be needs.

Wisdom, is profitable to direct.

4. BEWARE OF 419

Everyone wants to get richer and doctors are no exception.

Doctors are easy targets to scammers in the name of investors.

If you’re a Nigerian living in Nigeria, you’ll know that Passive Income is the trending thing.

I’m no expert in the world of Multilevel marketing or Cryptocurrency, but I’ve seen people put in a whole lot of money with zero returns.
It can be devastating.

My point is, don’t say YES to every invitation to invest. Double check any idea you’re being offered and do your home work before you launch in.

May you not fall a victim of 419. Amen.

5. DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY.

When all is said and done, your present salary is not enough to fulfill all your future dreams.

It’s very tempting to want to save to the last kobo and live like a peasant during housejob.

That however is unwise.

You’re not in this world to suffer. 

You worked hard for this money (remember the many years you spent studying tirelessly in school), so you deserve to enjoy it.

Flex a little. Shop for some new clothes or shoes. Go on a mini-vacation. Give yourself a treat from time to time.

Don’t WORRY about the future. After all, no one is guaranteed of tomorrow.

Save what you can. Give what you can. Invest what you can.

And spend the rest like a boss.

6. MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING.

You know this.

I know this.

We all know this.

But for some weird reason(s), we like to think/act the opposite. 

As if everything depends on money.

You worth much more than your pay check. Remember this. 

So even if you don’t earn enough, to save, invest or spend as you like-the value of your life is definitely more important to God than your salary.  

***

For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. Ecclesiastes 7:12 KJV

Cheers!

:::requ1ne:::
❤️❤️❤️