Why Ophthalmology?

                       Yes! It's the study and treatment of disorders and diseases of the eye.People keep asking me why I took up such a speciality.In the medical fraternity Ophthalmology is not such a 'from the heart' specialitity for many doctors.Of course its not cardiology,nephrology or neurology and I dont pretend it to be but I do not like it when people question my motives for choosing it.They keep saying there's lot of money in it hence it is a good choice.Maybe there is but it can't be my reason for choosing it.Money has ceased to be my driving point in life 7 years back when I took up the medical profession.For the good or for the the bad.

                       Eversince I was a little kid I wanted to be part of something different.It is not something stange for a 10 year old but for me it has been my lifetime passion.Over the years that passion has manifested into me being  a part of a miracle.I have wrangled over it a lot of times and to me there are just a few things that qualify to that category.The magic of the story of birth or the the magic of sight or the magic of a new life! I had decided long back that I wanted to be a part of either of the three.It's the closest to being different for me.I had visualised myself as being a Obstretician, a Pediatrician, an Orthopaedician,a Cosmetogolist or an Ophthalmologist at different times of my under graduation.For me the charm of being a doctor was all this.This is the reason why I took up the medical profession as my life's calling when I had to choose.Not for me the the glamour of surgery or medicine as nearly every doctor I know has it.It was never Cardiology,Neurosurgery,Nephrology or what ever else that might be.I'm sure there's a lot of self satisfaction in any of the above mentioned specialities but it has never appealed to me because i believe i'm different and deserve to be so.

                       My internship after my undergrad has been a baptism by fire at the risk of sounding cliched.I found out so many things that i could be and couldn't be.I had narrowed down to Pediatrics or Ophthalmology as something that I should be pursuing as my first choice.As luck would have it I was in a position to choose and i'm glad I was able to make a great decision.I have finally chosen Ophthalmology as my path further.

                     That apart i've seen my dad who's a physician slog out the hours where he worked for 365 days a year and he could never make it to most of the weddings,get togethers,picnics or my school functions or any sort of break from work.Even then my dad was lucky that he could at least come home in time for lunch and dinner.I've seen doctors who literally live in hospitals and OT's.Over a period of time all that stress will get to you.I wanted to be a doctor and I did but I didn't sign up to give up my normal life.I am not ready to sacrifice all my life to medicine.Of course for people like that there are other avenues like non-clinical branches of specialisation and academics which are getting much more lucrative these days and all that at no stress on your hours.But the reason i took up the medical profession was not because of the money or even the illusion of an easy life.I took it because I wanted to treat patients.After a lot thought I felt Ophthalmology offered me the best of both worlds.Ophthalmology is a very interesting subject and new things are always popping up.The added plus is I have an ardent interest in technology which is indispensible in modern day Ophthalmology.Maybe I wont be saving a lot of lives but at least I'll have the satisfaction of restoring the sight of many people and a life with new vision is a new life after all.I'll gladly settle for it if it gives me the time to pursue my other loves in life like reading,travel,my poetry,parties,family or plain free time for myself.I'm too multi-dimensional to restrict myself only to hospitals.                      

                       The miracle of sight has often been understated.It is as if we take sight for granted.We realise the importance of sight when we are at the risk of losing it.I'm excited as hell being a part of restoring that primitive confidence.There couldn't be a greater reason for me to take it up.On the other side I would also like to make healthcare a professional endeavor where you would get the best possible facility for your health needs rather than worry about quality and cost.But that's a long term goal.

                       There you have it.A reasoning to my madness if you like it.I have achieved a difference in a field prone to generalisations.Not everybody is there in this profession for the same reasons.It has to be different otherwise it would be just as dull as the the stock market(duh!).....:-) 

18th June,2009                                                                                                       Raghuraj S. Hegde