Maria Foundas
Dr Maria Foundas, Clinical Lecturer. School of Medicine and Pharmacology, UWA
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How real is life on ER? |
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By Lance Burra-Robinson & Giridhar Parameswaran
How true is TV medical drama?
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| Even after 6 years of University, many unexplored and uncharted islands remained to be discovered in her world of medicine. A newly qualified doctor starting her internship at Royal Perth Hospital, she had learnt all the theory, now to put it into practice with real people, people with real problems, real thoughts and fears. `That's what I like about medicine' she told us. `It's not all science. It involves communicating with your patients. Medicine has the right balance of sciences and humanities.'
Maria Foundas is one of the most successful students Carine SHS has produced, one of four in her year who finished in the top 20 in the TEE. {Maria is remembered by some staff as the girl who often scored 11 out of 10.) As is the case with many high flyers, there was a little unwelcome pressure from the community to do medicine, just because of `that score'.
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The next 6 years were spent expanding her mind, learning the art and science of Medical Studies at UWA. The final 3 years, however, involved study in hospitals where students could observe how a medical procedure was accomplished. |
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| THE TEAM It was during this time that Maria finally realised what it meant to be a doctor - it was more than just making a correct diagnosis and learning all the correct medical terms. Medicine was about working together as a team of doctors, residents, interns and nurses to do the best for the patient on the surgical table. That team would let no barrier come between them and their patient, even if it meant working for days on end without sleep. Unlike other occupations medical practitioners cannot just work from 9 am to 5pm. If an emergency arises, they must be ready to tackle it. IS ER REAL?
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Maria has no regrets about pursuing her goals, but she does warn `Some students find out too late that real medicine is not what they expected'.
Maria concluded by telling us `I was speaking to an ex-Carine school friend recently. She had married and had children. It then suddenly hit me that while I had been studying intensively my friends had been entering the workforce and starting families. I certainly don't have a family of my own or a house or my own medical practice. But I have no regrets about being a doctor. "I love what I do. Medicine is not just a career pathway, it's a lifestyle". |
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