Yes, this is the typical question I've been familiar with these 3 years in med school.
It was back then on the first day orientation and the new students were getting to know each other. I realized that some of them have already known each other, either it because they are from the same high school, or they have been connected through their parents. Later on, I also discovered that more than half of my friends' parents are doctors. Some are even our lecturers.
On the next year it was the lecturers who joked, "So, anybody here whose parents are doctors? Or should I asked, anybody here whose parents are NOT doctors?"
Should I answer it?
Photo: It was a vegetarian lunch box I had on my medical students conference to Taiwan. Can you believe that the huge meat-look-alike in the center is actually a huge mushroom? Neither can I. By the way, it tasted sooo good that I thought I could be a vegetarian forever. But I'm just a natural omnivore. *
It was back then on the first day orientation and the new students were getting to know each other. I realized that some of them have already known each other, either it because they are from the same high school, or they have been connected through their parents. Later on, I also discovered that more than half of my friends' parents are doctors. Some are even our lecturers.
On the next year it was the lecturers who joked, "So, anybody here whose parents are doctors? Or should I asked, anybody here whose parents are NOT doctors?"
Should I answer it?
In a matter of fact, my parents are not doctors. My mother is a teacher. She teaches private courses for elementary students in our house, and she has been teaching for almost 30 years. My father is a typical employee in a flavor and fragrance company. The ironic part is that his specialty is in tobacco industry, while you know, I am going to be the one who will continually say smoking is bad for your health. But that's another story.
There is a common anecdote in our faculty, in Indonesian, it is FK=Fakultas Kedokteran (Medical Faculty) and its definition sometimes being interpreted as FK= Fakultas Keluarga (Family Faculty). And it's indeed describing the fact inside my school. So I have an anatomy lecturer whose happened to be a father of my best friend whose aunt is also teaching in the same medical school. Another friends of mine have surgeon parents, neurologist dad, obstetrician father, radiologist mother, etc. And there is nothing bad, about it, really.
There are some times when I envy them, because they have had the opportunity to learn more about medical stuff since their early age, digging into the deepest part of their parents secret to survive in medical school, being introduced to their parents relatives who later on become their lecturers and supervisors. I see that sometimes you are lucky if you are able to know some professors and experts before the clinical day comes. It's not a definitive factor of a successful doctor, of course, but you know how important having dependable references is.
On the other hand I'm glad that my parents are not doctors. When I got C+ on my anatomy exam, my parents kindly said "We know you have tried your best. Keep trying and remember that the knowledge you have inside your brain and your heart are far more important than that alphabets." While I know some doctors expect high grade from their children, and it can be frustrating sometimes, for the children. Having a non-medical family enables me to have normal conversations, without using any complicated medical terms (which I've had it DAILY with my school friends), sometimes they ask about medical stuff, the other times it's me who give some advices for them. I realized I have learned so much from my family about how to build a good communication with my future patients, who are more likely have medical education background.
And it's funny how my family couldn't wonder why I have to study almost every night, which is so-not-me back when I was in high school. The used to ask "Do you have exam tomorrow?" if they found me studying on late night -- while actually the exam was 2 months later.
I am the new and the only nerd in my family.
There are so much good and bad side of everything, including about having doctor parents. While I am so grateful of what I'm having right now, because it's about their role in family, not about their professional background.
Now how do you think? :)
There is a common anecdote in our faculty, in Indonesian, it is FK=Fakultas Kedokteran (Medical Faculty) and its definition sometimes being interpreted as FK= Fakultas Keluarga (Family Faculty). And it's indeed describing the fact inside my school. So I have an anatomy lecturer whose happened to be a father of my best friend whose aunt is also teaching in the same medical school. Another friends of mine have surgeon parents, neurologist dad, obstetrician father, radiologist mother, etc. And there is nothing bad, about it, really.
There are some times when I envy them, because they have had the opportunity to learn more about medical stuff since their early age, digging into the deepest part of their parents secret to survive in medical school, being introduced to their parents relatives who later on become their lecturers and supervisors. I see that sometimes you are lucky if you are able to know some professors and experts before the clinical day comes. It's not a definitive factor of a successful doctor, of course, but you know how important having dependable references is.
On the other hand I'm glad that my parents are not doctors. When I got C+ on my anatomy exam, my parents kindly said "We know you have tried your best. Keep trying and remember that the knowledge you have inside your brain and your heart are far more important than that alphabets." While I know some doctors expect high grade from their children, and it can be frustrating sometimes, for the children. Having a non-medical family enables me to have normal conversations, without using any complicated medical terms (which I've had it DAILY with my school friends), sometimes they ask about medical stuff, the other times it's me who give some advices for them. I realized I have learned so much from my family about how to build a good communication with my future patients, who are more likely have medical education background.
And it's funny how my family couldn't wonder why I have to study almost every night, which is so-not-me back when I was in high school. The used to ask "Do you have exam tomorrow?" if they found me studying on late night -- while actually the exam was 2 months later.
I am the new and the only nerd in my family.
There are so much good and bad side of everything, including about having doctor parents. While I am so grateful of what I'm having right now, because it's about their role in family, not about their professional background.
Now how do you think? :)
