Should I Pursue a Career in Healthcare?

"It's really like on the spot type thing. You can't really prepare for what the kind of calls you're going to get that day."

In this episode of Papaya Talk, Nadia reflects on her experience working as a medical secretary at a community health center for the past six months. She describes her daily tasks, such as answering phone calls, booking appointments, and dealing with paperwork. Nadia also discusses the additional role of care coordinator that was added to her responsibilities. She shares her thoughts on the challenges and rewards of working a nine-to-five job and compares it to being a student. The skills she developed, such as quickly picking up new tasks and using medical terminology, combined with the impact of her parents' healthcare background has deeply impacted her understanding of patient care and empathy. During this episode, Nadia reflects on her co-op experience in a medical clinic and discusses her aspirations to go to medical school. Nadia describes the value of work experience and expresses her interest in learning about the healthcare system and how things work in real-time. She also discusses her motivation to work towards becoming a medical provider and making a difference in people's health. Alyssa shares her own journey of becoming a physical therapist and the reasons that motivated her. They discuss the importance of having a clear understanding of why one wants to pursue a career in medicine. Nadia reflects on her experiences and the things she has learned during her co-op, including the importance of being flexible and empathetic towards patients.

work experience, medical secretary, community health center, daily tasks, care coordination, challenges, rewards, skills, medical terminology, patient care, co-op experience, medical clinic, SOAP note, medical school, healthcare system, medical provider, making a difference, motivation, physical therapist, career in medicine, flexibility, empathy

Takeaways

• Working a nine-to-five job can be challenging and repetitive, but also rewarding in terms of helping patients and gaining experience.

• Nadia developed skills such as quickly picking up new tasks, using medical terminology, and social awareness cues.

• Having parents in healthcare helped Nadia understand patient care and gave her exposure to medical terminology and real-world healthcare experiences. The SOAP note format is used in medical clinics and consists of subjective, objective, assessment, and plan sections.

• Working in a medical clinic has motivated Nadia to consider going to medical school and become a medical provider.

• Having a clear understanding of why one wants to pursue a career in medicine is important.

• Being flexible and empathetic towards patients can make a significant difference in their healthcare experience.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Reflection on Past Six Months

07:38 Challenges and Rewards of a Nine-to-Five Job

13:41 Skills Developed in the Workplace

23:32 Introduction and Discussion of SOAP Note Format

26:29 Learning about the Healthcare System

28:57 Understanding Motivation in Medicine

31:21 The Importance of Having Clear Goals

35:03 Different Perspectives on Becoming a Doctor

37:54 Reflection on Co-op Experience

40:58 Advice for Future Self as a Doctor

43:10 Conclusion