Engineer cum Doctor

It rarely happens that one chooses two completely different careers in life (one after the other) and goes on to acquire the necessary qualifications for both. Anuj Pahwa, a young doctor cum engineer who has
successfully managed to bring the two careers together in a way that he uses his varied skills to the fullest

An Interview of him:-.

Tell us something about yourself. When did you decide to become a doctor? Where did you do your medical studies from...

My name is Anuj and I am 31 years old. I am based in Canberra and have been here for my work-life as an engineer and now student-life as a medical student, for the past 10 years. I am currently in my final year of medical school and looking forward to start work as an intern next year.

I knew very early on that I wanted to be a doctor. But things never really pan out the way you want them to. After I finished High School in Sydney, I wasn't successful in getting admission into a medical degree. So I decided to do something somewhat related (at least I thought it would be at the time) which was Computer Engineering with a Masters in Biomedical Engineering. I graduated from that in 2003 and began working as an Engineer in Canberra. Biomedical Engineering had very limited scope in Australia at that time, and getting work in that field was very hard. So I either had the option to pursue research or work as a Computer Engineer. I chose the latter and remained an engineer for six years (2003-2009).

I am currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree at the Australian National University in Canberra. I am in my final year and will graduate by the end of 2012.

It is rather unique that one is an engineer and a doctor. Aren't you bored of studying?

There are a lot of very smart people in this world - people who have so many different skills. Yet, they don't have formal qualifications in all those areas. I on the other hand, am not all that smart, but I have a few formal qualifications.

I am definitely not bored of studying and it is probably because I fear stagnation. If I continue to learn new things, I feel that I will continue to have meaning in my life and will hopefully be able to add something to the lives of others.

What do you think of the medical education standards in India?

I personally have not had any experience in medical education in India, so I won't be able to give you an accurate answer to this question. But from whatever I see, I feel that being a medical student in India allows one to have excellent clinical exposure purely because of the enormity of the patient population. Australia, being a small country of only 22 million people, does not offer such exposure. That is not to say that we have a contrived medical education system here in Australia - just that gaining that experience takes a bit longer.

Any interesting experiences as a medical student? Anecdotes, if any.

If there is one thing I have learned from studying medicine for four years, it is that every day at the hospital brings its fair share of experiences - be it from the patients or from the personalities of doctors. I have come across surgeons who would send male students home because they were not wearing a tie, to doctors who wear the same shirt and jumper every single day of their working life. The most memorable moments however are of those patients that you make an instant connection with, that really humble you and make you appreciate the essence of the doctor-patient relationship.

Do you plan to continue being a doctor? Or switch back to engineering?

I think my focus in the near future is going to be expanding my clinical knowledge and experience and becoming a good doctor. I love clinical medicine and I don't have any intention of not working as a doctor in the foreseeable future. However, with my background in engineering, I would love to marry these disciplines and look towards pursuing research in the role of technology in clinical practice.

Tell us something about your internship.

I hope to start my internship next year at the Canberra Hospital which is a 600-bed hospital offering a full gamut of specialities - both surgical and medical. I will be rotating through five 10-week rotations over next year which will include emergency medicine, one surgical rotation and one medical rotation. It is scary in many ways to think that next year I will be responsible for patients in the wards, but at the same time, it is very exciting as well.

Where do you plan to work after becoming a doctor?

It really is quite hard to plan these things, especially in medicine. A lot of where one can work depends on job availability, the speciality that one has chosen, family circumstances and to be honest - luck. I would ideally like to continue working in Canberra as the city suits my lifestyle and personality. But undoubtedly, I will have to relocate at some stage to pursue further training or different career opportunities. One thing that I can be sure of is that I will be somewhere in Australia - at least primarily.

How much of your medical knowledge are you actually able to apply when you work?

You can't really work as a doctor without having medical knowledge - at the end of the day it's almost impossible to know everything about medicine because it is such a vast field - but you build on your basic principles and try and deduce what ailment the patient might have. So you are constantly building and using that medical knowledge in your work.