I have watched medical “fly on the wall” documentaries for a long time; 24 Hours In A&E, Ambulance, Lenox Hill and many others.
When I used to sit down and soak books up I loved reading reflections from medical professionals both past and present.
Even whilst working in hospitals in the admin backrooms, going through life and challenging times as a patient, being accepted to train as a dental nurse and getting interviews to go back to university to train in various forms of medicine and finding some of the content to bring up anecdotes and memories both joyful and full of horror I still absorbed all of it like a sponge. These are all stories for another time, perhaps.
Growing up I remember watching medical dramas and thinking about careers in medicine; When I sat there with my school advisor at 13 and they asked me what I wanted to do I said “well I want to be a paramedic but my health conditions mean I can’t do that… So I guess I’d like to be a journalist and try change the world that way instead”. The concept of going into nursing or being a doctor seemed “too far-fetched” and in my head I sucked terribly at science in school.
Little did my career advisor or I know at that point but a couple of months later I would be sitting in a room doing the 13-14 SAT exams for science back-to-back under special circumstances before going to a family members funeral in the afternoon, whilst being referred for mental health treatment as high risk by the hospital and also police systems. And I still came out with grades that resulted in me going into the 14-16 exams in the ‘top class’ in my school and doing two qualifications instead of one.
And whilst these shows give me a constant longing to be able to stand amongst them somehow, not even always as a ‘frontlines’ staff member but the idea of support somehow in the hospital or on the ground in the community they provide me with a sense of comfort too. Not the comfort that a lot of people get from watching them, that sense of “suppose my life could be worse” or those “feel good moments” but one in knowing just how many passionate, dedicated and caring souls still exist out there especially when the world is in a constant state of turmoil and nothing is certain at all.
Knowing as much as I do about the medical system from all the sides that I do makes it all the more amazing to me that they do what they do and yes it is the path they chose, what they “trained for” and just their “job” but there are some people that do the ‘smallest’ thing and make the biggest difference. During some of my stays in hospital, some just overnight others several weeks long, I of course remember the doctors and nurses but there are also the porters, cleaners, volunteers talking to people that have no visitors and so many more.
And whilst the shows still show the challenging days, the emotional moments, especially more recent seasons during and post-covid where things have shifted so much and there is a new level of trauma for both staff and patients there is a lot that they don’t show; budget issues, staffing shortages, the worst of those traumatic moments, the really really horrific accidents that come in through emergency medicine I hope that they inspire somebody to feel that maybe they could go on to follow the people shown and make a difference somehow. That there is somebody that hears a story or sees somebody just like them and realizes that they are smart enough to chase those dreams, that with dedication and strength they too could be one of those people and that it might not be one of the “big starring roles” but that every good lead actor needs an incredible supporting cast behind them too.
To those working in the medical sector, you might not be “saving lives” but you are still doing beyond incredible jobs and impacting patients and those around them in more ways than you might ever know. Thank you.
DANNIIXBHRI 