Career of a Doctor: Interview with Specialist ENT Surgeon - Dr. Carmen Chiran
- Ruchika Airon
- Sep 14, 2017
- 7 min read
Dr. Carmen has more than sixteen years experience across Ireland, Romania & UAE and is currently working with Aster DM Healthcare in Dubai. She would be keen to mentor students. Look out for opportunities to interact with her on our blog.
FULL NAME : Dr. CARMEN CHIRAN LOCATION : DUBAI, UAE
DESIGNATION : SPECIALIST, ENT SURGEON
ORGANISATION : ASTER CLINIC
HAILS FROM : ROMANIA
Q1. What did you have to study to get into this line of work and where did you attend college? Were/are there other ways of qualifying for this profession? (Please specify if your educational qualifications were necessary to get into this line of work).
Ans. I completed my MD & PhD.(ENT) from University of Medicine&Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania. After completing 6 years of medical school I underwent one year training in general medicine and surgical speciality (internship).
My career in ENT speciality started as an ENT resident, after clearing the exam required for this speciality. During the 5 years of ENT residency, I developed theoretical and practical skills which form the basis for my current medical practice. I consider this part of my training the most important for building a solid base about this complex speciality.
I was lucky to work in the best ENT hospital of Romania (Hociota Hospital) with prestigious professors and experienced doctors who inspired youngsters like us and helped complete that complex training, starting with routine OPD cases right up to complex oncologic head and neck cases. At the same time I was part of the scientific research team. After 5 years of training as resident I finished last exam and obtained the certificate of ENT specialist.
My final qualification was a PhD. in ENT field and I graduated with a thesis about surgical and oncologic therapy of laryngeal cancer.
All these stages of qualification were absolutely mandatory for ENT specialisation, except PhD, which was a personal challenge I took upon myself.
Q2. Academically, what subjects should a student be good at to be successful in this job(during school and higher education)?
Ans. For becoming a good doctor, a student should be highly interested in Biology first. Understanding Biology and later on Physiology is the base of further medical studies. In the first years of medical school there are a lot of interesting subjects like Anatomy, Biochemistry, Biophysics, etc. but the real
approach to clinical medicine starts from the third year when students have first contacts with hospital life. From that point, many possibilities open up for each person and their interest in different specialities guide them towards more detailed studies.
Q3. What skills should an individual try to develop to be good at this role, which could also possibly help them break the entry barriers for entrance exams/interviews etc.?
Ans. Being a doctor is more than a job, it's a lifetime commitment. That's why the most important factor for a person interested in this profession should be the willingness to make tremendous mental and physical efforts.
Many years of studies(more than most professions), long working hours, life/death situations, extreme stress and the realisation that each thought or action literally has an impact on the life of a person, are all a part of this professional journey.
Once a student accepts this, all barriers are easy to break and most exams can be cleared if enough time has been spent studying.
Q4. Would you like to give any tips or reminders to students aspiring for such a profession (these could be related to deadlines for entrance exams or subjects essential to study to get into this field or red flags to be aware of before dreaming about a profession)?
Ans. From my personal experience the most valuable lesson I learnt during the years when I was preparing for becoming a doctor, is the importance of studying daily. The volume of information received in medical schools is so high that a day's gap in studies can make a difference in grades.
In the first week of anatomy class I had already filled an entire book with drawings and there were so many names of anatomical structures to remember that I was afraid I won't be able to get through.
Long hours of daily studies are the only friends of a medical student. I remember being very jealous of friends in Economics or Finance schools who were always ready to party. For us this was only a dream!
Q5. In your opinion which are the top three colleges/universities in your field within your country as well as globally? (eg. Top 3 MBA institutes in UK and top 3 globally.)
Ans. Top 3 medical schools in the world are Harvard (US), Oxford and Cambridge (UK). Also, John Hopkins University and Stanford (US).
In Europe I would say, Karolinska Institute (Sweden).
All these universities are great medical schools for training and are followed by doctors all around the world for the research they are doing in various medical fields.
ABOUT THE PROFESSION:
Q6. What are the day to day responsibilities of a professional in this field?
Ans. Our daily work involves not only seeing patients during the day, but also reviewing previous days' cases and planning future strategies for certain patients. Usually we have to multitask as our busy schedule doesn't allow for any set time to be allocated for each of those and yet each task requires great attention to detail.
Also, the nature of tasks varies from a clinic to a hospital. In OPD (clinics) one mostly gets routine cases whereas in hospitals there are more surgical cases and emergencies.
Paper work also takes up a lot of time these days because times are changing and so is our profession.
Besides patients, we also deal with rest of the medical staff (nurses, lab, radiology, technical maintenance of medical equipment, pharmacy), administration, medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies and medical insurance companies. All these people have to receive very precise instructions from the doctor, right from general information and explanations to very detailed medical reports, lab test, dosages of medicines, etc.
In all of this, the most important part of our work is still interaction with patients. We are required to have a great eye for detail as each small or seemingly insignificant information provided by the patient can be extremely important for the right diagnosis.
Clinical examination of the patient is also extremely important. Even if these days lab test and imaging (endoscopy, CT scan, MRI, US etc.) bring essential clarifications, still the classical examination is mandatory. Taking enough time and having the patience to explain and translate medical information in less complicated words to the patients makes them more trusting of us and thus more receptive to treatment.
My personal belief is that healing of any disease depends not only on medicines or procedures but also the degree of confidence of a doctor enjoys with a patient and this can only be instilled by the doctor.
Q7. What does it really mean to be working in this role? (Do you have a good work-life balance? Do you travel a lot? Do you often have to meet a lot of new people?)
Ans. Working as a doctor can be a challange for the personal and family life, because it is a very demanding profession. It is time consuming, stressful, emotionally draining and at times one develops an attachment to difficult cases.
Working 24-36 hours at a stretch, in a hospital can sometimes be hard for a doctor's family to understand. Yet, most of the times they do, as they know that we chose this beautiful profession that protects the most precious thing on earth - life itself.
Traveling is a part of our life too because we need to attend medical conferences in different parts of the world as a part of our continuous education. Every doctor must attend a certain number of conferences a year, this being one of the criteria for holding a medical licence for practice.
We meet new people everyday, mostly patients. In this part of the world it is even more interesting considering huge number of nationalities living here.
Q8. What are the perks of being in this kind of a role?
Ans. General recognition of being in a difficult profession, respect and great deal of personal satisfaction.
PERSONAL CHOICES:
Q9. How did you choose this profession?
Ans. Medicine was my first choice since childhood right from the moment I first realised that people have to work for a living. I didn't have doctors in my family but my parents gave me lot of support during my studies. I never imagined doing anything different in my life.
Q10. What do you love about your job and what do you dislike?
Ans. I love everything about my profession and my job. I feel happy and fulfilled with my work.
I dislike it when people are self diagnosing on Google and they come to the doctor just to confirm their diagnosis.
Q11. Where did you start and where have you reached today? (Position/organisation you started off with and where you are working now).
Ans. From the days I started practising ENT as a junior doctor in Romania until now, working as an ENT specialist in DM Healthcare Dubai (Aster Medical Centre Tecom) it seems like a long journey.
It is 16 years of medical experience which I cherish with all my heart.
Yet, the enthusiasm and excitement I felt in the initial few years for my profession, continues to be the same till date.
MYTH Vs REALITY
Q12. Is there any myth you’d like to break about your profession that over-glamourises or de-glamourises it?
Ans. Just a clarification, we doctors are really privileged to help people in their weakest moments. Patients can be really vulnerable when faced with complicated medical situations and yet they trust us not only to be objective in our treatment but also to alleviate their fears and support them emotionally.
For this trust I feel grateful and even more committed to give my best to every patient who comes my way.
Did you find this article useful? Are there other aspects on a career in Medicine that you would like to know about? Are there any specific questions you have for Dr. Carmen? Please let us know by writing to us in the comments section at the end of the page.
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