 Title: Professor and Senior Advisor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Missouri Don Liu is currently Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Formerly, he served as the Senior Advisor and Associate Director of Technology Transfer, University of Southern California. In addition, he has been a consultant to the industry and has designed various surgical instruments. He has also held posts as a visiting professor to various institutions in the US, China, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, India, S. Korea, and Indonesia.
In his submission, Dr. Liu explains the many pathes one can take through the field of medicine...
How do you define a successful career? Is it fame and fortune? Is it fulfilling a childhood dream? Is it leaving a positive impact on our world? Whatever the case may be, one must start with a dream, a vision, or a passion. Dream big, follow your heart, and do your best. Nothing else can motive you better than this desire from deep within. But to truly succeed and stand out you must also have perseverance and integrity. Medicine is a field that both demands and enables you to develop these qualities to the fullest.
It is often said that medicine is a calling, for without a genuine passion to serve others you can not be a true physician. Physicians deal with human life itself, the most sacred possession. Therefore, personal integrity, reverence for life, compassion, professional competency, and people skills are of utmost importance.
Contrary to popular perception, medicine is not always a glamorous job nor is it an easy road to fortune. The training is long and grueling. The expectation of a physician’s skill and the demand on his or her time is enormous. In an ever changing practice environment, there are invariably increasing amounts of paper work and bureaucracy to deal with. At the same time, the compensation for physicians is ever decreasing. Worse yet, the threat of a potential litigation is always present. Despite all of this, physicians generally find tremendous satisfaction in their job.
Physicians love their work for many different reasons. The most important one, I believe, is because physicians can display genuine compassion --- a physician must always put his or her patient’s welfare first. Given this, going the extra mile for the patient’s well being tends to give a physician the greatest joy.
Another reason why physicians love their work is the intellectual challenges the field of medicine poses. A physician must think like a scientist and work like an artist. Probing the mysteries of life, death, or diseases is most enticing. A physician may spend a life time in the laboratory investigating a certain disease process, attenuating a deadly strain of virus, or concocting a new drug. He or she may also develop a new operative technique, design a new surgical instrument, or innovate by using the latest technologies such as laser or nano-technology in patient treatment. Those well versed in epidemiology, statistics, or administration may find various leadership roles in public health and policy.
In other words, a physician has many choices in terms of a career path, depending on his or her own interest. Each path puts emphasis on certain aspect of the field and each challenging and rewarding in its own way. Whether one chooses clinical practice, research, or administration, the calling is the same. That is, to put patient’s welfare above all else: alleviating pain and suffering.
There are still many other possibilities for physicians to impact people’s life. Many physicians are actively involved in politics, social changes, and charitable works. There are physicians who become state senators or US congressman. There are physicians who are also prolific writers and there are physicians who head charitable organizations. Some of the notable organizations include Physicians for Social Changes and Doctors without Borders. I encourage young people to seriously think about these various possibilities.
In fact, I see a unique opportunity for physicians of Chinese origin in this county. The US prides itself in producing some of the brightest physicians and the best medical research results. However, the US health care delivery system has been criticized as inadequate. Healthcare reform is currently a top priority. This is a major task the US faces today, especially in the midst of a global economic crisis and political change. But the US is not alone in this transition.
China too, is undergoing massive changes. Its health care delivery system in the present form cannot meet the demand of a booming nation in transition. China looks for a workable model from other countries, in particular from the US. What can the two countries offer each other? As physicians, what and how can we best contribute? When we look at these questions, we see immense responsibilities and opportunities for current and aspiring physicians. I would like to ask our young people to challenge themselves: to answer a calling and to join us. Together we can further the cause and to complete the mission of C-100.To learn more about Don Liu, please click on his photo.
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