by Aubrey D. Edolmo
As a child, I have always dreamed of working in a health care facility. When asked why, I would answer, "So I can help sick people get better," and smile afterward. That small dream pushed me to take Medical Technology. Here I am now, working for my fellow countrymen and serving under our rural health unit. I handle patients infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis—or at least help community doctors diagnose them.
People would come and submit their samples, and I put them under the microscope to find what is ailing them. This line of work poses a lot of health risks—A risk not just for yourself, but for your own family, too. If you go home and carry the various health threats, your unaware loved ones would not even know there is a looming danger around them. The medical field is full of hazards that are not well suited for the laid-back and easygoing.
A medical technologist is one of the many legs that support a whole health care system with our nurses, midwives, physicians, radiologic technologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physical therapists. Each one has its function and importance, and of course, its peril. The sight of blood, patients crying in pain, or anxious loved ones waiting in front of the emergency room are just a few of them.
Now that the world is suffering from a pandemic called COVID-19, the chances of contracting it are high. If you are still reading, I may sound a bit intimidating. Aspiring health care practitioners might turn their backs on their dream, but that is the cold hard truth.
The job of a healthcare professional is not whole without dangers. However, it also has its rewards, and no, I do not mean the salary. The rewards we got are the smiles we get from recovering patients, the cries from babies being born, the thank yous we receive, and the thought of helping someone regain hope. Self-satisfaction? Inspiration? Happiness? Maybe yes, maybe no. No matter the take-away, it does not change the fact that healthcare professionals are willing to put their lives on the line to save another. Who would have thought that what we see in movies can happen in our very own life?
Imagine yourself taking care of other people, prioritizing them with only one goal in mind: to restore their health and get them back into tip-top shape. And that, my friend, is a selfless thing to do.
Aubrey D. Edolmo is a graduate of the Angeles University Foundation with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology. He underwent training in direct sputum smear microscopy in Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. - Quezon Institute.
YSPACE is a platform open for young writers to contribute their worth-sharing thoughts and stories to the world. It is a space for young people and by the young people which aims to promote a strong sense of empowerment and inspiration to young Filipinos.
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