• Question: What inspired you to be a children's doctor?

    Asked by anon-221232 to Thiloka on 27 Jun 2019.
    • Photo: Thiloka Ratnaike

      Thiloka Ratnaike answered on 27 Jun 2019:


      Hi there! I think the real inspiration came from when I started working in the Paediatrics wards during the 4th year of my medical school when I did a module in an acute Paediatrics- I got to see how passionate the doctors were, and how everyone worked well as a team, also the level of effort the team put into teaching us was incredible and showed how much they cared about their work. There are patients and families that I still remember from then (this is 10 years ago). I then went on to do part of my medical elective in Australia and got to observe a lot of different clinics- both in the city and in a really rural part of that state. Then, the real icing on cake came when I actually went from working in Adult Medicine/Surgery to Paediatrics during my first 2 years as a doctor- I just felt a sense of comfort in being in that setting. I felt better able to relate to children than I did adults! Perhaps that says too much about my level of maturity…but it just felt more fun and easier to me. So from over 10 years ago when I started to like the idea of being a children’s doctor, I went on to explore that possibility at every opportunity and that helped get me a place a Paediatric specialty doctor.

Comments