“That day I was very scared, but beyond my fear, I loved the patient. How you treat patients, they will treat you the same way, just be patient and love them and they will not harm you.said Dr. Mai.
Discovering that she had breast cancer, she was not afraid of death, just afraid of not having the opportunity to work anymore.
Tired but never wanted to quit my job
Having been attached to this special job for nearly 30 years now, according to the female doctor, to do this job well, in addition to loving the job and having high expertise, one must also have a “spirit of steel” to enter the “world of crazy people”. ”. In addition to hearing patients scold them all the time, they also beat doctors.
Many times Ms. Mai was cursed by patients, punched and kicked by her hands and feet, but she understood that they did not want that, they were just controlled by their illness and could not control their behavior.
After 20 years of working at Central Psychiatric Hospital I, in 2015, Ms. Mai asked to transfer to work at Mai Huong Day Psychiatric Hospital. The reason is that the new workplace is close to her home and more convenient for studying at the 2nd specialty. Previously, she went to work 20km every day and 40km to and from work.
Working as a doctor at the Medical Examination Department, every day Ms. Mai welcomes 40 to 50 people coming for examination, mainly having problems with depression and anxiety disorders. She no longer has much contact with acute patients, but each mental patient has its own characteristics, and she must research and learn to treat the patient.
In early 2017, she discovered she had breast cancer. Even though she is a psychiatrist, she still falls into panic and collapse. Thanks to the teachers and the hospital, she encouraged her to study and receive treatment at the same time.
After 2 years of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, at the end of 2018, she finished her last round of chemotherapy, which was also the time to hold a diploma in specialty with 2 excellent grades. She holds the position of Head of the Examination Department at Mai Huong Mental Hospital. Six years after chemotherapy, she still takes maintenance medication every day.
The female doctor confided that after nearly 30 years of practicing treating mental patients, she had suffered a lot of sadness. Being scolded by patients every day, the work is hard but the income is not as good as other public hospital doctors, and on the contrary, he also has to endure many discriminatory looks from outsiders as a psychiatrist. Contrary to other hospital doctors who are respected and sought after, people are afraid to come into contact with her, but the female doctor has never intended to quit her job.
“For me, just seeing the patient recover well and return to normal life is worth all the sadness”, said Dr. Mai.
Deputy Director of Mai Huong Day Psychiatric Hospital Tran Thi Hong Thu said Dr. Mai is highly professional and dedicated to patients. Working at the hospital for nearly 10 years, Dr. Mai always completed the assigned work well, successfully examined and treated hundreds of patients, and received the love of many patients and colleagues.
“Even though he has a serious illness, Dr. Mai still tries very hard to overcome his illness to contribute to the patients”, said Dr. Thu.
