Second-Class Doctor: Online Doctor

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Dilara Dimbaş, a second-year medical student at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

As everyone knows, medicine is the hardest field to study. It was hard while studying face-to-face but it became harder while studying online. In the pandemic situation, most medical faculties switch to online education. As a result of that, students were obligated to learn lectures by themselves.

I was second year student in this period. Our second year’s lectures were crucial for our medical education. For example, anatomy was this year’s lecture, and we did not able to study on any cadavers or even models. It was very difficult to understand. I struggled especially in neuroanatomy, because of brain’s three-dimensional structure.  

Lectures always become easier to me when I discussed the topics and important points with my friends and lecturers. And again, because of pandemic, I did not get a chance discuss with my friends and lecturers much. But it is not the only problem. I was not able to socialize and enjoy with my friends much, too. I did not able to make new friends and express myself without any technological tool. I became a screen addict.

This year, I did not have the opportunity to be in different communities and have a dialogue with different persons. Therefore, my motivation and self-confidence waned over time and my grades were affected by this.

My family has always stood by me and supported me throughout this process. They did everything they could to help me get a good education and make up for my shortcomings. So, I am grateful them. But some of my relatives were rude to me. They thought that medical students, who studied online this year, are not qualified as our seniors.

One of them even said that ‘’ You are in luck; you passed the class with ease thanks to pandemic. But I will not trust you as a patient in the future.’’ I always wanted to be a neurosurgeon, but these words broke my heart and made me doubt myself.

But despite the all the negativities, I will do whatever it takes to become a successful neurosurgeon and I will prove to myself, then all my acquaintances, that we are as qualified as our seniors.

About the author

Dilara Dimbaş is the second-year medical student at Hacettepe University in Ankara. She attended different events and conferences about medicine and neurosurgery. She was a member of two different interest clubs in her school this year. She wants to be a neurosurgeon.