The life of a doctor is one which deserves great respect from us, these mean and women work tirelessly each and every day in order to improve and at times save the lives of their patients. We all know just how hard doctors work during their hospital time but what about when they clock off? I have been roommates with Dr. Ryan Shephard now for a number of years and during that time I have experienced exactly what life is like for doctors beyond the hospital, and it isn’t exactly what you may think.
Fatigue
Tiredness is to be expected from anyone that works the kids of hours that doctors do, especially given the services that they offer and the difficulty of the job. What we may not anticipate however is the sheer volume of tiredness and fatigue that these men and women face when they go home. I have seen first hand the effects of this and this level of tiredness has the strength to turn a brilliant and intellectual man into a wreck who cannot tie his shoelaces or even make it up the stairs without taking a break.
Days Off
Doctors work hard and deserve to enjoy their days off, or at least so you would think. The reality however is very different and people are always asking Ryan to check out a condition they may have or a health complaint. On one occasion I was talking with Ryan over coffee when suddenly he charges off to a lady on the ground, it turns out that the lady had arrested and quick as a flash my roomie was engaging in CPR and miraculously saved her life before my eyes. Days off are few and far between for doctors, and even when they do get them they rarely go as planned.
Studying
Most of us can stop studying once we have finished our education and embark on a career, not so in the case of doctors. In fact doctors must stay on top of their game at all times which means that once that long day at work has finished, it is time to get stuck into the books. Another reason why they need to study is because in some cases, certainly in the cases of my roommate, they are fearful of forgetting knowledge, knowledge that could save someone’s life.
Emotions
We like to think that doctors get used to death or to awful health situations but it simply is not the case and whilst they can guard their emotions in the workplace, those emotions have to come out at some point. I have overhead my roomie on many occasions trying to deal with the emotional strain and pressure which is on his shoulders and it can be pretty heartbreaking to hear. They may reserve their emotions but they are not robots and they suffer just like the rest of us.
