Dear ladies and gentlemen,
Dear colleagues,
It is my pleasure to award the winner in the beautiful category Best young doctor tonight.
There is a whole sea of emotions raging in young doctors who have successfully graduated after long years of studying, ready to step onto their professional path. Tedious grinding is over, all the tests and exams are behind, the time when you have to watch your more experienced colleagues from the side is done. You are on your own now, with all the responsibility for getting the diagnosis and treatment right.
I can only imagine the kind of excitement a junior doctor must feel when he or she can finally put the knowledge that they have acquired during their studies to practice to get a diagnosis right, to complete the first surgery or even discover one of those rare diseases that you have read about in the sidenotes in your last year of studies. A disease that head physician has long forgotten about. A moment when you think to yourself that you have made the right choice by becoming a doctor and are ready to carry your responsibilities with pride.
Unfortunately, this initial sense of euphoria may be misleading, as often is the case. You will soon learn that an inflammation that you have diagnosed and treated may actually be cancer. You will learn that an unstoppable bleeding can occur even during the simplest of surgeries and you might have to hand it over to head physician. You will learn that despite getting the diagnosis and treatment right patient may die of cancer after a long battle.
And, on top of these gruelling professional challenges, young doctors also face tough personal questions. ‘Why do we have to decorate the Christmas tree without you? Do you really have to work on holidays, day and night, in your hospital? Will I be able to provide for my family?’
Moments like these can be a real test of young doctor’s belief in their choice of future profession. When in doubt, turn for sympathy to your superiors, find a more experienced colleague for encouragement needed to keep carrying on your professional duty or reconcile work and private life.
Dear young doctors,
Medical textbooks are now behind you. You will now be reading professional literature, join the appropriate medical association, attend medical conferences and workshops to learn about the newest developments in treatment. You will use all that on daily basis to lift the level of national healthcare to global standards.
We need young doctors to keep working in our national system. Young doctors with knowledge about all the most recent technologies and treatment techniques, fresh perspective and courage are the future of people-centred healthcare system.
The winner of the Best young doctor award started her professional career as an ambulance operator. She was determined to combine her studies here in Latvia with studies in several European countries. She now works as a child neurologist and constantly tries to advance the field. her little patients, their parents and even colleagues admire her talent. Put your hands together for the 2019 Best young doctor Signe Šetlere!
