Elder doctors have been advised to help medical students to realise their dreams.
Receiving an award from the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SOGON), Chief Executive Officer, Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr Abayomi Ajayi said: “We need to give them a sense of calling- a sense of purpose. Money is one very important, and very natural reason to pursue the profession; let’s not denigrate that, in light of the fact that our culture holds up for hero worship for so many who are wealthy, like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Beyonce, LeBron James and others, we need not be ashamed that we work hard, and do hard and often dangerous things, and are rewarded.
“I speak from experience, when I say that faith may often be the only source of strength in this profession. We must use our wisdom and experience to smooth the paths for aspiring physicians, otherwise we harm the future generations who will lack new cures, new drugs, new procedures and fresh faces of compassion. And we may, inadvertently, harm our own descendants, who might find themselves suffering with no one to intervene.”
To his contemporaries, Dr Abayomi said: “Three things are important- Leaving your comfort zone; Synergy for better growth and Stewardship. No doubt, we are good at what we do, but medicine and the world is changing. Learning new skills is imperative both in medicine and outside medicine.
“The area of endoscopy is the new trend in the world, learn it. I look forward to the first robot in Nigeria. We have been trained to be one man army but the world has moved on. Very little can anyone achieve alone hence you need people’s skills.
“Dale Carnegie said for a profession to be successful, you need 20 per cent professional skills and 80 per cent people’s skills. In other words, you need to make other people work for you.
“We need to work together. If one takes a look at Lagos, every major street is littered with clinics, most of them not viable. Why can’t doctors join forces to open big hospitals instead of everyone wanting to be the MD? The world is a global village so one man can’t survive without synergy today. Institutions must work together, that way, the idea of Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) should work out very well for all like banks and others.
“According to the 36th U.S President, Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973); there are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.”
He said: “On the last nugget, I will say, Stewardship means being good managers of the resources that we have earned and that life has given us. As good stewards, we know that when we choose to spend our time or money there are always opportunities foregone. We consider our choices and we use our resources in keeping with our values and life mission.
“Stewardship means that we weigh not only our own needs and desires but those of other people and future generations. We realise that none of us is a self-made person and that part of what we own is wealth that flows from others through us,” he said.
The National President, SOGON, Dr Fred Achem, said the recipient was chosen for the award because, “of his contributions and achievements in his preferred field of specialisation- assisted reproductive health (ARH).”
