How Grey's Anatomy Changed My Life

Partly because of Grey's Anatomy, I decided to take another look at my chosen profession.

Where do they get the time to do all those things?

I remember when I was a Surgical Resident in a government hospital. The normal day for me was 36 hours in the hospital, then 12 hours for myself. Repeat ad infinitum.

When love found its way, I forced myself to allocate time to my burgeoning relationship. Then I got sick, and I made the decision to leave. No one is going to take care of me as I take care of patients, so that did not make sense.

Fast forward to my next residency position in Emergency Medicine. Again in a government hospital, where the normal workweek would require me to be in the hospital for more than 120 hours. It was uncommon for me to handle 4 to 8 emergent patients at a time during my duty, and that meant doing everything for these patients - from taking the medical history, giving emergency treatment, formulating a treatment plan, doing procedures, and even inserting tubes and catheters. All by myself.

I wasn't aware that I would be leaving when I stumbled on Grey's Anatomy and began to watch it in the hospital dormitory. As I continued watching, it all felt surreal. Doctors in a pristine hospital, without breaking a sweat, unhurriedly treating patients.

This is wrong, I thought. All the frustration that built up during my every day ordeal in an unforgiving government hospital was finally brought to fore. Through the unbelievably perfect scenarios, I began to process these and came to the conclusion that maybe this is not for me.

When I finished the first season on DVD, other events fell into place and I had to leave again.

Now, when I get to watch it on TV (I don't follow it as religiously as I did the first season), I don't feel any overwhelming feeling of disbelief. I can now comfortably accept the events as fiction.

So I partly attribute my hiatus from Medicine to Grey's Anatomy. Thank you Shonda Rhimes for creating such a masterful way for me to reexamine my priorities in life, and to accept nothing less than Seattle Grace Hospital as an ideal place to train.