Rest if you must, But don't you QUIT

September 3, 2010

(DOCTOR)
Dean
College of Medicine – West Visayas State University


Thru: (DOCTOR)
Clinical Clerk Coordinator
West Visayas State University Medical Center


Dear Doctor,


I write to apply for a LEAVE OF ABSENCE, to rest, effective today, until December 31, 2010. May I also please ask for your permission to assume hospital duty by January 1, 2011 to make up for the remaining hours that I will not be able to serve during this Leave. Hopefully, I could complete all my requirements and graduate in April to begin PGI on May, 2011.

May I offer two reasons for this application:

1. Despite the many satisfactions and great learning in medical school and hospital training, my physical state of exhaustion is also exacting a toll on my general well-being. The problems of sleep deprivation and stress in 80 or more hours a week in the hospital, with duty-shifts of 24-36 hours, is leading me to a mechanical state and warped lifestyle that is no longer, me. Before it gets to be really problematic, I urgently need to sleep and rest for just a while. I need to gather re-newed energy again which I believe can be obtained from claiming some time and space for a break....to relax in a stress free situation.
“Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.”
(Don’t Quit)

2. It has been an exciting time. Much energy had been spent in learning the science of medicine these past 4 years. Perhaps, amidst “managing” patients and “surviving” hospital training culture, I miss out on “the art of healing” – the comforting or caring dimension of healing...the spiritual dimension of this profession. The focus on sharply defined physiological problems has trained me to control or ignore my natural reactions to commonly encountered scenarious in the ER, OR, Floors, ICU, NICU, etc. resulting to the capacity to remain cool, calm, and detached, no matter how desperate a crisis may be. Now, I experience that some deep part of me feels numbed. If I am to proceed with inner health, I need to return to my natural bearings of recovering my idealism and belief that healing has both physical and spiritual dimensions. I need to recover my original motive for helping the sick. My original vocational inspiration have been neglected, ravaged by the heat of training. I want to rediscover the root of my sacred vocation as a healer. For this, I need time for a Retreat. I would like to discern the spiritual impact of my experiences in medical training. I am sure to find God’s deep affirmation and broadening of my personal and professional life.

“it is not the nature of the task, but its consecration that is the vital thing”
(Martin Buber)


The desire to become a doctor is still definitely very strong. Please know that I gave time and stretched through this fatigue-state for some months, hoping it would just pass as a phase. However, it would not let up. I consulted many people and finally decided, with the support of my parents, to take the four-month leave. I look forward to a rejuvinated and animated come-back-to duty by January and resume my training with all its rigors and stressful conditions.

Thank you for your understanding and kind support.

Sincerely,




Socorro Marie – Eugenie C. Baga
Clinical Clerk

Conferred by:


Cynthia C. Baga Oscar T. Baga
(Mother) (Father)


Noted By:

(DOCTOR)
Office of Student Affairs
College of Medicine - WVSU