On April 13th I interviewed Dr. Lin
Nathan:What did you major during your undergraduate years?
Dr. Lin:Biological Sciences
Nathan:Which classes were the most beneficial for the medical school years?
Dr.Lin Well, it depends for every person. I like science. So, I enjoyed my biological science classes.
Nathan:What was the most challenging part of becoming a doctor?
Dr. LinI think the hardest part what getting into medical school, I mean your in a very competitive field. Medical schools have to screen out applicants based by their undergraduate grades. I had to take these classes that weren’t related to medical school. Also, I couldn’t enjoy these classes. I had to do well on the test in order to be in that field of students that could go to medical school.
Nathan:What do you think about working the night shift?
Dr.LinThey are generally not enjoyable. You would rather be at home, sleeping on your bed. But, health emergencies can occur any time. So, someone has to take care of people at night. One part of your medical training is staying the night at a hospital.
Nathan:Do you use any thing to stay awake during the night shift. ( coffee, 5-hour energy)?
Dr. LinWell, I don’t. Some people drink coffee, others drink power-drinks that have caffeine in them. But, I can stay awake if I have to. If I can sleep, I will sleep.
Nathan:Please describe the definition of on call.
Dr. Lin:There are two forms of on-call. There’s in-house call, which means you actually stay in these rooms, for the doctors that are on-call. There are some specialties that they don’t want the doctors coming from home. Me, i am a ear, nose, and throat specialist, so I can take my calls at home. This is called home call. Home-call means if there is a doctor in the emergency room that has questions, they will call me and ask the questions. If the problem something that I feel that is I should take care myself I will go to the hospital.
Nathan:Do your co-workers that are cardiologist seem to work very hard?
Dr. Lin:Cardiologist definitely work hard. There are a lot of reasons. One, many people in America have heart problems. Two, many other doctors are kind of fearful of the heart, so they will always want to consult, always ask Cardiologist questions.