A long time coming

I have delayed writing this post for a long time. I was waiting to get over the frustration about not being able to find a job in Canada, despite my qualifications. I am not over the frustration entirely, but I am trying to move on. The anger and the bitterness have been there for a long time. I am trying to change my sense of powerlessness into something positive, or at least into something I can control. So this is what I have concluded:

1. I have accepted the fact that I have to do more training and I will.

2. I continue to believe in the Canadian public health care system and I want to work in Canada.

3. There is value and worth in what I have accomplished thusfar in surgery and I can be proud.

4. I have the skill, knowledge, judgement, and confidence to be a consultant.

5. I can carry myself as if I were a consultant.


The biggest challenge I have faced, when reading and hearing rejection after rejection, has been to maintain a sense of self-worth as a surgeon. I have heard several times that my fellowship at Mayo Clinic is of no added value. Trends will come and go, but a solid training will last an entire career and will transcend all trends. Those who follow the trends in cardiac surgery are more interested in appearances than in the best quality of care for patients.

So it is with all this in mind that I carry on. Things will work out and my time will come. This I have to believe to be able to tolerate more years of uncertainty, debt, and subordination.