《麻醉学》期刊一篇写给医学生们的一封信（中英对照）

nonoknows

这是《Anesthesiology》2021年11月期刊刊登的一篇免费公开的文章，我读了之后深受感动，觉得每个选择或将要选择麻醉学的医学生都应该读到这封信。斗胆翻译了一下，如有错误，欢迎大家指出。

DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000003970

原文网址：https://pubs.asahq.org/anesthesi ... al-Students-from-an

A Letter to Medical Students from an Anesthesiologist

一名麻醉医生写给医学生们的一封信

作者：Michale Sung-jin Ok, M.D.

Good morning,

早上好呀，

You probably went to bed later and woke up earlier than most of us. Nowyou are here to learn about anesthesiology. You are paying a lot of money to behere today. Some medical schools do not even have an anesthesiology rotation.This 1-week rotation may be the only time you are exposed to the art andscience of anesthesiology before you must choose your specialty. Firstimpressions are important.

你们可能比我们大多数人都睡得晚、醒得早。现在你们来这里了解麻醉学。为了来到这里，你们花了很多钱。一些医学院甚至没有安排麻醉科转科。接下来为期一周的转科可能是你们在必须选择专业之前，唯一一次接触麻醉学的艺术和科学。第一印象非常重要。

That is a lot of pressure on me.

为了能给你们留下好印象，我的压力还挺大的。

Let us talk about you. You have excelled at most things you have triedin your life. You have embodied discipline and diligence. Your middle name isresilience. You always rise above the challenge. You never give up.

来说说你们吧。你们一生中大多数的尝试都做得很好。你们自律而又勤奋。你们的抗压能力几乎与生俱来。你们总能战胜挑战。你们从不放弃。

But above all, you care.

但最重要的是，你们在乎。

And that is what I care about.

而这也是我在乎的。

You dream of the day when you will be equipped with the knowledge andskills to help others independently. Someone with your aptitude could havepicked fame or fortune, but you chose to serve others. Now, you are trying tochoose the specialty that will enable you to become the physician you alwayswanted to be.

你们梦想有那么一天，将拥有独立帮助他人的知识和技能。有些跟你们一样有才能的人选择了追名逐利，而你们选择了为他人服务。现在，你们正尝试选择一个专业，以让你们成为一直以来梦寐以求的医生。

You are impressionable. We all know that medical school is incrediblystressful. You are constantly critiqued, and your shortcomings are oftenpublicly discussed. You are somehow expected to have a great attitude even whenyou do not have the time to eat, sleep, or even use the restroom. You oftenwonder if you are strong enough to be a physician. This environment can makeyou somewhat vulnerable. Meeting a kind, relatable resident or attending duringa rotation can be such a great relief. But be careful because this can alsomistakenly steer you into the wrong specialty. Before you commit, ask yourselfwhether you enjoyed the specialty itself or enjoyed working with a specificmentor during that rotation. I know a few physicians who regretfully made theirdecision based on this factor.

你们是敏感的。我们都知道，医学院的压力特别大。你们经常受到批评，你们的缺点经常被公开讨论。即使没有时间吃饭、睡觉，甚至没时间上厕所，你们却还总被认为应该有好的态度和状态。你们常常会想自己是否足够强大到能成为医生。这种环境可能会让你们有点脆弱。在转科期间如果遇到一位和蔼可亲的住院医师或主治医师可能会让你们松一口气。但要小心喔，因为这也可能会错误地引导你们进入错误的专业。在最终决定之前，问问自己是喜欢这个专业本身，还是因为喜欢在转科期间与特定的某位老师一起工作。我认识一些医生，他们很后悔因此做出的决定。

Now, let us talk about my journey to anesthesiology.

现在，来说说我的麻醉学之旅。

As a medical student, I loved all my rotations. There was somethingvaluable and wonderful about all specialties. Even though I initially pursuedprimary care, anesthesiology unexpectedly grabbed my attention, and I havenever looked back. It was not my interest in physiology or pharmacology thatmade me choose anesthesiology. It was not my passion for exciting newtechnologies, gadgets, or even procedures that made me choose anesthesiology.It was the deeply committed physicians and the way that they cared for theirpatients that drew me into anesthesiology.

当我还是医学生的时候，我喜欢我所有轮转过的科室。所有的专业都有其价值和精彩美妙的一面。尽管我最初准备选择社区医疗，但麻醉学出乎意料地吸引了我的注意力，我头也不回的选择了这个专业。我选择麻醉科不是因为我对生理学或药理学感兴趣。我选择麻醉科不是因为我对激动人心的新技术、精巧设备或对手术的热情。是那些尽职尽责的麻醉医生们和他们关心患者的方式吸引我进入了麻醉科。

There is a stigma associated with anesthesiology. When I told anemergency medicine resident that I committed to anesthesiology, he said, “Oh,so you don’t want to talk to any of your patients and just want to put them tosleep? That is a shame because you seem like a person that would actually enjoypatient interaction.” That comment bothered me more than I would like to admit.His comment suggested that anesthetic patient care is deeply impersonal. Heimplied that physicians who really care about people do not go intoanesthesiology. Nothing could be further from the truth.

有些人对麻醉学存在一种误解。当我告诉一位急诊内科的住院医师我选择了麻醉科后，他说：“哦，所以你是不想和你的任何患者说话吧，只想把他们麻倒睡着？真可惜，因为你看起来像一个真正喜欢耐心和患者沟通的人。”那番话对我造成了困扰。他那番话的意思是，麻醉患者这一医疗行为是缺乏人情味儿的。他的话里还有一层含义就是真正在乎他人的医生是不会去从事麻醉科工作的。没有什么是比这更离谱的了。

Now, 10 years after I began my journey into the field ofanesthesiology, I can confidently say that I am an anesthesiologist because Icare. If anything, I care more than I knew I was capable of. I care aboutlearning because my lack of knowledge can have life and death consequences. Icare about sharpening my skills because I am often my patient’s final line ofdefense. I care about medical ethics because we must do what is best forpatients when they are unable to guide us. My primary role is to care for mypatient’s physical safety during invasive surgical procedures. But I realizethat the emotional and spiritual well-being of a patient is just as importantfor their recovery.

现在，我在麻醉学领域的旅程已有10年，我可以自信地说，我之所以是麻醉医生，是因为我在乎。如果还要说什么的话，那就是我比我所知道的更在乎。我在乎学习，因为我知识的缺乏会有生与死的不同后果。我在乎提高我的技能，因为我经常是我的患者的最后一道生命守护线。我在乎医德，因为当患者无法做出决定时，我们必须做对他们最好的事情。我的主要职责是在开刀手术过程中保护患者的生命安全。但我认识到，患者的情感和精神健康对他们的康复同样重要。

I have been blessed with many opportunities to hold my patients’ handsand to comfort them. I have celebrated my patients’ victories and mourned theirsetbacks. I have cried with families who have lost their loved ones and jumpedfor joy when others made miraculous recoveries. I have had to tell somepatients and even other physicians “no” when it was the right thing to do.Believe me, saying that I will not do an anesthetic for someone is much moredifficult than doing it. I have learned that the hard way.

我有幸曾握住我的患者的手并安慰他们。我曾为我的患者手术成功而庆祝，也曾为手术失败而替患者哀伤。我曾与痛失亲人的家属一起哭泣，当有些人奇迹般地康复时，我也欢喜雀跃。有时，我不得不对一些患者，甚至对其他医生说“不”，因为这么做才是正确的。相信我，当面拒绝为别人实施麻醉并不好受。我对此深有体会。

I never forget the mistakes that I have made. I always learn from themso that I can be a better physician next time.

我永远不会忘记我犯的错误。我总是会吸取教训，避免再犯，这样我才能成为更好的医生。

At times, I have been shaken to the core because death was imminent formy patient. In those moments of overwhelming terror, I felt the weight of thatpatient’s trust. They trust that I will do the right thing while they are in adefenseless state. They trust that I will make the right decisions when everysecond counts. They trust that when I am in a situation that I cannot handlemyself, I will not be too proud to ask others for help. That trust is a heavyburden.

当我的患者命悬一线濒临死亡，有时我会彻底震撼。在那些极度恐惧的时刻，我感受到了患者的信任。他们相信，在他们无能为力最脆弱的情况下，我会做正确的事情。他们相信，当每一秒是重要时刻的时候，我会做出正确的决定。他们相信，当我遇到自己无法处理的问题时，我不会因为自傲而不向别人寻求帮助。这种信任是一个沉重的负担。

But do not worry. You will be trained extensively for moments likethese. You will learn how to always be prepared. You will learn that preventinga complication is always better than reacting to one. When medical crises comeyour way, you will learn how to systematically evaluate and treat them. You willlearn that during emergencies, you are not supposed to be a hero. You, with thehelp of your team, will conquer each situation together. You will win far morebattles than you will lose.

但不要担心。你们将会接受广泛的培训以应对此类时刻。你们将学习如何始终做好准备。你们将了解到，预防并发症总比处理并发症要好。你们将学会在遇到医疗危机时如何系统地评估并实施治疗。你们会学到，在紧急情况下，你们不用当孤胆英雄。在团队的帮助下，你们将一起克服每一种困难。你们打赢的战斗会比打输的要多得多。

Not many will remember who you are. Your face will not be on billboardadvertisements for the hospital. But out of the spotlight, and sometimes incomplete anonymity, you will do your best work to reduce human suffering. Youwill use medications and perform procedures that can take away the cruelest ofpains. You will rescue airways, resuscitate, and buy your surgeons just enoughtime to finish life-saving surgeries. You will help patients see their familiesagain.

没有多少人会记得你们是谁。你们的头像不会出现在医院的广告牌上。但在聚光灯外，有时完全默默无闻，你们会尽最大的努力减少患者的痛苦。你们将使用药物和技术以消除手术所带来的剧烈疼痛。你们将抢救气道、进行复苏，并为手术医生争取足够的时间来完成挽救生命的手术。你们将帮助患者再次见到他们的家人。

So, I say to you, the aspiring physician searching for a specialty, weare anesthesiologists because we care deeply about our patients. Join us, andyou will find a society of physicians dedicated to patient safety, scientificdiscovery, and technological innovation. You will find expertise that isinvaluable to patients at all stages of life. But above all, we compassionatelycare for our patients by reducing their suffering through the art and scienceof anesthesiology. From a newborn baby taking their first breath to the oldestand frailest of patients, we can help.

所以，我对正在选择专业的有抱负的你们说，我们之所以是麻醉医生，是因为我们深深地在乎我们的患者。加入我们，你们将发现一个致力于患者安全、科学研究和技术创新的医生团体。你们会发现，专业知识在患者生命的各个阶段都是无价的。但最重要的是，我们在乎患者的方式是通过麻醉学的艺术和科学来减少患者的痛苦。从第一次张口呼吸的新生儿到年龄最大、最虚弱的患者，我们都能提供帮助。

We care.

我们在乎。