AMA VICDOC Summer 2024 - Magazine - Page 54
Dr Aquib Chowdhury is an ICU
registrar who has been a volunteer
with the Peer Visitor Program for over
a year. He regularly visits a doctor
living in aged care who unfortunately
had to retire from practice due
to illness.
Q1 /
WHAT DREW YOU TO MEDICINE?
-
I've always been interested in science, the
machine that is the human being, but it's
a lot more than that. It's about getting to
know people and having relationships with
people who are in their most vulnerable
time, using your skills in a way to make
a massive difference to their lives.
Q2 /
WHY DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED
IN VOLUNTEERING?
-
Mainly the altruism component and the
fact it allows me to be there for the most
vulnerable in our society. You go through
medical school, and then many years as a
junior doctor… but there is so much more
you can do outside that, which is more
spiritually fulfilling.
Q3 /
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE VOLUNTEER ROLE?
-
I took a look at quite a few volunteering
roles, and part of the reason I found this one
so worthwhile is that many roles don't really
allow you to develop personal connections.
I really wanted to try something that
allowed me to develop a connection with
someone from our field, and this was a
perfect role for that.
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Q4 /
HOW WAS THE FIRST VISIT
AND MAKING A CONNECTION?
-
We were introduced by a volunteer liaison,
and she attended the first visit briefly to
make sure we were comfortable with one
another. I was a stranger to him at that time,
and he wasn’t really comfortable talking
to me about all of his personal experiences
– fine with me. I just wanted to enjoy the
time that we had and ensure that he got
something out of it too.
I learned that he was an avid chess player.
He has a chessboard that is left out in view,
it's always on the table. I said to him, let’s
crack it open and play a game. That was
probably the best icebreaker of all! I chose a
pretty basic opening, he chose an advanced
opening, and that’s when I knew, okay, I
think he’s going to beat me. He’s good.
Sometimes we had to pause and figure out
what move we were going to do next, and
during that time, we just chatted: about life,
about medicine, and he gradually opened up.
Q5 /
WHY MIGHT OTHERS FIND
THE PROGRAM REWARDING?
-
As the visitor, it benefits you in a number of
ways. You can build good friendships with
retired doctors who understand your role and
what you might be going through. I think it
allows you to have those deep and meaningful
conversations with people who are far further
advanced in their careers than you.
I think we all came into this career for
different reasons, but one I think is common
to all of us, is that it's about helping others in
their time of need. One of our responsibilities
is to go and do these philanthropic sorts
of roles; developing personal connections,
becoming a more well-rounded doctor, and
getting exposure to opinions that are from an
entirely different point of view.
