My Unhappy Work

(Again, a re-post from my Multiply account)

Last month, I looked through the google website for job searches as physician. I stumbled upon an advertisement which said "Post-FM Female Residency for hire in a private clinic in Makati blah blah blah..." It also mentioned the contact number and schedule of the clinic hours. I wrote the details down in my old Starbucks Planner. That was not the only post I jotted down. And then I forgot all about it. 

Last week (because of my desperation for job searching), I remembered about the job entries I wrote down. I prayed that the job is still open. After several inquiries by text, my prayer has been answered. High pay, good clinic location. Looks promising. Or so I thought..

When I was called in for interview last weekend, I was surprised to find several patients waiting in queue. While waiting at the holding area, most of the patients said the word "Canada". I thought if this is a clinic that screens immigrant applicants for Canada? When I was called in for interview, my thoughts were echoed out by the owner. No actual out-patient consultations; I will just be doing physican examination to applicants (for Canadian, or New Zealand visas) plus arrange/sort-out paperworks, or encode data in a computer. I got quite disappointed & I had second thoughts. For someone who graduated from an accredited residency training, I wanted to leave right then and there. I thought that the job description is fit for a GP or a moonlighter. Sadly, the owner introduced me to her staff right away after our interview. She kept on saying to them that I'll be starting on monday. I wanted to stop her from saying that. Instead, I just smiled at her. In the back of my mind, why was she looking for a graduate of a residency training kung iyan lang ang ipapagawa niya? At bakit ko naman yun kinagat? The pay is nice (clue: more than Php20K per month) but everything I've learned during residency will just be wasted & I might regret this later since I plan to take the diplomate exams at the end of the year.

Yesterday, I reported to work for the first time. I met another physician who have been working there for more than 1 year na. She introduced me again to the other clinic staff, gave me a thorough orientation of the clinic & learned some rules, including the fact that we don't start screening applicants until the owner arrives. I was also surprised when I saw the mountains of papers piled in different areas of the clinic. So is that what I'm going to sort? Am I going to encode? When we started seeing applicants, I was observant on how the other physician briefly examines an applicant. When I had the initiative to examine an applicant on my own, the owner scolded me. Probably, she doesn't trust my PE findings for now since I'm just a "newbie". I assumed she's defensive about everything that's put into writing in the documents because her name is at stake. But I'm so dismayed & defeated. For the past two days, all I've ever done was take the anthropometric measurements, visual acuity of the applicants. I suddenly remembered 1 of my rotations during residency, but this was worse. I always tag along (like a dog) with the other examining physician.

My searching doesn't stop here. I'm determined to find & pray for a better work, something that will help me professionally. Financial gain will always follow suit.