Briefing
You have been engaged to interpret at a medical conference. This afternoon, speakers will present lectures on the challenges faced by general practitioners in their profession.
Listen to Speech
Interpreting Speech #13 – Just a GP? (English-into-Mandarin)
Transcript and reference translation
When I was studying to be a doctor, I was often asked the following question: “Are you going to be a specialist? Or just a GP?” I hated that one little word: “just.” 在我学医的时候,经常有人问我这样一个问题:“你是准备当一个专科医生,还是就只是当个专科医生呢?”我讨厌“只是”这个词。
I always wanted to be a general practitioner. As a teenager, I was inspired to study medicine by my own GP. I did consider other specialties, but I think deep down I wanted to make a meaningful difference in my patients’ lives. So for me, GP was the obvious choice. 我一直都想当个全科医生。当我年少时,我受到自己的全科医生的鼓舞而选择学医。我当时确实也考虑过当个专科医生,但我深思后发现我想令自己患者的人生有所改观,所以全科医生是不二之选。
Nowadays, when I tell people that I’m a GP, they ask instead, “So are you going to specialize in anything?” They don’t seem to understand that I have already specialized. I am officially trained and registered as a “specialist general practitioner.” 现在,当我告诉别人我是一名全科医生时,他们就会反过来问我:“那你打算精于某个领域成吗?”他们仿佛不太明白其实我早已是专家。我接受过正式的训练并且是以“专业全科医生”的身份注册的。
These sorts of questions imply that being a GP is inferior to being a specialist. If you’re smart and successful, you become a specialist. If you want the easy option, you become a GP. It’s seen as a back-up option, not as a worthwhile career in itself. 这些问题给人的感觉是当全科医生不如当专科医生。如果你聪明且成功,那你就成为专科医生。如果你想要简单选项,那你就成为全科医生。全科医生被看做是一项退而求其次的选择,并不是一个有值得从事的职业。
Today I’d like to dispel that myth. GPs ARE experts. We are the expert of each and every one of our patients. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that GPs do a far better job at improving health outcomes and for a lower cost compared to specialists. 今天我要为全科医生正名,全科医生就是专家。我们是每位患者的专家。研究不断表明全科医生在治病和降低医疗费用上做的远好于专科医生。
So where do all these negative attitudes come from? Unfortunately, some hospital doctors perpetuate these views. I once had a university professor make the following comment about one of her favourite students: “She had so much potential. It was such a waste that she chose a career in general practice.” 那么这些对全科医生的负面态度都是从哪儿来的呢?遗憾的是,连一些在医院上班的医生对全科医生的负面看法根深蒂固。有一次,我的大学教授这么评价她喜欢的学生:“她这么有前途,却选择去当全科医生,真是太可惜了。”
Even though most health care happens in the primary health-care sector, most medical teaching is done in hospitals by specialists who believe that general practice is easy or boring. I can tell you, it is not. It is an incredibly challenging job, and no two days are ever the same. 尽管大部分医疗服务发生在基层医疗层面,但是大多数的医学教学是由医院的专科医生进行的,他们认为全科医疗要么简单要么乏味。但是我可以很明确地告诉大家,并不是这样的。全科医生的工作非常具有挑战性,每天都要面对不同的问题。
I chose to be a GP. I chose to be a doctor who sees patients as a whole person and not just a diseased organ. So I’d really like for people to stop asking, “Are you going to be a specialist, or just a GP?” and instead ask, “What type of doctor are you going to be?” 我选择当全科医生,一个能够为病人提供全面医疗服务、而不仅仅针对病态器官的医生。所以我真心希望人们不要再问我:“你想成为专科医生吗?还是只做个全科医生?”,而是问:“你想成为哪种医生?”。
And to answer the original question, no, I’m not “just” a GP. I’m a broadly-skilled, expert GP, providing a damn fine health service to my patients and my community. And I absolutely love it. Thank you. 对于一开始提到的那个问题,我的回答是:不,我不仅仅是个全科医生。我是一个十项全能的专业全科医生,能为我的社区和病人提供绝佳的医疗服务,并且我全身心地热爱我的职业,谢谢。
Adapted for educational purposes from the article Are You Going to Be a Specialist? Or Just a GP? by Penny Wilson.
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