Preface

He had a kind look, warmth, humbleness, and to me, he knew everything about medicine. I was standing with my mother just barely 17 years old, and I said, “thank you for this opportunity, I am really looking forward to this Professor Barau”. We had just finished talking about my shadowing experience for this week at the hospital and when would be the next time we should drop by. After finishing the conversation, he smiled, excused himself and had to go as he was on duty. Just before leaving around the corner at the end of the corridor, he turned back, smiled again and yelled: “just call me Georges!”.

Values and Actions of a Role Model 

For medical trainees to mature professionally, a role model plays an essential role in assisting and guiding doctors to their full potential. Especially at the bedside, an active role model should display clinical skills that are skillfully done (1). A role model emulates people’s behaviour and professional skills, and we may not even be aware we look up to them as they shine a light on what we need to do in the utmost positive way of our profession. Role models create a healthy relationship, guidance, inspiration and someone you want to become in the future (2).

My admiration for medicine came from a professor who has inspired and enhanced positively my perception of medicine along with all the complicated and tedious aspects that come along with the medical profession. This person that I admire is Professor Georges Barau, who is an obstetrician/gynaecologist. He is the head of the obstetrics and gynaecology department at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) of St Pierre, Île de la Réunion, and head of the Centre of Expertise for Woman, Mother and Child.

When I was still in high school, he gladly accepted me with open arms and showed me the world of medicine and surgery. I spent a whole week in the hospital from the cafeterias to hanging around with the secretaries to being in an aseptic theatre surgery block. At the end of that week, I remembered clearly telling my parents that I spent one of the best weeks of my life. That is the impact of an excellent role model. He is approachable, positive, shares his passion and enthusiasm, and he engages with you. Throughout my shadowing, he has shaped positively my professional identity and career choice for medicine.

The first time I met him, I was greeted with kindness and with a huge smile. Confidence seeped from him, it was not arrogance but humble with respect and modesty. I was already awestruck in his ability to make me feel I was in good hands. From the get-go, he treated me not as an inferior, even though I was just 17 years old, but as an adult who was young, full of ideas and passionate for medicine. He saw that, and I admire that from him. I think I fed that energy to him and he willingly accepted it, he told me it was rare to see youngsters getting involved in shadowing in a profession they liked. Hence, he decided to show me everything about medicine, and I learned so much from him. His behaviour, professionalism and knowledge were remarkable, and his presence and leadership were felt around the hospital.

Professor Barau always treated his patients with politeness, respect and he listened, and responded with honesty to their concerns and preferences, especially for surgical procedures. He makes his patients trust him with their lives and health. Before any procedures, he would explain thoroughly how it would go and presented information that the patients needed in a way that they could understand and provided dignity as well as privacy. He explained about their conditions, its likely progression and the option treatments, which included the risks and uncertainties in the outcome of the surgery. He understood that, and he expertly integrated morals and ethics in his profession as he knew surgical interventions causes a great deal of stress in patients such as the fear of dying, never waking up again, pain and the unknown of the future. He always put his patients first and provided a good standard of care and practice. He has profound knowledge and was always up to date with the latest surgical techniques as well as the medication that he often shared his views with the head pharmacist. These traits and ways of providing medicines are found to be the pillars of good medical practice (3).

Professor Barau could change his tone of voice and his volume and match perfectly to the scenarios. His voice and body language had such a calming effect and, whenever possible, he met his patients’ language and communication needs, which is essential when working in partnership with patients to make sound clinical decisions. Communication is fundamental in good medical practice (4).

Since professor Barau is the head of the obstetrics and gynaecology department, he would teach, train, and be supportive to other doctors and his students. Hence, he managed staff with appropriate supervision. When the surgical intervention was over, he made sure that there was a proper hand over to the team and sharing relevant information with colleagues. During any interventions, he skilfully collaborated with colleagues and respected their contributions and their skills. He definitely showed excellent continuity and coordination of care as well as the ability to delegate successfully and the safe transfer of patients between social care and health care providers. This ensured the right information was passed down, which is utmost important at a surgical department (5). Professor Barau showed me the importance of confidentiality and how to treat information, especially when it included patients that have died. He demonstrated and explained to me a few examples of how information slipped out and how it caused detrimental effects on the establishment, the trust from the public on the medical profession and most importantly, how the patient was affected.

On occasions where the surgery does not go as predicted, due to numerous factors, and that the patient has suffered distress or harm, Professor Barau has taught me that “matters should be put right as soon as possible”, to apologize and explain fully and promptly on the reason why things went the way they did. The short term and long-term outcomes were also discussed. This demonstrated that not everything will turn out the way you want it and that I must deal and handle it professionally. Sometimes, in certain situations, I could have done better and sometimes that is just how it is. Professor Barau taught me that you have to accept it, be better, learn and move on from the situation. This showed me the gritty reality of surgical outcomes, but it is part of life and part of the medical profession.

Professor Barau is someone I will never lose contact with. Even when he is not around, I ask myself how he would handle this situation and try to act accordingly. He has been kind, had lots of patience and was respectful to show me what medicine is all about, and I invited him to celebrate with me once I graduate as he will be very proud.

That is the definition of a role model.

Afterword

I think having a mentor/role model whilst doing medicine as a student is very important in being motivated and keep a clear goal in mind. I encourage anybody, whether for medicine or other degrees, to have a role model that you can look up to and rely upon. Choose your role model carefully, maybe someone that you can connect very well and that brings about aspiration in their profession. Remember, a role model teaches you and guides you towards the right path - who knows maybe one day you will be a role model for someone.

Published 15th July 2019. Last reviewed 30th December 2021.

Reference

1. Reuler JB, Nardone DA. Role modeling in medical education. West J Med. 1994;160(4):335-337. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1022423/. Accessed May 4, 2019.

2. Oxtoby K. Good doctors need good role models. Br Med J. 2016;353.doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i3538.

3. General Medical Council. Good Medical Practice. General Medical Council website. https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/Good_medical_practice___English_1215.pdf_51527435.pdf. Updated April 29, 2019. Accessed May 5, 2019.

4. General Medical Council. Consent: patients and doctors making decisions together. General Medical Council website. https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/good-medical-practice/~/link.aspx?_id=322E4F671D5F41E3A2400AB7469064FB&_z=z. Published 2008. Accessed May 5, 2019.

5.General Medical Council. Domain 3: Communication partnership and teamwork. General Medical Council website. https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/good-medical-practice/domain-3---communication-partnership-and-teamwork. Updated April 29, 2019. Accessed May 5, 2019.