Elena Pastushenko, PIR at the Puerta del Hierro Hospital.
Elena Pastushenko decided abandon medicine five years ago to embark on another health branch: Psychology. A decision that he has never regretted, quite the opposite; her every year in grade she made him assert himself and “be more sure that he made the right decision”.
“I left the medical degree in the middle of the second year, although during the first year I already considered leaving it several times,” Pastushenko tells Medical Writing. “Finally in the first year I didn’t make the decision because I got carried away by the fact that the subjects were less ‘medical’ and it was normal that I didn’t like them so much,” he adds.
However, in the second year, “he collided with reality”. “I realized that the degree was not what I expected and I was not enjoying it like other of my classmates,” says the psychologist, admitting that “she was feeling bad emotionally and with a lot of stress due to everything that was required in the degree “. “I didn’t think all that bad time was going to be worth it”underlines as the main reason that led him to abandon these studies.
These days I’m a little emotional. 5 years ago I left Medicine to change to Psychology. People very close to me told me that it was a huge mistake, that I was never going to work on it. And next week I sign a contract as PIR
– elena (@pasturshit) May 28, 2022
But, why did you later opt for Psychology? “Since I started Medicine I was interested in Psychiatry, since I have always been attracted to mental health issues”, she begins explaining, admitting that “at that time she believed that Psychology might give her a greater understanding of behavior and a more psychotherapeutic and human approach “. “In the end, Psychiatry is just one more subject in Medicinewhile in Psychology I had more subjects directly related to psychotherapy”, admits Pastushenko to this newspaper.
Regarding what Psychology has given him that Medicine did not give him, he assures that “apart from all that knowledge, being able to study a career that interested me without excessive pressure and see that my effort was rewarded“. “It is something that I believe is often lacking in careers that seek excellence: that impetus ends up leaving many students disappointed and with a very low self-esteem that has nothing to do with their abilities,” he adds regarding this issue.
‘Goodbye’ to Medicine: “In the career the student is taken care of very little”
“My general perception is that very little care was taken of some students who had tried very hard for entering Medicine, even taking away the illusion of being doctors”, he admits, although he admits that “it cannot be extrapolated to all faculties”.
Now Pastushenko begins a new adventure. This time work. This week he begins his stage as PIR at the Hospital Puerta de Hierro from Madrid. A training that the psychologist herself describes as “very complete” and that has always seemed “ideal for her”. “From the beginning I decided to do the PIR and give everything in the months of preparation,” she explains, assuring that she knew “how complicated it would be.” “A lot of people tried for years before they got it and a lot of people gave up,” she admits.
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“Psychology has allowed me to study |
Precisely for that reason, she decided to “spend as many hours on it as she might, although always prioritizing rest when she was saturated.” “I didn’t leave the exam happy, but days later I began to realize that it hadn’t turned out so badly,” she says, and she confesses that she is proud “to have gotten a place in her first call.” “It is a privilege to have achieved it and a dream”reports.
Finally, Pastushenko admits that “Therapy is a very complex thing and that no book is going to teach you the same as seeing other people exercising it”. “The PIR also allows you to have supervision in your first steps in the profession”, he points out.
Although it may contain statements, data or notes from health institutions or professionals, the information contained in Medical Writing is edited and prepared by journalists. We recommend the reader that any questions related to health be consulted with a health professional.
