Sunday, February 6, 2011

324. Youths have passion but no hunger to excel

Thanks for prompt reply and good wishes. Promptness in reply tells a lot about a person's seriousness and care in doing business.

As I don't take in more than 2 interns at any one time, I hope your son is still interested in vet medicine and meet me for a discussion before I go to Myanmar on Feb 17, 2011.

Presently I have one intern. I nearly terminated one intern on 3rd day of CNY when she phoned to ask "If she has to go to work". I told her that she may as well stop coming to Toa Payoh Vets as she does not show much passion in vet medicine. Work on 3rd day of CNY?

I had an interview with her to find out whether I am wasting my resources to accept her as an intern. Her excellent academic results should get her in Vet College in Australia easily but where's that "passion"? She did not study Biology during her pre-University levels but fortunately for her, Australia accepts such prospects unlike British Universities. However, she needed to "work" in a veterinary practice.

I asked if her mum had not been happy since she was not paid and if that was the case, she had better go home. I have other applicants but I can take one at a time and usually I accept one intern who has been accepted by the University's Vet School for the first year. She had no offers and no testimonials as to her work with animals in her 12 years of Singapore education. I did have my doubts about her "passion" for veterinary medicine but did accept her.

Her mum told her that companies don't open till 5th day of CNY but she had known that she would take 1st and 2nd day of CNY off and had my permission for that 2 days off. So, I expect her and my associate vets to be "working" on the 3rd day of CNY. In fact, I was working half day on lst and 2nd day of CNY and was surprised to receive her phone call at 9.15 am asking if "she has to come to work today."

"Internship is not a summer holiday camp," I told this young lady.

From this phone call, I know she really has no passion for vet medicine. I would have terminated her internship if she had not turned up for "work" but her mother must have had quickly driven her to the surgery from Changi for "work". I had a meeting with this young lady and told her that she could stop "working" as she had done 3 weeks. I would not to waste my time and resources on a young lady who had no interest in veterinary medicine. I told her that a mother of a 5th year vet student complained to me that this daughter worked till 12 midnight in a veterinary surgery and thus was exploited as an intern. The mother just could not understand why. That this 5th year student has a passion to excel in veterinary medicine and to top the class. These are rare birds.

I hope you will explain to your son that he should be expected to put in the hours if he wants to do internship in my veterinary surgery. If he has no time and cannot do the hours, please let me know soon.

Best wishes

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