One of my defining moments was turning 30 en route to becoming a qualified radiologist and asking myself: Is being a good wife and mother compatible with being a good radiologist?

Can I rise up to become a well respected radiologist (that is, above average) with some decent career achievements under my 24-inch belt and still ensure hot meals when the husband comes home from work, make him still proud of the way I look, have two or more well-rounded kids with nice manners and a proper upbringing, a few exciting hobbies, and be able to hold my own in reasonably scintillating conversation in a roomful of adults from a variety of backgrounds? Ha, ha, ha.

To come back down to earth, I am reminded of the simple truths in life, imparted repeatedly by patients who know they will die soon - that 'in the end, it's all about family and friends, not about how much you earn, how many hours you work or how famous you are...'. So it can be said that the practice of medicine has taught me to value human life, health and happiness dearly.

And yes, the practice of medicine is as much an art as well as a science. For me, our bedside tutorials at the John Radcliffe Hospital will always remain a solid lesson in how to approach patients, especially as one of my tutorial group mates failed his exam because he did not know the name of his patient!

It was drilled into us to use as much of our God-given senses as we could when assessing and managing patients, that is, to observe, to listen, to touch (examine), to smell (not taste, thankfully), pick up on body language and other clues, and always to communicate well.

Having trained in radiology, I can proudly add another sense - X-ray vision. The advances in imaging have made it that much more accurate in pinpointing pathology and I love that it does it quite quickly and non-invasively too.

Dealing with children and babies also gives me an added 'kick" in using different distraction techniques, little tricks and the occasional 'kid's psychology' to achieve what we want from a paediatric radiologist's viewpoint, and to put things in perspective from a sick child's viewpoint.

A doctor's life is never boring as it deals with human frailties and emotions, often on a very personal level; and is yet most fulfilling as it strives to alleviate suffering and disease.

It may be a long hard slog to get to and I may never fulfil my 'superbabelicious-good radiologist-yummy mummy-nice wife-domestic goddess' fantasy but, heck, I wouldn't give it up for anything else.

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times on Aug 28, 2008.