I guess, it just all depends on how you feel.
While I am not any kind of medico, I have worked in a surgical ward for over 10 years. I worked through treatment as well.
My day is filled with bookings for BC surgeries. There are also many many staff members that have done the trip. There are nurses, admins and my last boss had done it twice.
It was difficult at the start as the emotions were raw and the constant flow of histopatholgy coming to me for sorting and filing was hard to deal with. It wasn't anything I hadn't been doing for the last decade but it had a whole new meaning now.
However, I did manage to get through those emotions relatively quickly and it rarely bothers me these days.
Because I have been on the other side of the fence I can empathise more with family members and will do my darndest to keep them up with information on where their loved one is at. I am often called to outpatients to talk through cold capping with people by the BCN's. Sometimes the nurses will ask me questions on how their patients might be feeling so they can help. I have also had stern talkings to baby doctors when I think they "don't get it". I like to surprise the new ones with my knowledge of chemo drugs, anti emetics and what's best for radiation burn. Starts some whispers and keeps me amused LOL.
I feel more useful I guess and will absolutely go the extra mile now to allay peoples fears as best I can. Last week I had a very concerned looking man come to my desk and enquire about his wife. She had been in surgery far longer than he expected. They fail to inform people how long it may take in recovery. I found out where she was and why things were taking so long for him and gave him a cuppa in our waiting area.
He was still sitting there when I was leaving looking very distraught so I stopped and had a chat with him. His wife was having almost the identical surgery as me. The poor guy just poored his heart out to me. He must have been bottling so much up and didn't quite understand everything the doctors had been telling him. I was so pleased to be able to help him out and he had this massive look of relief on his face and couldn't thank me enough. It just made me happy that my shitty "journey" had been of so helpful to him.
So you never know, you might just like getting back into it.
xoxoxox
