Why did you become a doctor?
It is a long story. I wanted to be an archeologist, namely an Egyptologist, as an adolescent. I have realized later that it wouldn’t satisfy all the fields of my interest. The most fascinating thing in the world is the human being, so I decided to become an archaeologist of the personality, a psychiatrist.
Why did you choose your specialty?
First of all, this was “genetic damage” in my family. My parents were both psychiatrists, and I was raised in a psychiatric ward where they spent their lives. I listened to their discussions about the patients at home, and many patients were coming to my father’s private office. I socialized with medical doctors as a child. My father still has (he is 99 years old and is still working!) a vast library at home full of psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, and psychoanalytic literature. So I was reading psychiatry and psychology in parallel with Gulliver’s Travels.
What are the good points of being a doctor? The bad ones?
The positive aspects include the experiences with patients. You (the doctor) and your patient live in the therapeutic space, and when you let your patient out, s/he is in a better state or (sometimes) healthy.
The bad points are the administrative tasks. None of us likes the growing amount of administration.
What makes FirstMed different from other places where you have practiced medicine?
It is rich in different cultures and people. The level of its services is outstanding in Hungary. Some staff members possess specialized professional knowledge and experience from various parts of the world.
You can feel that the staff does their best for the patients and the clinic.
What do you like most about practicing medicine at FirstMed?
The high level of services, where you (as a doctor) and the patients are treated with respect.
What do you consider when looking for a doctor for yourself or a family member?
Level of professional knowledge and experience, human attitude, and personality.
Besides specific medical advice that you give to individual patients, is there anything you would recommend for people to stay as healthy as possible?
Devote enough time to yourself, do regular sports activities, have a hobby and deal with it regularly, find your sources of satisfaction, handle human relationships with respect and honor, and enjoy that you are a member of our human society.
Thank you, Dr. Hárdi, for the interview.