The Making Of A Medico – A Memoir
This memoir covers a period of over eight decades, starting from a near-idyllic life in Gozo, through a strenuous, even challenging period at university, followed by further education overseas. While this is where the history of an average ‘medico’ normally ends, for emeritus Professor Cauchi it is really a beginning of a varied career, involving not only cancer research, involvement as leader of the Maltese as well as the general ethnic community in Australia, broadcaster, lecturer, writer of monographs on medical and social issues, contributions to scientific journals as well as newspapers in Malta, and finally, when arthritis interfered with playing the piano, he started playing the cello at the age of 79, and managing to achieve a reasonable level of expertise in that area also.
This memoir covers these many aspects of a person who has contributed an enormous amount of effort, time and energy to the community through his continuous involvement in many aspects of life, both in Malta and overseas.
By: Maurice Cauchi
Format: Hardback
No of pages: 164
Dr Paul Psaila-Savona –
“The Making of a Medico – A Memoir” by Professor Maurice Cauchi
Review by Dr Paul Psaila-Savona
Professor Maurice Cauchi, the author of “The Making of a Medico – a Memoir” is an eminent retired pathologist who graduated from the University of Malta in 1961 and obtained higher qualifications in Pathology and Public Health which have led him to pursue energetically his professional interests.
On his retirement, he could not remain still and has chosen to put pen to paper to describe his experiences with reflections on his life and his achievements from the time of his early formative years in Gozo to his retirement as Professor of Pathology at the University. It is pleasing to see that he has seen fit to share these experiences which provide a good example of how an unassuming boy from a tiny island in the Mediterranean has striven to become an eminent professor in his field. He has described his book as a memoir. I see it as having a wider perspective than just a chronology of events in his life.
The first two chapters cover his early and school life. This gives an insight of a boy who hails from, and grew up in, a quiet village in Gozo where “little family things created great excitement while events of long or short duration affecting the world were ignored”. The boy grew up and survived (“Yet I survived”) in an environment not without its difficulties compounded to some extent at the time by the ravages of war. Life was generally simple, entertaining, with many difficulties but not without its consolations. This period of his life served as a useful apprenticeship in the development of his attitudes when he later emerged into the big wide world and became involved with many events and circumstances of great import.
“University Days” in Chapter 3 refers to the hardships encountered at the time by a Gozitan who had to pursue his studies in Malta if he was to further his tertiary education. This led to the development of a stoicism which served him well in the future. Later, as a fledgling doctor working in the wards of a very busy hospital he had to cope with the hard life of many a medical doctor working long hours, exposed to diseases and traumatic experiences and dealing with patients often in pain, angry and depressed with their lot in life. Often this was done with the assistance of dedicated teachers but sometimes coping with eccentric professors and colleagues.
The author describes in some detail his need after graduation to go overseas to further his medical education to obtain specialization in Pathology and Public Health and to become involved in cancer research. Although his work was accompanied by much sacrifice, he seemed to have comfortably found his niche. This does not mean that life had become plain sailing. His return to Malta to work in the University Department of Pathology was a florid example of prophets not being recognized in their own country (at least at the time). A clash of personalities ended in his making a courageous decision to leave his country to seek recognition and respect in Australia – a brave and ultimately rewarding decision.
In his new home, he came face to face with difficulties encountered by Maltese living abroad and the support that they needed. Cauchi reacted to this with energy and enthusiasm; he became heavily involved in recommending and improving their educational standards, their administrative reorganization, and encouraged a pride in the country they came from and its language, history and culture. His interest and use of electronic media were readily recognized and harnessed.
On his eventual return to Malta in 1992, he applied his energies to the development of a more professional and scientific Department of Pathology in a more modern and up-to-date University, of which he became Professor. He was particularly keen to modernize teaching practice and to encourage research within the Department. It was at this time also, as Chairman of the Bioethics Committee that he organized regular annual seminars on this topic, which have been published on a yearly basis.
This book not only describes his many achievements in the medical field but also veers into other areas of equal importance in the fields of science, bio-ethics, and sociology, topics on which he has published extensively. Professor Cauchi has devoted his life to the betterment of mankind. His unbounded energy on a social, personal and professional basis was directed to his becoming involved in many Committees, Councils, National and International Organizations.
Like a true intellectual, he has always been keen to share his knowledge with the general public, through his regular contributions to the press, the radio, and through public lecturing on topics relating to medicine, migration and other social issues.
This is a story of his interesting and fulfilling life. Cauchi’s love of history, knowledge of medicine, his interest in literature and his ability to write clearly reminded me, to some extent, of the great Russian dramatist and medical doctor, Anton Chekhov who wrote that “medicine is my lawful wife and literature my mistress. When I get weary with one, I pass the night with the other. Neither suffers because of my infidelity”. Cauchi has gone further than this. He has been able to mold a love for his family, a love for medicine and a love for writing into one trilogy, within which he has been able to move imperceptibly with great success.
In a sense this book may be considered as a sequel to a previous publication by him “Health Issues Today – Medical Social and Bio-ethical” since this describes the historical experiences he had to live through to be able to manage the challenges he encountered in his life in the “Making of a Medico”.
The life of a medical doctor is not the spectacle that we see in the doctor series in films and television. It is often a life of hardships, long sleepless nights, accompanied by great concerns and worries when dealing with serious illnesses and traumatic experiences. It takes much dedication to “make a medico” and while this may be appealing to the young person in their formative years, only few make the grade successfully. Many are called but few are chosen.
The book is written in a very pleasant and readable style. Although the content is generally serious it is also interspersed with some mirth and pathos. It invoked in me a bit of nostalgia especially of our university days. Although written by an academic, and delves into important medical, social and psychological issues, it does so in a way that most readers will find it easy to follow. It is aimed at the “intelligent lay-person”, “the educated reader” and Cauchi has followed Einstein’s motto “make it as simple as possible but no more”. I have no doubt that this book will be of interest to a wide spectrum of people and not just medical students and colleagues but scholars in other disciplines, teachers, and persons with an interest in history will find this book both refreshing and rewarding.
Note: Dr Paul Psaila-Savona was the Executive Director of Public Health for the State of Western Australia until his retirement in 2002. He continues to work as a Consultant Physician in Occupational Medicine in private practice in Australia. He graduated MD from the University of Malta in 1961 and obtained postgraduate qualifications in UK and Australia in both Public Health and Occupational Medicine. He has known Professor Cauchi since their student years at the Royal University of Malta from where they both graduated in 1961. He has followed Professor Cauchi’s illustrious career over the years with great interest.