Self Financed for Professional Degree
COMING from a farm family made this man have to fight extra hard to reach his dreams. His ability and perseverance made his parents believe their child could become a doctor, a profession that some people considered only for the middle class.
Now Muhartono realizes their dream. The second child of Soedarmo and Musinah has indeed been prominent in academics. He has always been a star in the class since attending elementary school to high school. This achievement is what made his parents always eager to work harder so their children can attend college.
Born in Lengkong Village, Nganjuk, East Java, Muhartono spent a lot of his childhood helping his parents. He helped his father in the fields after school. The morning before leaving, Muhartono also had to open his mother’s stall in the market.
After graduated from SMA Negeri 2 Nganjuk, the man who was born on December 8, 1970, attended the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Brawijaya (Unibraw) Malang. However, due to the beliefs and wishes of his parents that their son could become a doctor, Muhartono decided to take a test and study at the Faculty of Medicine, Unibraw.
“I can only be grateful, maybe this is the way God conveyed through my parents,” said the man who claimed to be fond of this Barcelona football club.
He is also very proud of his parents because even though they don’t come from well-off families, they are very supportive of their children to be able to
Taking medical education at that time did not always go smoothly. Muhartono is aware of the expensive tuition fee. The burden on his family grew heavier when his younger brother also began studying at the Department of Public Health. During this situation, Muhartono determined to submit scholarships to several scholarship programs in and outside the campus.
“Alhamdullilah, thanks to my academic grades at the time, I received several scholarships, including from Japan,” said Muhartono, who was active in the student senate during that time.
Muhartono had been received fully-funded scholarships since the third semester. From the scholarship, he helped his parents to pay his brother’s tuition and his professional education. Until in the end, Muhartono who was only a farmer’s child was able to finish college and become a doctor.
This profession makes Muhartono wants to always serve society. Not only treating patients, but the father of four children also became a lecturer at several universities in Lampung. This is because since he was in school, teaching or sharing knowledge with others has become his hobby.
Muhartono said, when he was in school, he preferred to explain to his friends rather than listen during group learning. Since then, Muhartono said he was happy to share knowledge with anyone, including friends and family.
This anatomical pathologist specialist claimed his activities were more colorful when he was also a lecturer. Muhartono was a lecturer in several places, such as Akper Darmawacana Metro, Akper Baitul Hikmah, andUniversity of Malahayati.
Finally, his hobby of teaching led Muhartono to become a permanent lecturer as well as a Vice Dean I at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lampung. There was a reason why he decided to become a lecturer rather than as a doctor.
For him, there are three noble professions in this world, a teacher, a doctor, and the third is Kiai. Now, he has run two from those professions, “For the third profession, it is indeed considered quite heavy,” He said with a smile.
An Expert at Diagnosing Cancer
After completing his doctoral education at Brawijaya University Malang, Muhartono immediately decided to serve through the non-permanent employee (PTT) program organized by the government. Lampung became a place for his service around 1998.
He was placed in one of the Puskesmas in Bantul, Metro City. Muhartono, who is an Oncologist now, paved the way joyfully. He also decided to get married at the age of 27 years.
With enthusiasm and hard work, Muhartono built his little family. His service at the Puskesmas and teaching activities at several nursing colleges and universities in Lampung made him interested in pursuing a master’s degree.
Muhartono described of his family at that time was still relatively unstable. “Our house built from red bricks, two children at that time and still need funds for growth intake,” he said.
However, with the support of his wife, he decided to continue his studies by taking a master and medical specialist education at Padjadjaran University, Bandung. To finance his education, Muhartono had to sell his Timor cars, “At that time it was the hardest period of my life,” he said.
He left his wife and two children with a heavy heart just by relying on his monthly salary as a lecturer. Not to mention, the cost of his education relatively expensive made him look for other sources of income.
Muhartono finally chose to become a practicing doctor from one clinic to another just to pay for his daily needs. He even fasted to reduce his expenses.
Muhartono managed to take care of his financial problem. He graduated as the best graduate and GPA of 3.96. Besides earning a master’s degree, Muhartono also earned a specialist degree in anatomical pathology which is also a reference in cancer diagnosis.
Now, Muhartono plays a big role in Lampung. As an Oncologist, he always becomes a reference for cancer cases. He always appealed to the public and asks them to immediately check if there is a bulge around the limbs. “Cancer is actually a treatable disease.”
According to him, malignant tumor, another term cancer at this time can affect anyone. This disease can be caused by radiation, toxins, or viruses. However, women are the most cancer suffers in Lampung.
There are various types of cancer, such as uterine cancer and breast cancer, which often occur in women. “The initial diagnosis is a savior to overcome the malignancy of this second biggest killer disease after heart disease,” Muhartono said. []
