Medicine - More than just a job.

[keith_015]

Alright, so story goes that today my girlfriend made me pretty upset saying that medicine shouldn't be my life when I'm done and that its just a job. I tried telling her that being a doctor doesn't end when you leave the clinic or hospital. As well I naturally I like to lead and love the traits of being a doctor, and will definitely try to insert myself as a good-doing member of whatever community I end up in. Its obviously an integral part of the medical school admissions process and actual schooling that you become someone not just being a physician for the sake of taking home a paycheque.

 

I was wanting to see others opinions on why medicine is more than just a job.

[Adversary]

You know, my med colleagues all treat the career as a job. But then again, they are all in residencies now. There's a reason why specialties with the best lifestyles and $ are the most competitive.

[Lactic Folly]

In medicine, you have access to the most intimate aspects of your patients' lives, and your actions can have incredible impact on them, for better or worse. As such, physicians are held to a high standard of professional behaviour, in and outside of work (whether they meet them or not is another story - but episodes of road rage have led to discplinary action by the College of Physicians and Surgeons).

 

That being said, I would dig deeper into why your girlfriend said what she did. Perhaps she is concerned about the impact of a medical career on one's family and friends, and needs some reassurance. I will also make the oft-repeated point that just because lifestyle and $ are factors, that does not necessarily make them the primary factors. Peds was incredibly popular in my class.

[Renin]

Be thankful she wants to talk about it.

[future_doc]

Alright, so story goes that today my girlfriend made me pretty upset saying that medicine shouldn't be my life when I'm done and that its just a job. I tried telling her that being a doctor doesn't end when you leave the clinic or hospital. As well I naturally I like to lead and love the traits of being a doctor, and will definitely try to insert myself as a good-doing member of whatever community I end up in. Its obviously an integral part of the medical school admissions process and actual schooling that you become someone not just being a physician for the sake of taking home a paycheque.

 

I was wanting to see others opinions on why medicine is more than just a job.

 

You both should be going down the same path in terms of expections. It may well be that she sees herself having a future with you and wants to be the center of your life, whereas this is not realistic. It is best, if this is a serious relationship leading potentially to the very long term, that you both have a meering of the minds - rather than a crisis down the road. People who have no interest in medicine other than when they need a doctor have perceptions that differ from ours. And it is good to have a partner who is compatible in matters of special importance.

[Monaco]

hahaha...I can't even remember thinking or feeling that way.

 

I think most of my friends feel that our work is a large part of our lives and places extra demands not found in most jobs....but in the end, it's just a job. I don't think of it as a "calling" or see any of the people I know "dedicating" themselves to medicine. Those seem to be very old concepts to me.

 

In regards to your girlfriend, you'll have to see what she is really worried about. I see that you are a new med student....that can be a difficult time for couples, especially if they were together before med school. When you first get in, medical school completely invades your life....new friends, studies, social events lead to the complaint that all you ever talk about is medicine.

 

This might mean you'll have to compromise when making your career choices. E.g. you might love ICU, but another IM specialty including GIM (getting more popular, apparently) or Emerg might make your girlfriend happier.

[Adversary]

hahaha...I can't even remember thinking or feeling that way.

 

I think most of my friends feel that our work is a large part of our lives and places extra demands not found in most jobs....but in the end, it's just a job. I don't think of it as a "calling" or see any of the people I know "dedicating" themselves to medicine. Those seem to be very old concepts to me.

 

In regards to your girlfriend, you'll have to see what she is really worried about. I see that you are a new med student....that can be a difficult time for couples, especially if they were together before med school. When you first get in, medical school completely invades your life....new friends, studies, social events lead to the complaint that all you ever talk about is medicine.

 

This might mean you'll have to compromise when making your career choices. E.g. you might love ICU, but another IM specialty including GIM (getting more popular, apparently) or Emerg might make your girlfriend happier.

 

I noticed that those in medicine, especially in the upper years including my friends and family don't ever express an attitude of a "calling", "dedication", or the drive "to make a difference in people's lives". They see it as a rewarding career albeit difficult times and hurdles. The only ones expressing these views are the premeds. I always thought that was kinda amusing especially those posts from non-traditional students who appear to have great jobs, but express the drive to medicine because they want to make a difference.

[Lactic Folly]

While I haven't heard anyone speak of medicine as a calling, I have certainly worked with physicians that I consider truly dedicated. I don't know what else you would call it, considering how much some of them work.. leaving the wards in the evening for a child's Christmas concert, then returning later that night to finish rounding and meet with patients' families.. when on-service for internal medicine and on take every second day, choosing to stay in-house with the team doing admissions in the ER until midnight (instead of taking phone calls from home).. operating in the middle of the night after a full workday and with another OR day booked ahead when your patient runs into a problem, even if you're not on call.. etc. (Guess residency hasn't totally jaded me yet.)

 

Certainly all jobs help people, not just medical careers. But as I alluded to above, a person definitely makes a difference in people's lives in medicine, and it takes dedication to ensure that difference is a positive one.

[sfinch]

I'm going to say what a lot of guys here are thinking but too polite to say.

 

YOU GOT UPSET OVER SUCH AN INNOCUOUS COMMENT?? Are you that sensitive? Who the heck is that sensitive? You haven't even started medicine yet. MAn up, grow a pair, and stop crying over little things like that. You can make medicine whatever you want. And what do you really know about medicine anyways?? You are starting med school next year.

 

Here's some common sense. Some people make their whole identity as that of a doctor, and for them it is more than a career. For some, it is simply that, a job. And for others, it's an ex job, as they choose to do something else.

 

 

Alright, so story goes that today my girlfriend made me pretty upset saying that medicine shouldn't be my life when I'm done and that its just a job. I tried telling her that being a doctor doesn't end when you leave the clinic or hospital. As well I naturally I like to lead and love the traits of being a doctor, and will definitely try to insert myself as a good-doing member of whatever community I end up in. Its obviously an integral part of the medical school admissions process and actual schooling that you become someone not just being a physician for the sake of taking home a paycheque.

 

I was wanting to see others opinions on why medicine is more than just a job.

[kosmo14]

I do agree that medicine is what you make it. It can be more than a job even your whole life (which is really sad). It can be just a job. Things change as you progress from pre med to a med student and then throughout residency. Initially you eat, sleep, breath medicine but that goes away. Eventually most people realize that there is more to life than medicine, and that if you don't treat it like a job (for the most part) it will eat you up and then you get into troubles (depression, drug abuse, divorce). For sure it is not your regular job (it is not monday to friday 8-4 at least not for most, and mistakes are definately more costly than in the rest of the work world) but it is a job. You derive your income from it (and by the way why is it alright to be excited about money as a banker but not a physician), you wake up on some mornings wishing you were on holidays (just like every job), there are politics and people you don't like at your workplace (just like every other job), and when you get home you are not Dr. So and So you are dad/mom/wife/husband.

 

So really you and your girlfriend are both right depending on what you choose. If you choose to make medicine your life then in many cases there is no room for anything else.

 

Just my thoughts.

[leviathan]

It is more than just a job..look at how much you have to sacrifice in your life to get the "job".

[Julie]

Medicine is what you make of it, I agree with other posters. It might be on the more demanding side of possible careers, but I don't think it's unique in how demanding it is. In all kinds of professions you find people who's entire life seems to be centered around their career. Most of the time it's because they're so incredibly passionate about what they do. I guess medicine is pretty passionating (I'm obviously biased) and many people do make it a huge part of their lives. You definitely don't have to work 90 hr work weeks as a doctor... (clerkship/residency is a different ballgame, but that's the training and not the job you'd be doing for an entire career). As a doctor you might choose to work 90 hr weeks, but you might choose to work that many hours as a professor, a researcher, a business owner or countless other jobs.

 

As for the entire idea about how doctors really make a difference in patient's lives... it's also true about so many other jobs... I don't think medicine is unique in that way either.

 

So it all depends on what you mean by "just a job". If you just mean a mindless, seemingly useless, 9-5 type of job, well medicine is more than that, but most jobs are more than that too. How much you put into it will be your call. If you make it your whole life it's reasonable to expect that it can have a negative impact on your relationships with people who are not your patients or coworkers. Ideally I think one finds a balance between work, family, friends, and personal time. I always found it quite risky to put all your efforts on one thing, such as a career, because if ever that falls apart... what then?

 

It's also reasonable, I think, for partners of doctors or people who have other demanding professions to expect to have to make some sacrifices to accommodate the other. You probably can't promise to be home by 4 every night for most specialties in medicine, and you most likely will sometimes work long hours, possibly nights & weekends. Hopefully you can find some middle ground where you meet your family's and your patient's needs (and your own, obviously)...

[NLengr]

I've heard lots of attendings refer to medicine as "more than just a job" or " a calling". But many of those same attendings also have pretty poor opinions of the work ethic of a large portion of today's medical students/residents.

 

Medicine is more than "just a job" in my opinion because to me something that is "just a job" is something you do to get a paycheque. You have no/little passion for it, and frankly don't really care about what happens with it as long as you keep getting paid. Something is a calling when you are driven to do it by passion and care greatly about the field and it's direction, which I'd say 99% physicians are. I don't know many who are just punching the clock for a paycheque.

[TurkandJD]

I've heard lots of attendings refer to medicine as "more than just a job" or " a calling". But many of those same attendings also have pretty poor opinions of the work ethic of a large portion of today's medical students/residents.

 

Medicine is more than "just a job" in my opinion because to me something that is "just a job" is something you do to get a paycheque. You have no/little passion for it, and frankly don't really care about what happens with it as long as you keep getting paid. Something is a calling when you are driven to do it by passion and care greatly about the field and it's direction, which I'd say 99% physicians are. I don't know many who are just punching the clock for a paycheque.

 

 

i disagree to the bolded part. people are driven by reward and it could be a complex of many factors including personal gratification and financial success and many more, most physicians fall in this category (probably 95%). the rest of the 5% are divided into the altruistic ones ('medicine is a calling for me') and power-thirsty ones ('medicine is an end').

[fourtytwo]

Full disclosure: I'm just a lowly respiratory therapist with a degree in philosophy and minor in psychology, so take this for what it's worth.

 

It's dangerous to define yourself externally. That's what you're doing when you say medicine is more than a job. When you create the definition of yourself as a person by using external symbols -- having an MD, using a Mac computer, driving a corvette -- you're now basing your identity on things that a transient. It's easy to imagine how a person might lose the ability to drive a corvette or use a mac (bankruptcy), but it's just as easy to lose your license as a physician. And then what do you have? Not only have you lost your job, but you've also lost a piece of your identity.

 

From my admittedly limited experience in hospitals, let me tell you that being a doctor is just a job. It's a rewarding, challenging, life-changing job that takes decades to get a real handle on, but it's just a job. The people who elevate it to something divine or mystical are setting themselves up an incredible narcissistic injury later in life.

 

Just my $0.02.

[w8kg6]

You've gotta remember that medicine is only a PART of your life when you're a doc. It's just a job. I realize that there is a certain draw to seeming altruistic by saying that this is something that you want to devote your life to, and I'll grant you that it seems very selfless to say that. Keep in mind, though, that this will always be ONLY A PART of your life, and not what you devote every waking minute to.

 

I'm drawn towards medicine because it's a field where I can work with 100s of other professionals from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. I'm drawn to being a physician because this will enable to me be a leader of this team of professionals. I'm also drawn towards medicine, though, because it will provide me with a means of living comfortably, retiring at a reasonable age, and will let me provide a lot for my family. I'm drawn towards medicine, and I know that the traits that the profession comes with will make me happy everyday at work (health care based, many professional backgrounds, being a team leader), but I still see it as more of a job than anything. A job is what I do for money, and it is what enables me to enrich my off-the-clock activities (ie, travel, hobbies). I don't want it to sound like I'm in it for the money, because that's not true, but it's fair to say that I see medicine as a job, and I believe that jobs are done for money, so that you can live a fuller life outside of work.

 

Medicine is the job that would make me the happiest, and will fulfill me the most when I'm at work, but I don't feel like I'm doing it for any altruistic reasons. I'll love medicine because of what it does for me (btw, that includes the pleasure it will give me from helping others), and not only because of what I can do for the field.

[HopefulMed]

From what I have observed (not experienced) through volunteer/job shadow experiences, discussions with physicians, and literature, medicine is both a career and a lifestyle. It is how you choose to balance your life that defines what it will be for you. I know several physicians who are able to find that balance in their life and maintain a separation between their careers and their family lives. From what I have been told, it is all about figuring out what aspects you are willing to compromise on and determining your priorities.

 

At the same time, I've been told that when you begin a career in medicine you take on a duty to your patients and this can definitely be overwhelming and will undoubtedly take a toll on your personal life from time to time. This is the aspect of medicine that makes it seem like much more than a job (or a regular one anyway). Like I said-it is about the balance.

 

I would suggest talking to physicians in the practice areas that you are interested in and learning their strategies for balance and about their lifestyles. There is also a lot of literature out there on this subject which I myself have found very helpful.

 

There is my 2 cents. Hope it helps!

[future_doc]

From what I have observed (not experienced) through volunteer/job shadow experiences, discussions with physicians, and literature, medicine is both a career and a lifestyle. It is how you choose to balance your life that defines what it will be for you. I know several physicians who are able to find that balance in their life and maintain a separation between their careers and their family lives. From what I have been told, it is all about figuring out what aspects you are willing to compromise on and determining your priorities.

 

At the same time, I've been told that when you begin a career in medicine you take on a duty to your patients and this can definitely be overwhelming and will undoubtedly take a toll on your personal life from time to time. This is the aspect of medicine that makes it seem like much more than a job (or a regular one anyway). Like I said-it is about the balance.

 

I would suggest talking to physicians in the practice areas that you are interested in and learning their strategies for balance and about their lifestyles. There is also a lot of literature out there on this subject which I myself have found very helpful.

 

There is my 2 cents. Hope it helps!

 

Well said Hopeful

[Julie]

I've heard lots of attendings refer to medicine as "more than just a job" or " a calling". But many of those same attendings also have pretty poor opinions of the work ethic of a large portion of today's medical students/residents.

 

Medicine is more than "just a job" in my opinion because to me something that is "just a job" is something you do to get a paycheque. You have no/little passion for it, and frankly don't really care about what happens with it as long as you keep getting paid. Something is a calling when you are driven to do it by passion and care greatly about the field and it's direction, which I'd say 99% physicians are. I don't know many who are just punching the clock for a paycheque.

 

Interesting post. I agree that medicine is more than just a job in that sense. I also think that most people I know who are working in a field other than medicine would have more than "just a job" according to that definition, but that's fine with me, I still like that definition

[Satsuma]

try asking around ...med, students, residents, staff...how many would keep doing what they are doing if they won a decent lottery.

 

I recently had this coversation with a group and all but one would quit. And the one that would stay, basically has only 6 mos left until the end of residency. So has already come this far and would just want to finish. Not sure about whether and how much they would work in the end....but did want to finish residency after coming this far.

 

If medicine was a calling and people weren`t doing it to get a paycheque, I think more of us would have chosen to still work in this hypothetical scenario.

[Lactic Folly]

I would be a bit surprised to hear this from trainees, since medicine tends to attract highly ambitious people, and prestige and accomplishment are often motivating factors as well. Is this group composed of people farther along who are feeling burnt out?

[Satsuma]

This group included med students up to PGY-5s. Granted the med students had to think about it a bit harder. Most people I know though, wouldn`t have to think long about that question...myself included.

[JewelLeigh]

try asking around ...med, students, residents, staff...how many would keep doing what they are doing if they won a decent lottery.

 

I recently had this coversation with a group and all but one would quit. And the one that would stay, basically has only 6 mos left until the end of residency. So has already come this far and would just want to finish. Not sure about whether and how much they would work in the end....but did want to finish residency after coming this far.

 

If medicine was a calling and people weren`t doing it to get a paycheque, I think more of us would have chosen to still work in this hypothetical scenario.

Wow...this is absolutely not what I would say! Neither would many of the attendings I work with. Most of them already make more than enough money, but continue to keep up aspects of their work because they love doing it! I anticipate being in a similar situation with 3 large components to my practice that I don't want to give up because they are so enjoyable to me! Does that make medicine "more than a job" to me and my colleagues? I'm not sure...but it definitely puts us in the group of doctors who like our work enough to do it even if we won the lottery.

 

In response to the original topic...

In my opinion, medicine is not so all-consuming that it comes before other important things in my life. However, if I compare myself to my 10 closest friends outside of medicine, I think I probably get the most joy and fulfilment out of my career....and this with the difficult hours and middle-of-the-road salary as a resident. Cheesy as it sounds, but probably 9 out of 10 days I come home feeling really great about my day and about the contribution I am able to make to society via my career. Medicine, for me, does a heck of a lot more than just pay the bills and prevent boredom.

 

So would I put medicine before my family or my health? Never! But am I darned glad to have a job that I find very rewarding and enjoyable? You bet. Does that make it "more than job"? Depends on the individual I guess.

[leviathan]

Yeah it's funny how many people answer that way. As a med student I definitely would keep going to school and on my path even if I won billions of dollars (ie., money was no longer meaningful). However, I'd probably only work a few days a week so I could pursue other interests. Maybe I'll get bitter / cynical in residency and beyond and this will change, but that's how I feel for now anyway.

[keith_015]

Very interesting views everyone! Thanks a lot!

 

Its definitely something good to talk about. I think it is something that if you are in it (or are close to it), you understand it much better.

 

Despite sfinch and his comments, doctors should have feelings and attitudes and there should be a purpose to a med student's life other than being an arrogant a$$hole on these internet forums. Maybe if he was in a relationship he would realize that.