Medicine - More than just a job.

[Delusionofreality]

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.

 

I think medicine can be for some a job, and for others much more than that. I think the only reason we have the perception that medicine is more than a job, is because of the people in it. Medical admissions and the process of medical school itself creates people who are more than just simple clinicians working 8 - 4 a day. It develops people who are passionate about their work, advocates for their patients, advocates for people without healthcare (global health), etc. It creates people that make medicine not just a job but an integral part of their life.

 

So all in all, the majority of docs make medicine more than a job, but it doesn't mean that medicine can't be just a job.

[apache]

Hmmm.... tell me this after you've done a rotation in surgery and worked 100 hours a week for 4 months, then ill believe you, i want to hep people, but its also a job, and there are a lot of life saving specialties i dont want do b/c of the ****ty lifestyle

 

 

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.

[apache]

you should be passionate about what you do for sure, otherwise your job will suck

 

 

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.

[apache]

id keep doing med, but do a lot less hours and a lot more vacation time

 

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.

[apache]

I agree with your second paragraph, your first paragraph just makes you seem like a jerk though.

 

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.

[thebouque]

I agree with your second paragraph, your first paragraph just makes you seem like a jerk though.

 

Hey Mr waggy finger!

[peachy]

To delude oneself into thinking that its a special calling that provides oh-so-much to the public is ridiculously sanctimonious: in terms of health, plumbers and garbage collectors contribute FAR more to the health of the populace than doctors do.

I thought that way prior to medical school; I no longer agree. As a physician, the amount of power our words and actions have over people's lives is enormous. Remembering this, to me, is not sanctinomious -- rather, it's respectful to those whose lives I am affecting.

 

I agree that it's more pre-meds who tend to write about medicine as a calling, and that this opinion is probably more prevalent in the general public rather than in the profession of medicine. I don't think that makes it wrong or naive, rather, it's sad that somehow medical training takes this away from us. The bottom line, though, is that the patient lying on the hospital bed would probably prefer that I see medicine as a calling (and appropriately adhere to higher ethical standards) and consider this career a hell of a lot different than other (important, society-contributing) careers, from plumbing to law.

 

Telling someone they have cancer, discussing someone's history of child abuse, poking around inside somebody's guts, delivering someone's baby, and watching somebody die, are momentous situations that we are incredibly privileged to experience in this profession. I work hard to keep that sense of duty, of responsibility, even of "a calling" in my consciousness every day because it changes how I act and I speak to patients, I believe, in a positive way.

[Lactic Folly]

^^ Well said, peachy.

[rogerroger]

From my limited medical student perspective I think one can describe it whatever way you want...

 

But one thing in this regards has become blazingly obvious to me as a medical trainee: You better love medicine in a big way.

 

Considering that the training process requires you to basically live, sleep and eat medicine you better love it. Otherwise you just created your own self imposed hell on Earth by enrolling in medical school. Tons of things about medical school suck in a huge way... Few jobs require almost complete submission of your life to the training process for such a duration of time. Sure one can argue it is a job and not a mystical calling etc... But I really think you need to love this job in a way which is not required for most other professions. If it is only another means to keep some cash in your wallet then I think one is in for a world of unhappiness.

[scrub]

Re: The overall debate here (If we can call it that?)

 

Lets get some definitions straight.

 

Being a doctor is a job. Practicing medicine is what a doctor does, it is doing a job. It involves contracts, paychecks, schedules, regulations and the like.

 

Pursuing a passion that brings you beyond the tangible parts that a job may entail (compensation, results, credentials, responsibilities etc) can be seen as following what some have called a 'calling' or 'lifestyle' in the sense that you're attracted to do that thing for the inherent sake of doing that thing.

 

That being said anything can be a calling - the sort of thing you 'don't walk away from' because it represents more than a job. It should not be confused with the job itself. A nurse, social worker, artist, or whatever can have the exact same relationship with their craft that the most "dedicated" doctor does.

 

Sure the practices, demands and results will differ between these (/all) professions but practices/demands/results are all components of a job. A regulatory board can amend them, courts can restrict their responsibilities - we may trick ourselves into believing they're inherent qualities of a calling, of the practitioner or even of the practice, but they're completely made up and can always be changed or re-interpreted - there's nothing calling-like about this.

 

If you live your life doing the things you feel are worthwhile for their inherent good wherever you end up (and wherever you are) will be your calling. Some end up in medicine this way, others end up elsewhere. Alternately, plenty of people end up in medicine because the reward/benefits (pay/security/responsibility/recognition) outweigh the costs (hard work/long hours/stress etc - though some of us are strangely attracted to these) to them - its just a job.

 

Re: OP's situation

Accordingly, when you leave the hospital you do leave the job of being a doctor. You aren't prescribing, assessing, treating etc. In your head you may still be 'practicing medicine' but its no different than a lawyer or psychologist or any other professional when they clock out. Situations may arise after work that you'll view through the lens of your specific training and skill-set, but again this true of any job. When you're eating dinner at home or having a drink with a friend or crawling into bed with your partner you aren't being a doctor - you're a guy who's eating, drinking, or getting laid [edit: unless its like a role-play thing where you are in fact being a doctor...] . When you're helping in whatever community - you're a person who cares about helping acting upon that in a community. Your help may be different because you can do a procedure or write a script but everyone else helping has their own unique job training to contribute as well. There's nothing inherently unique here. Whats may be unique is attitude or approach that people take to their job.

 

Basically your girlfriend has a good point. You may dedicate your life to whatever you like, and some of that may overlap with the job duties of a doctor, but nobody (including you) can say what your life should entail. The fact that you've so internalized this notion that medicine is inherently different from other jobs that you get "pretty upset" when this notion is questioned, comes across as very egoic.

[banksy]

Re: Debate

Ok so first off I am an applicant (not even accepted yet) - but I spent my entire life around doctors (and dentists too) and the first thing I have to say is that none of them ever spoke to me as though it was a calling - my parents/aunts/uncles always portrayed it as a difficult career - one that perhaps intrudes more into your life than others (say doing business) but at the same time offers more rewards than just making a ****load of money. I mean you see patients talk to good doctors who make them feel better and you think that to receive that kind of gratitude must feel pretty damn good. I mean every psychiatrist or surgeon I talked to always tells me that when something goes wrong it's one of the worst feelings in the world, but if you just aced a procedure (in the process affecting someone's life in a positive manner) you feel like youre on top of the world, both in terms of satisfaction with a tough and important job well done and in terms of the fact that when your patients thank you it shows you just how much your work means to them.

 

From the perspective of professions that contribute to society, medicine has to be up there just when you think about it, but I don't think you should want to get in because of the prestige it affords you - if youre an ******* of a GP, patients still won't like you and they won't give you the prestige youre looking for.

 

As for the money thing, I know a tonne of people who want med for the money, which to me is an absolutely ludicrous concept; if you want to make a tonne of money do accounting - it's 9-5, good lifestyle and the world will always need accountants, and they make good money. And if that's too boring I'm sure some other type of business would satisfy a need for money. The compensation you get as a physician is great but you have to be willing to contribute alot as well.

 

Overall, I think medicine does need you to contribute more of your time (if not in radiology/anaesth) and more effort than alot of other careers - but it gives back to you in a way that other careers don't as well. I do however think that alot of people dont see that - people see doctor's around and they are usually well-dressed, drive nice cars and are afforded a unique reverence in society and so people think that's all it is. Just get through med school, you'll be rolling in the ****ing cash and you'll get respect - sad but true.

 

PS - one thing tho - if you say that the career/job you do is a 'calling' you risk sounding like a disingenuous pompous ass (even if youre not) whatever the career/job is (firefighter anyone...?)

Re: OP

whether or not your life is going to be all medicine and nothing else is (as others have pointed out) largely determined by you and the specialty you choose - but if youre gonna do surgery you had better expect a tough residency followed by a couple of calls in the dead of the night that expect you to be ready for a procedure.

@scrub

Youre right, it is a job - but it takes more time out of your life than most other jobs (again depending on specialty/personal pref) and it is based on the provision of care to others - so this extra time that you put in is not always time that you would necessarily want to put into your job ("Susan, schedule that pulmonary embolism patient in for tomorrow evening - I'm sure there won't be any deterioration in that time......"). In that sense, it is different from other jobs.

[future_doc]

hey guys, if you are against plagiarism, I encourage you to report the ^ above poster who is selling term papers.

[nosuperman]

hey guys, if you are against plagiarism, I encourage you to report the ^ above poster who is selling term papers.

 

Ban and delete the spam! Kill it with fire!

[future_doc]

Ban and delete the spam! Kill it with fire!

 

YES!

 

But click on the little "warning" triabgle in the upper right hand corner and tell the mods to delete (please).

[apache]

lol, my apologies

 

Hey Mr waggy finger!

[apache]

I agree, medicine is different things to different people. It's also no different that anything else someone is passionate about, whether that be art, philosophy, engineering, mathematics, public health, etc. I'm pretty passionate about a few specialties, but I'm also really passionate about other things in life, so I wouldn't say medicine is my life at all, my life is defined by a ton of thigs, and one of them happens to include medicine. If someone chooses to devote their whole life to medicine, all the power to them, for me personally though I couldn't really resonate with that point of view... some specialties are brutal and require total submission of your life, as some other people have said... which i'm not willing to do... it doesn't mean i don't care about my patients or enjoy what i'm doing, i just wouldn't enjoy devoting my life to a single purpose... in fact, some people look at medicine as a means to pursue their true passions (high paying specialties with low work hours mean you can pursue being a pilot, musician, etc.), while others see it as just a job... it just depends on the person

 

Re: The overall debate here (If we can call it that?)

 

Lets get some definitions straight.

 

Being a doctor is a job. Practicing medicine is what a doctor does, it is doing a job. It involves contracts, paychecks, schedules, regulations and the like.

 

Pursuing a passion that brings you beyond the tangible parts that a job may entail (compensation, results, credentials, responsibilities etc) can be seen as following what some have called a 'calling' or 'lifestyle' in the sense that you're attracted to do that thing for the inherent sake of doing that thing.

 

That being said anything can be a calling - the sort of thing you 'don't walk away from' because it represents more than a job. It should not be confused with the job itself. A nurse, social worker, artist, or whatever can have the exact same relationship with their craft that the most "dedicated" doctor does.

 

Sure the practices, demands and results will differ between these (/all) professions but practices/demands/results are all components of a job. A regulatory board can amend them, courts can restrict their responsibilities - we may trick ourselves into believing they're inherent qualities of a calling, of the practitioner or even of the practice, but they're completely made up and can always be changed or re-interpreted - there's nothing calling-like about this.

 

If you live your life doing the things you feel are worthwhile for their inherent good wherever you end up (and wherever you are) will be your calling. Some end up in medicine this way, others end up elsewhere. Alternately, plenty of people end up in medicine because the reward/benefits (pay/security/responsibility/recognition) outweigh the costs (hard work/long hours/stress etc - though some of us are strangely attracted to these) to them - its just a job.

 

Re: OP's situation

Accordingly, when you leave the hospital you do leave the job of being a doctor. You aren't prescribing, assessing, treating etc. In your head you may still be 'practicing medicine' but its no different than a lawyer or psychologist or any other professional when they clock out. Situations may arise after work that you'll view through the lens of your specific training and skill-set, but again this true of any job. When you're eating dinner at home or having a drink with a friend or crawling into bed with your partner you aren't being a doctor - you're a guy who's eating, drinking, or getting laid [edit: unless its like a role-play thing where you are in fact being a doctor...] . When you're helping in whatever community - you're a person who cares about helping acting upon that in a community. Your help may be different because you can do a procedure or write a script but everyone else helping has their own unique job training to contribute as well. There's nothing inherently unique here. Whats may be unique is attitude or approach that people take to their job.

 

Basically your girlfriend has a good point. You may dedicate your life to whatever you like, and some of that may overlap with the job duties of a doctor, but nobody (including you) can say what your life should entail. The fact that you've so internalized this notion that medicine is inherently different from other jobs that you get "pretty upset" when this notion is questioned, comes across as very egoic.

[xylem29]

It's not just a job - you're a professional and with that comes standards to which you are held accountable to.

 

It's also a privelege when "they've" decided that you are fit to practice your profession and are granted a license - it's called "practice" for a reason.

[apache]

i think what people mean when they say its just a job is they're not walking to work with an intrinsic love of the discipline, this doesn't mean they're incompetent or unprofessional at all...

 

It's not just a job - you're a professional and with that comes standards to which you are held accountable to.

 

It's also a privelege when "they've" decided that you are fit to practice your profession and are granted a license - it's called "practice" for a reason.

[nosuperman]

I agree with scrub.

 

The quality of practice or work that determines whether its a job or calling is not one inherent to the work. Its a quality bestowed by the people who practice the work.

 

In this sense any career can be a job or a calling, it only depends on how its practitioners appreciate it.

[nosuperman]

i think what people mean when they say its just a job is they're not walking to work with an intrinsic love of the discipline, this doesn't mean they're incompetent or unprofessional at all...

 

They're statistically more likely to burn out, which may have effects on their practice... but this doesn't reflect a lack of competency or professionalism, you're right