Guest macdaddyeh Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 I'm a serious procrastinator, so I would like to put forth the following question purely out of interest. Consider it a space for deep introspection or community sharing;) Please indulge me if you have the chance; it could be therapeutic or cathartic. So, Why do YOU want to be a doctor? Money, stability, autonomy, versatility, humanitarianism? Ok, So I'll start. I would say a combination of all of the above. I would say, in all honesty, that money comes last. I have always said that in life you can have time or money, but can't truly ideally have both--I would rather have time. I want to live comfortably and simply but not excessively. While I could think of a million careers for service, I am really in it for the humanitarian side (everyone roll eyes now). It's true. I've thought of MSF or developing world medicine or even northern remote medicine etc....... I'm not power hungry or money hungry so the others don't apply. Autonomy interests me but is not truly necessary (although doctors are notorious for their inability [or at least lack of desire] to work in teams). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ibraheem Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 his is my reason stability autonomy Money versatility humanitarianism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 0T6 Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 I'm not going to lie, job security and financial stability are contributors to the decision, but they're not at the top of my list, because there are SO many easier ways to get that I love the medical sciences and I enjoy solving problems using all the information and tactics available to me and I think that's an important skill when you're and MD. I also love working with different types of people and I want a job where it's not like "Okay, I have my degree, no more learning, just go and work". In medicine you never stop learning, and that's definitely a plus. Ibraheem.. just out of curiosity, that list of yours, is it in order of importance for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ibraheem Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 yes, but i also love science, i would love to become a doctor because it involves allot of biological sciences.... and you get to interact with patients, and actually help them, and you are well respected within the community..... you can travellel any where in the world and there will be demand for doctors.... and plus its a career where you never stop learning.... and the finiancial reward is really high.... its a promising job i would say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yinner Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 I think that it is fair to say that our answers are fairly universal. I also believe that as one grows and matures, the importance of our reasons change along with our understanding on life. I myself have the conventional answer in that I have always wanted to be a doctor. This may be due to "the power of suggestion" at a young age and having an adopted grandfather who was an M.D. Now that I am out of my training bra, the thought and promise of entering a field that challenges me daily is a highlight. Moreso, it is the guarantee that I am going to engage in life-long learning and work along side amazing people. I like the thought of working as a team and as a natural team leader I think that I would function well as a health care team co-ordinator which I believe to be a physicians role. Well blah, blah, blah. That is me in a nutshell (I think I am a nut on the best of days) I think of all the norms that I have given up, and this had better be the profession that I was meant to do!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 Food for thought - I'm finding there's a lot less biological sciences in medicine than I would have ever thought before med school. Truth is, many to most a priori reasoning exercises in medicine based on biological science theories fail. What I mean by that is that most physicians don't try to reason out the best treatment based on their understanding of physiology and biochemistry (as I would have thought,) rather most end up basing their decisions on empirical/statistical/epidemiological lines of reasoning, ie Randomized Control Trials. Example: physiologically, it might make more sense for drug A (ie an antiarrhythmicin arrhythmias) to be better than drug B (ie spironolactone in CHF). . . but RCTs show that drug B decreases mortality whereas drug A increases mortality. In this case, medicine pretty much dictates to use drug B. . . even if it makes sense from a physiologic/biologic standpoint. Of course, often time we see paradigms in physiology and biochemistry switch when something like this is observed. Or, we realize we screwed up the RCT and gave the wrong drug to a whole lot of people. . . I studied biochemistry in undergrad because I thought a solid understanding of the principles underpinning biological processes would be of great use. I haven't found that to be the case at all. I would argue medicine has some similarities to biological sciences, but it is definitely its own field altogether. If you are thinking of medicine truly because you enjoy biological science, why not consider becoming a prof or working in a lab or being a high school teacher? Once again, just some food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thegreatone09 Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 stability, money, autonomy, humanitarianism, versatility I think some of the individuals who say they are going to medicine just to be humane or to "help out your fellow man" are kidding themselves. The biggest motivator, in my opinion, has to be the hefty pay check. However, I believe independence is also important. Hey, it's life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted September 29, 2003 Report Share Posted September 29, 2003 A little jaded are we? That's not an opinion I haven't heard before. Believe it or not - some med students & doctors ARE in it to better humanity and NOT for the $$ (which could be made more effectively in other areas, but that discussion has been beaten to death around here.) Yes, there are some med students and doctors who say it's "about helping people" yet have $$ in their eyes. Then there are a few others who are quite open that they want the $$, thinking throwing themselves into humongous amounts of debt, nights on-call and a lifetime of dedication are worth the eventual payoff. But people come in different shades and sizes, as do their motivations. . . to say NOONE is in medicine for 'humane' reasons is preposterous. Besides, who are you or I to say we know what another person's motivations are, anyways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thegreatone09 Posted September 29, 2003 Report Share Posted September 29, 2003 UWOMED2005 Besides, who are you or I to say we know what another person's motivations are, anyways? That is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest everyoneloveschem Posted September 30, 2003 Report Share Posted September 30, 2003 I think my first reason is interest. This is a profession where your job is always changing and evolving - long-term, as new research is done and also day to day as you see different patients. Each patient is a different set of social, emotional and physical variables to deal with. There is endless potential to learn, as much as you can handle. I like that it is hands-on. I like the resposibility and the autonomy. There is the selfless/selfish side of it: helping others, making a difference, but having pride in that, and your part in the community. The stability, and flexibility are also a BIG plus, especially as I would like to have a family.You can teach, you can do research, there are so many options. I think for me money is the least important issue. Sure, I don't think I would be a doctor if they made $30k/year, but I can't say that money is a big deal to me. I'm notorious in my family for not spending my money (I just save it, and usually something big rolls around to spend it on - like undergrad). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest purine5 Posted September 30, 2003 Report Share Posted September 30, 2003 1. Since I was young I have always wanted to be a doctor because I want to study ophthalmology&neruo sci to find a way to cure my left eye. (hahaha; this is what i wrote for unveristy application) I have been thinking going into optometry but I guess I can't find the clue in that field. 2. this sounds horrible everyday anatomy class (well depend on the program) 3. love biological sciences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shaun Posted September 30, 2003 Report Share Posted September 30, 2003 My first largest reason for wanting to be in medicine is the sheer interest I have in the field. I love Math, Science, and Psychology. As well, I am usually the one at school who helps people sort out their problems if they ask. My second largest reason is the thrill I feel at the thought of saving somebody's life. Imagine if somebody has a sickness that would have normally be identified wrongly by somebody else, having the person lose their life over that mistake. I get excited thinking about this the more I think about it and I may find it will become my first largest reason. My third largest reason would have to be a mix of Respect and Financial benefit. To be honest, I don't mind respect and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shoopshoop Posted October 1, 2003 Report Share Posted October 1, 2003 well, for me i'd go for medicine because i can't imagine myself doing anything else...ive thought about it many times and it seems nothing appeals to me. also ive seen my dad do operations on cows, guinea pigs...eventhough people are alot more different in many aspects i still love the idea of "opening people and fixing them up" i.e. surgery. there is also the humanitarian side. i wanna help others as good deeds and an excellent contribution to the general welfare of people...this may seem idealistic but this is me. as for the money, who wouldn't love to have a pretty looking paycheck? ofcourse this isn't the major reason, but i definitely wouldn't mind being rich... im used to living under pressure since i was a child...so i do imagine myself working long hours with a diverse many patients. eventhough im still in highschool...u gotta try to set a path sometime ( eventhough u might say i still got alotta "maturing" to do first) and for me that path hopefully shall be medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thegreatone09 Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Hey shoopshoop! What grade are you in high school? I, myself am in grade 11 and it's good that you are planning out your career now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spencer Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Ooooooh, a fellow Gr.11...anyhow, my reasons for becoming a doctor has already been touched on by everybody else. I think contrary to what thegreatone09 has said about financial rewards, I am in it to help my fellow man (no sexism intended). I think for me, medicine wraps everything up into a nice bundle. It suits my interests in both the psychological and biological aspects of medicine. I personally could see myself becoming a nurse or another type health care provider, but I think that medicine represents the epitome of that which is considered medical! It's not a matter of egotism, it's just that I'm the type of person who will rise to the challenge every time, and the field of medicine is certainly a challenging one. What I'm trying to say is that for now, my aspirations are to become a doctor, who knows if that will be the case further down the road, but for now, it certainly fits the bill! Spencer P.S. There is certainly still much "maturing" for me to go through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest strider2004 Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 You guys are all very very cheesy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bruhaha Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 strider that was awesome, and that fact that you're in Med School made it exponentially awesome. The whole cheesiness aspect of Medicine has really been getting me down lately. I was faux-interviewed at a Dr. Ferdinand lecture lately and he ripped me apart for not being touchy-feelly enough (Apparently, I should have offered to hold the old lady's hand(?)) The funny thing about helping people is *everybody* helps people, if someone's givng you money its because you helped them do something. This applies for business consultants, software designers, and prostitutes. So my question is strider, what approach should a non warm, fuzzy, big-hug type of guy have in answering interview questions? This is not to say that removing gallstones, correcting vision, transplanting bone marrow etc. does not appeal to me on a humanitarian level, or that I don't relish the thought of being a part of a patient's life. But how do I get that across without seeming (for want of a less sexist word) "girly?" Your thoughts appreciated, bru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest therealcrackers Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Medicine is extremely non-cheesy. "I want to help people" is a great sentiment, and if you can preserve it through high school, undergrad, med school, and residency, good on ya. (And you're right, it does apply to almost every field, except those driven solely by greed or power). So far so good on keeping that ideal alive, and I'm in my 14th year of post-secondary education. The trick is to balance it with a healthy dose of realism. Some people you won't be able to help: a patient in the ER, very nice 66 year old lady with sub-acute leg pain, shooting, like a toothache for about 2 weeks and she can't sleep. The pills she's taking either make her a zombie during the day or don't touch her pain at night. Ok--- you think bone pain: no fracture. You think vascular, a blood clot: no elevated clotting factors or residual clot products. You think cancer: nothing to suggest it. So it likely is an inflammation of the nerve (neuritis), and that is a recipe for chronic pain and suffering unless you can find the underlying cause. Want to help but can't. Then there are the psychos who need help but you may not want to give it (a woman who cut her abdomen a little bit as a test to see if she could reverse her tubal ligation and have another kid... hello, psych? Can you come, like, now? Please?), those who will prey on your good nature to try to get help they don't need (drug-seeking behaviour as an example), and there will be those who are beyond help (and these may include some of your colleagues!). I am still an idealist, I still believe in the better parts of human nature, but almost two weeks in the ER and the crazy things that people do to themselves (all at once or by degrees) has helped temper that with a thickened skin when needed and the checks and balances of realism and resource limitations. I want to help people still is the highest goal, for sure. Maybe now it's I want to know how best to help people, and then follow on from there. Good luck. There is always someone out there who wants to make hamburger out of your sacred cow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest everyoneloveschem Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 okay sure we're all totally deluded. fine. but i'd rather be happy fuzzy warm 'life is wonderful' deluded, than, jaded, angry and selfish deluded. yes, med school and actually seeing patients will definitely wick up a lot of that idealism, but i'd rather start out with the glass half full than half empty. we can learn distance and realism, but once you lose your naiveness, it's pretty hard to get back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest macdaddyeh Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Ok. I started this forum, but not all the trouble associated with it. I think the "cheezy" quote was in retort to the fact that we have a few high schoolers floating around on the boards who perhaps are at a different level of critical thinking and learning, but I could be wrong. They too are welcome here! Now, we can't all be a "Patch Adams" ( www.patchadams.org/home.htm ) but there are a number of idealists or humanitarians out there. Or better said, a lot of "realists" who are idealistically inclined. As a Christian for example, I am biblically commanded to give back to fellow humanity (the fact that I want to do this via medicine is incidental or a matter of choice). I have seen it indirectly argued that being ideal or nice or wanting to "help people" is a silly reason for choosing medicine. Well, I could argue that yes, if simply "helping people" in some abstractly defined way could lead some to teaching, nursing, social work etc. Some aspiring doctors prefer labs and pills to people but not the majority I would argue. If you want to become a doctor for the pure science of it then go into pathology or radiology (not to cut up those necessary and fascinating specialties), but for Goodness sakes don't go into the wards or into a clinic with no bedside manner and people or communication skills or a genuine interest in helping people! Pardon the movie theme, but again I *highly* recommend the movie by NOVA entitled Survivor MD (and its sequels). www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/ You can pick it up at the library. You will see raw med student nerves in action. You will see failed marriages, depression, death, failure, shame, dropouts etc...all among med students and doctors. What I am getting at is...Who would go into medicine knowing full well the risks and drawbacks? And who would go into medicine knowing that in Canada physicians are paid out of the public purse (indirectly) versus going into a career in the field of business, insurance, banking, IT or engineering that *potentially* pays much more and does not necessarily have the same headaches (ie. tests and exams, lifelong learning, insane hours, threatened litigation, regularly dealing with violence, illness, death, disease). If it wasn't for me wanting to "help people" I wouldn't go through all that for just the pay or prestige. Nonetheless, I am glad to see people respond to my experiment. I really wanted to know. Keep the debate ignited! And oh yeah, watch those movies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest strider2004 Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Here's my 4th year pre-CaRMS take. It's a bit different than the applicant view because I know longer have to wonder why I'd choose this career. Instead, I have to wonder why I wake up every day and subject myself to the stress and sleepless nights and headaches. It's the responsibility. You feel a responsibility to your patients, your peers, your supervisors to do a good job. When you're on call, you do a COMPLETE assessment because otherwise somebody else will have to do it in the morning. The reason you push yourself hard is so that someone else doesn't have to. Why do all this? Responsibility and loyalty! When a patient comes to you asking for your help, they are trusting that you will fix them. They are offering their health to you. If this isn't a priviledge, I don't know what it. Why do people want to become leaders? First, they have to know that they are doing the right thing. Second, they should know that they can do it better than anybody else or somebody else should be leader. Third, they can handle the burden on their shoulders. This is why people become doctors. They want to be leaders. Yes, you are the leader of the health care team. Patients FOLLOW your advice (hopefully). For this priviledge and responsibility, society rewards you (as they do all leaders) with respect and financial security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shoopshoop Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 im in 12th highschool, thegreatone09. this is a forum intended (according to Ian) to help out all those seeking to enter medicine hopefuly, whether after a year or 10 yrs....so u gotta accept the fact that there could be some highschoolers, "cheezy" or not. anyways in a year i'd be in university, so the gap's not that very wide... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeff Posted October 6, 2003 Report Share Posted October 6, 2003 it is interesting reading the different points of views at each stage of this med school game. i remember wanting to save the world. now i just want to save myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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