Originally Posted by Dane07MD

I understand your point link, but the public would view it differently. Please don't construe any of what I say as demeaning or negative, there is no mal-intent in this post. The world of internet/web/etc is SO foreign to most people, that they're willing to go to Best Buy to have a 17 year old fix their equipment. I think this partly stems from the fact that it is EXPECTED for electronic equipment to break. Those of us who grew up with technology are already more adept with it than our parents (how many times have I done something so simple a fix for them that was seconds from being taken to the apple store for repair...). Technology is also a frontier that is new and rapidly expanding in our society, and anyone willing to take the time to learn it and understand it is thought to be an expert.

Medicine, on the other hand, has a more sacred place in society, and the history of medicine has dictated as such. More importantly, the life of a wireless mouse is FAR less meaningful to someone than their own life. After all, if the mouse dies, they can buy another one. We can't buy a second chance at life (I realize the side-argument that could arise here, but let's just keep it black and white), so we allow only a very educated and special subset of people in the world handle the issues that arise with our health. To be comfortable with that idea, society needs to know that these individuals are rigorously trained and in a uniform fashion. A sad example that supports this is that many blunt people in the world still view the DO as inferior because the training is "different" (though not really).

I commend your devotion to find other avenues of interest outside of medicine. It is a necessity. I myself am a hip-hop DJ and "mastered" that art before and during medical school as well. There are classes and schools for DJs now too, but I didn't bother with any of that. Just like you didn't bother with paying for web design education. I've already said it, but the theory behind learning and mastering pre-clinical material on one's own is absolutely doable. The hang up is convincing people that it is appropriate (and the jobs issue you mentioned).

You said it best that tuition is best viewed as the entry fee to the profession of medicine.