- Joined
- Oct 15, 2014
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 33
Hi Everyone! You may skip to the bottom if you want to participate without the novel read.
I have a bit of time before I start medical school, so I'm pursuing a study I've always wanted to do. I'm looking at the disconnect between pre-medical student's perceptions of 'why they want to be a doctor' and the realities of actually being a doctor. The profession is shrouded in 'mystery' due to a variety of factors; and the only outlets of life behind the waiting room are portrayed through TV shows (House, Grey's Anatomy, ect.) Shadowing resolves some of this and the students usually receive factual information (salary, personal life, stress, burnout, defensive medicine, highlights, opportunity). Moreover, I also believe that the competitive nature of medical school drives us towards proverbial answers when asked the ultimate question of 'why.' The fear of saying anything but "Helping People" or "Working as a team" is just too great. So, diving past those basic answers (or the famous traumatic life experience) isn't common practice.
No work (directly similar to this) in this area has been done in 30 years; and when it was done, it wasn't done from a researcher of a similar demographic. More or less, I'm trying to write a mainstream article that will reach students thinking about the field of medicine. I want them to have the transparency that most of us never saw. I know medicine is right for me, but I believe more information in this area would help students struggling with indecision. Running 3 years in a hardcore science, only to find out this isn't your path, isn't the greatest feeling. The all-time dream for this work would be the implementation of a mandatory shadowing when enrolled as a premedical student. This would be a trial based program at one (maybe two) universities. This is standard at some institutions; however, the purposes less centered around discovery and more focused on resume building.
(Sorry about the scatterbrained style of this post. I'm just putting out feelers into the SDN community).
What I'm asking of you!
1. Post why you want to go to medical school. Try to dive deeper than the helping angle. That can be factored into all of us.
1a. I also want to know what you would do if you didn't go to medical school. Just kind of fun. (I would study Grizzly Bears and teach at a university!)
2. Post any other view point you would like to see in an article like this. (Or any other feedback in general)
3. Post how you would feel about a shadowing experience being apart of your undergraduate experience.
4. Email [email protected] if you would like to be apart of future portions of this study. (Disclaimer: I will not sell/distribute your information to any company/organization/website. Your name will never be used (unless asked) and all surveys will be anonymous.)
Would be thrilled if this thread gained some attention but I understand if it flops! This has been an interest of mine for quite a while.
I have a bit of time before I start medical school, so I'm pursuing a study I've always wanted to do. I'm looking at the disconnect between pre-medical student's perceptions of 'why they want to be a doctor' and the realities of actually being a doctor. The profession is shrouded in 'mystery' due to a variety of factors; and the only outlets of life behind the waiting room are portrayed through TV shows (House, Grey's Anatomy, ect.) Shadowing resolves some of this and the students usually receive factual information (salary, personal life, stress, burnout, defensive medicine, highlights, opportunity). Moreover, I also believe that the competitive nature of medical school drives us towards proverbial answers when asked the ultimate question of 'why.' The fear of saying anything but "Helping People" or "Working as a team" is just too great. So, diving past those basic answers (or the famous traumatic life experience) isn't common practice.
No work (directly similar to this) in this area has been done in 30 years; and when it was done, it wasn't done from a researcher of a similar demographic. More or less, I'm trying to write a mainstream article that will reach students thinking about the field of medicine. I want them to have the transparency that most of us never saw. I know medicine is right for me, but I believe more information in this area would help students struggling with indecision. Running 3 years in a hardcore science, only to find out this isn't your path, isn't the greatest feeling. The all-time dream for this work would be the implementation of a mandatory shadowing when enrolled as a premedical student. This would be a trial based program at one (maybe two) universities. This is standard at some institutions; however, the purposes less centered around discovery and more focused on resume building.
(Sorry about the scatterbrained style of this post. I'm just putting out feelers into the SDN community).
What I'm asking of you!
1. Post why you want to go to medical school. Try to dive deeper than the helping angle. That can be factored into all of us.
1a. I also want to know what you would do if you didn't go to medical school. Just kind of fun. (I would study Grizzly Bears and teach at a university!)
2. Post any other view point you would like to see in an article like this. (Or any other feedback in general)
3. Post how you would feel about a shadowing experience being apart of your undergraduate experience.
4. Email [email protected] if you would like to be apart of future portions of this study. (Disclaimer: I will not sell/distribute your information to any company/organization/website. Your name will never be used (unless asked) and all surveys will be anonymous.)
Would be thrilled if this thread gained some attention but I understand if it flops! This has been an interest of mine for quite a while.
Last edited:
