Engineering mindset in Medicine

[dayak]

What advantage/unique insight does a physician with an engineering design background have? Obviously a doctor with a humanities background has a better understanding of the social and cultural context of disease/health and be able to pitch themselves that way. How do engineering premeds market themselves to be future doctors?

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[Hospitalized]

Critical thinking, problem solving, scientific method, intelligence, etc.

 

[lucin]

Radiology.

 

[Lucca]

In an increasingly technocratic and specialized world it is important for physicians to be able to understand technology, especially medical devices. Doctors with an engineering background would be especially useful when it comes to vetting medical devices (does the solution this device represents make sense? is it a plausible design? what tests could we do to prove it works? is its mechanism safe for patients?). Furthermore, as technology becomes more specialized it will take a technology specialist to pass on the important knowledge about medical devices, their uses and implementation etc to colleagues and future doctors.

Just a quick brainstorm there if I was asked on the spot.

 

[cantankerous]

Let me guess. You're preparing for the "why did you pick ____ major" question

 

[Goro]

I feel compelled to share a story about one engineering student I had. He struggled throughout his first two years of medical school.

Whenever I talked to him about his difficulties, his answer was always "but as an engineer, I was trained to think this way..."

He didn't stop that line of thinking until my pathologist colleague pointed out to him "your days as an engineer ended when you put on that white coat."

 

[Dialease]

you get into med school, finish, and invent a kick ass product and be set for life