Love medicine, but not people

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GH253

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I love the subject of medicine more than anything, but I'm not good with people and have doubts about whether I'm cut out to be a doctor. I would probably love medical school and hate treating patients. The role of a caretaker does not suit me. I don't think I'm even capable fo examing a vagina or sticking my finger in someone's rectum. I understand that there are specialties which don't require much, if any patient contact, but I question whether medicine is a good choice of a career if I'm only capable of filling those particular roles. However, one thing I think I would enjoy very much is teaching courses at a medical school... even if the pay was limited, that would be right up my alley. Thoughts?

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Medical research.
 
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Can you do that with just an MD? I'm not doing the MD/Ph.D.
Then don't. It's a harder path, but you can do medical research just as a MD and teach medical school courses on the side. I don't really know of any professors who ONLY teach...but I may be mistaken.
 
I love the subject of medicine more than anything, but I'm not good with people and have doubts about whether I'm cut out to be a doctor. I would probably love medical school and hate treating patients. The role of a caretaker does not suit me. I don't think I'm even capable fo examing a vagina or sticking my finger in someone's rectum. I understand that there are specialties which don't require much, if any patient contact, but I question whether medicine is a good choice of a career if I'm only capable of filling those particular roles. However, one thing I think I would enjoy very much is teaching courses at a medical school... even if the pay was limited, that would be right up my alley. Thoughts?

Bold 1&2 - Medicine is the science of treating illness. You can't both love medicine and hate treating patients.

Bold 3 - Grow a pair. It's far more uncomfortable for them than it is for you.
 
you won't get in let alone get through med school if you aren't "good with people"...if you don't want to be a clinician at all don't waste your time in med school....there are so many other things you can do in the medical field that don't require getting an MD. you can get work toward a PhD in one of many fields depending on your interest.
 
You can solely do research with MD and not teach. A lot of medical school professors pursue this path, it gives them more research time. You can split your time between a specialty with very little patient contact, radiology or anesthesiology. However, both are pretty demanding though, so you might not be able to pursue much research.
 
My PI has only an MD and does full time research. He doesn't teach graduate, undergraduate, or medical school classes. We do clinical research mainly. Also, we are in a top research institution. He does not have tenure nor does he plan to try and get it. He didn't graduate from a top medical school. If you dream it, I'm sure you can do it.

If you want to do clinical path, maybe rad, path, etc etc...
 
you won't get in let alone get through med school if you aren't "good with people"...if you don't want to be a clinician at all don't waste your time in med school....there are so many other things you can do in the medical field that don't require getting an MD. you can get work toward a PhD in one of many fields depending on your interest.

I love how people assume that they know everything going on in the minds of admission officers. Unless you know exactly how different admission officers think, don't blatantly post your opinion on the board. If he wants to get an MD and do research, its fine.
 
Then don't. It's a harder path, but you can do medical research just as a MD and teach medical school courses on the side. I don't really know of any professors who ONLY teach...but I may be mistaken.

usually profs that teach are paid/funded primarily for their research and are required as part of the position to teach as well. those that teach but don't do research usually teach because they have been practicing clinically for XX number of years and are an authority on a particular topic. so teaching is not a considerable primary option immediately after getting the MD.
 
I love the subject of medicine more than anything, but I'm not good with people and have doubts about whether I'm cut out to be a doctor. I would probably love medical school and hate treating patients. The role of a caretaker does not suit me. I don't think I'm even capable fo examing a vagina or sticking my finger in someone's rectum. I understand that there are specialties which don't require much, if any patient contact, but I question whether medicine is a good choice of a career if I'm only capable of filling those particular roles. However, one thing I think I would enjoy very much is teaching courses at a medical school... even if the pay was limited, that would be right up my alley. Thoughts?

Just remember that 1/2 of medical school involves working almost exclusively in the clinic setting. Sure, you can choose to do one of your rotations in radiology or the like, but for most of your 3rd and 4th years you will be around patients a good deal of the time, and as a student you will be assigned to the more unpleasant tasks like cleaning out rectums or replacing the dressings on wounds.

If you don't think you can deal with that part of medicine, do yourself a favor and find out before you apply. Find a volunteer position at a nursing home or a wound clinic where you will get extensive experience with the less pleasant aspects of healthcare. If you can't hack it, medical school may not be a wise choice. But who knows - you might find that you like the patient aspect of things more than you expect.

If you love to teach, keep in mind that many medical schools employ PhD lecturers for their medical students, so you could pursue a PhD and still end up at the front of a lecture hall if you are lucky enough (I say this because a PhD isn't enough to guarantee you a job unless you work very very hard). Don't write off that option just yet.
 
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I love the subject of medicine more than anything, but I'm not good with people and have doubts about whether I'm cut out to be a doctor. I would probably love medical school and hate treating patients. The role of a caretaker does not suit me. I don't think I'm even capable fo examing a vagina or sticking my finger in someone's rectum. I understand that there are specialties which don't require much, if any patient contact, but I question whether medicine is a good choice of a career if I'm only capable of filling those particular roles. However, one thing I think I would enjoy very much is teaching courses at a medical school... even if the pay was limited, that would be right up my alley. Thoughts?

The Ph.D. fits everything you've described here, from pure basic research in medicine to not seeing patients to teaching. So get a Ph.D. Go to grad school.
 
pathology/radiology.

Yes and no. From my shadowing and work experience (not working in the pathology department, but working with them), some pathologists DO see patients from time to time. For example, you need to get the biopsy and do a fine needle aspiration. A good pathologist is also a great communicator. To be a great communicator, you can't hate people.
 
I love the subject of medicine more than anything, but I'm not good with people and have doubts about whether I'm cut out to be a doctor. I would probably love medical school and hate treating patients. The role of a caretaker does not suit me. I don't think I'm even capable fo examing a vagina or sticking my finger in someone's rectum. I understand that there are specialties which don't require much, if any patient contact, but I question whether medicine is a good choice of a career if I'm only capable of filling those particular roles. However, one thing I think I would enjoy very much is teaching courses at a medical school... even if the pay was limited, that would be right up my alley. Thoughts?

Thoughts:

1) Good news: There are specialties that require less pt contact, such as pathology and radiology, for example. You probably wouldn't like most specialties, since they inevitably involve some degree of patient contact and people skills. Indeed, this isn't actually great news, because more and more, even pathologists and radiologists have to deal with patients and work on teams that do.

2) Bad news: While learning to become a physician, you are going to have to do a zillion rectals, a lot of pelvic exams, and see a lot of patients. There's also a lot of caretaking involved.

3) If you enjoy the science of medicine, you don't have to be a clinician (or attend medical school, in fact) to study it, to do research, or teach it. You can get a PhD in a basic science, do research at, and teach medical school.

If I were you, I'd consider option 3, which sounds like it would it would meet your requirements, unless I was deeply into clinical lab science, in which case, I'd probably go the pathology route and endure the patient contact I needed to do to get there.
 
I love how people assume that they know everything going on in the minds of admission officers. Unless you know exactly how different admission officers think, don't blatantly post your opinion on the board. If he wants to get an MD and do research, its fine.

:laugh:

right .....cause everyone on here always sticks to factual statements....go check out one of those "should i retake this class" threads or any chances thread and you'll see that everyone on SDN is "blatantly" posting their opinion. while i can't prove my statement you can't prove that its not true.
 
you won't get in let alone get through med school if you aren't "good with people"...if you don't want to be a clinician at all don't waste your time in med school....there are so many other things you can do in the medical field that don't require getting an MD. you can get work toward a PhD in one of many fields depending on your interest.


I disagree. As a patient, I've met doctors that had the social skills of a goat and the kindness/compassion of a rock. You can totally get through the system without being "good with people." There are tons of them who slipped through.

Being skilled medicinally and equipped in personality are two separate components. Ideally the clinician has both, but that is frequently enough not the case.
 
You argue could that, but it is unethical to steer another individual in the wrong direction when you are simply stating a overused misconception that only works some of the time. I thought it was more responsible to clear up for the poor person who could still get into his dream school even if he doesn't like patient contact. I know several professors who got into very competitive schools without a burning passion for patient contact.
 
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I don't see why people have such a big problem with the female body parts. It's just tissue and the hole leads to other tissue and organ systems (and tubes). Sure some are clean, some are dirty, some are diseased, some are torn, etc. You were born coming down that shoot. So respect it!
 
House is able to treat ppl while still hating them. If he made it surely you can lol
 
I disagree. As a patient, I've met doctors that had the social skills of a goat and the kindness/compassion of a rock. You can totally get through the system without being "good with people." There are tons of them who slipped through.

Being skilled medicinally and equipped in personality are two separate components. Ideally the clinician has both, but that is frequently enough not the case.

You argue could that, but it is unethical to steer another individual in the wrong direction when you are simply stating a overused misconception that only works some of the time. I thought it was more responsible to clear up for the poor person who could still get into his dream school even if he doesn't like patient contact. I know several professors who got into very competitive schools without a burning passion for patient contact.

ok clearly i was exaggerating a bit on the first part...sure, if OP gets a 3.9/38 and does a modest amount of ECs he'll likely get into a med school (unless of course he goes to the interview and tells them he hates people) but as was just pointed out by a medical student, the second part of my statement (that it would be hard to get through medical school with this dislike for treating patients) is right on the money:

Just remember that 1/2 of medical school involves working almost exclusively in the clinic setting. Sure, you can choose to do one of your rotations in radiology or the like, but for most of your 3rd and 4th years you will be around patients a good deal of the time, and as a student you will be assigned to the more unpleasant tasks like cleaning out rectums or replacing the dressings on wounds.

If you don't think you can deal with that part of medicine, do yourself a favor and find out before you apply. Find a volunteer position at a nursing home or a wound clinic where you will get extensive experience with the less pleasant aspects of healthcare. If you can't hack it, medical school may not be a wise choice. But who knows - you might find that you like the patient aspect of things more than you expect.

If you love to teach, keep in mind that many medical schools employ PhD lecturers for their medical students, so you could pursue a PhD and still end up at the front of a lecture hall if you are lucky enough (I say this because a PhD isn't enough to guarantee you a job unless you work very very hard). Don't write off that option just yet.
 
It's more complicated than that, but fair enough.
 
I wonder how the OP knows that he/she hates treating patients, but loves medicine? Maybe some further investigation and trying-on is indicated.
 
I wonder how the OP knows that he/she hates treating patients, but loves medicine? Maybe some further investigation and trying-on is indicated.

Chanes are that the OP just hates the people s/he is around on a daily basis, or has a huge ego.
 
I'm not totally averse to patient contact and I'm not cold or antisocial. I would enjoy explaining things to people. It's the more intimate tasks that I'm not comfortable with. Physical contact and whatnot.
 
I know what you mean about loving medicine more than the idea of treating people face-to-face. But, I've wanted to go into pathology since I was ~15 so treating patients all the time isn't what got me interested in medicine in the first place. So, if you know you love medicine and know you don't want to treat patients all the time, then that's okay, even if other people will tell you to just give up and not go to medical school. In the end, only you know what you'll be happy doing anyway.
 
I'm not totally averse to patient contact and I'm not cold or antisocial. I would enjoy explaining things to people. It's the more intimate tasks that I'm not comfortable with. Physical contact and whatnot.

Then there are specialities where you can avoid this kind of contact (the afformentioned path/rads). Although, you will have to do some of it during your training.

Edit: I'm just guessing here, but I imagine this kind of contact is uncomfortable for most people and they just become accustomed to it as they go through their training/career.
 
The Ph.D. fits everything you've described here, from pure basic research in medicine to not seeing patients to teaching. So get a Ph.D. Go to grad school.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
I love the subject of medicine more than anything, but I'm not good with people and have doubts about whether I'm cut out to be a doctor. I would probably love medical school and hate treating patients. The role of a caretaker does not suit me. I don't think I'm even capable fo examing a vagina or sticking my finger in someone's rectum. I understand that there are specialties which don't require much, if any patient contact, but I question whether medicine is a good choice of a career if I'm only capable of filling those particular roles. However, one thing I think I would enjoy very much is teaching courses at a medical school... even if the pay was limited, that would be right up my alley. Thoughts?

Ph.D in Biomedical Sciences. How about doing research full time ?
 
I'm not totally averse to patient contact and I'm not cold or antisocial. I would enjoy explaining things to people. It's the more intimate tasks that I'm not comfortable with. Physical contact and whatnot.

Well, that's something that a lot of people have trouble with initially, but eventually, you just get used to it. I wouldn't be overly concerned with it, unless you have a pathological fear of physical contact. There are also fields that don't involve a lot of physical contact with patients, but still get to interact with them often, such as psychiatry or maybe even something like clinical genetics. You just need to get past the training, which does involve procedures and such, but I don't know too many medical students/residents that are yearning to do that 100th DRE of the day...but most get through it just fine.

I'd recommend doing some shadowing and getting yourself more acquainted w/ the profession. There are lots of fields you can specialize in. If you are interested in medicine, chances are you can find just the right one to fit you.
 
Ph.D in Biomedical Sciences. How about doing research full time ?
Seriously

Pharmacology
Toxicology
Immunology

Medical Schools have PhD programs specifically tailored for research in medicine.
 
I don't see how you can love medicine and hate patients. The two go hand in hand. Go into trauma surgery.. chances are whoever you're operating on isn't going to be bugging you too much...
 
I don't see how you can love medicine and hate patients. The two go hand in hand. Go into trauma surgery.. chances are whoever you're operating on isn't going to be bugging you too much...

You forgot about the family.
 
No, im not trying to be insulting...

OP, what makes you think you like medicine, but dont want to examine or treat patients? If medicine isn't the examination and treatment of patients, then what is it (to you)? Do you like anatomy and physiology, are you interested in making a diagnosis (without actually seeing the patient)...?

how much do you dislike physical contact? and why? Most students are squeamish about it at first, but you do it so much, it becomes second nature.

If you are intersted in the basic sciences of medicine, then theres plenty of PhD programs that you might like. If you are interested in disease, then you can do a PhD in Pathology, and even work in a hospital lab.

Nowadays, if you arent bent on treating patients, there are many other things you should do besides medicine.
 
Get a PhD and try for faculty positions.
 
Bold 1&2 - Medicine is the science of treating illness. You can't both love medicine and hate treating patients.


why? I've met many doctors who hate people but are still damned good (according to other physicians and health care professionals) at what they do. They're called pathogists and radiologists.
 
pathology/radiology.
It might be hard for the OP to get into a rads residency if s/he can't touch a vagina and pass his ob/gyn rotation :p

To the OP: Maybe get a PhD in some sort of medicine-related science and then lecture at a med school? That seems more in line with your interests.
 
honestly though, dealing with the general public does suck. Lets face it: Most Americans are fat, lazy, and dumber than ****. Look at the *****s we elect (Bush, Obama, etc.), look at our waistlines, look at our primary sources of entertainment (People Magazine, American Idol, Jackass, Bananas in Pajamas, etc.)

And treating people is very hard, because most will not accept responsibility for their own health and will likely blame all of their problems on you. If their blood pressure medicine isn't keeping them under 120/80 its the doctors/pharmacists/AstraZenecas fault. If their kids aren't straight-A zombie stand-outs in the church choir, its the peditricians fault for not giving the little **** enough ritalin (not because they're ****ty parents)

After all, not exercising, smoking 2 packs/day and eating like a ****ing Ethiopian hippo aren't habits that give one a diathesis for heart problems.
 
Yes, you could do research with "just" an MD. I work for two PIs who only have MD degrees. However, if you really don't like working with patients you are going to have a rough time. Even if you want to just do research you still have to get through med school and residency and that is YEARS of clinical rotations and working with patients. You'll be miserable. Why don't you just get a PhD?
 
I don't see why people have such a big problem with the female body parts.

That's what I was thinking. I'm a big fan personally, but I guess I've never seen a crusty, diseased one before. That might ruin it for me.
 
honestly though, dealing with the general public does suck.

True.

Lets face it: Most Americans are fat, lazy, and dumber than ****.

The unmotivated tend to be complacent in all stages of life. They are less likely to take risks and are afraid of change. I wouldn't say that most people are dumb, however. I think it comes down to actually caring to understand or just caring point blank. When one does not give a crap, they just don't care.

Look at the *****s we elect (Bush, Obama, etc.), look at our waistlines, look at our primary sources of entertainment (People Magazine, American Idol, Jackass, Bananas in Pajamas, etc.)

I always hated Idol and always will. There has only been one person from Idol that I hear on the radio and she is average at best. What the heck is Bananas in Pajamas? MTV is what f'd up so many young kids these days.

To call Obama an idiot is not wise. To call Bush an idiot, well, he is regarded one of the worst presidents in the history of our country. So I won't defend him. The problem has more to do with corruption than stupidity. Our goverment became coorupt since the early 90's.

And treating people is very hard, because most will not accept responsibility for their own health and will likely blame all of their problems on you. If their blood pressure medicine isn't keeping them under 120/80 its the doctors/pharmacists/AstraZenecas fault. If their kids aren't straight-A zombie stand-outs in the church choir, its the peditricians fault for not giving the little **** enough ritalin (not because they're ****ty parents)

And it is also their fault if they can't get it controlled.

After all, not exercising, smoking 2 packs/day and eating like a ****ing Ethiopian hippo aren't habits that give one a diathesis for heart problems.

Look above.
 
I would tend to describe myself as someone who doesn't like people, but yet I am a medical student almost done with 3rd year and I plan on going into psychiatry, which is one of the MOST people-oriented specialties out there.

I think you will find that "people", aka those that you have to deal with everyday during life, are very different than "patients", aka the people you will treat as a doctor. For example, I don't like it when a stranger tries to strike up a conversation with me on the metro, in the gym, or even at a bar. I used to work as a waitress and generally found customers annoying. I get along well with people that I have close relationships with, but I'm generally just as happy having alone time with myself as I am surrounded by a group of friends. My friends generally view me as unfriendly towards most of the outside world.

However, when you're a doctor (or the medical student, pretending that you are the doctor), the patient is someone who you have a set and planned interaction with, if that makes sense. You have a role, and it is to go in to the room and find out what is wrong, ask the appropriate questions, do the physical exam, and then figure out an assessment and plan. Sure, it's great if you can make small talk with the patient, and it will definitely improve your relationship if you can do that, and aren't totally socially inept. But you're not there to make a new friend, and the whole game is in your ballpark, if you know what I mean. And it's like a game where you have to figure out what's wrong. It's totally different than everyday "annoying" interactions with people. Sure, you will have annoying patients who are not compliant, don't take their meds, don't exercise, tell you that their extremely high blood pressure is fine, etc. So you pick a specialty where you're not bothered. If you don't like kids, stay away from peds. If you don't like old people, don't go into geriatrics. Etc.

Also, as far as the "caregiver" aspect of medicine goes - really the nurse does a lot of the "caregiver" stuff. Doctors see patients for like 15-30 mins max, make an assessment, come up with a plan, end of story.
 
OP:

I had issues with breast, pelvic, rectal, and genital exams. Doing them on the standardized patients made me very anxious. I think there is a desensitization process. My first H&P in MS1 I was petrified of interviewing and examining real patients. In MS2, I ceased to be terrified of the interview and exam. My fears were primarily in the presentation to superiors. I expect in MS3/4 that aspect will decline and I'll be more nervous about ddx and the like.

I suggest you try some clinical experience that involves some patient contact, including exams. I don't know if that's possible.

However, if you're still loath to physically touch other human beings, medicine is not for you. Radiology requires an internship year with massive patient contact. Many fellowships like interventional require patient contact. As for pathology, if you're disgusted by touching living humans, would you really feel much better about doing autopsies and cutting out hearts and brains of the dead?

If you find that you cannot stomach physical contact with patients, get a Ph.D. That will best train you for basic science research (an MD doesn't do that, you still need to do a postdoc to train you in basic science research). The job security for Ph.D.s isn't there, but then neither are the patient responsibilities that M.D.s have.
 
However, when you're a doctor (or the medical student, pretending that you are the doctor), the patient is someone who you have a set and planned interaction with, if that makes sense. You have a role, and it is to go in to the room and find out what is wrong, ask the appropriate questions, do the physical exam, and then figure out an assessment and plan. Sure, it's great if you can make small talk with the patient, and it will definitely improve your relationship if you can do that, and aren't totally socially inept. But you're not there to make a new friend, and the whole game is in your ballpark, if you know what I mean. And it's like a game where you have to figure out what's wrong. It's totally different than everyday "annoying" interactions with people. Sure, you will have annoying patients who are not compliant, don't take their meds, don't exercise, tell you that their extremely high blood pressure is fine, etc. So you pick a specialty where you're not bothered. If you don't like kids, stay away from peds. If you don't like old people, don't go into geriatrics. Etc.

Pretty well said. I agree. In particular, I like how you indicate that it is a role you are playing and that you have a particular job to do; it's not like you are trying to chat someone up at a cocktail party or something. You do have to be warm enough to get the patients to trust you, though, so that they will actually tell you what you need to know.
 
After all, not exercising, smoking 2 packs/day and eating like a ****ing Ethiopian hippo aren't habits that give one a diathesis for heart problems.
I will be using the bolded almost everytime I describe the average american eating habit. I agree completely.:laugh:
 
Then there are specialities where you can avoid this kind of contact (the afformentioned path/rads). Although, you will have to do some of it during your training.

Edit: I'm just guessing here, but I imagine this kind of contact is uncomfortable for most people and they just become accustomed to it as they go through their training/career.

That is very, very true. It's strange when you first start physical exams because your putting your hands on a complete strangers body, sometimes in very personal areas but you eventually become more comfortable with it.
 
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