Why did you decide to pursue a career in medicine?

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vstexas09

vstexas09

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Simple question...
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Short answer:
My brother was diagnosed with diabetes when he was young. I started reading pamphlets about diabetes and found it very interesting. Then I moved on to reading about lots of other conditions. I just love the way the human body works. Everything has its function and I think it's amazing how the body regulates itself so well.
Yeah, a passion for how the human body works and the problems that come when things aren't as they should be.
 
To be a slumdog millionaire...

I guess I'm not really the typical premed, because helping people that for the most part will be ungrateful and rude isn't my reason for wanting to be a physician. There's other ways to help people if that was my only goal.

First off, I love biology and especially physiology/immunology/pathology. In biology, everything you learn is applicable and fundamental to the way the world works, how life exists. It's amazing how the smallest particles are the reason we exist, why I'm typing this here right now.

As a physician, you are constantly studying and learning things. I'm hoping to go into anesthesiology. Anesthesiology requires a pretty good understanding of physiology and pharmacology, as well as employing the use of surgical technique. There is always room to improve in all areas, always room to learn, always room to become more efficient.

As you'll notice, anesthesiology doesn't have a whole lot of patient interaction. Tell em what's up, ask their preference on anesthesia, calm their worries, and go to town.

I work well under stress and pressure; when it comes to being under pressure, I'm pretty much immune. The anesthesiologist must be vigilant, always ready to deal with a major unforeseen complication (or if the anesthesiologist is good, he knows it may happen), always ready to act under pressure.

Anesthesiologists don't get too much street cred, and that fits me. I don't like to be the center of attention, to be flamboyant. I like being the underdog, and knowing that I will often be the one who decides what direction to take things when **** hits the fan. And even if others may not know or acknowledge, I will personally know that I am a critical part of the surgical team.

In anesthesiology, you get instant gratification. Unlike surgery or medicine where you may have to wait weeks to get results, the anesthesiologist is almost instantly rewarded with the fruits of his academic labor.

Anesthesiologists have a relatively light workload (in terms of hrs. worked) compared to surgeons and some other specialties. They also get paid well. This is conducive to having and supporting a family life, which is an integral part of my future. This doesn't make or break the specialty to me, but it's just icing on the cake that it's there.

Anesthesiology is everything I could ever want in a job, something I would do for 30-40 years of my life. Everything about it fits me and my interests to a T. I have looked at all sorts of engineering, teaching, other fields of scientific research, economics/business etc., and nothing seems as good a fit as anesthesiology.
 
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I received a minor eye surgery about 5 minutes. I was so anxious and upset. But the doctor helped me a lot and gave me the courage.

I want to give the same happiness and encouragement to everyone.
 
To find ways to prevent Cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

There have been so many deaths on my moms side of the family due to cancer.

I also want to eventually publish books on how to improve your quality of life.

As far as human anatomy is concerned. I have Epilepsy (no seizure since age 8) and have always been fascinated by the brain. One day I hope to become a Neurosurgeon. Neurologist being my non surgical specialty (backup).

I have a strong interest in Psychology and Physiology.

Helping people I agree is way too broad and should not be the reason someone wants to become a physician.

There are, of course, other personal reasons why I want to become a physician. Most of them are related to family.

I also want a challenging career, and a job I would want when I am 60+ years old.

That and the paycheck.
 
I've been an EMT (volunteer) for a little while now and just find the information learned pretty interesting, and I like how when I go out on calls it's all directly applicable. It's also kind of nice to be able to interact w/ people and fun to use some of the equipment. I would consider purusing a career in EMS, but unfortunately the "glass ceiling" for a career in EMS is fairly low (there's nothing beyond EMT-P), and I think I'd probably prefer a hospital setting to being on-scene for the rest of my life :).

In terms of what classes interest me most...probably Psychology, Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, and Music. Except for music (which I've pretty much decided I am happy with as a hobby) all of those classes relate to medicine.

The paycheck is one of the reasons why I am going to try to become a doctor. If pay wasn't a factor I would also consider becoming a PA or an EMT-P...although I can potentially see myself regretting not becoming a doctor should I choose either of those routes. And like Jeff said, I think that being a doctor would be challenging and intellectually stimulating, and thus would be a career that I would still enjoy/be proud of when I am 60+ years old.
 
My most important reason is that it pays a lot higher and is a lot easier than research in mathematics.

Second, it is more directly useful than abstract math.

Third, most of the physicians I've come into contact with are either total jerks or they don't have time for all their patients, probably the latter. Either way, the practice of medicine would benefit from my being in it.

Fourth, if I get into one of the specialties that I think I will prefer, I'll have time and money to do research in other disciplines.
 
Salvorix said:
I've been an EMT (volunteer) for a little while now and just find the information learned pretty interesting, and I like how when I go out on calls it's all directly applicable. It's also kind of nice to be able to interact w/ people and fun to use some of the equipment. I would consider purusing a career in EMS, but unfortunately the "glass ceiling" for a career in EMS is fairly low (there's nothing beyond EMT-P), and I think I'd probably prefer a hospital setting to being on-scene for the rest of my life :).
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This sounds a LOT like myself. When I went to undergrad I was dead-set on business, but I was running rescue at the same time. That changed in a few years, and here I am now going to med school in the fall!
 
Long story short....

Diagnosed with heart disorder at birth and experimental heart surgery (EP study and ablation) at UCSF when I was 13. The surgery had a 98% success I unfortunately fell into the 2% failure rate. Inspired by this event, now you can see me at UCSF campus every weekend either shadowing, volunteering or being a nerd an hanging-out in campus library.

This is my personal statement btw :p
 
I have always been fascinated by how the body works, so that had been the cause of other causes, like how I did the Health Science event at the Science Olympiad and my first year learned about neurology(which I loved) and this year got the skeletal system(interesting, but not as much as neuro was).

My personal connection to medicine is that I was a 27 week premie, and so spent my first 3 months in the hospital, and, according to my dad, about 25 nights scattered throughout the rest of my first year.

Also, I love helping. It makes me feel good and is good for making friends and gaining respect.

Oh, and the many years of education sounds like a nice thing to me. Honestly, I'm a bit nervous about starting working, so studying a bit(OK, more than a bit) longer is not a problem.
 
vstexas09 said:
Simple question...
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Simple answer: $$$ and respek

rich_doctor.jpg
 
:idea: I like science and I want to help people...:rolleyes:
 
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Volunteered at a hospital and really liked what I saw.

I figure if I don't flake out after that first 50% on a Chem exam, I'll be good.
 
Simple answer? It seems like my calling. I also volunteered at a hospital, and I loved it there.

I "like" science too, but my main academic passion is history, which is my I'm majoring in it. If I loved science so much, I would be a scientist. Not a doctor. Of course there's a thin difference between the two.
 
Well I'm intelligent enough to do really well in school, and I thought I could meet up to a very high potential. I really wanted to become an engineer manager until I did poorly on my first attempt at Calculus at a local community college. I realized that I like math, but not all that much, and I really enjoy chemistry and a bit of biology. I was always fascinated with drugs, so I thought about pharmacy and medicine.

That and the money is really good. Not that I want to be filthy rich or anything, but it'd be nice never to worry about your finances and being able to afford things as long as it's not too extravagant.
 
tennisball80 said:
"I want to help people."

"I love sciences."

make up 99% of :bullcrap:premeds who only care about $$$ in fact.

That's my $0.02.
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lol yeah basically, and only about ten % actually follow through
 
tennisball80 said:
"I want to help people."

"I love sciences."

make up 99% of :bullcrap:premeds who only care about $$$ in fact.

That's my $0.02.
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"I like ice cream." :rolleyes:

At least, thats what my neurologist attending made all of his stroke patients repeat in order to test their ability to recognize/process/articulate words.

And that is why I want to be a doctor.

Plus, I want to meet cute nurses.
 
Terpskins99 said:
"I like ice cream." :rolleyes:

At least, thats what my neurologist attending made all of his stroke patients repeat in order to test their ability to recognize/process/articulate words.

And that is why I want to be a doctor.

Plus, I want to meet cute nurses.
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Oh, I love ice cream. Looks like I'm in the right career field. :laugh:

Did you choose neuro over rads, then? :D
 
Terpskins99 said:
"I like ice cream." :rolleyes:

At least, thats what my neurologist attending made all of his stroke patients repeat in order to test their ability to recognize/process/articulate words.

And that is why I want to be a doctor.

Plus, I want to meet cute nurses.
Click to expand...

Neuro=:love:
 
Algophiliac said:
Oh, I love ice cream. Looks like I'm in the right career field. :laugh:

Did you choose neuro over rads, then? :D
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Actually, I got matched into neuro over rads. I applied to both.

Kind of a long story, but if you want you can PM me and I'll tell you about it.
 
tennisball80 said:
"I want to help people."

"I love sciences."

make up 99% of :bullcrap:premeds who only care about $$$ in fact.

That's my $0.02.
Click to expand...

jefgreen said:
lol yeah basically, and only about ten % actually follow through
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Well I might be in that 99% and the 10% who follow through. Sure, a big part about it is money, but if it was ALL about the money, I'd be suing doctors.

It's mainly because I'm Asian, I have Asian parents, and I decided to be a good boy. I also think that I'd enjoy practicing medicine, otherwise I'd be in a pre-law forum right now. That and I somehow want to be a doctor.
 
DLi said:
Well I might be in that 99% and the 10% who follow through. Sure, a big part about it is money, but if it was ALL about the money, I'd be suing doctors.

It's mainly because I'm Asian, I have Asian parents, and I decided to be a good boy. I also think that I'd enjoy practicing medicine, otherwise I'd be in a pre-law forum right now. That and I somehow want to be a doctor.
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What does your race and parents have to do with practicing medicine?
 
You want to become a doctor because you're asian and want to be a good son...?
 
Immigrant parents tend to be very involved (see: hellishly controlling) of their childrens' futures; they all want their children to be doctors, lawyers, or engineers.

It's important to understand their viewpoint on it, however. A lot of the time these people came from places where the government would hold you back from being successful. Now that they're in America, which is the place to be if you want your income/status to correlate closely with the amount of work you put in (at least compared to a lot of other places), they want their children to go on to high-paying, prestigious jobs.

In a way, it's because of love; they just want to see their children live the successful life that they were denied at their childrens' age. But of course, since teenagers often tend to be inherently rebellious, they try to challenge their parents' wishes.

In my own case, I'm Persian, so if I told my parents I wanted to major in art history or some other "useless" degree then they would be very angry. Not much I can do about it, but then again I'm more interested in medicine than art history anyway :D
 
I must have always been interested in medicine. I have a picture of myself when I was about 6 with my father's large white shirt on, a surgical mask, latex gloves that were way too big, and a Flinstone's Vitamin that I was feeding to a Cabbage Patch doll.

As I grew older I lost a lot of friends when I was in the military and the actual situation consumed me from the feeling of helplessness. It took a long time for me to realize that that never actually goes away.

The final event that pushed me over the edge to apply was my father's heart attack. I faced my greatest fear during that time, and I conquered it. It made me realize that I can do something about things like this for other people. I am so grateful for that cardiologist, I would like to be that person someday too.
 
yanorglu said:
Immigrant parents tend to be very involved (see: hellishly controlling) of their childrens' futures; they all want their children to be doctors, lawyers, or engineers.

It's important to understand their viewpoint on it, however. A lot of the time these people came from places where the government would hold you back from being successful. Now that they're in America, which is the place to be if you want your income/status to correlate closely with the amount of work you put in (at least compared to a lot of other places), they want their children to go on to high-paying, prestigious jobs.

In a way, it's because of love; they just want to see their children live the successful life that they were denied at their childrens' age. But of course, since teenagers often tend to be inherently rebellious, they try to challenge their parents' wishes.

In my own case, I'm Persian, so if I told my parents I wanted to major in art history or some other "useless" degree then they would be very angry. Not much I can do about it, but then again I'm more interested in medicine than art history anyway :D
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You hit the spot exactly when I simply stated that I was Asian and I wanted to be a good kid due to parental pressure. I used to be pretty rebellious and I never really got good grades until last year, and I barely got into the state college. I've learned to embrace these values that my parents beat into me almost everyday and it seems to be working very well.

I also noticed that my parents increasingly liked my plans for the future when I first stated I was interested in pharmacy and medicine and then said that I preferred medicine over engineering or business.
 
My dreams were crushed when I was told that Godiva was no longer looking for applicants to be taste testers.

My next move was to become an overweight model, but as a 160lb, not-attractive man, again my hopes fell like a lead balloon.

So I decided I should go to medical school. 3rd time is the charm, right?
 
Forthegood said:
My dreams were crushed when I was told that Godiva was no longer looking for applicants to be taste testers.

My next move was to become an overweight model, but as a 160lb, not-attractive man, again my hopes fell like a lead balloon.

So I decided I should go to medical school. 3rd time is the charm, right?
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I wanted to be a test-driver, car-journalist, professional racer, or something of that nature. Except I realize that I don't have experience since 3 years old in go-karting and I haven't driven much outside of a crappy Saturn and a Honda Pilot that my parents own.

I could get a job working on cars, but I'm not a very handy person, and it's a very working class thing.

I would also like to be designing/engineering cars, except too much math and I'm not artistic or creative.

I'm not a great businessman so selling cars or owning a car shop wouldn't turn out well financially.

So then there was medicine. With parental pressure, intelligence, and things of that nature, I could become a doctor. It's the next best job that I could see doing for a long time, and I would be able to afford more horsepower, gasoline, and tires.

Then again, since I like fast cars and guns, should I be a cop instead?
 
DLi said:
I wanted to be a test-driver, car-journalist, professional racer, or something of that nature. Except I realize that I don't have experience since 3 years old in go-karting and I haven't driven much outside of a crappy Saturn and a Honda Pilot that my parents own.

I could get a job working on cars, but I'm not a very handy person, and it's a very working class thing.

I would also like to be designing/engineering cars, except too much math and I'm not artistic or creative.

I'm not a great businessman so selling cars or owning a car shop wouldn't turn out well financially.

So then there was medicine. With parental pressure, intelligence, and things of that nature, I could become a doctor. It's the next best job that I could see doing for a long time, and I would be able to afford more horsepower, gasoline, and tires.

Then again, since I like fast cars and guns, should I be a cop instead?
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Maybe, or work hard at designing cars or who knows. I just am not sure that becoming a doctor is honestly worth it for you based on what you've said in this thread. I mean there are plenty of other very important healthcare careers. Unless ur heart is hugely into it and we're talking about one of the most fulfilling careers you can see for yourself, the entire process to becoming a doctor just isn't worth the stress.
 
Rendar5 said:
Maybe, or work hard at designing cars or who knows. I just am not sure that becoming a doctor is honestly worth it for you based on what you've said in this thread. I mean there are plenty of other very important healthcare careers. Unless ur heart is hugely into it and we're talking about one of the most fulfilling careers you can see for yourself, the entire process to becoming a doctor just isn't worth the stress.
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That's a great statement. As much as I love cars and all of that, I can't imagine myself having a fulfilling career designing, building, or even racing them. It's more like a really good area of interest and hobby thing rather than a career.

The last post was more of a totally unfunny joke than anything. I definitely overachieve in school for a reason and I am putting my heart into medicine and becoming a physician. It's definitely one of the careers that would be very fulfilling. Any free time I get I would be driving a fast car around a race circuit, or doing repairs and upgrades in a large garage.

And just because you're good at science and like helping people, even if the money is good, doesn't mean you should be a doctor.

Just because I like guns and fast cars more than anything, doesn't mean I should be a cop.
 
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