Good or Bad Reason to become a doctor

I wouldn't use that for an essay but I think most people want to become a doctor for the interaction with other people.

go to grad school if you want to memorize science.

medicine is way too much effort to go into for the rest of your life just because you think you'd enjoy the 2 years of pre-clinical coursework.

especially since that coursework is often a rehashing of what you learned as an undergrad.

Its a logical answer, not a compelling one.

Listen...you need to reach a little bit deeper than that. Whether this is for an interview or for you PS, you need to talk about something more personal, more touching, and more convincing.

When I think back about why I want to be a doctor, I can think of hundreds of moments when I knew that this was what I wanted to do. It could be the first time I saw a knee surgery on the surgery channel when I was ten, or that last time I helped to change an amputee at the hospital. You need to try to remember all these special moments where helping others or medicine has touched your heart and inspired your to keep pursuing. Remember them and try to find a linkage. Sometimes, if you just sit down with one experience and start writing, more will flow out and you might find yourself with an entirely different reasons.

I'll be honest, your answer may just be okay with someone who happened to feel the same way. However, most people don't go into medicine b/c they like biology class. They won't be able to relate to you as well. In a way, your story should remind them of why they wanted to be a doctor.

Even if you want to talk about biology, you should be more excited. Like why bio fascinates you. Living systems and all its amazement. The human body and its fascinating functions and pathways. Honestly, if you can present your logic in touching and interesting way, it would probably bae a good essay as well.

Also don't tell them that you don't like research. They don't have to know...it can't hurt. I hate research, it SOOOO boring..all that pipetting and running gels...blah. But I sure am going to say I love it during my interview and how it is amazing and so important to society, blah, blah, blah....

It would be safe to say, so far in my schooling in pharmD, you can sit in the class and have not gone through reg chem or organic chm, and still make straight A's. There is very little chemistry based stuff in the actual didactic work, most of which is done in the first year, and the only thing we really dug into was the ionized, unionized drugs, pka, excretion to urine, taking antacids to increase effects, etc. And that was one test. And everyone failed it, not so much because of the content but rather the teaching and what was expected to be on the test.

90 percent is therapeu/phathophys and pharmacodynamic
which is similar in content to med school, minus the level of detail for diagnosing med schools go into ( we were still required to know how to diagnoses)

if you love biology classes and love human biology specifically, you'll get 2 years of more classes on it. That's it. then youll have 2 years of taking care of people, not learning biology. Then you'll have 3-7 more years of apprenticeship style training on how to take care of people at a more advanced level than nursing or PA, although truth be told, 80-90% of what we do could be done by a nurse or PA with lesser training/education.

screwedpremed88 said:

Basically, I want to be a doctor because I think I'd enjoy the classes I'd be taking for the next four years and I'd think I'd do well at those subjects.

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Quite frankly, that's a horrible reason. Just go find out what textbooks a med school is using for their first and second year science classes, and go buy it, then memorize it. There, you just saved yourself 200k.

I think this reasoning is even worse than those who say they want to be a doctor solely for the money and prestige. At least they'll keep working hard for a few more years after they get out of med school.

That is the most passionless reason for "why medicine?" I have ever heard.

screwedpremed88 said:

For me, it's important that I'm good at the career I choose, so medicine seems like the best fit.

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That may be true for you; however, to your patients, it's rather important to them that you have a passion for your career that translates into the level and quality of care that you provide them. Medicine takes more skill than just "being good" at it; it's an art, and if you're only interested in memorizing facts rather than integrating and applying concepts to the benefit of your patients, then medicine just doesn't seem like a good fit for you. Your patients don't want a robot as a doctor who's only interested in the benefits that you get out of your work.

Additionally, you only take two years of lecture-based classes in medical school, and the information is thrown at you at break-neck speed. If you really have no interest in the art of medicine itself, then you're probably better off in a different career.

greatnt249 said:

That may be true for you; however, to your patients, it's rather important to them that you have a passion for your career that translates into the level and quality of care that you provide them. Medicine takes more skill than just "being good" at it; it's an art, and if you're only interested in memorizing facts rather than integrating and applying concepts to the benefit of your patients, then medicine just doesn't seem like a good fit for you. Your patients don't want a robot as a doctor who's only interested in the benefits that you get out of your work.

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I don't really agree with this. While I'm not saying that the OP reasons are good (or bad), I'm just saying that patients don't care how passionate their doctors are. They want their doctor to fix their problem. While of course many have prefrences about the bedside manner of the doctor fixing their problem, I'm sure most prefer a doctor who can help them than one who can be friendly and engaging but ultimately not fix their ailment.

Additionally, there are fields for people who don't feel that impassioned about the patient interaction. The OP could get by without even seeing some of his patients or at least only seeing them for a very small period of time.

schrizto said:

That is the most passionless reason for "why medicine?" I have ever heard.

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Haha I agree

armybound said:

go to grad school if you want to memorize science.

medicine is way too much effort to go into for the rest of your life just because you think you'd enjoy the 2 years of pre-clinical coursework.

especially since that coursework is often a rehashing of what you learned as an undergrad.

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I thought the Med Students preach over and over that the coursework quickly outstrips everything you learned in undergrad?

Also, the grad school or PhD lifestyle sucks for a lot of people. Not everyone is interested in it. The OP said he couldn't do research everyday and likes people interaction. There's obvious benefits to a career in medicine than one that would be obtained through grad school.

Narmerguy said:

I don't really agree with this. While I'm not saying that the OP reasons are good (or bad), I'm just saying that patients don't care how passionate their doctors are. They want their doctor to fix their problem. While of course many have prefrences about the bedside manner of the doctor fixing their problem, I'm sure most prefer a doctor who can help them than one who can be friendly and engaging but ultimately not fix their ailment.

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Did I say the two skills were mutually exclusive? I said it was an important skill in addition to having a good clinical acumen. If you can't relate to your patients, it can be rather difficult to elicit certain details in an H&P that may be important to developing a differential diagnosis.

That being said, it's silly to go into medicine if your sole interest is in memorizing facts, which is what the OP explicitly stated.

The curriculum is how you become a doctor and shouldn't be why you become a doctor.

It sounds like you've made an argument for wanting to become an author of medical textbooks or teach medical boards review courses.

Good Reason: Cuz I'm Asian.

Bad Reason: To brag about it on forums.

Narmerguy said:

I thought the Med Students preach over and over that the coursework quickly outstrips everything you learned in undergrad?

Also, the grad school or PhD lifestyle sucks for a lot of people. Not everyone is interested in it. The OP said he couldn't do research everyday and likes people interaction. There's obvious benefits to a career in medicine than one that would be obtained through grad school.

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It obviously depends what you took as an undergrad. I've only been in class for a week, so I'm sure the material I knew coming in won't last long as far as being a review goes.

You don't have to do research as a PhD. There are schools that prefer their professors be strong lecturers instead of researchers. This would allow him to really know science and be able to interact with people.

Bad reason.

If you love to learn about biology so much, why not study to become a high school biology teacher? If you aren't interested in applying your knowledge, what's the point in spending an ungodly amount of time and money to become a physician, a dentist, or a pharmacist in the first place?

There are no "good" and "bad" reasons to go into medicine. People who try to determine "good" and "bad" are tools. Ultimately whatever "reason" you have has motivated you to the point that you think that you will become a good physician. That's why you continue with the process (pre-med>med school>residency)

johndoe3344 said:

Quite frankly, that's a horrible reason. Just go find out what textbooks a med school is using for their first and second year science classes, and go buy it, then memorize it. There, you just saved yourself 200k.

I think this reasoning is even worse than those who say they want to be a doctor solely for the money and prestige. At least they'll keep working hard for a few more years after they get out of med school.

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Prime example of a tool of the Glenn Beck type. Notice the extremely poor analogy that has been placed into bold font.

Quadratic said:

People who try to determine "good" and "bad" are tools.

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So, in a roundabout way you're labeling everyone on an admissions committee as a tool. Please, do let us know how THAT goes over.

Quadratic said:

Ultimately whatever "reason" you have has motivated you to the point that you think that you will become a good physician.

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There is such a thing as having a well-considered reason for going into medicine compared to a flippant/naive reason for going into medicine. If you can't be bothered to look into what medicine actually entails and instead insist on maintaining some fairytale notion of what medicine involves, I would say you have bad reasons for going into medicine.

screwedpremed88 said:

I think the main reason I want to be a doctor is because the medical school curriculum seems to contain the most biology out of all other health professional schools and I prefer learning biology out of all the other sciences. I don't like chemistry and physics as much because they are more math based. I know this sounds bad, but I prefer to just read things and memorize them. The main reason I want to be a doctor is because I think the medical school curriculum fits me the most. I'm less interested in the curriculum for dentistry and pharmacy. I know pharmacists have to take a lot of p chem. Chemistry is not my favorite and I despise math. For dentistry, I don't know if I'd be too into making molds and the architectural aspect of it. However, I do think dentistry is a better fit for me than pharmacy, since chemistry isn't too much into their curriculum. I've always known that I wanted to have a career in the sciences (nothing that contains extensive math or chemistry though- engineering, etc). I enjoyed doing scientific reasearch, but I don't think I could do research everyday. I'd rather have more people interaction, so I think the health field is definitely the way to go for me. Basically, I want to be a doctor because I think I'd enjoy the classes I'd be taking for the next four years and I'd think I'd do well at those subjects. For me, it's important that I'm good at the career I choose, so medicine seems like the best fit. Are my reasons the wrong reasons to become a doctor? Anyone else have any other career suggestions for me?

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Better than my reason, I'm doing it for the money, money and the cars, cars and the clothes... the hoes? I suppose.

greatnt249 said:

So, in a roundabout way you're labeling everyone on an admissions committee as a tool. Please, do let us know how THAT goes over.

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They are victims of an ideal. That ideal is that there has to be some life-calling, or some life-changing event that causes one to consider medicine. Which, in itself is flawed, because clearly there are physicians (not all pre-21st century) that are not in medicine because of that ideal. Whether or not they SAID they were, in one packaged way or another, is a different subject.

greatnt249 said:

There is such a thing as having a well-considered reason for going into medicine compared to a flippant/naive reason for going into medicine. If you can't be bothered to look into what medicine actually entails and instead insist on maintaining some fairytale notion of what medicine involves, I would say you have bad reasons for going into medicine.

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So people that want to "help" others and therefore are entering into medicine are not living a fairy tale? People who enter medicine because of personal tragedy or triumph are not living a fairy tale? Just because a story is inspirational does not qualify it as a "good" reason, and just because a person does not have an equally or slightly better/worse story does not make it "bad." Of course people should try to get all the facts before going into medicine (or any career for that matter). But to analyze "good" and "bad" on the internet or even in person (due to five minutes of conversation) when the reasons tend to be more convoluted than not, is ridiculous.

Quadratic said:

So people that want to "help" others and therefore are entering into medicine are not living a fairy tale? People who enter medicine because of personal tragedy or triumph are not living a fairy tale? Just because a story is inspirational does not qualify it as a "good" reason, and just because a person does not have an equally or slightly better/worse story does not make it "bad." Of course people should try to get all the facts before going into medicine (or any career for that matter).

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Have you ever been in a medical school interview? They tend not to let you get away with just saying "I want to go into medicine because I want to help people." I got grilled for about ten minutes on the "why medicine" question, and I knew full well not to lead off with the answer "because I want to help people."

I never said jaded/cliche answers were good reasons to go into medicine. However, given the sheer enormity of the financial and personal investment it takes to get through the process, it would do premeds well to at least have a semblance of an idea of what they're getting into.

The OP's initial thread doesn't really answer a "why" to the question "why medicine." Given the nature of medicine, the reasons the OP wanted to enter medicine don't exactly lend to the logical conclusion that medicine is the perfect fit for what the OP is looking for in terms of career fulfillment.

Quadratic said:

But to analyze "good" and "bad" on the internet or even in person (due to five minutes of conversation) when the reasons tend to be more convoluted than not, is ridiculous.

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What's your solution then? Let everyone try it out and quit if they don't like it?

greatnt249 said:

Have you ever been in a medical school interview? They tend not to let you get away with just saying "I want to go into medicine because I want to help people." I got grilled for about ten minutes on the "why medicine" question, and I knew full well not to lead off with the answer "because I want to help people."

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You mentioned medical school interviews, not I. I'm talking about people on this forum making judgments about what is "good" and "bad" based on a stereotypical ideal.

greatnt249 said:

I never said jaded/cliche answers were good reasons to go into medicine. However, given the sheer enormity of the financial and personal investment it takes to get through the process, it would do premeds well to at least have a semblance of an idea of what they're getting into.

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I concur.

greatnt249 said:

The OP's initial thread doesn't really answer a "why" to the question "why medicine." Given the nature of medicine, the reasons the OP wanted to enter medicine don't exactly lend to the logical conclusion that medicine is the perfect fit for what the OP is looking for in terms of career fulfillment.

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Do you consider medicine to be a "perfect" fit for a significant percentage of physicians? Interesting. Now what is that based on?

What's your solution then? Let everyone try it out and quit if they don't like it?

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Isn't that what happens anyway, despite "foolproof" questioning?

Quadratic said:

Do you consider medicine to be a "perfect" fit for a significant percentage of physicians? Interesting. Now what is that based on?

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No clue. I do know that no one I've come in contact with in the system thus far has ever mentioned going into medicine just because they thought the classes were "cool."

Quadratic said:

Isn't that what happens anyway, despite "foolproof" questioning?

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If only about 5% of students drop out after being accepted to medical school, I would like to think the rest of the 95% aren't still in it merely because they want to continue "testing the waters." The financial burden alone is enough to make an endeavor into the medical field a more carefully considered choice than just trying it to see if one likes it.

greatnt249 said:

If only about 5% of students drop out after being accepted to medical school, I would like to think the rest of the 95% aren't still in it merely because they want to continue "testing the waters." The financial burden alone is enough to make an endeavor into the medical field a more carefully considered choice than just trying it to see if one likes it.

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to patch these thoughts together -

95% aren't still in medical school because they want to continue testing the waters. the financial burden alone is enought to prevent dropping out midway through.

Quadratic said:

Prime example of a tool of the Glenn Beck type. Notice the extremely poor analogy that has been placed into bold font.

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Oh, this is fun.

So simply you're saying that there should be nothing wrong with people that go into medicine solely for the money and prestige, as long as that is what truly motivates them, and that anyone who tries to say otherwise are... "tools."

Except you're forgetting that people can't really understand what's "true" motivation. Hence, the inherent distinction between "good" motivators and "bad" motivators. If I go into healthcare for the money, sure -- I'll go through med school, go through residency, and land a good job at a hospital. Then what? Some new bill passes, by president X, and suddenly doctors are being paid jack. Then I become dissatisfied, unhappy, and in the end, who suffers? The patients.

Intrinsically "good" motivators are things that don't change by external factors. If you go into medicine because you love learning more about medical science, about how the human body works, and you love using this knowledge to help people, then nothing can change that. No matter what happens, no matter who becomes president, you'll still be happy doing your job as a doctor.

Furthermore, why do you think it doesn't fly if you go into an interview and you tell them that you want to be a doctor because "your parents told you to" or "you want money or fame" or, in the OP's case, "you like the classes in the first two years of med school?" They're "bad" motivators for a reason: they're things that you might think is truly motivating you now, but you'll end up being dissatisfied later on. You'll likely either drop out, quit your job, or make your patients suffer. It is for that reason that they even ask you "why" you want to be a doctor. If not, then everyone with a 3.9/37 should automatically be allowed to go into medical school.

Cliches are cliches for a reason. It's because they're tried and true, and (almost) every propsective healthcare worker has used them.

screwedpremed88 said:

...I enjoyed doing scientific reasearch, but I don't think I could do research everyday. I'd rather have more people interaction, so I think the health field is definitely the way to go for me. Basically, I want to be a doctor because I think I'd enjoy the classes I'd be taking for the next four years and I'd think I'd do well at those subjects. For me, it's important that I'm good at the career I choose, so medicine seems like the best fit. Are my reasons the wrong reasons to become a doctor? Anyone else have any other career suggestions for me?

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From what you have given me to go off of, I'd say yes those are wrong reasons to go into medicine. Medicine isn't like taking classes. I like psychology classes, but that wouldn't be a valid reason to pursue being a psychologist regardless of how well I did in those classes.

CoolWhipp said:

From what you have given me to go off of, I'd say yes those are wrong reasons to go into medicine. Medicine isn't like taking classes. I like psychology classes, but that wouldn't be a valid reason to pursue being a psychologist regardless of how well I did in those classes.

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I think you like them cuz theyre easy A's
jk

greatnt249 said:

Did I say the two skills were mutually exclusive? I said it was an important skill in addition to having a good clinical acumen. If you can't relate to your patients, it can be rather difficult to elicit certain details in an H&P that may be important to developing a differential diagnosis.

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You ignored the point of my response. I didn't assert that you stated the two were mutually exclusive. You stated what patients "wanted" in a doctor but the attribute you were highlighting is not essential to the job. In fact, if a hypothetical doctor was significantly better in his abilities to treat medicine and deduce problems and also significantly hampered in his othere abilities, patients would prefer the doctor who could fix their problem. Of course you can have both but the OP lacking one isn't as hampering as you're trying to indicate.

greatnt249 said:

That being said, it's silly to go into medicine if your sole interest is in memorizing facts, which is what the OP explicitly stated.

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screwedpremed88 said:

I'd rather have more people interaction, so I think the health field is definitely the way to go for me.

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Really? That's what the OP explicitly stated?

armybound said:

It obviously depends what you took as an undergrad. I've only been in class for a week, so I'm sure the material I knew coming in won't last long as far as being a review goes.

You don't have to do research as a PhD. There are schools that prefer their professors be strong lecturers instead of researchers. This would allow him to really know science and be able to interact with people.

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That's true but this doesn't address my second point. The lifestyle of a PhD, especially if you're just a lecturer and don't bring in any kind of grant money in to the school, is far different from that of a MD.

Narmerguy said:

Really? That's what the OP explicitly stated?

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Wow, it's almost as if you went out of your way to skip reading the first half of the OP's post.

screwedpremed88 said:

I think the main reason I want to be a doctor is because the medical school curriculum seems to contain the most biology out of all other health professional schools and I prefer learning biology out of all the other sciences. I don't like chemistry and physics as much because they are more math based. I know this sounds bad, but I prefer to just read things and memorize them.The main reason I want to be a doctor is because I think the medical school curriculum fits me the most.

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screwedpremed88 said:

I think the main reason I want to be a doctor is because the medical school curriculum seems to contain the most biology out of all other health professional schools and I prefer learning biology out of all the other sciences. I don't like chemistry and physics as much because they are more math based. I know this sounds bad, but I prefer to just read things and memorize them. The main reason I want to be a doctor is because I think the medical school curriculum fits me the most. I'm less interested in the curriculum for dentistry and pharmacy. I know pharmacists have to take a lot of p chem. Chemistry is not my favorite and I despise math. For dentistry, I don't know if I'd be too into making molds and the architectural aspect of it. However, I do think dentistry is a better fit for me than pharmacy, since chemistry isn't too much into their curriculum. I've always known that I wanted to have a career in the sciences (nothing that contains extensive math or chemistry though- engineering, etc). I enjoyed doing scientific reasearch, but I don't think I could do research everyday. I'd rather have more people interaction, so I think the health field is definitely the way to go for me. Basically, I want to be a doctor because I think I'd enjoy the classes I'd be taking for the next four years and I'd think I'd do well at those subjects. For me, it's important that I'm good at the career I choose, so medicine seems like the best fit. Are my reasons the wrong reasons to become a doctor? Anyone else have any other career suggestions for me?

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You might be disappointed with a medical career if your main reason is that you like the medical school curriculum. It doesn't seem like you understand what a doctor really does.

TAWS said:

I wouldn't use that for an essay but I think most people want to become a doctor for the interaction with other people.

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Yes. But then there are some who are so traumatized or disgusted by the medical school experience that they flee to areas of medicine where they can practice in isolation (radiology, pathology, etc).

greatnt249 said:

No clue. I do know that no one I've come in contact with in the system thus far has ever mentioned going into medicine
just because they thought the classes were "cool."

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Who said anything about "cool"? Stop making straw man arguments.

johndoe3344 said:

So simply you're saying that there should be nothing wrong with people that go into medicine solely for the money and prestige, as long as that is what truly motivates them, and that anyone who tries to say otherwise are... "tools."

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I'm saying that reasons often are not one dimensional and that your superficial judgment of "good" and "bad" along with your analogy, especially of the O.P., is asinine.

johndoe3344 said:

Except you're forgetting that people can't really understand what's "true" motivation. Hence, the inherent distinction between "good" motivators and "bad" motivators.

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Motivation is based on reward. Motivation is physiological in nature. Even if you have a desire to help people, that in itself is physiological because YOU benefit from it. Reward is circumstantial, and often multi-dimensional.

johndoe3344 said:

If I go into healthcare for the money, sure I'll go through med school, go through residency, and land a good job at a hospital. Then what? Some new bill passes, by president X, and suddenly doctors are being paid jack. Then I become dissatisfied,
unhappy, and in the end, who suffers? The patients.

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Paid "jack"? Wow, talk about an exaggeration. Furthermore there are significant levels of dissatisfaction in medicine already, assumingly amongst people who are motivated by "good" reasons. So again, I reiterate that reward is circumstantial and multi-dimensional, not just I want to help people and that's the end of it....

johndoe3344 said:

Intrinsically "good" motivators are things that don't change by external factors. If you go into medicine because you love learning more about medical science, about how the human body works, and you love using this knowledge to help people, then nothing can change that. No matter what happens, no matter who becomes president, you'll still be happy doing your job as a doctor.

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Well if you're making "jack", try telling that to your family. Try telling that to the insurance people, the grocery store, and the bill collectors. Try being "happy" when you're wife is angry at you and your kids need clothes. Happiness from family and people you love also factors into motivation. Which brings us back once again to reward for obvious reasons (weighing personal desires vs well being of family).

johndoe3344 said:

Furthermore, why do you think it doesn't fly if you go into an interview and you tell them that you want to be a doctor because "your parents told you to" or "you want money or fame" or, in the OP's case, "you like the classes in the first two years of med school?"

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Because interviews are superficial by nature; Interviews are always full of fluff whether you're going on an interview for medical school or you're applying to be a salesperson.

johndoe3344 said:

They're "bad" motivators for a reason: they're things that you might think is truly motivating you now, but you'll end up being dissatisfied later on.

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Not necessarily. Reward does not have time constraints. Neither is one reward guaranteed to be more dynamic than the other.

johndoe3344 said:

You'll likely either drop out, quit your job, or make your patients suffer.

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There are enough malpractice lawyers out there to make a person think twice about making their patients "suffer."

johndoe3344 said:

It is for that reason that they even ask you "why" you want to be a doctor. If not, then everyone with a 3.9/37 should automatically be allowed to go into medical school.

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They ask it because they're amused at the fact that people like you take a simple question, try to gather the questioner intentions because of said question, and finally end up with an answer that includes "if i have to live in the hospital garage, I willing to because I want to practice medicine."

Quadratic said:

Who said anything about "cool"? Stop making straw man arguments.

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Geez, get over yourself; stop looking for arguments where there are none to be had.

But, if you insist, let me change what I said to fit the OP's post:

"I do know that no one I've come in contact with in the system thus far has ever mentioned going into medicine just because they thought they would enjoy the classes and that they would do well in them."

Satisfied?

Quadratic said:

They ask it because they're amused at the fact that people like you take a simple question, try to gather the questioner intentions because of said question, and finally end up with an answer that includes "if i have to live in the hospital garage, I willing to because I want to practice medicine."

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Now who's making strawman arguments?

Quadratic said:

They ask it because they're amused at the fact that people like you take a simple question, try to gather the questioner intentions because of said question, and finally end up with an answer that includes "if i have to live in the hospital garage, I willing to because I want to practice medicine."

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You know what? At your next interview, or next several interviews, for that matter, why don't you go ahead and give the interviewers a "simple" answer: perhaps that you want to be a doctor because you really like the classes in the first two years, or that you think it's a great profession for you because you like money and social prestige. Make sure you don't mention anything even remotely related to wanting to help people, or wanting to make a difference in someone else's life, or even wanting to make a difference in general. None of that cliched stuff -- wouldn't want to play into their superficiality, now would you?

Tell us how that goes.

I would overall say this is a lacking answer for becoming a doctor. IMO it should be a small part of the appeal that you like the schooling you go through. Its good to know you can survive the schooling and enjoy it, but I agree with others that say you need to mention something you inherently love about what you would be doing as a Doctor. If you don't have that, maybe reconsider your career goals.

ChemEngSoonMD said:

Good Reason: Cuz I'm Asian.

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A friend of mine was a Bio major, premed, for 2 years because his parents told him this. He either had to be a doctor or a lawyer. He ended up switching to Integrated Business, Science, and Technology (my school's ISBT program). He was so miserable until he switched!

As a person who is often a patient in the emergency room (I am very clumsy), bedside manner is very important to me. Almost to the point where I'd be willing to endure a bit of extra "ooh's" and "um's" when it comes to my doctor diagnosing/treating me, but there does come a point where it just gets ridiculous.

If this were a personal, self-evaluation about how you feel toward medicine on the inside, then who are we to criticize that? But, like others before me have said, if this is your response to an interview question, you definitely need somethin with more substance and more of your own personality.

I might be wrong here, but I would think one should pretend that their interviewer is one of their long-time patients, and your patient has just asked you why you want(ed) to be a doctor. What would you say to them? "I like memorizing stuff and I thought it would be easy." That's nice-- you took the easy way out. Very honorable.

But it wouldn't hurt to... not fudge the facts, maybe, but to embellish the reasoning behind them. You're good at memorization, and you enjoyed your biology classes.... you thought you'd be good at memorizing patients names and showing them that you really do have a personal interest in them, moreso than other doctors. That's just a thought, though.

Not to say that other doctors don't care, but I am greatly (and sometimes unfairly) annoyed when I come in for a check up at a clinic that I've been going to for 5 years, and even the NURSES do not know my name without looking at my file. Everytime I come in, you ask me the same questions, give me the same responses... it's like deja vu.


I'm no one important, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Please, no one rip me a new one, because I'm just speaking from experience as a patient.

Just open up a little more, because I think your previous answer is barely scratching the surface of why you're actually interested in becoming a doctor. Any real answer takes time and effort to find.

Shaffer said:

Not to say that other doctors don't care, but I am greatly (and sometimes unfairly) annoyed when I come in for a check up at a clinic that I've been going to for 5 years, and even the NURSES do not know my name without looking at my file.

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Do you know how many patients they see a day? Better yet, do you even know the names of the nurses?

It doesn't matter what your reasons are. Frankly the customer does not care either. All they care about is your skill and your ability to listen and communicate effectively. You could have the best reason in the world but if you suck, people still don't want you as a doctor. On the other hand, if your reason is simply either you want to make a lot of money or wanted a big e-peen, I dont think the customer cares either as long as you are skilled.

Stupid computer made me post twice.

greatnt249 said:

Do you know how many patients they see a day? Better yet, do you even know the names of the nurses?

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As a matter of fact, I do. At my clinic, there are 3 doctors: Dr. Levine, and Dr. Zener, and Dr. Abramson. The nurses who I have seen are named Lynn and Jenni (short for Jennilee). There are two nurses who do most of the appointment scheduling, Kristen and Jen (short for Jennifer). There are 3 other nurses, but I have never come in contact with them, so I have never gotten a chance to learn their names.

I think it's important to know who you're looking after, and to know who is looking after you. I may have high expectations for my physicians, but I am not unrealistic.

I do know that doctors may see hundreds of patients a day (they dprobably do at my clinic). But when I'm at the clinic every 4 months, and I have been there for 5 years, that's... 15 times I've been there, probably a bit more since I've had to come in for colds and whatot. And I've always seen the same nurse and doctor, Lynn and Dr. Levine. And I'm older than most of the others seen at the clinic because it's a children's hospital, and I'm 19, while most change doctors after they reach high school at the age of 14 (unless they're there for sexual health in the Adolescent Clinic).

Quadratic said:

They ask it because they're amused at the fact that people like you take a simple question, try to gather the questioner intentions because of said question, and finally end up with an answer that includes "if i have to live in the hospital garage, I willing to because I want to practice medicine."

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We are evaluated by committees whose jobs are to decide if a student is good enough to attend medical school over other students who are applying. I seriously doubt the reason you gave for their questions is present in their minds.

An applicant must be compared to other students in order to determine their eligibility due to the limited number of available positions in the medical schools. The designation of "good" and "bad" to a student's reason for wanting to attend is inevitable because of the fact that this comparison must exist. When you compare things, you outline their inequalities. The fact that things are not equal immediately suggests the designation of some as better or worse than others. This designation may vary depending on one's point of view, but it does not change the fact that the designations exist as a method for defining things.

To suggest that we shouldn't label things as "good" or "bad" is simplistic and naive. If it makes you feel better you can call it "better" or "worse", "efficient" or "inefficient", "logical" or "illogical", "practical" or "impractical", "solid" or "flimsy", "very good" or "kind of good". Get over the semantics. These words are how we compare things. You may not be stating it explicitly, but all of your arguments suggest that you think the people who disagree with you are wrong. That very judgment destroys your point.

Perhaps the point quadratic originally tried to make (albeit with off-target points) is that the OP's desires aren't as simple as has been stated and that we can't understand what he really wants. However, we can only evaluate the information the OP gave us. From that, it is our right to declare it as "good" or "bad", especially since that is EXACTLY what the OP asked us to do.


As for my opinion on the matter, the interest in human biology is good, even if it makes up 80% of your reasoning. However, it is only good if you have other reasoning to back up your choice of the physician career specifically. Your interest in biology suggests several career possibilities. Therefore, what you need to do is look at ALL the careers that could involve biology (you seem to have touched on only a few), ask yourself "Why medicine specifically" and "Why NOT (insert biology related career here)?" You should even ask yourself "Why NOT medicine?" to make sure it's what you really want. These are the answers adcoms are interested in and you should have them ready.

azrael87 said:

We are evaluated by committees whose jobs are to decide if a student is good enough to attend medical school over other students who are applying. I seriously doubt the reason you gave for their questions is present in their minds.

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Sarcasm. It's lonely on the bridge. Go hug it.

azrael87 said:

An applicant must be compared to other students in order to determine their eligibility due to the limited number of available positions in the medical schools. The designation of "good" and "bad" to a student's reason for wanting to attend is inevitable because of the fact that this comparison must exist. When you compare things, you outline their inequalities. The fact that things are not equal immediately suggests the designation of some as better or worse than others. This designation may vary depending on one's point of view, but it does not change the fact that the designations exist as a method for defining things.

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Duh

azrael87 said:

To suggest that we shouldn't label things as "good" or "bad" is simplistic and naive.

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Wow, the irony. Why don't you try reviewing my posts again and come back to what you wrote.

azrael87 said:

If it makes you feel better you can call it "better" or "worse", "efficient" or "inefficient", "logical" or "illogical", "practical" or "impractical", "solid" or "flimsy", "very good" or "kind of good". Get over the semantics. These words are how we compare things.

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If it makes me feel better? "Practical" doesn't equate to good and "impractical" doesn't equate to bad. The fact that you put that forth is ridiculous.

azrael87 said:

You may not be stating it explicitly, but all of your arguments suggest that you think the people who disagree with you are wrong.

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No my arguments suggest that a person's reasons for going into medicine isn't limited to some stereotypical life-changing or life-calling experience. It seems that people on this forum believe that this is primarily the ONLY way that you will finish medical school and residency and live a happy life.

azrael87 said:

That very judgment destroys your point.

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Lol, my point is not destroyed via causation simply because of your attempt to discredit my posts. Nice authoritative touch though.

Quadratic said:

No my arguments suggest that a person's reasons for going into medicine isn't limited to some stereotypical life-changing or life-calling experience. It seems that people on this forum believe that this is primarily the ONLY way that you will finish medical school and residency and live a happy life.

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And herein lies your strawman argument.

pharmacy85 said:

I think you like them cuz theyre easy A's
jk

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Possibly.

Quadratic said:

If it makes me feel better? "Practical" doesn't equate to good and "impractical" doesn't equate to bad. The fact that you put that forth is ridiculous.

No my arguments suggest that a person's reasons for going into medicine isn't limited to some stereotypical life-changing or life-calling experience. It seems that people on this forum believe that this is primarily the ONLY way that you will finish medical school and residency and live a happy life.

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Clearly you missed the point where I explain that "good" and "bad" are just words used for relative comparison. In the case of reasons for attending medical school they can be completely interchanged with "practical" and "impractical". It's not that complex.

The fact that they're arguments means you disagree. Most likely the argument you make is something you believe is right, which means any opposing argument is "less right" aka "more wrong". That's the case with ANY argument. As for the stereotypical life-changing/life-calling experience, you're the only one on this thread who has brought those up, so why make a position against something that wasn't present to begin with? If someone happens to have a stereotypical experience, that's fine. It's what the experience actually is that lends to whether it leads to a good or bad reason. In fact, I've gathered from this forum that having good reasons that aren't stereotypical are a good thing since it makes you look unique. No one here has suggested to the contrary, so again, why make your point at all?

azrael87 said:

you're the only one on this thread who has brought those up, so why make a position against something that wasn't present to begin with?

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It's called a strawman fallacy. Basically, the arguer misrepresents the position of his/her opponent and then refutes the misrepresentation in order to give the impression that the arguer has won the argument.

It happens a lot when the actual position to be refuted appears too daunting to take on, so a much simpler "strawman" position is constructed to "refute" instead.

Why do people get bent out of shape when someone else's reason for becoming a doctor doesn't align with their own?

Isoprop said:

Why do people get bent out of shape when someone else's reason for becoming a doctor doesn't align with their own?

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Nobody's "bent out of shape"; the OP asked for an opinion and people gave it. I suggest you actually read through the posts again and see if you come to the same conclusion.

You'll be in medical school for 4 years; practicing for 34.

I vote bad. Medicine is a long road and if you don't genuinely love it you shouldn't do it. You may be miserable in the clinical years and later if you hate patient contact and other components of the curriculum. Go get a PhD in something bio-related, that will probably more satisfying for you. Good luck!