Doctor with disease?

Hey there SDN,

I'm obviously pre-medical, but I also have a chronic stomach condition. It doesn't affect my life too badly, but it does become extremely painful and terrible at times. So I know I can become a good doctor without worries.

I want to become a gastroenterologist because I know that I can relate to my patients and give them more comfort and assurance than someone who has not been in the patient's shoes.

Is this a good thing to include on my personal statement? Or nay? What do you think of my situation?

Thanks 🙂

CaliGirl14 said:

Hey there SDN,

I'm obviously pre-medical, but I also have a chronic stomach condition. It doesn't affect my life too badly, but it does because extremely painful and terrible at times. So I know I can become a good doctor without worries.

I want to become a gastroenterologist because I know that I can relate to my patients and give them more comfort and assurance than someone who has not been in the patient's shoes.

Is this a good thing to include on my personal statement? Or nay? What do you think of my situation?

Thanks 🙂

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I wouldn't say that. You can say it sparked an interest in medical and GI specifically. BUt I wouldn't compare yourself to all the GI docs out there who dont have some kind of bowel issue.

CaliGirl14 said:

Hey there SDN,

I'm obviously pre-medical, but I also have a chronic stomach condition. It doesn't affect my life too badly, but it does because extremely painful and terrible at times. So I know I can become a good doctor without worries.

I want to become a gastroenterologist because I know that I can relate to my patients and give them more comfort and assurance than someone who has not been in the patient's shoes.

Is this a good thing to include on my personal statement? Or nay? What do you think of my situation?

Thanks 🙂

Click to expand...

Say that and you may end up pissing off your reviewer or interviewers who are doctors cause basically you're claiming you have to have a disease to be able to treat it and be a good doc.

Not really because if you've never been in someone' shoes you won't know 100% how they feel.

All things considered equal, I'd have a leg up knowing what they have to go through. It's nicer to have a doctor who has been there and done that than with someone who hasn't.

I'm not saying any other doctor wouldn't be as good as I am, but I don't think it won't help me treat patients.

Could you be compassionate and reassuring to women with pain of gynecologic origins? Could you see yourself reassuring and comforting patients with pain related to the kidneys or bladder? Can you imagine comforting and reassuring patients with chronic lung disease or heart failure or neurologic degeneration or dizziness? Are you ready, at this point, to limit yourself to the treatment of patients with GI problems? If your compassion and concern is limited to a narrow range of patients you may find yourself bored and dissatisfied during 5 long, long years of clinical training (after 2 years of classroom/lab instruction in medical school) before you can limit yourself to GI (in a fellowship and in practice).

LizzyM said:

Could you be compassionate and reassuring to women with pain of gynecologic origins? Could you see yourself reassuring and comforting patients with pain related to the kidneys or bladder? Can you imagine comforting and reassuring patients with chronic lung disease or heart failure or neurologic degeneration or dizziness? Are you ready, at this point, to limit yourself to the treatment of patients with GI problems? If your compassion and concern is limited to a narrow range of patients you may find yourself bored and dissatisfied during 5 long, long years of clinical training (after 2 years of classroom/lab instruction in medical school) before you can limit yourself to GI (in a fellowship and in practice).

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I always wanted to be a doctor and the idea of gastroenterology only arose when I became diagnosed. I do see your point though. I can be compassionate and comforting to all of those patients you mentioned.

So does mentioning that I have the disease and believing that I can relate to my patients a bad idea to include in my personal statement?

CaliGirl14 said:

I always wanted to be a doctor and the idea of gastroenterology only arose when I became diagnosed. I do see your point though. I can be compassionate and comforting to all of those patients you mentioned.

So does mentioning that I have the disease and believing that I can relate to my patients a bad idea to include in my personal statement?

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You can do this if you use a very light hand. You can say that your experiences with a chronic GI condition piqued your interest in the workings of the GI tract and .... whatever else has led to your interest in medicine/ medical science/ health. Then you should move on to your experiences in working with patients or in clinical settings to show how you have tested your interest in being a physician. The emphasis should be on your future career in medicine and how you have prepared for that and not on your prior experience as a patient.

In particular, you don't want to give the impression that you are chronically ill or that your disease may interfer with your education in the future. If at all possible, work something into your statement about your own self-care and health promotion (diet, exercise, sleep, etc) as this is something that is growing in importance to medical schools as we see that unless they are healthy themselves, it is diffcult for a physician to care for others.