Anyone else get the "Why not medicine?" speel

[physicslover]

Everytime I tell someone I actually want to do Optometry, people tell me I should do medicine because it is a better alternative . The fact that I don't want to do medicine, is not an issue, medicine is just "better". I don't understand why people are so closed minded, medicine is a great career, but it is not the only career. I realize there is always going to be a hierarchy in terms of professions, but it frustrating to tell someone you're future aspirations and instead of appreciating it, have it criticized. I just had some recent experiences of this and wanted to vent!

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[BrownEyes2011]

Wow. I seriously get this ALL the time too. People are really closed minded. If it's not Medical school, then it's just not good enough. I hate it. But the only thing you can do is laugh when they say that and ask..."did you/are you go/going to med school? (Chances are they're not) ....It's best to show them how passionate you are about Optometry, and let all the negative comments roll off your back.

When are you applying? Good luck with everything

 

[Commando303]

Be prepared to be asked that question during interviews.

 

[bobbio]

I was asked that question during my interview at PCO.

When it comes down to it, there is something called "family" that most medical students will never know about...

Why do you say that? Not all specialties are on call.

 

[Commando303]

I was asked that question during my interview at PCO.

When it comes down to it, there is something called "family" that most medical students will never know about...

That's both unfair and wrong. (Also, is that how you answered when questioned by P.C.O.: "Life is easier for O.D.s"?)

 

[Phys]

I have gotten this question too, and I am still trying to figure out why I have absolutely no interest in medicine, but all the desire in the world to be an Optometrist. It IS fun to be the only student whose program is "pre-optometry" as opposed to "pre-med" in my classes. Has anyone asked ODs this question? I'd be curious to hear their response. I think the biggest influence for me is the experience I've had with different doctors. GPs always seem to rush me in and out and not really listen to what I'm saying, whereas every optometrist I've met seems much more relaxed and caring. It's called healthCARE for a reason. Also, I love eyes...

I'd love to hear more opinions on the optometry vs. medicine choice. Anyone?

 

[JennieJoy]

I would rather deal with eyes. It's as simple as that. To each his own.

 

[GDR]

I would just ask them to compare the medical equivalent ophthalmologist with an optometrist; personally I'd rather deal with eyes that are intact, not cut into.

 

[CaliOD25]

MD's just seem like they're in it for the money and are just working to put in their time. While every optometrist I have met has always been willing to sit and answer any questions I have and seems to honestly be concerned with their patients well-being.

Be careful about broad generalizations like this. I've met both optometrists that are money-hungry and MD's who are very patient centered.

I believe the more important thing to think about in this debate are: What kind of post-graduate schooling are you willing to pursue? What time line do you want to work under for that schooling? What do you want your life/practice to be twenty years down the road?

Being able to answer questions like this for interviews and yourself shows that you have truly analyzed your options. The "optometrists are nice and MD's are awful" is not very valuable reflection.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

I think most optometry students will come across this question atleast once in their life. It should always go back to why you want to pursue optometry.

Many people who tell you medicine is a "better alternative" is just talking money. Besides that, the answer to that question is opinionated, in which case it doesnt really make sense to talk about it if one is choosing which is better than the other.

Think about elementary to secondary school. Are there not bright teachers who love teaching at that level? Those who are comfortable working with children, or teenagers? Does it make sense to tell them "why dont you get a PhD and teach at a college" ? Maybe its what they prefer to do and feel comfortable with.

(yes, i realize there are teachers who teach high school and junior high temporarily, to get a masters/phd to teach college...im talking about the ones who teach those levels because thats where they want to be).

 

[physicslover]

I think Optometry and medicine are very different career choices, which is why I don't understand why they must always in comparison to each other. I suppose it's because of most undergraduate science students wanting to pursue professional health careers, which inevitably will be compared. As much as I hate to subscribe to hierarchical classifications, many people see health careers in terms of money and status as Medical doctor>dentist>optometrist>chiropractor, etc. Although I don't agree with these rankings, money and status will obviously be used as a criteria when people chose their future careers. People higher up on this rank will feel a sense of superiority, or be seen as superior in society. I have great respect for the medical profession, but I feel there is an over surge of people wanting to be doctors without critically thinking about it. There have been schools built for this purpose, and personally knowing someone who went into a Carribean school of medicine because they had their parents bribe them, I think we need to reevaluate this "hype" about medicine. I remember in my first year bio class, one of my profs asked how many of you want to be doctors and about 90% of the students put their hands up. Obviously this number went down as the years went by, but it seems that many people would be a doctor if they could. Why is it that people automatically assume doctor is the best for them? There are a multitude of health career options available but many people are fixated on this one goal, that they refuse to open their minds to the other possibilities. I think undergraduate student really need to see the possibilities for careers.

 

[Arctic]

You bring up a great point. The main reason for this (that I've found) is that, well, high school students, and entering college freshman (about the same in my eyes) very rarely have enough knowledge/experience to really understand and evaluate the different career paths available to them. The truth is, a huge percentage of college freshman want to become a 'doctor or lawyer' but very few of them have seriously thought about this. I almost always here the generalized answers of 'money and helping people' used to justify these decisions, but all of us who have been through college know that once the reality hits them, almost all of these students will be weeded out.

So, high school kids/college freshman usually aren't that 'with it' so to speak. But should we honestly expect anything else?

 

[acetabulum7]

I get it ALL the time with my parents. Literally, every single day they bug me to apply to medical school even though I've told them countless times that I want to do Optometry instead. They refuse to believe it. For some reason it just does not compute. The best I can get out of my dad (and this was directed to my siblings) was, "Well, better than no license."

I like the analogy with the teachers. Some want to teach elementary school instead of at a university. Who cares? That is their choice. It's important to be ambitious, but there's plenty of room to be ambitious in your specific job. I mean, why be a county police, why not highway patrol? Why be Secretary of Defense, why not Vice President? Why climb Kilimanjaro, why not Mt. Everest???

 

[danielallen2008]

I get it ALL the time with my parents. Literally, every single day they bug me to apply to medical school even though I've told them countless times that I want to do Optometry instead. They refuse to believe it. For some reason it just does not compute. The best I can get out of my dad (and this was directed to my siblings) was, "Well, better than no license."

I like the analogy with the teachers. Some want to teach elementary school instead of at a university. Who cares? That is their choice. It's important to be ambitious, but there's plenty of room to be ambitious in your specific job. I mean, why be a county police, why not highway patrol? Why be Secretary of Defense, why not Vice President? Why climb Kilimanjaro, why not Mt. Everest???

In many respects I would not compare optometrists to highschool teachers and medical doctors to university professors, as one profession really should not be considered to be better than the other or for that matter "higher in the food chain". What about general practitioner's?? People seem to forget that a high percentage of medical students become general practitioners who find themselves being generalists working in small offices as associates or in hospitals doing the same thing day in and day out treating those with minor problems and referring others to specialists (which is what optometrists do as well). In my opinion this is not the glorified (way-better than optometry) profession that a lot of "pre-med" students fantasize about. I will be attending optometry school this August. My father is an Optometrist and I have been actively involved in his practice for years. I currently work as an Emergency Medical Technician, and I work along side medical doctors and nurses on a day to day basis. Medicine is not glorified, it is a profession that demands that your life and the lives of your family members comes secondary to the lifestyle of the profession, this is great for some people (and I applaud those that find personal success in this) while it is not condusive to the personal needs of others. I have many many reasons as to why I choose optometry over medicine, and I think that most of the "why not medicine speels" come from people who are ignorant to the pros and cons of both professions.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

In many respects I would not compare optometrists to highschool teachers and medical doctors to university professors, as one profession really should not be considered to be better than the other or for that matter "higher in the food chain". What about general practitioner's?? People seem to forget that a high percentage of medical students become general practitioners who find themselves being generalists working in small offices as associates or in hospitals doing the same thing day in and day out treating those with minor problems and referring others to specialists (which is what optometrists do as well). In my opinion this is not the glorified (way-better than optometry) profession that a lot of "pre-med" students fantasize about. I will be attending optometry school this August. My father is an Optometrist and I have been actively involved in his practice for years. I currently work as an Emergency Medical Technician, and I work along side medical doctors and nurses on a day to day basis. Medicine is not glorified, it is a profession that demands that your life and the lives of your family members comes secondary to the lifestyle of the profession, this is great for some people (and I applaud those that find personal success in this) while it is not condusive to the personal needs of others. I have many many reasons as to why I choose optometry over medicine, and I think that most of the "why not medicine speels" come from people who are ignorant to the pros and cons of both professions.

I think you may have missed the point about what i said (which is what acetabulum7 was referring to). I didnt mean it in the sense of "whose higher in the food chain", rather i ment it as "what are you more comfortable with." I think the analogy is ok. It is very different teaching in elementary school rather than university isnt it? It depends on what one prefers.

It would be foolish tell the happiest person (due to their job) in the world who is a 4th grade teacher, "why dont you get a PhD and teach at a university? its more reputable etc.. etc..." its similar to why parents and others should not tell pre-opt's, "why are you doing optometry? go into medicine" just because of reasons such as reputation or salary. I feel if a person has done enough research and gathering every information they can about a prospective profession, it should be their decision to do what they want.

 

[Commando303]

I feel the exact same way. MD's just seem like they're in it for the money and are just working to put in their time. While every optometrist I have met has always been willing to sit and answer any questions I have and seems to honestly be concerned with their patients well-being. Also, optometrists seem to get to know their patients better than MD's do. Whenever I'm in the office, all the employees are always talking about how they know their patients and how funny, mean, nice or cranky they are. It's a really heartening experience to be in an optometrists office.

Wow: what a broad, judgemental, stupid statement. Please don't supply the, "Hey, in my experience, this is how it is" defense; it's absurd to suggest M.D.s just want cash and O.D.s are these heartfelt doctors who're "in it" for the right reason and form meaningful, personal relationships with their patients. Physicians and optometrists — like people, altogether — run the range from great to ****ty.

 

[bobbio]

I feel the exact same way. MD's just seem like they're in it for the money and are just working to put in their time. While every optometrist I have met has always been willing to sit and answer any questions I have and seems to honestly be concerned with their patients well-being. Also, optometrists seem to get to know their patients better than MD's do. Whenever I'm in the office, all the employees are always talking about how they know their patients and how funny, mean, nice or cranky they are. It's a really heartening experience to be in an optometrists office.

What a ridiculous statement. I hope you mention this when you interview. Anyhow, to answer the OP's question - I think a lot people don't realize how different optometry and medicine really are. A lot people that aren't informed assume a profession that wears a white coat is comparable to medicine. I think there are some overlap but optometry's main focus isn't medicine and you'll probably see that in your education.

 

[JennieJoy]

What a ridiculous statement. I hope you mention this when you interview. Anyhow, to answer the OP's question - I think a lot people don't realize how different optometry and medicine really are. A lot people that aren't informed assume a profession that wears a white coat is comparable to medicine. I think there are some overlap but optometry's main focus isn't medicine and you'll probably see that in your education.

yikes. I'm sorry.

 

[spanisheyes]

i got asked something similar when I interviewed and I said it's not like I just wanted to be some kind of doctor and looked at all the possibilities, I want to be an optometrist. I do not want to be a medical doctor, those are two very different professions. I don't want to be a dentist. I want to be involved with vision. You don't just pick one, it's what you want to do for a living.

 

[poox]

I was asked that question during my interview at PCO.

When it comes down to it, there is something called "family" that most medical students will never know about...

Please fix your facts. Ophthalmologists(what you guys would have probably wanted to become if you wanted Medicine) have an amazing life style. This is the schedule for the guy I shadow:

M 9:00 - 1:00
T 9:00-2:00
W(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00
Th 9:00-2:00
F(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00

And paper work doesn't follow him home either

 

[achirum]

Please fix your facts. Ophthalmologists(what you guys would have probably wanted to become if you wanted Medicine) have an amazing life style. This is the schedule for the guy I shadow:

M 9:00 - 1:00
T 9:00-2:00
W(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00
Th 9:00-2:00
F(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00

And paper work doesn't follow him home either

Not going to lie, that is a pretty sweet schedule, only in relation to times.

 

[jharpsie]

I asked one of the optometrists at my office this very question. "Why did you choose optometry and not ophthalmology?" He mentioned a lot of what people said above...the extra school, how competitive it was, but one of his points I found pretty interesting. He said he is very interested in vision and the eyes and if he were to go to med school there is no guarantee that he would get to be an ophthalmologist. He told me that those types of residencies are very hard to get because a lot of M.D.s want to have good hours and not be on call as well.

 

[poox]

I asked one of the optometrists at my office this very question. "Why did you choose optometry and not ophthalmology?" He mentioned a lot of what people said above...the extra school, how competitive it was, but one of his points I found pretty interesting. He said he is very interested in vision and the eyes and if he were to go to med school there is no guarantee that he would get to be an ophthalmologist. He told me that those types of residencies are very hard to get because a lot of M.D.s want to have good hours and not be on call as well.

I agree with this response, humility is always good, but the ADCOMs might take the humility in the wrong way.. it makes him sound like he simply wasn't good enough... i would be careful with saying what is bolded above..

I am not a pre-opt student, but I would probably say something more constructive that can not be used to back fire against me... like saying I don't like surgery.. that is a legitimate solid point

 

[jharpsie]

I agree with this response, humility is always good, but the ADCOMs might take the humility in the wrong way.. it makes him sound like he simply wasn't good enough... i would be careful with saying what is bolded above..

I am not a pre-opt student, but I would probably say something more constructive that can not be used to back fire against me... like saying I don't like surgery.. that is a legitimate solid point

For sure. I wasn't saying that you should say these things in an interview. Just giving another person's perspective as to why he chose optometry over medicine.

 

[acetabulum7]

Please fix your facts. Ophthalmologists(what you guys would have probably wanted to become if you wanted Medicine) have an amazing life style. This is the schedule for the guy I shadow:

M 9:00 - 1:00
T 9:00-2:00
W(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00
Th 9:00-2:00
F(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00

And paper work doesn't follow him home either

He did say most medical students.

And he also said, "This certainly isn't to say that all medical doctors don't have a family life."

 

[LetMeBeADoc]

One of the optometrists I shadowed told me he really enjoyed the fact that most of the people he sees are already pretty happy and healthy when they walked into his office. He liked that a lot.

 

[SHAKEnBLAKE]

Please fix your facts. Ophthalmologists(what you guys would have probably wanted to become if you wanted Medicine) have an amazing life style. This is the schedule for the guy I shadow:

M 9:00 - 1:00
T 9:00-2:00
W(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00
Th 9:00-2:00
F(Surgery) 9:00 - 2:00

And paper work doesn't follow him home either

5 days a week. OUCH! jk.

I like to look at things from a patient point of view.
I like going to the optometrist, he doesn't hurt me like the dentist. I'm not necessarily sick or in pain when I see him. My recovery from my optometrist's is a couple hours. My point is that generally people don't mind seeing their optometrist, and that allows for a more positive atmosphere. Plus my optometrist always has a really funny dirty joke on hand for me Obviously I'm making generalizations, but I'm not out to prove that optometry is better than the other careers, just that I personally like it.