Anyone else NOT interested in working with underserved _____?

[Baron S]

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I read about this all the time of SDN, "Oh, I went to Africa and I want to help all those poor innocent people!", or "Oh, I want to work in inner-cities with struggling youth!", or "Oh! I want to go on medical mission trips!" But for me...charity work just doesn't do it for me. I did some volunteering at a homeless shelter to (admittedly)bulk up my application and I really, really didn't like it. A lot of the people were ungrateful, the work conditions were pretty poor, and I just didn't feel like I was making enough of a difference to make up for it.

Anyone else have no interest at all in doing anything like that? My motivation for medicine doesn't have anything to do with charity...it has to do with the fact that I think medicine is cool and I think I'd be good at it. Is this a bad thing? Am I alone on this? Or does it just not make for a very compelling PS, so not a lot of people are willing to say it?

Are there any other people out there who just want to be a doctor because they want to be a doctor and don't really have aspirations of saving the world?

 

[Naijaba]

In my experience there are applicants like you, but they tend to have very very high grades/MCAT scores because they love learning the content. Some people also go into research, but they too somewhat wish to change the world.

 

[Cyradis]

While personally my motivation to do medicine does have a significant "charity" kind of aspect to it - I know a lot of my friends going into medical school DO think along the same lines as you. Of course, on their PS, they wrote about their desire to make a difference in the world etc. etc. but their main reasons are the same as yours - it's cool and they'd be good at it.

I like to think most people are somewhere in between though (as I am... maybe it's just that tendency for people to think everyone is like themselves)... a big part of it IS that I think medicine is cool, I think I'll enjoy it and I think I'd be good at it. If I didn't, I'd go into something else where I could make a difference to people, law, social work, education, etc. etc. But that power to do more for society and help those in need than... say... pushing paper at an insurance company probably IS a real attraction for many.

 

[plsfoldthx]

I don't really care about working with inner-city kids, but I'd love to work with rural populations in Africa or Asia who have very very limited access to healthcare. I just think it'd feel amazing to bring something like that to someplace that doesn't have anything at all.

 

[Elpenor]

I am like yo OP. Nothing wrong with that. Being a doctor isn't the best way to "save the world" anyways, and most people overstate their desire to help the undeserved.

 

[anfleisch]

I tend to think most idealization occurs in the pre-medicine phase. It seems most physicians still become realists when applying to residencies, since the highest paid are also the most competitive. And lifestyle becomes of prime concern.

 

[Nilf]

I read about this all the time of SDN, "Oh, I went to Africa and I want to help all those poor innocent people!", or "Oh, I want to work in inner-cities with struggling youth!", or "Oh! I want to go on medical mission trips!" But for me...charity work just doesn't do it for me. I did some volunteering at a homeless shelter to (admittedly)bulk up my application and I really, really didn't like it. A lot of the people were ungrateful, the work conditions were pretty poor, and I just didn't feel like I was making enough of a difference to make up for it.

Anyone else have no interest at all in doing anything like that? My motivation for medicine doesn't have anything to do with charity...it has to do with the fact that I think medicine is cool and I think I'd be good at it. Is this a bad thing? Am I alone on this? Or does it just not make for a very compelling PS, so not a lot of people are willing to say it?

Are there any other people out there who just want to be a doctor because they want to be a doctor and don't really have aspirations of saving the world?

By the time you graduate from medical school, your paycheck will be so low that your job will feel like charity work.

 

[Narmerguy]

By the time you graduate from medical school, your paycheck will be so low that your job will feel like charity work.

I tend to think most idealization occurs in the pre-medicine phase. It seems most physicians still become realists when applying to residencies, since the highest paid are also the most competitive. And lifestyle becomes of prime concern.

Becoming realists doesn't mean shedding one's desires to help underserved populations. Certainly people may not be willing to do it as cheaply anymore or perhaps make as many additional sacrifices to accomplish it but many doctor's still retain their desire to help others.

I am like yo OP. Nothing wrong with that. Being a doctor isn't the best way to "save the world" anyways, and most people overstate their desire to help the undeserved.

That's kinda true. I think a better way to describe a lot of feelings to helping the underserved would be "that would be nice" but they mistake this feeling for "I think that's important!". Thus why there's such a disparity between how much people are willing to commit to that ideal after the harshness of med school and residency/loans hits in. Suddenly it doesn't get as much lip service.

There's a very small portion of people I've met that I would actually expect to make good on their declarations of how much they care about the poor, etc and it is very easy to tell that their priorities do not lay like the rest of ours.

 

[NigerianDoc]

In my experience there are applicants like you, but they tend to have very very high grades/MCAT scores because they love learning the content. Some people also go into research, but they too somewhat wish to change the world.

I completely agree. Stick to research if you really don't like working with people. Medical schools are really looking for people who want to work with the poor because these people need health care the most. You should consider a MD/PhD program.

 

[morning]

I'm amazed no one's thrown up the troll sign yet...

As for me, I grew up poor and in a very rural area and I can't imagine living or working anywhere else. So if most rural areas are underserved, I'll be working with the underserved, but not because I have a need or desire to work with the underserved SPECIFICALLY. That just happens to be the environment (and I stress ENVIRONMENT...fresh air, no traffic!) I want to live in. But hopefully I can repay some of the charity and kindness I was given in my childhood, either with my income or with my free time. Clearly no one here has ever had public assistance turn the lights back on after 2 weeks of no electricity

 

[DrYoda]

I have zero interest in working with the undeserved. I'd be willing to go to Africa as a resident or attending to see a different group of diseases/presentations and nifty wildlife in my free time. But I certainly wouldn't pay to do it.

 

[eatlightningpt2]

I'd do it as part of my training but not for my career

 

[drizzt3117]

Honestly I think the vast majority of doctors don't work with the underserved outside of the context of their jobs...

 

[whimsical]

Well, in part I wrote about serving underserved populations in my PS because that happens to be the experience I've had the most of with patients. I also believe that I would enjoy working with these populations later in my career. But I think helping people doesn't necessarily just mean working with the underserved. It could mean helping a family that may be fairly well off deal with the chronic disease of a loved one.

Personally, I also have a strong interest in research. We need new treatments just as much as we need to help the underserved. For example, I'm interested in oncology, and I think I'd find working with those patients just as satisfying.

Of course, I'm sure I'll change my mind about things as time goes on, and I'm open to that.

 

[Bojangles85]

For every person who comes in b%tchen, there is a person who comes in who is grateful that we are helping them out. Some people are less....adapt to express their gratitude than other people.

 

[Baron S]

I'm amazed no one's thrown up the troll sign yet...

As for me, I grew up poor and in a very rural area and I can't imagine living or working anywhere else. So if most rural areas are underserved, I'll be working with the underserved, but not because I have a need or desire to work with the underserved SPECIFICALLY. That just happens to be the environment (and I stress ENVIRONMENT...fresh air, no traffic!) I want to live in. But hopefully I can repay some of the charity and kindness I was given in my childhood, either with my income or with my free time. Clearly no one here has ever had public assistance turn the lights back on after 2 weeks of no electricity

The word "troll" means something different than you think it means.

 

[Baron S]

Honestly I think the vast majority of doctors don't work with the underserved outside of the context of their jobs...

Would you agree that a lot of pre-meds just throw stuff like that into their interviews and PS's because it sounds really nice and they think that's what the ADCOMS want to hear? Because that is what I have come to suspect.

 

[teddy bear doc]

Sort of with you, but sort of not at the same time. I just want to help people (any and all!). If those people happen to be underserved, cool. If not, cool. Whether or not the patient population I will be working with is underserved will likely come down to a combination of where I want to live and where I get a job.

PS. Interesting name. Why him and not another loa?

 

[Cyradis]

Huh? I never said I don't like working with people. I'm just not gonna be the type of doctor who hops on rickety planes to Africa and combats malaria and insurgents to deliver healthcare.

Or the type of doctor who risks getting shanked in downtown Detroit doing pro bono work for some homeless guy.

What if I don't even like research? I think it's silly to assume that researchers "don't like working with people."

Hm, I don't think you have to be the type who's going to work in the middle of a war zone to make a difference to the underserved. You can 100% care about the plight of the underserved/poor without wanting to do pro bono work in an area where you'll probably get mugged. I wrote about my interest in helping the underserved (although it wasn't a focus) in my PS, but I wrote about how I wanted to do it through health policy measures. I.e. if we're talking about Africa, I'd be in Geneva with the WHO or something, not on the ground treating individuals all day long. (just an example, no idea if I'll actually do this, but you get my drift).

 

[drizzt3117]

Would you agree that a lot of pre-meds just throw stuff like that into their interviews and PS's because it sounds really nice and they think that's what the ADCOMS want to hear? Because that is what I have come to suspect.

Yes and no. In my class there's a lot of people who've done a lot to help the underserved, going way above and beyond what people would expect to do for no particular qualitative gain. One of my best friends in med school worked really hard to help minorities in our community and was really surprised when me and others nominated him for a scholarship, he didn't think he deserved it but ended up winning. Others are doing a special urban track where they'll do 3-4th year in the inner city helping underserved people, the track only had 8 spots and like 20 ppl applied.

That said, there's a bunch of people who couldn't care less about the underserved. It's just a mix.

Personally I'm more interested in helping everyone on a broader level through research.

 

[petyr_baelish]

A lot of the people were ungrateful, the work conditions were pretty poor, and I just didn't feel like I was making enough of a difference to make up for it.

Anyone else have no interest at all in doing anything like that?

If I'm going to risk getting robbed, raped, held hostage and/or murdered while working in unsanitary, god-awful conditions, the people better want my help. I can't imagine the slap in the face you experienced helping smelly homeless people and they were ungrateful! 😱

I do like the idea of giving my time and specialised knowledge away for free on occasion, but only if they make the effort to come to me and wait in line. If they need transportation, Oprah can sponsor them for all I care. Beyond that, I don't mind attending charity balls where cocktails are served. If i can wear a slinky red dress for AIDS then I'm all for it.

 

[ObLaDi]

Being dedicated and passionate about what you DO want to do is more important than wanting to cure the ills of the third world.

 

[Baron S]

Being dedicated and passionate about what you DO want to do is more important than wanting to cure the ills of the third world.

Exactly!

And I've been doing research on different specialties, and concierge medicine sounds like exactly the type of thing I'd like to do. I'm very excited to look more into it.

 

[Perrotfish]

OP, yes there are many like you. I'm not sure how I feel about what you're saying from a moral perspective, but I will admit I find honesty more attractive than people who are self rightous about their commitment to the third world right up until they are called on to commit.

If I'm going to risk getting robbed, raped, held hostage and/or murdered while working in unsanitary, god-awful conditions, the people better want my help. I can't imagine the slap in the face you experienced helping smelly homeless people and they were ungrateful! 😱

I do like the idea of giving my time and specialised knowledge away for free on occasion, but only if they make the effort to come to me and wait in line. If they need transportation, Oprah can sponsor them for all I care. Beyond that, I don't mind attending charity balls where cocktails are served. If i can wear a slinky red dress for AIDS then I'm all for it.

I find this post more interestig when I assume that you're a dude.