(I accidentally posted the same post in the wrong section. It was meant for this section.)
I'm curious as to what kind of answers the admission committee is looking for when they ask the question "why do you want to be a doctor". I mean, do they really want to know the real reason or am I suppose to just rehash the same, overplayed, scenarios that everyone else has used? Some common reasons I've heard include:
-I've wanted to be a doctor since I was a child
-I like helping people
-A loved one suffers from [X] and I want to make sure no one else suffers as well
-I love solving puzzles and the complexities of medicine
-Financial stability
-Medicine is always changing and there is always something new to learn
Don't get me wrong. I am sure these are valid reasons - but come on, everyone says the same thing. I tried explaining to a friend why I wanted to be a doctor and they said my reasoning wasn't good enough for the admissions committee. Or that the committee would not understand what I want to do. My views are a little different and I am coming from a different perspective. But how will they react to this?
The truth is, I have a passion for technology. A real, strong passion. I am currently a mobile application developer and I love it. I make good money and I enjoy what I do. But, I also have a passion for medicine. I hit the ground running in medicine. By the age of 16 I was a certified medical, nursing and occupational therapy assistant. By 17 I was working for a very large medical practice and I worked there for almost 5 years. Soon after that, I graduated with my BS in chemistry. When people ask me why I want to be a doctor, all I can think of is, "I know I can make a difference in the medical field". Not good enough, right?
But I believe the more important questions are HOW and WHY. Technology is one the driving forces behind medicine. Without it, where would we be? Technology, as well as research, are an absolutely integral part of medicine. But it is sort of like the chicken and the egg. Who came first? Anyway, as much as I enjoyed working with patients (after all, I had hands on time every day. I wasn't some clerk. I was working alongside physicians.) I also think that I can come up with new medical tools and procedures to make caring for patients easier and more efficient. A quick example is that, everything is going mobile. So with my background skills I could come up with something useful and give back to the medical field.
I want to be that driving force. I want to invent and think of the medical technologies that will be used tomorrow. I want to find easier ways for patients to connect with their physicians. For physicians to collaborate together more efficiently. For getting information to where it needs to go, faster. My friend also made the point that things like these already exist or are in the works. To that, I reply, "but it can always be improved". Medical technologies (including procedures and protocols) get outdated fairly quickly and the field will need people to help push it in a new direction. I want to be one of those people. The mobile applications I developer/invent are successful because they not only address a need, but also because they are innovative. In essence, I believe I can bring something to the table.
Sure, I am no Steve Jobs, but that doesn't mean I don't invent and solve problems pragmatically. Some might say that I should do some kind of research. But then that takes away from the other half of what I want to accomplish. As stated, I do enjoy helping people and solving complex medical mysteries. Who doesn't? I find working with patients to be both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time (even when I was just a simple MA). As for the money, I'd be leaving a well paying job, and enjoying a debt-free lifestyle so that I could be $250k in debt. Does it really sound like I'm in it for the money?
But after standing around for 5 years not being able to really help patients the way I wanted to (since I was only an MA), I feel like I'll finally have my say. That my input will matter. This really isn't about being authoritative or playing the 'I'm a doctor' card. I genuinely care about the wellbeing of my patients and working at the clinic has opened my eyes on what NOT to do or how NOT to deal with a situation. By learning from the mistakes of the physicians I have worked with, I can be an even better physician. I can be better at improving my patient's quality of life. It taught me how to do right by my patients. I thank my two mentors, who were both physicians at the clinic, for that. Through my experience I understood just how complex and intricate the human body is. I spent my time in college learning about the human body. It was exciting to see what I was learning be used in a real life situation.
So you see, my answer isn't simple. Even as I read a back on what I wrote, I feel the technology part seems to trump the actual clinical reasonings of being a physician. But what can I say that is both truthful, yet isn't a rehashed story? That is why it is impossible to just sum up everything into a few lines like most folks. There are many things I want to do when I become a physician. I haven't met anyone in the same boat as me and that could be good and bad. It's hard to convey what I am trying to say at times. For me, it's not a shift from the technology field to the medical field. It's an integration. A unified, cohesive entity. There's just no way I could do one without the other.
I was told by a friend that I shouldn't write or tell med schools about this. That I should just stick to the standard points because they will be worried that I won't give back to the community if I am focused on medical technology. I guess he just fails to understand that there are two parts to my ambition, but they go hand in hand. Maybe it's my fault for not being able to express what I want to say in a concise manner.
Anyway, if you've made it this far, I'd just like some input. Should I just be who I am and say the hell with what other say or should I just play it safe? What would you do?
TL;DR
I like technology. Currently working in the tech field (programmer). Reasons for being a doctor include: wanting to unravel medical mysteries, and also to create/invent/improve medical technologies. Nothing major (like inventing a new MRI machine or anything) but maybe something like a new EMR system or make mobile applications that can be used by physicians and patients. Is this a good enough reason to be a doctor?
I'm curious as to what kind of answers the admission committee is looking for when they ask the question "why do you want to be a doctor". I mean, do they really want to know the real reason or am I suppose to just rehash the same, overplayed, scenarios that everyone else has used? Some common reasons I've heard include:
-I've wanted to be a doctor since I was a child
-I like helping people
-A loved one suffers from [X] and I want to make sure no one else suffers as well
-I love solving puzzles and the complexities of medicine
-Financial stability
-Medicine is always changing and there is always something new to learn
Don't get me wrong. I am sure these are valid reasons - but come on, everyone says the same thing. I tried explaining to a friend why I wanted to be a doctor and they said my reasoning wasn't good enough for the admissions committee. Or that the committee would not understand what I want to do. My views are a little different and I am coming from a different perspective. But how will they react to this?
The truth is, I have a passion for technology. A real, strong passion. I am currently a mobile application developer and I love it. I make good money and I enjoy what I do. But, I also have a passion for medicine. I hit the ground running in medicine. By the age of 16 I was a certified medical, nursing and occupational therapy assistant. By 17 I was working for a very large medical practice and I worked there for almost 5 years. Soon after that, I graduated with my BS in chemistry. When people ask me why I want to be a doctor, all I can think of is, "I know I can make a difference in the medical field". Not good enough, right?
But I believe the more important questions are HOW and WHY. Technology is one the driving forces behind medicine. Without it, where would we be? Technology, as well as research, are an absolutely integral part of medicine. But it is sort of like the chicken and the egg. Who came first? Anyway, as much as I enjoyed working with patients (after all, I had hands on time every day. I wasn't some clerk. I was working alongside physicians.) I also think that I can come up with new medical tools and procedures to make caring for patients easier and more efficient. A quick example is that, everything is going mobile. So with my background skills I could come up with something useful and give back to the medical field.
I want to be that driving force. I want to invent and think of the medical technologies that will be used tomorrow. I want to find easier ways for patients to connect with their physicians. For physicians to collaborate together more efficiently. For getting information to where it needs to go, faster. My friend also made the point that things like these already exist or are in the works. To that, I reply, "but it can always be improved". Medical technologies (including procedures and protocols) get outdated fairly quickly and the field will need people to help push it in a new direction. I want to be one of those people. The mobile applications I developer/invent are successful because they not only address a need, but also because they are innovative. In essence, I believe I can bring something to the table.
Sure, I am no Steve Jobs, but that doesn't mean I don't invent and solve problems pragmatically. Some might say that I should do some kind of research. But then that takes away from the other half of what I want to accomplish. As stated, I do enjoy helping people and solving complex medical mysteries. Who doesn't? I find working with patients to be both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time (even when I was just a simple MA). As for the money, I'd be leaving a well paying job, and enjoying a debt-free lifestyle so that I could be $250k in debt. Does it really sound like I'm in it for the money?
But after standing around for 5 years not being able to really help patients the way I wanted to (since I was only an MA), I feel like I'll finally have my say. That my input will matter. This really isn't about being authoritative or playing the 'I'm a doctor' card. I genuinely care about the wellbeing of my patients and working at the clinic has opened my eyes on what NOT to do or how NOT to deal with a situation. By learning from the mistakes of the physicians I have worked with, I can be an even better physician. I can be better at improving my patient's quality of life. It taught me how to do right by my patients. I thank my two mentors, who were both physicians at the clinic, for that. Through my experience I understood just how complex and intricate the human body is. I spent my time in college learning about the human body. It was exciting to see what I was learning be used in a real life situation.
So you see, my answer isn't simple. Even as I read a back on what I wrote, I feel the technology part seems to trump the actual clinical reasonings of being a physician. But what can I say that is both truthful, yet isn't a rehashed story? That is why it is impossible to just sum up everything into a few lines like most folks. There are many things I want to do when I become a physician. I haven't met anyone in the same boat as me and that could be good and bad. It's hard to convey what I am trying to say at times. For me, it's not a shift from the technology field to the medical field. It's an integration. A unified, cohesive entity. There's just no way I could do one without the other.
I was told by a friend that I shouldn't write or tell med schools about this. That I should just stick to the standard points because they will be worried that I won't give back to the community if I am focused on medical technology. I guess he just fails to understand that there are two parts to my ambition, but they go hand in hand. Maybe it's my fault for not being able to express what I want to say in a concise manner.
Anyway, if you've made it this far, I'd just like some input. Should I just be who I am and say the hell with what other say or should I just play it safe? What would you do?
TL;DR
I like technology. Currently working in the tech field (programmer). Reasons for being a doctor include: wanting to unravel medical mysteries, and also to create/invent/improve medical technologies. Nothing major (like inventing a new MRI machine or anything) but maybe something like a new EMR system or make mobile applications that can be used by physicians and patients. Is this a good enough reason to be a doctor?
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