I was discussing this topic with my friend. The situation is, if you one day meet your self for 15 years into the future and he or she told you that you will be a great doctor. Would this help you or harm you in the present?
Would it not help? Then you would strive to live up to the potential that you know is waiting for you, to the fullest. It might also help you relax since if it's already destined that you will be a good doc, then you can focus more on important stuff (treatment of patients, etc etc et) instead of getting caught up in the negative aspects of med school and health care administration.
This is an interesting subject. When I was younger, my mom told me a very elaborate story about her chance meeting with a psychic. One day, when she was pregnant, she was walking towards a bus. An elderly woman chased her down and told her that she will have a boy and he will end up doing great things, or something of that nature. She told me the whole story when I was young, and I really believed it. I always tried my best to go 110% and succeed in whatever it is I put my mind to, and this mentality is still with me today. It was as if I knew I would be successful but I'd have to try hard anyway to make sure of it and to live upto it. Whether my mom told me the truth or not... I don't know. Another story: About 5 years, I was very sick. I went to at least 3-4 physicians and specialists and many tests were done on me. I was given medications based on the symptoms, but for weeks nothign happened. Then one night my mom said that she spoke with a person who was 100% sure what the problem was and that person gave her the cure. She said she dissolved the pill in my tea and told me that I were to drink that tea that night I would wake up the next morning all fine. That's exactly what happened, it was almost miraculous. Several years later, she told me it was just a placebo... regular tea that she would give me every day. This is one of many stories where my mom would do things like this. Powerful stuff. So this leads me to believe that there indeed was no such psychic (even though she still claims her story is true). Nonetheless, my "do it and succeed at it" mentality has already solidified itself irreversibly. limit
I really, really wish that I could meet my future version of myself and he could tell me what specialty I should pursue or stay clear of. That's when I think that I will figure it out, 15 yrs down the road, I will either be saying "d'oh" or "woohoo!" because I love or hate my job. So much can change in medicine so some specialties will be completely different in 15 yrs, further complicating any decision making now.
