From what age did you want to be doctor?

[r7p3]

I actually wanted to be a doctor from the age of 6, probably because I really liked science and my parents' friends were doctors.

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[WedgeDawg]

I would say like early high school (9th, maybe 10th grade)

 

[FrugalMuscle]

Six?! It took me like 22+ years to decide on becoming a doctor..

 

[MCATerina]

Ever since I was young, I enjoyed helping people, and I particularly liked the idea of helping sick people feel better. However, I didn't like the term doctor until I was a good bit older, because of bad experiences with doctors/hospitals, and with people who said they wanted to be doctors. I eventually came to the conclusion that doctors were actually pretty cool, and those experiences were flukes more than anything.

Before I reached this conclusion, I was set on being an engineer, because I like science, I always want to know how things work, and I like fixing/improving things.Plus engineers help people. However, I quickly found that this career wasn't enough for me- I wanted to help people in a more direct manner than an engineer does.

Sooo.... take that answer how you will.


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[BeddingfieldMD]

Around 20-21. Committed to it at 23. Took MCAT at 24, accepted at age 25. Started just after turning 26.

Finished med school at 30, residency at 34, fellowship at 35. Now a couple years into practice at 37.

It takes up a lot of your life, but no regrets!


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[efle]

From a survey of thousands of matriculating students last year:

 

[Turkishking]

I actually wanted to be a doctor from the age of 6, probably because I really liked science and my parents' friends were doctors.

17

 

[Thomato]

I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 14 years old. I've always had an affinity for science and math, and I was a precocious child in regard to social skills. But it wasn't until an annual wellness checkup that I wanted to be a doctor. The doctor, my family's GP of many years, asked me how school was going, which led to me asking him what medical school was like. We chatted a little bit more, and then the conversation subsided. A few minutes later, after he was finished listening to my heart, he frankly said, "I think you'd be a great doctor." As simple as that statement was, it really resonated with me. In the following weeks, I researched medicine and the road to becoming a physician. I became more fascinated by the profession after every article I read, video I watched, and interview I listened to. After a few months, I started volunteering at a local hospital, and about a year later I finally got to shadow my family doctor--the same one who inspired me to go into medicine; he was absolutely delighted to see my interest in and enthusiasm for a career as a physician.

TL;DR -- I was 14.

 

[FlameBroiledDoc]

Many of us are conditioned (programmed?) to want to enter medicine from a pretty young age, and the grooming process starts in high school. There's also a big discrepancy between wanting to get into med school and wanting to be a doctor.

 

[Doc7-11]

Since I was 12 years old then I gave up after I was introduced to high school science and maths but when I was 16 I renewed that passion and here I am a year later, working my a*s off.

 

[SweetBurger]

Right when the sperm and egg fused.

 

[Podstar]

Had the thought in high school, but did not 100% decide until my junior year of college.

 

[Stagg737]

I really wanted to be a vet when I was in elementary school/middle school. Kind of changed my mind to physician or something in human healthcare in H.S. b/c I thought it was more practical (way harder to get into vet school and pays much less afterwards). Was pre-med throughout college but really made the final decision sometime in sophomore/junior year when I started working with physicians. I was 100% positive I wanted to go into ortho or sports med.

That was 8 years ago, and I was still solidly set on some form of sports med until about 3 months ago when I fell in love with psychiatry after doing my 3rd year rotation (which was pretty shocking b/c my dad has a PhD in neuropsych and I hated neuro).

Something I tell everyone who hasn't gotten as far as me is that it's great to have a goal/passion/dream, but keep an open mind and don't shut any doors before you know what's behind them.

 

[mpatel17]

I was groomed to be an engineer in High School. I'm Senior in High School and realize I want to be a doctor. I did an internship at Ford Motor Company HQ in Mechanical Engineering field. And it was horrible. I didn't like it at all. I also did an internship at the local Trauma 1 hospital shadowing Psychiatist and Emergency Doctors and Nuero Surgeons which were the fields that interested me. And I loved it! I plan on attending Wayne State University in the fall for my Pre-Med reqs, Biochemistry and Spanish!

 

[SunnyDO]

I popped out of my mother's womb ready to become a doctor...
Jk.

Became interested in going Pre-Med when I was 15.
When I started college, I enrolled as a Pre-med.
Between 18-21 I worked a myriad of jobs to explore different career options.
Nothing really fascinated me as much as medicine - By 21 I fully dedicated myself to becoming a doctor.

@mpatel17 I went to Wayne State for undergrad. Great school. Small world.