Input please...

[Ace5813]

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Hi, I'm a 15 year old junior in high school. I know that what I am about to say is going to make most of you cringe because I have been here long enough to know that, but here goes: Watching ER made me want to become a doctor. Now, let me explain a little. During the summer of 2003, I started to watch ER regularly on TNT. As far as I can remember, I have always said that I was going to go into psychology or journalism- both very different from medicine. This past summer, I was watching ER again when at some point it hit me: I only "wanted" to go into those fields because I was either good at them or it seemed like a good idea. Therefore, I never truly "wanted" to go into either of those two fields. Between watching ER and hearing the conversations of some of my older friends who are pre-med, I realized that I wanted to become a doctor. Yet the difference between my intrest in medicine and the other two, is that I knew nothing about medicine, yet it was something that I found myself so deeply interested in, I would watch ER everyday, just to watch them work in an ER and here the medical language they used. Now trust me, I realize that ER is a heavily dramatisized, and that surgeons do not get their arms chopped off by helicopters. But I have these few requests from those of you more knowledgable than myself: How close is the show ER to the real thing? And since most of you have either gone through pre-med curriculum or are going through it now, andy input on what I will be faced with in college and beyond would be greatly appreciated. Also, one thing you should know is that my particular field of intrest in EM. I also keep a binder full of notes I take when I have the chance on things I might encounter en route to working in an ER (things like names of instruments, diseases, basic ER language, things like that). Your input is greatly appreciated. Thank you all very much for your help!
-Caitlin

 

[sunsweet]

real ER's are pretty boring. actually, if u go to an urban/poor neighborhood, their ER might be exciting. I would recommend u do some volunteer work like in a hospital/shadowing a physician to see what it's like. Since ur interested in EM, it would probably be fun/interesting for you to become an EMT and you will be able to see it for yourself. good luck!

 

[Addicted To SDN]

The TV show ER is nothing like the real thing. You are not always running around trying to save the world...there are ups and downs. Volunteer in the ER and find out for yourself. That is the only way you will know whether or not you want to be a doc.

 

[beanbean]

Good advice about becoming an EMT. I got my cert as a senior in high school and I am still active in volunteer EMS at the ripe old age of 36. The class is about 120 hours long.

Another option is to volunteer in an ED. Give a call to the volunteer services at your local hospital.

I do not find EDs boring...its my favorite place to be. You see the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. As far as being like the TV show - not really. The earlier episodes of ER were a bit more realistic than the past dew years have been. A better, more realistic view of the ED can be seen on TLC's Trauma: Life in the ER. They still focus on the more dramatic cases, but at least its real footage.

 

[fielight]

the first thing i would suggest is to stop taking notes off of the show... it will mean very, very little once you start in med school or work in a medical environment. watch ER as entertainment only, don't take it too seriously. one perspective that i've gained since coming to med school is that much of medicine is like a crapshoot... you throw things/medications at the patient and see what works (e.g., i've noticed that doctors give amoxicillin like they give out candy... kid comes in with a sore throat, and they give him amoxicillin 3x a day for 10 days, even though the test for strep throat takes about 30 seconds to do). the actors on ER tend to order a whole plethora of tests; the truth is, real doctors wouldn't do that because they can identify the likely causes of a symptom and will more often act on these typical signs than order an exam (besides, a basic physical exam and taking vital signs can eliminate the need for a lot of the tests they insist on doing on ER).

i'll be honest, i watched ER in high school and found it very inspirational. but that wasn't the only reason i wanted to go into medicine; it would be a very superficial reason and wouldn't be justifiable for the rigors of med school and residency. you should think about why else you might want to go into medicine, because the romanticism associated with the white coat and a stethoscope is just not going to cut it. but it also sounds like you're fascinated with the disease and physiology aspects of ER... and if that's the case (where you have a true interest and the burning desire to learn all about the human body and the mechanisms of life), then i think it's a perfectly good reason to want to pursue medicine.

 

[Dr. Chiquita]

Hi OP,

I think it depends on where a hospital is located. For example, I volunteered in the ER around my suburban neighborhood. It was quite boring. But my sister volunteered for a hospital in NYC and she got to see more action like the "ER show", gun shots, car accidents, etc. Maybe you want to shadow an ER doc who might be able to show you what really goes on in there. Good luck!

 

[vikaskoth]

volunteer in a hospital, ask your family doc questions, watch them tlc shows, i've seen The Residents a couple times, its alright might be a more realistic view into a young doctors life

 

[sunsweet]

Hi OP,

I think it depends on where a hospital is located. For example, I volunteered in the ER around my suburban neighborhood. It was quite boring. But my sister volunteered for a hospital in NYC and she got to see more action like the "ER show", gun shots, car accidents, etc. Maybe you want to shadow an ER doc who might be able to show you what really goes on in there. Good luck!

my point exactly. I volunteered in a "nice" neighborhood ER for a whole summer, and although at times it got busy, there wasn't really much to do. we did get a few interesting cases but for the most part it was ok. I'm also an EMT, which has been a really worthwhile experience. once we transported a patient to a trauma center hospital in an urban neighborhood, and I saw patient in the ER ask the nurse for a bottle of coke sitting on the counter. she was looking right at him as he grabbed the coke, shoved a whole bottle of pills in his mouth and swallowed them with the coke. it was pretty freaky.

 

[HeySha]

Ace- you also asked about pre-med curriculum and I can tell you that it sucks...unless BioSci or BioChem is your major or you just thoroughly enjoy classes like Ochem (Which is a rarity, but those people are out there). These courses do vary though widely based on the college/university you attend. I know at a UC, they're killer, but at many state schools (At least in my state), I heard they're far easier.

As for experiences, I'll also throw my vote in for the EMT stuff as I am also an EMT and the experiences you can get doing that are awesome. If you want to do something right now though, definitely volunteer at your local ER and get some good jobshadowing experience. I don't know how you feel about sports medicine but if your high school has an athletic training room, you might want to see about working in there a little bit because the injuries you can be exposed to through that might pique your interest.

Oh, and maybe um ENJOY HIGH SCHOOL! 🙂 Good luck.

 

[Ace5813]

Thank for all of your input, it really does help. I think another reason why I am so interested in EM is that I think I would really enjoy going to work every day knowing that I will probably save somebody's life, or make people better. I want to know that I'm making a difference. Also, a few more questions. BeanBean- You said that you became a certified EMT as a senior in high school. Is there a certain age that you have to be before you can become certified, because I have also thought that that would be a great idea for me to do to get a better feel for what goes on in EM. And about volunteering, how would I go about it and what do most volunteers get to do? And one more thing (I promise), How would I go about shadowing a doctor? Thanks again for all of your help, it is greatly appreciated. 🙂

 

[TTSD]

Well, if you have a Family doctor, that might be a good place to start. But the best would be to start volunteering at a hospital. I remember when I was about your age, I started and I somehow got really lucky and ended up volunteering in the coag. lab by freak chance. It was an amazing experience, as I followed the staff as they went around the hospital and helped doctors collect samples. Plus, volunteering teaches you bedside manner and the mundane things like how to properly push a wheelchair.

As people have said before though, ER has little to no bearing in real life.. unless you're like a USC-county :-D Though I can understand your sentiments about becoming an ED.

But you're still young.. right now, just focus on getting into a good college and figuring out what you REALLY want first before going gung-ho. Your idealizations of medicine and what it really is may be two totally different things.

When I started shadowing/researching for a neurosurgeon, I almost quit. You'd think neurosurgeons would have interesting lives. But for the most part in surgical prep, we'd sit and look at MRIs, use GEOMETRY to calculate trajectories.. use PHYSICS to calculate resistance and ohms.. then when the actual surgery came about all it was was a little hole and me sitting in front of a machine looking at numbers.

Of course, that's the exciting part. Clinicals, you sit there seeing almost the same patients time and time again. Listen, give 'em some drugs, a shot, maybe adjust a shunt, listen to a drug rep, go shoot something in the parking lot and run away before the cops come.. all pretty routine.

But you'll have to find out yourself if you love it or hate it. In the end I loved because I could see the impact it was making, and I loved trying to figure it all out. We'd sit hours after the last patient left scouring journals trying to piece together the mysteries of life.

But hey, you're still young.. you'll figure it out.

 

[beanbean]

Call your state's office of emergency services or department of health and ask about the minimum age requirements in your state. Many states follow the National Registry (NREMT) guidelines and certification - check out their website as well. In Connecticut where I am I think the minimum age is 16.

Call around in your area and find out how the EMS system works where you live. Some towns have volunteer services, larger towns and cities tend to have private companies who have paid EMT/Paramedic employees. In some areas, EMS is part of the fire departement (some are paid/some are volunteer). Most paid EMTs must be 18 and sometimes 21 to get hired due to insurance restrictions requiring a minimum age for the driver of the ambulance.

There are police, fire, and EMS explorer programs in many areas which are a great way for highschoolers to get training and experience in the emergency service of their choice. In addition, when you start looking at college, some universities have student run ambulance services you can volunteer with.

Have fun exploring medicine! There are many fields in which you can truly make a difference in someone's life.

 

[Darko]

I only "wanted" to go into those fields because I was either good at them or it seemed like a good idea. Therefore, I never truly "wanted" to go into either of those two fields.

This is a great idea to enter medicine.

Between watching ER and hearing the conversations of some of my older friends who are pre-med, I realized that I wanted to become a doctor.

This is a little worse, yet still valid reason to investigate medicine.

I would watch ER everyday, just to watch them work in an ER and here the medical language they used. Now trust me, I realize that ER is a heavily dramatisized,

You're right -- it is heavily dramatized. The role of a EM physician is more primary care-oriented than the show would have you believe. There's also a lot of hard work that goes into becoming a doc. Four years in college, four harder years in med school, then 3-8 in residency, and a fellowship if you so choose. Do not become a doctor because it looks sexy and they use big words. Do it because you like intellectual stimulation, working with people, and don't mind dedicating your life to strangers instead of your family.