I've shadowed doctors and I can't see myself doing it? Is this a warning sign?

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ss123

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Should I be concerned? So far I've shadowed:
1) An internist at his private practice (~50 hours)
2) An academic radiation oncologist at a large hospital (~5 hours)

I guess I've also "observed" a dermatology and an ENT at their practices from going there a lot for appointments and such. I understand that my experience is really limited.

I do cancer research in the rad onc's lab, too.

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid or entitled, but none of this stuff has "blown my mind" or really made me excited about wanting to be a doctor. Everything's a variation on the same theme... you've got a patient sitting there in an exam room or whatever and you go in and talk to them about whatever problem and then you figure out a course of action. It's very procedural and oftentimes the treatment is "routine" even for something like cancer. Radiation oncology has interesting technology and stuff but you aren't dealing with it all the time, and even then you're an end-user not an innovator (and you're not even the person who operates the machinery).

Should I be worried if I can't see myself enjoying this kind of this for the rest of my life? I'm a sophomore right now. Or, should I shadow more types of doctors: radiologists, pathologists, EM docs, surgeons, etc.?
 
Why do you want to be a doctor? Not sarcastic, I'm genuinely trying to help you find out what you want to do.
 
Being a doctor is not like on TV. Most of the stuff you see, you'll see over and over again, and it will be "procedural." There might be some kinks thrown in every now and then, but don't expect it to be lupus 100% of the time.
 
ss123 said:
Should I be concerned? So far I've shadowed:
1) An internist at his private practice (~50 hours)
2) An academic radiation oncologist at a large hospital (~5 hours)

I guess I've also "observed" a dermatology and an ENT at their practices from going there a lot for appointments and such. I understand that my experience is really limited.

I do cancer research in the rad onc's lab, too.

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid or entitled, but none of this stuff has "blown my mind" or really made me excited about wanting to be a doctor. Everything's a variation on the same theme... you've got a patient sitting there in an exam room or whatever and you go in and talk to them about whatever problem and then you figure out a course of action. It's very procedural and oftentimes the treatment is "routine" even for something like cancer. Radiation oncology has interesting technology and stuff but you aren't dealing with it all the time, and even then you're an end-user not an innovator (and you're not even the person who operates the machinery).

Should I be worried if I can't see myself enjoying this kind of this for the rest of my life? I'm a sophomore right now. Or, should I shadow more types of doctors: radiologists, pathologists, EM docs, surgeons, etc.?
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Why do you want to be a doctor? What motivates you to shadow doctors and see what they do all day? What kind of career do you want? As the poet, Mary Oliver wrote, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?"
 
have you tried shadowing a surgeon? While surgery can also be a lot of "following protocols," there might still be a bit more "improvisation" on the surgeon's part, and that might interest you more than the doctors you've shadowed thus far. I don't know, maybe something to consider.
 
moocow47 said:
Why do you want to be a doctor? Not sarcastic, I'm genuinely trying to help you find out what you want to do.
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LizzyM said:
Why do you want to be a doctor? What motivates you to shadow doctors and see what they do all day? What kind of career do you want? As the poet, Mary Oliver wrote, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?"
Click to expand...

I consider myself a problem-solver and I come from that kind of background. But instead of thinking about abstract problems that have no practical relevance (which I used to do since I was really into math), it satisfies me more to solve problems that can directly benefit society or people in some way. It's the same thought process but there's more impact. Being a doctor is as close as you can get (IMO) to having the "solution" to someone else's (very important) problem (namely their health).
 
Seeks physicians in other specialties. Perhaps you were not interested in those 2.
 
ss123 said:
I consider myself a problem-solver and I come from that kind of background. But instead of thinking about abstract problems that have no practical relevance (which I used to do since I was really into math), it satisfies me more to solve problems that can directly benefit society or people in some way. It's the same thought process but there's more impact. Being a doctor is as close as you can get (IMO) to having the "solution" to someone else's (very important) problem (namely their health).
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There are plenty of other careers out there that involve problem saving that directly affects people's lives, both medical and non-medical. Why medicine specifically?
 
Doctor Strange said:
There are plenty of other careers out there that involve problem saving that directly affects people's lives, both medical and non-medical. Why medicine specifically?
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I know this is a really dumb answer, but I don't think I'm smart enough to make as big of an impact in directly academic fields. I addressed the non-medical part: I think medicine has the most important problems right now. But to make a big splash in straight-up chemistry or biology research you've gotta basically be a genius. Going through the Ph.D., postdoc, academic path is a huge ordeal. And as far as I know, the research is a few steps "removed" from the patients themselves. Even the kind of cancer research I'm working now, will, in the best case, contribute to a clinical trial several years down the line. But for doctors, the problem is immediate and direct (right in front of you) and whatever skills you have can be applied to yield better health for the patient within weeks or months at most.
 
Irish Football said:
have you tried shadowing a surgeon? While surgery can also be a lot of "following protocols," there might still be a bit more "improvisation" on the surgeon's part, and that might interest you more than the doctors you've shadowed thus far. I don't know, maybe something to consider.
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La Presse said:
Seeks physicians in other specialties. Perhaps you were not interested in those 2.
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Yes, I think shadowing a surgical specialty would be a good idea.
 
I would shadow other specialties. I watched an ENT for some time...wasn't big on the frequent cerumen impactions. Went to ER and it's epic.
 
The unfortunate truth is that most high-skilled jobs are routine. It is hard to be very good at something if it is not routine (at least routine to you). For instance, Shaun White probably finds doing this routine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y43FolFlY78

But at the same time, he really enjoys doing it. Lawyers, engineers, teachers... they all have routine jobs, especially after 10 years in the field. To be really happy in any field, you have to enjoy the routine in that field just like the small variations and challenges.

If you shadowed a Rad Onc, you might have seen a tumor board. If you didn't, I highly recommend sitting in on one. Essentially, a group of physicians from all different specialties come together to discuss the toughest cases. One or two medical/radiation/surgical oncologists, a radiologist, a pathologist and sometimes a couple others discuss diagnosis and how to best treat (or not treat) the patient. These cases were the small challenges or variations for Rad Oncs I shadowed. For the most part, it's much of the same, but these challenges are like Shaun adding 180* more to his triple quadruple super mctwist.

Getting involved in research is also something physicians are lucky enough to have the opportunity to do if they want to spice things up and challenge themselves.

I am glad you are being self aware, but also make sure you do not get grass-is-greener syndrome. All the advice above has been pretty good.
 
Mt Kilimanjaro said:
So you liked the disimpactions in the ED?🙂
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Lol although it's true a lot of office stuff is starting to show up in the ER I don't see an excessive amount of it. I suppose the variety is what got me.
 
ss123 said:
I know this is a really dumb answer, but I don't think I'm smart enough to make as big of an impact in directly academic fields. . . . But to make a big splash in straight-up chemistry or biology research you've gotta basically be a genius. Going through the Ph.D., postdoc, academic path is a huge ordeal. And as far as I know, the research is a few steps "removed" from the patients themselves. Even the kind of cancer research I'm working now, will, in the best case, contribute to a clinical trial several years down the line. But for doctors, the problem is immediate and direct (right in front of you) and whatever skills you have can be applied to yield better health for the patient within weeks or months at most.
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I know a lot of non-genius people who happily pursued PhDs because they were really, passionately interested in that area of research. Maybe to "make a splash" you do need to be a genius, but are you in it for the approval of others and a few minutes of "fame" or are you in it because you're intrinsically motivated to do it? You really need to find out what you want to do because you truly like to do it, not because it looks good on paper. Academia can be competitive but there are lots of other interesting things you can do with a graduate research degree too.

If as a pre-med I had to choose a "more grueling" path between MD/residency and PhD, I'd think that the MD/residency path is definitely the "bigger ordeal". There are people who burn out in both (based on what I've seen, mostly because it turns out to not be a great fit and/or life issues arise), but in a PhD program at least you can exit after the MS if you find out it's not a good fit and still get a decent job. And you are most often paid a stipend, so you aren't investing huge sums in your education. If you leave med school halfway, you're in a really tough situation. I don't think that most docs are curing people left and right, either (although, depends on the specialty). It seems like a lot of what today's medicine involves is managing chronic conditions, and that might be frustrating if you want every patient to be a clean fix.

I agree that you might want to shadow some other docs, but I'd also say to not try to talk yourself into medicine until you've explored some other areas.
 
EnginrTheFuture said:
The unfortunate truth is that most high-skilled jobs are routine. It is hard to be very good at something if it is not routine (at least routine to you). For instance, Shaun White probably finds doing this routine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y43FolFlY78

But at the same time, he really enjoys doing it. Lawyers, engineers, teachers... they all have routine jobs, especially after 10 years in the field. To be happy in any field, you primarily have to enjoy the routine in that field, not just the small variations and challenges.
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That's true and a very good point. I guess every day can't be some sort of challenge or puzzle -- that would get tiring after a while.
If you shadowed a Rad Onc, you might have seen a tumor board. If you didn't, I highly recommend sitting in on one. Essentially, a group of physicians from all different specialties come together to discuss the toughest cases. One or two medical/radiation/surgical oncologists, a radiologist, a pathologist and sometimes a couple others discuss diagnosis and how to best treat (or not treat) the patient. These cases were the small challenges or variations for Rad Oncs I shadowed. For the most part, it's much of the same, but these challenges are like Shaun adding 180* more to his triple quadruple super mctwist.
Click to expand...
I actually did get to see this! It was very intimidating squeaking open the door to see a bunch of rad oncs staring me down (a lowly undergrad). I'm pretty sure they had no idea who I was. And yes, it was very interesting -- the whole room was basically discussing how to treat a few tough patients. And I also got to see a talk on a paper and the depth of the presenter's knowledge was pretty impressive. So it wasn't all bad.

Getting involved in research is also something physicians are lucky enough to have the opportunity to do if they want to spice things up and challenge themselves.

I am glad you are being self aware, but also make sure you do not get grass-is-greener syndrome. All the advice above has been pretty good.
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Thanks for your advice. I think maybe getting involved in academic research or going the academic route would be a better fit for me since there's that added intellectual element.
 
lovesfall said:
I know a lot of non-genius people who happily pursued PhDs because they were really, passionately interested in that area of research. Maybe to "make a splash" you do need to be a genius, but are you in it for the approval of others and a few minutes of "fame" or are you in it because you're intrinsically motivated to do it? You really need to find out what you want to do because you truly like to do it, not because it looks good on paper. Academia can be competitive but there are lots of other interesting things you can do with a graduate research degree too.

If as a pre-med I had to choose a "more grueling" path between MD/residency and PhD, I'd think that the MD/residency path is definitely the "bigger ordeal". There are people who burn out in both (based on what I've seen, mostly because it turns out to not be a great fit and/or life issues arise), but in a PhD program at least you can exit after the MS if you find out it's not a good fit and still get a decent job. And you are most often paid a stipend, so you aren't investing huge sums in your education. If you leave med school halfway, you're in a really tough situation. I don't think that most docs are curing people left and right, either (although, depends on the specialty). It seems like a lot of what today's medicine involves is managing chronic conditions, and that might be frustrating if you want every patient to be a clean fix.

I agree that you might want to shadow some other docs, but I'd also say to not try to talk yourself into medicine until you've explored some other areas.
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I understand that, but I also figure that the initial idealism and "passion" must wear off after a while, and then you'll want to know if what you're doing is actually meaningful. I've been in contact with a lot of academic mathematicians and many of them produce "good enough" work after a while that allows them to stay afloat. Most people don't try to tackle the big problems, and even if they try they fail. So you're left with small problems in a narrow field with minimal impact -- unless, of course, you're one of those "geniuses" that can solve a big one. IMO, it's too much of a gamble to go into academia if the most-likely scenario is work with minimal "real-world" impact.

I think you're right about M.D./residency being more physically grueling, but the pressure to write a thesis is also huge. M.D.'s are not forced to produce truly original work. As a resident, as far as I know, if you follow orders and procedures, you'll do fine. You can't do that with original research. There's a chance that your project won't bear any results, or that your proof is flawed, or that you're unable to come up with anything at all. And past the Ph.D. stage, your continued survival in academia is contingent upon your ability to keep producing original work -- for the rest of your career. Of course, you can produce low-quality work, but those people never make it to tenure, even in their 50's and 60's. At least to me, that seems a lot more stressful than what an internist (say) is required to do, which is to apply a core set of knowledge/skills over and over in a few different contexts.
 
ss123 said:
Should I be concerned? So far I've shadowed:
1) An internist at his private practice (~50 hours)
2) An academic radiation oncologist at a large hospital (~5 hours)

I guess I've also "observed" a dermatology and an ENT at their practices from going there a lot for appointments and such. I understand that my experience is really limited.

I do cancer research in the rad onc's lab, too.

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid or entitled, but none of this stuff has "blown my mind" or really made me excited about wanting to be a doctor. Everything's a variation on the same theme... you've got a patient sitting there in an exam room or whatever and you go in and talk to them about whatever problem and then you figure out a course of action. It's very procedural and oftentimes the treatment is "routine" even for something like cancer. Radiation oncology has interesting technology and stuff but you aren't dealing with it all the time, and even then you're an end-user not an innovator (and you're not even the person who operates the machinery).

Should I be worried if I can't see myself enjoying this kind of this for the rest of my life? I'm a sophomore right now. Or, should I shadow more types of doctors: radiologists, pathologists, EM docs, surgeons, etc.?
Click to expand...



I thought I wanted to go into orthopaedics until I watched a surgery. I watched neuro and loved every minute of it. Just look around.
 
Hey ss123, I wonder if it started to feel (boringly) routine because you were there for so many hours, but you still didn't get to know the patients. Did you really get to know the patients's history and how that patient changed over time? That's one of the most important aspects of being a good doctor.

I also thought that maybe you should try to shadow different specialists id you're really concerned that this isn't the right field for you. And then, work in the ER. There isn't the same kind of routine there as you'd find in an oncologist office.
 
A lot of what I observed was boring as hell. Then again, that's life. Every now and then I would see something cool.
 
Medicine isn't meant to "blow your mind"....it's a career, and has general similarities to other careers.

Your life doesn't have to be nobel prize after nobel prize, you seem to be setting very high expectations for life. You just need to find a career that you can work for the rest of your working life. If you can't see yourself doing medicine than it's not for you, but if it's more along the lines of "medicine seems like very little fun" or "medicine seems boring and mundane much of time" - most careers are. We aren't all going to be Paul Farmers and it's obviously nothing like television.

Again, if the problem is you can't see yourself doing the career, then maybe you should do something else. If you want to be the creator of technology and not just the user of it, then consider engineering.
 
If basic science research doesn't get you jazzed up look into things like epidemiology, clinical research, and biostatistics (with your math background). Also second checking out engineering fields, maybe as they relate to medicine.

Finally, I agree with Geebeejay, you don't need to be the rock star in your field. When you're looking you need to find something where you're happy doing what the average professional in that field does.
 
ss123 said:
I consider myself a problem-solver and I come from that kind of background. But instead of thinking about abstract problems that have no practical relevance (which I used to do since I was really into math), it satisfies me more to solve problems that can directly benefit society or people in some way. It's the same thought process but there's more impact. Being a doctor is as close as you can get (IMO) to having the "solution" to someone else's (very important) problem (namely their health).
Click to expand...

People who do taxes for a living also offer solutions to people's problems. Heck, even prostitutes offer solutions to people's problems.
 
Irish Football said:
have you tried shadowing a surgeon? While surgery can also be a lot of "following protocols," there might still be a bit more "improvisation" on the surgeon's part, and that might interest you more than the doctors you've shadowed thus far. I don't know, maybe something to consider.
Click to expand...

While I don't intend on being a surgeon--I find this to be true. Watching open heart surgery is a damn miracle to me. Stopping the heart while putting the pt on bypass, cutting the heart open, putting in the valve (Correctly, it's an art for sure), suturing all that stuff up, and finally watching the heart literally "restart" on its own (sometimes with a little "jolt" to assist it).

Obviously my knowledge isn't super technical, but observing it in person is absolutely astonishing. Over the course of six hours (okay sometimes more) you can see this person who looks literally lifeless--then just there, awake and aware in the PACU 45 minutes after the procedure. Amazing.
 
ss123 said:
I understand that, but I also figure that the initial idealism and "passion" must wear off after a while, and then you'll want to know if what you're doing is actually meaningful. I've been in contact with a lot of academic mathematicians and many of them produce "good enough" work after a while that allows them to stay afloat. Most people don't try to tackle the big problems, and even if they try they fail. So you're left with small problems in a narrow field with minimal impact -- unless, of course, you're one of those "geniuses" that can solve a big one. IMO, it's too much of a gamble to go into academia if the most-likely scenario is work with minimal "real-world" impact.

I think you're right about M.D./residency being more physically grueling, but the pressure to write a thesis is also huge. M.D.'s are not forced to produce truly original work. As a resident, as far as I know, if you follow orders and procedures, you'll do fine. You can't do that with original research. There's a chance that your project won't bear any results, or that your proof is flawed, or that you're unable to come up with anything at all. And past the Ph.D. stage, your continued survival in academia is contingent upon your ability to keep producing original work -- for the rest of your career. Of course, you can produce low-quality work, but those people never make it to tenure, even in their 50's and 60's. At least to me, that seems a lot more stressful than what an internist (say) is required to do, which is to apply a core set of knowledge/skills over and over in a few different contexts.
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Very well put. This is pretty much exactly how I felt. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be succesful at what you do. If you go the MD route, as long as you work hard there is no reason you will not be succesful and make a lot money. There are way to many variables that are not entirely in your control that can make your life miserable if you go into research.

If I would've have "followed my dream" I'd be applying to grad school but ultimately I decided it was to much of a risk and will be starting medical school next fall.
 
Biggest complaint I've heard from physicians about their job is that there's little intellectual stimulation. This isn't a career you get to be creative in.

Personally I can deal with that as long as the dearth of stimulation isn't as bad as what I've seen doing primary care shadowing where I can walk into the physician's office and know exactly what I'll see that day (ie "80% women, 20% men, all overweight, hypertension, type II diabetes, refill prescriptions for lisinopril and metformin, possibly with a bunch of other related medications, come back in 3-6 weeks.")
 
OCDOCDOCD said:
Biggest complaint I've heard from physicians about their job is that there's little intellectual stimulation. This isn't a career you get to be creative in.

Personally I can deal with that as long as the dearth of stimulation isn't as bad as what I've seen doing primary care shadowing where I can walk into the physician's office and know exactly what I'll see that day (ie "80% women, 20% men, all overweight, hypertension, type II diabetes, refill prescriptions for lisinopril and metformin, possibly with a bunch of other related medications, come back in 3-6 weeks.")
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For me it was 60% women, 40% men, 80% overweight, hypertension, type II diabetes, depression, refill prescriptions for hydrochlorothiazide, metformin, or wellbutrin, possible with a bunch of other related medications, come back in 3-6 weeks. :laugh:
 
OCDOCDOCD said:
Biggest complaint I've heard from physicians about their job is that there's little intellectual stimulation. This isn't a career you get to be creative in.
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I agree that medicine is by no means a creative industry, but I think whether you're intellectually stimulated or not depends on your specialty and practice environment. Being a FM doc in the community and seeing a bunch of patients that are obese, have hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc. would get boring. On the other hand, managing very complex patients in a medicine ward at an academic institution probably wouldn't be as boring. Transplants surgeons likely don't get intellectually bored.

I guess my point here is that if you want to be "stimulated," know that and choose your career accordingly.
 
I would have to say medicine CAN be creative at times. Sometimes the conventional treatments won't suit a patient, so you have to create one for them, isn't that innovation? And while I agree that most days can be routine, you should still have fun and enjoy that routine. Life in general is a routine, we pretty much do the same thing everyday with the occasional deviation, yet do we all complain that life sucks or is boring all the time? I would hope not.

When I shadowed doctors, they followed the same routine for patients, and it did get a bit tedious, but at the end of the busy day, I felt really accomplished (even though I hadn't done a single thing). It was like look at how many people could rest easier today knowing that nothing dangerous was going on with them! I honestly can't wait to become a doctor, even to just do routine things such as check-ups because at the end of the day, you will feel so accomplished and satisfied that you could help all the people you did that day.

Like others have said, maybe look at engineering, specifically biomedical engineering. And try shadowing other fields such as surgery, opthamology, etc
 
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
 
ss123 said:
Should I be concerned? So far I've shadowed:
1) An internist at his private practice (~50 hours)
2) An academic radiation oncologist at a large hospital (~5 hours)

I guess I've also "observed" a dermatology and an ENT at their practices from going there a lot for appointments and such. I understand that my experience is really limited.

I do cancer research in the rad onc's lab, too.

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid or entitled, but none of this stuff has "blown my mind" or really made me excited about wanting to be a doctor. Everything's a variation on the same theme... you've got a patient sitting there in an exam room or whatever and you go in and talk to them about whatever problem and then you figure out a course of action. It's very procedural and oftentimes the treatment is "routine" even for something like cancer. Radiation oncology has interesting technology and stuff but you aren't dealing with it all the time, and even then you're an end-user not an innovator (and you're not even the person who operates the machinery).

Should I be worried if I can't see myself enjoying this kind of this for the rest of my life? I'm a sophomore right now. Or, should I shadow more types of doctors: radiologists, pathologists, EM docs, surgeons, etc.?
Click to expand...

What about MD/PhD? You'll need some good stats and a couple years of significant research to get in, but it combines the clinical aspects of patients with the research aspect of constantly tackling new problems and trying to come up with solutions. The research is almost always pretty translational and applicable to their patient base.

Haven't read much of the thread so forgive me if someone already mentioned this.
 
Microglia said:
What about MD/PhD? You'll need some good stats and a couple years of significant research to get in, but it combines the clinical aspects of patients with the research aspect of constantly tackling new problems and trying to come up with solutions. The research is almost always pretty translational and applicable to their patient base.

Haven't read much of the thread so forgive me if someone already mentioned this.
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If s/he's interested in research but not the clinical side of things, why would you recommend an MD/PhD and not just a PhD?
 
Bearstronaut said:
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
Click to expand...

👍
 
Bearstronaut said:
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
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Good point.


OP, one common theme in prospective doctors is their appreciation for, and fascination with, the human body. How do you feel about investigating the human body?
 
moocow47 said:
Good point.


OP, one common theme in prospective doctors is their appreciation for, and fascination with, the human body. How do you feel about investigating the human body?
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Not only that, but how do you feel about human beings? If you aren't curious about their lives and don't have a desire to get up in the morning to help them individually with their (sometimes boring ) problems, then something that is "bigger picture" and less of an engagment with individuals in need of help might be a better idea.
 
Bearstronaut said:
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
Click to expand...

It's simple: we're all a bunch of clueless pre-med idiots.
 
Agree with a lot of points made. But OP before you throw in the towel I also agree that you should see some surgeries. That is where the mind = blown happened for me too.

But then again, I really didn't need that to know medicine was for me, so :shrug:
 
Bearstronaut said:
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
Click to expand...

So much truth in this, it hurts.

/guilty :laugh:
 
Bearstronaut said:
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
Click to expand...

You mean like this person urging a premed who got a THREE on the verbal section of the MCAT not to give up?

NOOOOOO. Do not quit. This is not the time to give up.

Your GPA trend is great. Your Physical and Biological scores are great.

Here's the deal with Verbal. I work for a test prep company (and no, I'm not saying which one b/c this isn't an ad). I teach Verbal sections. Your problem with Verbal is completely fixable. Think about it. You are clearly able to read and comprehend passages quickly - case in point, BS and PS scores. You just need some pointers on how to approach Verbal with a strategy. All the standardized tests are about HOW you take the test.

My company and the competition all offer subject-specific tutoring. You can even do it online so the CBT simulations are very real.

You've done too much to stop now. Get some Verbal only tutoring. Remember, you have the skills to tackle the section already; just get someone to help you take the test.
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That's the point of things like shadowing. To see if you want to be a doctor. I've seen doctors doing specialties I could never imagine doing, and some doing specialties I find incredible.

Shadow some more specialties to see if anything makes you happy. Otherwise, see this as a sign that maybe being a physician isn't meant for you. If you force it, you'll be ridiculously unhappy, and this is considering that many people who passionately want to be physicians are already extremely unhappy in medical school.
 
Bearstronaut said:
If s/he's interested in research but not the clinical side of things, why would you recommend an MD/PhD and not just a PhD?
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OP mentioned one of the key turnoffs was how routine it seemed. Also mentioned an interest in translational research as opposed to basic science. MD/PhD would allow the OP to get a certain amount of patient interaction without it becoming too routine, especially because MD/PhD's tend to focus on some of the more mysterious areas of disease, while having a completely non-routine, translational focused job in the lab with the remainder of their time. Just a thought though, don't know enough about the OP to know if it's for them. Never hurts to check it out though.
 
Bearstronaut said:
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
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👍 it's an interesting phenomenon. The first couple of posters set the tone until someone else derails the thread. OP, you got to do some soul searching..
 
Bearstronaut said:
I don't understand SDN.

Someone comes in with a low 3s GPA or a failed MCAT who REALLY wants to be a doctor: "Go to grad school lol" "What else do you see yourself doing?....do that"

Someone comes in all but saying they don't find medicine interesting or compelling: "You just need to find the tiny niche that excites you! Just spend untold numbers of hours shadowing people until you trick yourself into thinking this is for you!"
Click to expand...

this is exactly what i was thinking. if you don't like medicine then medicine is not for you. why waste time when you can do other careers that probably fit your personality better? truth is in every career you must familiarize yourself with their routine and 9.5 out of 10 it wont be intellectually stimulating.
 
Thanks for all the input everyone. I've been thinking about it pretty heavily the past few days. I think I will shadow more doctors before making any kind of decision.

Microglia said:
OP mentioned one of the key turnoffs was how routine it seemed. Also mentioned an interest in translational research as opposed to basic science. MD/PhD would allow the OP to get a certain amount of patient interaction without it becoming too routine, especially because MD/PhD's tend to focus on some of the more mysterious areas of disease, while having a completely non-routine, translational focused job in the lab with the remainder of their time. Just a thought though, don't know enough about the OP to know if it's for them. Never hurts to check it out though.
Click to expand...

MD/PhD is great but the 8-10 years of schooling prior to residency is a huge sacrifice. I'll have to talk to doctors who went that route to see what it's like. A lot of doctors who do a lot of research do not have PhD's.

Internistt said:
this is exactly what i was thinking. if you don't like medicine then medicine is not for you. why waste time when you can do other careers that probably fit your personality better? truth is in every career you must familiarize yourself with their routine and 9.5 out of 10 it wont be intellectually stimulating.
Click to expand...

I guess the question is, how does everyone deal with it? The rad onc I shadowed was very into the basic science research and had a heavy academic bent. I'd imagine he'd be even more bored than I was. Maybe that's why he only went to clinic one or two days of the week?
 
moocow47 said:
Good point.


OP, one common theme in prospective doctors is their appreciation for, and fascination with, the human body. How do you feel about investigating the human body?
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I think it's definitely a very complex and intricate system that we have a lot to learn about. The theory is always interesting but when you try to put some of that into practice... like administering a new drug or procedure, there are always complications.

LizzyM said:
Not only that, but how do you feel about human beings? If you aren't curious about their lives and don't have a desire to get up in the morning to help them individually with their (sometimes boring ) problems, then something that is "bigger picture" and less of an engagment with individuals in need of help might be a better idea.
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That's a really good point. I'll have to think about it. I actually do a lot of volunteering and I find it pretty fulfilling. I work at the homeless shelter with people one-on-one, and I also do one-on-one computer literacy tutoring for adults. So maybe once I develop personal relationships with patients, I will become more vested and interested in them and their outcomes.
 
Bearstronaut said:
If s/he's interested in research but not the clinical side of things, why would you recommend an MD/PhD and not just a PhD?
Click to expand...

Because a PhD in biological sciences is a golden ticket to being 50 years old and still making $45,000 a year.
 
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