Lies all the admission boards will see through

[randolph23]

I'm not writing this as a flame post, but rather to help people write a better application / not get slaughtered on the interview question of "why you want to be a doctor". When you write / speak the following, this is what the school reads:

Lie: I've always wanted to be a doctor all my life!
Reality: No ... you've been told to be a doctor by your parents because they think it will make you a lot of money; or you've watched too much House.

Lie: I really really want to help people! It's all I want to do! Look at me I'm such a good person!!!
Reality: K, there are so many ways to help people? Be an RN, go volunteer in a 3rd world, become a medical researcher, or hell help someone else get into medical school by not applying!!! Most jobs are part of the grand scheme of things: janitors help keep places clean thus helping others out and George W. Bush helped millions of Chinese citizens get good paying jobs. So why the MD, back it up here folks (if you can)?

Lie: I want to deal with people on a daily basis because I'm such a great people person!
Reality: Unless you want to become a family doctor, this just ain't happening (and even then). How bout going into teaching?

Lie: Doctors are respected and I'd like me some of that them there respect!
Reality: So you want money, or power ... or both? Maybe you just want a girl/boyfriend and think this will help. Hint (for guys): go to the nutrition store, buy some creatine + protein powder and spend then next 2 years working out. You'll be buff and get girls. Gals ... hrm, not going to touch that one with a 10 foot pole.

Lie: Doctors have a good quality of life
Reality: Most are overworked. Quoting another website, "Studies have found that doctors tend have a very high divorce rate and, ironically, a relatively short life expectancy." I'm too lazy to do a google search for those studies.

Lie: Being a doctor means a lifetime of doing new things and learning
Reality: Most docs do one thing quite well and do it for 30 years. I.E. lets say you need to have a bypass ... do you really want to get a doctor who's just doing bypasses for a year to 'try out a new thing' on you just so they can learn for a year and do something new? Yes you learn about your specific field, but you better love it!

Can anyone think of / care to add to this list?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Omyss]

I'm not writing this as a flame post, but rather to help people write a better application / not get slaughtered on the interview question of "why you want to be a doctor". When you write / speak the following, this is what the school reads:

Lie: I've always wanted to be a doctor all my life!
Reality: No ... you've been told to be a doctor by your parents because they think it will make you a lot of money; or you've watched too much House.

Lie: I really really want to help people! It's all I want to do! Look at me I'm such a good person!!!
Reality: K, there are so many ways to help people? Be an RN, go volunteer in a 3rd world, become a medical researcher, or hell help someone else get into medical school by not applying!!! Most jobs are part of the grand scheme of things: janitors help keep places clean thus helping others out and George W. Bush helped millions of Chinese citizens get good paying jobs. So why the MD, back it up here folks (if you can)?

Lie: I want to deal with people on a daily basis because I'm such a great people person!
Reality: Unless you want to become a family doctor, this just ain't happening (and even then). How bout going into teaching?

Lie: Doctors are respected and I'd like me some of that them there respect!
Reality: So you want money, or power ... or both? Maybe you just want a girl/boyfriend and think this will help. Hint (for guys): go to the nutrition store, buy some creatine + protein powder and spend then next 2 years working out. You'll be buff and get girls. Gals ... hrm, not going to touch that one with a 10 foot pole.

Lie: Doctors have a good quality of life
Reality: Most are overworked. Quoting another website, "Studies have found that doctors tend have a very high divorce rate and, ironically, a relatively short life expectancy." I'm too lazy to do a google search for those studies.

Lie: Being a doctor means a lifetime of doing new things and learning
Reality: Most docs do one thing quite well and do it for 30 years. I.E. lets say you need to have a bypass ... do you really want to get a doctor who's just doing bypasses for a year to 'try out a new thing' on you just so they can learn for a year and do something new? Yes you learn about your specific field, but you better love it!

Can anyone think of / care to add to this list?

fail

 

[ArchiMed]

Lie: Being a doctor means a lifetime of doing new things and learning
Reality: Most docs do one thing quite well and do it for 30 years. I.E. lets say you need to have a bypass ... do you really want to get a doctor who's just doing bypasses for a year to 'try out a new thing' on you just so they can learn for a year and do something new? Yes you learn about your specific field, but you better love it!


yes....but procedures are changing all the time so you actually are always learning

 

[scowdeva]

I sort of understand where you're coming from, but you missed the mark. Some people are attracted to this profession for some of the reasons listed above. I don't think that any one job is perfect, and the pre-med idealism probably does stretch so far as to believe at least for some time that any of the above statements is actually true. However, they are all at least partly true.

Some people have only considered being a doctor- and not all of them have parents who are doctors. It's just one of those things. That doesnt mean that they were pushed into it. I have considered and looked into different careers, but I've always come back to medicine in the end.

Some people like the 'people' aspect of the job- yes, a good portion of your time is spent on other tasks. But it is still a career that is centered on treating people, and not sitting in a cubicle or at a desk!

These are just two examples of where you took these situations to the opposite extreme. Life typically isn't about extremes, but rather somewhere in the grey between.

 

[lacesoutdan]

Lie: I want to deal with people on a daily basis because I'm such a great people person!
Reality: Unless you want to become a family doctor, this just ain't happening (and even then).

What kind of doctor doesn't deal with people on a daily basis? Physicians who aren't in fields with a lot of patient contact still deal with people.

Quoting another website, "Studies have found that doctors tend have a very high divorce rate and, ironically, a relatively short life expectancy."

Horsesh*t.

 

[8744]

....Lie: Doctors are respected and I'd like me some of that them there respect!
Reality: So you want money, or power ... or both? Maybe you just want a girl/boyfriend and think this will help. Hint (for guys): go to the nutrition store, buy some creatine + protein powder and spend then next 2 years working out. You'll be buff and get girls. Gals ... hrm, not going to touch that one with a 10 foot pole....



Lie: Being a doctor means a lifetime of doing new things and learning
Reality: Most docs do one thing quite well and do it for 30 years. I.E. lets say you need to have a bypass ... do you really want to get a doctor who's just doing bypasses for a year to 'try out a new thing' on you just so they can learn for a year and do something new? Yes you learn about your specific field, but you better love it!....

Once again, with feeling (and I think I have enough cynical street-cred to not come across as a mindless booster of the medical profession), Physicans are generally, almost universally respected provided that they act like like physicians and have a servicable bedside manner (which can be gruff, blunt, happy, happy, joy, joy, humerous, or anything else provided it works for you). The people who tell you they are not either don't respect physicians themselves(because nothing is a hundred percent), don't know anything, or have a huge chip on their shoulder as in the case of the disgruntled mid-level who really wanted to be a physician but is making too much money to take eight years of his life to do it.

I assure all of you young pre-meds that, whatever the problems of the medical profession, if you do your part and take care of your patients you will be well-respected.

As to doctors doing the same thing over and over again, it depends on your specialty. If you want to specialize, then you specialize. If you want to see a broad range of complaints go into a generalist specialty like internal medicine, emergency medicine, family practice, or the like. If you're not learning for your whole career that's your fault. And some fields are so broad that there is plenty to learn. Even our attendings admit that they are still learing new things almost every day, not to mention that medical knowledge and technology evolves quickly and you have to keep up. The days are long gone when you could be a kindly old country doctor living in the sticks who hasn't opened a book since medical school.

Jeez. The rest of your list is mostly idiotic as well.

 

[MsJLewis]

Now that we have the Panda Bear stamp of (dis)approval, how about we close this dumb thread??

 

[8744]

What kind of doctor doesn't deal with people on a daily basis? Physicians who aren't in fields with a lot of patient contact still deal with people.



Horsesh*t.

Amen. Maybe radiologists and pathologists don't deal directly with patients (although some do) but that's one of the reasons people select these fields. They still spend the whole day talking to other doctors and their staff. I can't think of a single physician who doesn't meet at least 10 total strangers every day. I must meet a hundred people a shift, counting family, so liking people and hoping for a job where you see lots of 'em (as opposed to working in a cubicle) is a legitimate reason to pursue medicine.

 

[8744]

Now that we have the Panda Bear stamp of (dis)approval, how about we close this dumb thread??

There is really nothing more that needs be said. I think the OP is a troll so I hesitated to respond but come on now, medicine sucks on many levels but not, repeat not, for most of the reasons mentioned.

 

[Anka]

The truth is, just about everyone going into any job could be told "that's not a good reason for doing this job" or "you could accomplish that goal with position X or job Y." You just need a reason, preferably more than one, and be able and willing to talk about it when someone challenges you with any of the somewhat obnoxious objections the OP has already brought up.

If you really wanted to be a doctor since you were five, make sure you can talk about how that was reinforced over the years, and how your idea of what a doctor is became more complex or different.

If you are really interested in helping people, make sure you have an idea of how the way doctors help people is unique or particularly suited to you (e.g., being an R.N. doesn't allow you to determine the plan of care, nor does it equip you with the tools necessary to do so. Volunteering in the third world without a specific set of tools isn't as useful as having specialized skills -- so even if you want to volunteer in the third world, being a doctor can help with that. And so on.

If you really like dealing with people on a daily basis, of course medicine allows you to do that. Heck, even anesthesiologists deal with their collegues and the surgeons regularly. Pathologists are "the physicians' physician" and are an important consult. Family medicine allows you more time to talk to patients. Being the hot shot neurosurgeon or cardiac surgeon means that the conversations you have with those families are very high impact -- that ten minutes you spend breaking to mom that baby Joe has a brain tumor are some of the most important minutes she will have in her lifetime, and how you break the news will color her experiences for years to come.

If you are really going into medicine for respect and quality of life, I'd find another profession. But very few applicants are dumb enough to say this, even if they feel it.

If you are going into medicine because it means constantly learning, it's probably alone not a good reason to go into medicine, and indeed much of medicine is repetition, but it's a good quality to have if you are going into medicine. There is always something to learn, as things are always changing.

Anyway, I would suggest all of you use this thread to come up with good answers to obnoxious interview questions -- who knows, if you all have good answers maybe they'll think up some better questions.

Anka

 

[randolph23]

There is really nothing more that needs be said. I think the OP is a troll so I hesitated to respond but come on now, medicine sucks on many levels but not, repeat not, for most of the reasons mentioned.

Where did I ever say that medicine sucks? I think it's a fantastic field and am just sick and tired of all the pre-med idealism crap that I hear. And to be honest, if you gave those one line answers to any review board you would be trashed because without deep thought and a serious response a one-liner means nothing.

 

[randolph23]

I can't think of a single physician who doesn't meet at least 10 total strangers every day. I must meet a hundred people a shift, counting family, so liking people and hoping for a job where you see lots of 'em (as opposed to working in a cubicle) is a legitimate reason to pursue medicine.

Interacting with 100 people a shift doesn't mean getting to know them in anywhere near the capacity of, say, an aid worker. I'm just saying that to go into medicine you need to have multiple reasons - not just being a dreamy eyed kid that thinks all it takes is a one linear backed up by some story in order to get into medical school. Bus drivers meet tons of people every day ... Again, I'm not flaming medicine ffs - I'm flaming people who go into it naively and don't understand their reasons for doing so.

edit: Talk about a chip on everyone shoulder around here...

 

[armybound]

The truth is, just about everyone going into any job could be told "that's not a good reason for doing this job" or "you could accomplish that goal with position X or job Y." You just need a reason, preferably more than one, and be able and willing to talk about it when someone challenges you with any of the somewhat obnoxious objections the OP has already brought up.

If you really wanted to be a doctor since you were five, make sure you can talk about how that was reinforced over the years, and how your idea of what a doctor is became more complex or different.

If you are really interested in helping people, make sure you have an idea of how the way doctors help people is unique or particularly suited to you (e.g., being an R.N. doesn't allow you to determine the plan of care, nor does it equip you with the tools necessary to do so. Volunteering in the third world without a specific set of tools isn't as useful as having specialized skills -- so even if you want to volunteer in the third world, being a doctor can help with that. And so on.

If you really like dealing with people on a daily basis, of course medicine allows you to do that. Heck, even anesthesiologists deal with their collegues and the surgeons regularly. Pathologists are "the physicians' physician" and are an important consult. Family medicine allows you more time to talk to patients. Being the hot shot neurosurgeon or cardiac surgeon means that the conversations you have with those families are very high impact -- that ten minutes you spend breaking to mom that baby Joe has a brain tumor are some of the most important minutes she will have in her lifetime, and how you break the news will color her experiences for years to come.

If you are really going into medicine for respect and quality of life, I'd find another profession. But very few applicants are dumb enough to say this, even if they feel it.

If you are going into medicine because it means constantly learning, it's probably alone not a good reason to go into medicine, and indeed much of medicine is repetition, but it's a good quality to have if you are going into medicine. There is always something to learn, as things are always changing.

Anyway, I would suggest all of you use this thread to come up with good answers to obnoxious interview questions -- who knows, if you all have good answers maybe they'll think up some better questions.

Anka

I agree with all of Anka's points and would like to remind everyone to keep the conversation civil, even if you disagree.

 

[Law2Doc]

Lie: I want to deal with people on a daily basis because I'm such a great people person!
Reality: Unless you want to become a family doctor, this just ain't happening (and even then). How bout going into teaching?


Lie: Being a doctor means a lifetime of doing new things and learning
Reality: Most docs do one thing quite well and do it for 30 years. I.E. lets say you need to have a bypass ... do you really want to get a doctor who's just doing bypasses for a year to 'try out a new thing' on you just so they can learn for a year and do something new? Yes you learn about your specific field, but you better love it!

While I agree with some of your points, the above two are simply inaccurate. You will deal with people on a daily basis in every field. Medicine is a service industry, and becoming more of one every day. Not only will you see patients daily, but with declining reimbursements, you are going to be expected to see a lot more of them per day. Patient contact is less in things like radiology and pathology, but not nonexistent. Even surgeons, who do most of their work when the patient is unconscious, still have to meet with the patient, take a pre-op history, discuss the procedures, and meet with them in follow-up. Nobody gets to do medicine from afar -- if you think that's true, it is probably you who have been watching too much house.

And as far as lifetime learning, the days when you could learn everything you needed during residency and just do the same procedure thereafter have ended. There's always new technology, better meds. Go to the average teaching hospital and you will see at least a dozen lectures offered per week that could impact your practice in pretty much any field. If you don't keep up, you get bumped aside. There is a lot more to know these days, and it's changing faster than ever. And as a result, most fields have regular recertification tests every couple of years, keeping even the old guard in the books. Heck, some specialties haven't even existed the 30 years you mentioned. And cardiac bypasses have changed so much in three decades that I assure you you don't want a surgeon who still does it the "old" way. If you don't like lifetime learning, medicine is a bad field.

 

[Law2Doc]

edit: Talk about a chip on everyone shoulder around here...

dude, you just joined and now you are telling a resident they don't know about patient contact in medicine. I'm not sure who has the chip. Some things you state in your initial post are accurate, some aren't.

 

[randolph23]

Anyway, I would suggest all of you use this thread to come up with good answers to obnoxious interview questions -- who knows, if you all have good answers maybe they'll think up some better questions.

Thank you for reading the first line of my post rather than going and freaking out about what they feel is a knock on medicine.

While I agree with some of your points...

The point isn't really to be exactly right on these points. Simply put it's to bring up points that a person should understand when a) drafting a letter of interest and b) when talking to an interviewer who asks "why medicine" because you just can't say just one thing.

In reference to lifelong learning & dealing with people refer you could become a researcher or an aid worker (as I mentioned above) wherein each job would better satisfy your claim for what it is you want to do with your life.

Again - just making sure it's noted multiple times and in multiple places because people read into things fast and hard here. Not basing medicine, I've worked in a hospital for years now, I'm just bashing the naive nature of which most people who go into medicine approach it with. This is 10-12 years of your life (should you get in).

 

[Law2Doc]

The point isn't really to be exactly right on these points. Simply put it's to bring up points that a person should understand when a) drafting a letter of interest and b) when talking to an interviewer who asks "why medicine" because you just can't said one or the other thing.

This would all be more compelling if based on your prior thread you weren't still in the application phase. Once you get further down the road, this kind of advice resonates better.

 

[randolph23]

This would all be more compelling if based on your prior thread you weren't still in the application phase. Once you get further down the road, this kind of advice resonates better.

I'm not even sure if I'm going to go into medicine because I'm not able to answer those questions. I'm running a clinical trail with 100 cancer patients for my PhD wherein I see them through every step of the way. I've had 2 die already.

Fine. Please delete the thread.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm not even sure if I'm going to go into medicine because I'm not able to answer those questions.

I promise you that the interview/essays are not the hardest challenge you would face in medicine. Lots of folks have solid research backgrounds (and yours sounds impressive), but medicine is first and foremost a service industry, and medical schools are primarily designed to train clinicians. While they love folks with good research backgrounds, they also expect you to have thought out the "why medicine" element (that's going to be what explains why you aren't going to stick with your PhD). If this difficulty in explaining your motivations is dissuading you from applying, then maybe that's telling.

 

[8744]

I'm not even sure if I'm going to go into medicine because I'm not able to answer those questions. I'm running a clinical trail with 100 cancer patients for my PhD wherein I see them through every step of the way. I've had 2 die already.

Fine. Please delete the thread.

Dude, on a good month I accidently kill more patients than that.

Amateur.

 

[8744]

...Interacting with 100 people a shift doesn't mean getting to know them in anywhere near the capacity of, say, an aid worker...

"Here's yer' bag of rice...move along...here's yer' bag of rice, move along...Hey, Aziz, tell this guy he's only getting one bag of rice and to move along..."

 

[drizzt3117]

fail

 

[UFGatorMed]

/Sarcasm

NOW I DON'T WANT TO BE A DOCTOR!!!

 

[Anka]

Thank you for reading the first line of my post rather than going and freaking out about what they feel is a knock on medicine.

Just as a tip, I guess, if you start a conversation by calling people liers, you're not going to get a very constructive response.

 

[Anka]

I'm not even sure if I'm going to go into medicine because I'm not able to answer those questions.

Not being able to answer questions isn't a reason for not going into medicine. They are a reason for coming up with answers to those questions if you want to do medicine. Ideally, you're career exploration phase should occur before the interview phase, where you worry about the best way to present your motivations. I myself would have had a very hard time telling you why I wanted to be a surgeon three years ago and, indeed, any answers I came up with you could have easily shot down as naive, but I was very committed to what I was doing day in and day out to get myself there (as demonstrated by my work). Now I've got good answers to that question, but the ability to verbalize lags desire.

Anka

 

[foreverLaur]

Lie: I've always wanted to be a doctor all my life!
Reality: No ... you've been told to be a doctor by your parents because they think it will make you a lot of money; or you've watched too much House.

At least in my case that is true. We have on family video me at 4 years old declaring I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. My parents have not exactly discouraged that career path, but encouraged me to look at other options.

So, no my parents know the realities of medicine and have never told me to go into medicine. I didn't start watching any medical shows until high school. None of the doctors I know encourage anybody to go into medicine.

Not sure why I wanted to go into medicine at 4 years old, but for me I really have wanted to be a doctor my whole life.

 

[NAVYLABTECH08]

Pathologists

 

[Depakote]

closing per OP request.