Not sure why I want to be a doctor...

[SlammedNation]

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I'm entering my 3rd year of undergrad, and I'm looking forward to going through the application process, however It has just dawned on me that I have no idea what even made me want to become a doctor... I know this sounds terrible but as a common question during an interview, I would not know how to answer this question. It was always just innate that I found medicine interesting and decided to pursue it. I feel like these admission boards look for elaborate stories that show students are really determined to become doctors, and I just don't have one. I hope this doesn't ruin their perception of me, because I really am giving this all I have to be a doctor, I just don't know why.

 

[Phile98]

because I really am giving this all I have to be a doctor, I just don't know why.

There is definitely a reason why you are working so hard. If there wasn't a reason, you wouldn't be giving it everything you have. Right now, maybe the subconscious motivation is money, fame, etc. Hopefully, you take some time and make sure that being a doctor is of humanistic value to you. That is, your underlying passion is not materialistic or temporary. This is a long process; I encourage you to revaluate the activities you have done and think critically on any little detail that you find fascinating/alluring.

There are probably many people in a similar situation as you. There is nothing wrong with it. You just don't want to find yourself in your 3rd year of med school hating medicine and your life. Hopefully, medicine will be something that makes it easy for you to wake up in the morning.

 

[Cryc_to_the_point]

I promise I don't mean this personally, but if you don't know why you want to be a physician either:
1. Take some time and shadow/research/figure out what medicine is.
2. Get into something else.

Medicine is a demanding field. like any demanding career, you can either be motivated or miserable.

 

[SadAsian]

Shadowing is a great way to help answer this question. You get to see physicians examine, diagnose, treat, and connect with patients. If things go favorably for medicine, you'll witness "why medicine" and "why physician over NP/PA/etc" through this, and maybe even "why *insert specialty*". You also get to see the realities and nonmedical lifestyle of being a doctor and will help round out expectations as well.

 

[jd989898]

Ask yourself what initially put being a doctor on your radar. Maybe it was during a simple check up as a child or when a doctor healed one of your family members. It’s likely in your distant memory. Start from there

 

[Dagrimsta1]

You better find a reason. Not for interviews but for med school. It’s nice to remind yourself what your grinding for. Your reasons don’t have to be smart or logical to anyone but you. Tell the interviewer a cool story but have a real reason to keep you going.

 

[Isoval]

I agree with most of the other people here.

If you are genuinely interested in medicine, if you’re going to be one of the ones who makes it through (not just applications, but graduation), you have some sort of reason. Can it be something dumb like money? Fame? Sure. They’re not good reasons, but different strokes for different folks.

It is also worth noting that the reason you do well in school may not be the same reason that you want to go to medical school. As conceited as it sounds, I do well in school because I want to be better than the two people sitting next to me, simple as that (huehue this hurt a little on the MCAT because I refused to study things I didn’t care about; e.g. was not motivated to do better). This is definitely not the reason I decided to pursue medicine, but it is certainly a primary motivator to do well in class.

 

[Dagrimsta1]

I agree with most of the other people here.

If you are genuinely interested in medicine, if you’re going to be one of the ones who makes it through (not just applications, but graduation), you have some sort of reason. Can it be something dumb like money? Fame? Sure. They’re not good reasons, but different strokes for different folks.

It is also worth noting that the reason you do well in school may not be the same reason that you want to go to medical school. As conceited as it sounds, I do well in school because I want to be better than the two people sitting next to me, simple as that (huehue this hurt a little on the MCAT because I refused to study things I didn’t care about; e.g. was not motivated to do better). This is definitely not the reason I decided to pursue medicine, but it is certainly a primary motivator to do well in class.

It gets waaaayyyy more competitive in med school.
Make sure you at least like taking care of people at the end of the day.

 

[freedoctor17]

Since when does being a doctor bring you fame... Why's everyone here acting like people wanna be doctors to get famous.

It's a well paid position, well respected, has great job security, all while helping people and doing sciency things that you hopefully enjoy if you're into medicine. I wouldn't necessarily mention the first three things but they're definitely still valid reasons as long as they're not the only reasons.