Personal medical history as an influence

[tigress]

It seems like a large percentage of pre-med and medical students have personal experience with illness that is at least partially responsible for their desire to become doctors. For some people it may be the primary factor; for others, like me, who have a very strong intellectual and personal desire to pursue medicine, it may simply be a catalyst or additional factor. I'm curious to get a good response to this poll and find out how common this really is.

The poll is anonymous. If you don't mind sharing, it might be interesting to see some posts about how exactly your own medical history has influenced you.

(In my own case, I have had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [JRA] since I was a kid. It was mild when I was young, so I grew normally, but fairly severe during high school. By that time I was already obsessed with medicine. I think the two are related, but the one didn't exactly cause the other. Thankfully the disease is currently minimally active, so I am not the least bit restricted by it at this stage of my life. I usually don't talk about it much, if at all.)

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[63768]

yea i'm starting to think that adcoms may view personal experience as trite as the "i want to help people" statements. even though i've personally had only one incident that has left a scar on my hand, i don't feel as if this would be proper motivation for a career in medicine.

that's just my opinion though. i love medicine. heh.

 

[mustangsally65]

Great thread, Tigress. I've often wondered the same thing, but I would have to choose both the chronic and acute options in the poll, so I didn't vote 'cause I could only choose one.

I wasn't interested in medicine as a career until I got to college. I was premature as a baby, and I have chronic asthma and allergies, and had an asthma attack when I was living on campus as a freshman. This was my first exposure to a hospital in several years, and it was a positive experience. Shortly thereafter I was diagnosed with GERD/hiatal hernia, and take regular meds every day for these three conditions.

Pretty soon I'd had my first surgery for an inguinal hernia at 19, and was later preliminarily diagnosed with endometriosis and then mitral valve prolapse. After starting on OCPs for the endo I developed migraines that started out a few days a month and then extended to about three weeks of every month. These have gotten better since i've switched to progesterone only pills. I am having surgery later this year to diagnose/treat my endometriosis, will probably have my gall bladder removed, and have an inguinal hernia on the other side repaired as well. I've had my big toenails removed several times because they are chronically ingrown, and have a lot of muscular problems as well. I also have Morton's Neuroma in my feet under my toes, but haven't done much about that yet. My doctor says that some of my muscles aren't long enough, so they are always tight. I'm not sure what to make of that, but I suppose she knows what she's doing.

I've also had a lot of diagnostic tests, and am pretty familiar with my local hospital. I've been told by my doctor that I have very bad genes, and that she only has one or two other patients like me. I've grown very close to my doctor, and she is a big influence on my decision to go into medicine. I also have helped my mom through several different cancers and a couple surgeries of her own, and since she's almost 60 she needs a lot of help sometimes. I like to take care of other people, and like knowing what to do if something goes wrong.

It would be nice if others would share as well.

 

[vwjennyvw]

When I was 17 (I'm now 24) I was diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria (chronic hives). Basically, I was covered in itchy hives all the time without any identifiable cause. It was very frustrating to me that I was constantly miserable and no doctor could tell me why. I was tested for everything, but nobody was able to help suppress the hives. Eventually, I went to an allergist/immunologist who was very kind and understanding of the situation. He prescribed an intense regimen of antihistamines and corticosteroids that eventually suppressed all of my hives. Essentially, he gave me my life back. Even though the antihistamines made me very drowsy, I was able to go to school again without having to leave early and I never had to go to the ER again for various IVs. At the beginning of 2005, I was able to stop all my meds and haven’t had a hive since.

My allergist is the kindest, most generous doctor I have ever met. Though having chronic hives hasn’t been a major reason for me to become a doctor, my allergist has been a role model on how I want to behave when I become one. I’ve seen too many cynical doctors who don’t give a crap about their patients to know that I never want to be one of them.

BTW Tigress, one of my best friends has RA. She had a hard time when she was first diagnosed, but on her current treatment, she's doing great!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Good thread but how about the medical history or medical situation of a loved one? That probably influenced a lot of people.

I have had a few hospitalizations and surgeries but they were all subsequent to my choice to pursue medicine and they may have solified my decision but didn't cause it.

Anyway none of the choices of your poll apply to me so i didn't respond.

 

[tigress]

Oh, Psycho Doctor, you're right! I should have included medical history of a loved one. It didn't occur to me when I was making the poll. Too bad I can't change the poll.

 

[LJDHC05]

Oh, Psycho Doctor, you're right! I should have included medical history of a loved one. It didn't occur to me when I was making the poll. Too bad I can't change the poll.

Yeah...that's really my reason(s), but part is from the opportunity at a normal life that I've had after being born 10 weeks premature (~1lb 7oz). I just want to give kids the same chance I had.

 

[Will Hunting]

That's the reason why a couple of my friends are interested in medicine.

 

[abraxas]

all i have to say to some of these post are is "WOW" and then "I hope you guys aren't applying next year because I would have no chance going up against you guys for a slot in medical school".


I just love medicine BTW...