Serious question: If I would rather be a lawyer than a D.O. do I want to be a doctor?

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TheAppleJuice

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So I asked a couple weeks ago how to decide whether I have a passion for medicine or whether I"m just going for the money or prestige and got some good answers

I 100% know that a doctor (md/do) is an infinitely better career choice than a lawyer today and that a DO is psych could easily make 200k+ with almost perfect job security but I was thinking that if I didn't go to an allopathic med school I would rather go to law school..

is it possible that this is legitimate and I could have good reasons for this or does this indicate that I really just want a prestigious career

not that a D.O. still isn't a prestos career by the way; i know it's above dentist, pharmacist etc. (it's pretty much right after md)

any help would be appreciated, and this is not meant to be a troll question
 
CyrusHabs7695 said:
This is a top 10 worst posts ive ever seen on this site. Go take a walk around a surgery center or hospital and figure out if DOs are less respected than MDs


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i do not mean to be insulting or anything, please don not take it that way. I know that DOs are in surgery but from what I have heard there are some barriers
 
TheAppleJuice said:
So I asked a couple weeks ago how to decide whether I have a passion for medicine or whether I"m just going for the money or prestige and got some good answers

not that a D.O. still isn't a prestos career by the way; i know it's above dentist, pharmacist etc. (it's pretty much right after md)
Click to expand...

... no career is above one or another. Doesn't matter if you're a mailman, dentist, physician, or business owner. Everyone is different and no one is better than any other people. Don't look at careers as a hierarchy, its not polite. Some people may not have the advantages/disadvantages you or I have had in life. How you decided to go in a career is your choice but don't undermine other peoples' accomplishments/achievements. For some, its a dream to become a dentist or pharmacist. Don't belittle their achievement by saying a DO is above them. I'm sorry if this may come off strong, but I don't like people being rude to others.
 
TheAppleJuice said:
not that a D.O. still isn't a prestos career by the way; i know it's above dentist, pharmacist etc. (it's pretty much right after md)
Click to expand...

I think this right here answers your question.

Furthermore, if you (and I mean you as in you personally), actually think that dentists, pharmacists, etc. are beneath physicians, then I believe you are sorely mistaken. True, society does place medical doctors above these other professions in the social/professional hierarchy, but that's where we need to change things. We can't perpetuate these false equivalencies. I have friends and respected colleagues who are in these other professional categories and thank [insert deity here] they are.

Please, please do not go into medicine for the prestige. Go into it because you actually want to help people in some way and not just help yourself climb the social ladder.
 
TheAppleJuice said:
i do not mean to be insulting or anything, please don not take it that way. I know that DOs are in surgery but from what I have heard there are some barriers
Click to expand...

Shouldn't have come off that harsh, my B. Just seriously take some time to volunteer at a hospital and shadow some physicians and youll immediately learn they are equal.
 
MD/DO seems to matter a lot in terms of residency spots, but from what I've observed they are treated equal in the hospital setting. But I'm just a premed so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
 
TheAppleJuice said:
So I asked a couple weeks ago how to decide whether I have a passion for medicine or whether I"m just going for the money or prestige and got some good answers

I 100% know that a doctor (md/do) is an infinitely better career choice than a lawyer today and that a DO is psych could easily make 200k+ with almost perfect job security but I was thinking that if I didn't go to an allopathic med school I would rather go to law school..

is it possible that this is legitimate and I could have good reasons for this or does this indicate that I really just want a prestigious career

not that a D.O. still isn't a prestos career by the way; i know it's above dentist, pharmacist etc. (it's pretty much right after md)

any help would be appreciated, and this is not meant to be a troll question
Click to expand...
Go to law school.
 
I'm going to be dealing with this dumb crap as a DO for the rest of my life even though they're literally the same exact job, aren't I?
 
PhilzCoffeeAddict said:
... no career is above one or another. Doesn't matter if you're a mailman, dentist, physician, or business owner. Everyone is different and no one is better than any other people. Don't look at careers as a hierarchy, its not polite. Some people may not have the advantages/disadvantages you or I have had in life. How you decided to go in a career is your choice but don't undermine other peoples' accomplishments/achievements. For some, its a dream to become a dentist or pharmacist. Don't belittle their achievement by saying a DO is above them. I'm sorry if this may come off strong, but I don't like people being rude to others.
Click to expand...

But the OP IS looking at potential careers in terms of a hierarchy and that simply is his/her mindset. It's limited and it's wrong, but that's his/her worldview. So to the root question:

"So I asked a couple weeks ago how to decide whether I have a passion for medicine or whether I"m just going for the money or prestige and got some good answers"

The answer is a definitive "You're just going for money and prestige and do not have a sincere passion for medicine" -- All of your deliberations have focused on the relative ranking of various professions in your own and society's perception.

Don't do it. There are plenty of other professions where you can get the prestige you crave with less personal sacrifice.
 
naway said:
I'm going to be dealing with this dumb crap as a DO for the rest of my life even though they're literally the same exact job, aren't I?
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This has never made a ton of sense to me. If you think about it, going to a top 10 MD vs. a lower tier MD offers many of the same benefits attributed to low tier MD over DO. A top 10 MD would give a better chance of specializing, a better chance at prestigious residencies, better home programs+research, but no one (or at least almost no one) looks down on people for going to mid-tier and low-tier MD schools rather than top 10s. I feel being realistic about one's level as an applicant and applying accordingly shows maturity and logical thinking and should be commended.
 
TheAppleJuice said:
not that a D.O. still isn't a prestos career by the way; i know it's above dentist, pharmacist etc. (it's pretty much right after md)
Click to expand...

Let's get something straight: physicians aren't "above" dentists and pharmacists. Physicians, dentists, and pharmacists are all doctoral-level professionals who play critical roles in healthcare. The hierarchy you're describing only exists inside your prestige-obsessed mind.
 
Once you spend meaningful time in a hospital and see that DOs like MDs are treated the same and sometimes make even more $$$ you realize the DO stigma primarily exists only on SDN.

That is not to dismiss the fact that there are specialties where being DO is going to hurt you and hold you back, but not as much for the letters as it is the opportunities your school has (research, home programs etc.).
 
pmlmu13 said:
This has never made a ton of sense to me. If you think about it, going to a top 10 MD vs. a lower tier MD offers many of the same benefits attributed to low tier MD over DO. A top 10 MD would give a better chance of specializing, a better chance at prestigious residencies, better home programs+research, but no one (or at least almost no one) looks down on people for going to mid-tier and low-tier MD schools rather than top 10s. I feel being realistic about one's level as an applicant and applying accordingly shows maturity and logical thinking and should be commended.
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Right, people talk about how much harder it is to get into specialties like derm as a DO, which yes that's true, but the percentage of MDs who go into those specialties is also very low. I know logically that, as someone who has no interest in pursuing a competitive speciality anyway (I'm old. I want a short residency lol), the whole DO vs. MD thing is a complete non-issue, but being constantly reminded that a lot of people do look down on the DO route does get demoralizing sometimes, can't lie. You literally see people who have been accepted into DO programs talking as if they have been accepted nowhere. Makes my head spin sometimes.
 
I feel like too many people here are on some high-ass pedestals. With all the ruffled feathers and “how dare you consider prestige as a reason to enter medicine or not want to be a DO,” they all must be choosing personality over looks in their partners. OP, you do you. Some people enter medicine for morality, some for parental pressure, some for money, some for prestige. None of them are better doctors than the rest. Decide how much your perception of DOs will bother you, and choose accordingly. Law isn’t a picnic either, FYI.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
lmao. All these white knight posts about DO being the exact same as MD. Yet when you score a 520 you better believe every single person here would be applying to Harvard over their local DO program.
 
7331poas said:
lmao. All these white knight posts about DO being the exact same as MD. Yet when you score a 520 you better believe every single person here would be applying to Harvard over their local DO program.
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Maybe you should work on your reading comprehension, I don't think anyone has insinuated they are the same, but what is the same is that at the end of your education out of either path you are a PHYSICIAN. And please do link all the examples of people telling 520 MCAT scorers to apply DO (outside major GPA flaws).
 
I don't feel like the problem here is that OP is considering prestige, but rather that OP is deciding based upon short-term prestige. Is a DO going to prevent OP from receiving the social status that medicine arguably entails? Is going to law school, in this case probably non t14, going to supply more prestige? Sure, if OP is deciding between DO and Columbia Law and concerned with prestige got to Columbia Law, but I find it hard to believe that OP is both incapable of getting to an MD program, while simultaneously being capable of getting into a prestigious law school.
 
Terror Billy said:
Maybe you should work on your reading comprehension, I don't think anyone has insinuated [MDs and DOs] are the same
Click to expand...

Terror Billy said:
Once you spend meaningful time in a hospital and see that DOs like MDs are treated the same and sometimes make even more $$$ you realize the DO stigma primarily exists only on SDN
Click to expand...

Which is it?

I never mentioned prestige. I simply pointed out that all the people in this thread typing away would probably not choose a DO program over Harvard med. Even though they are "treated exactly the same"
 
PhilzCoffeeAddict said:
... no career is above one or another. Doesn't matter if you're a mailman, dentist, physician, or business owner. Everyone is different and no one is better than any other people. Don't look at careers as a hierarchy, its not polite. Some people may not have the advantages/disadvantages you or I have had in life. How you decided to go in a career is your choice but don't undermine other peoples' accomplishments/achievements. For some, its a dream to become a dentist or pharmacist. Don't belittle their achievement by saying a DO is above them. I'm sorry if this may come off strong, but I don't like people being rude to others.
Click to expand...

I love this.
 
PhilzCoffeeAddict said:
... no career is above one or another. Doesn't matter if you're a mailman, dentist, physician, or business owner. Everyone is different and no one is better than any other people. Don't look at careers as a hierarchy, its not polite. Some people may not have the advantages/disadvantages you or I have had in life. How you decided to go in a career is your choice but don't undermine other peoples' accomplishments/achievements. For some, its a dream to become a dentist or pharmacist. Don't belittle their achievement by saying a DO is above them. I'm sorry if this may come off strong, but I don't like people being rude to others.
Click to expand...

Being a Supreme Court justice isnt "above" being an ambulance chaser?

Man this is such a "milennial" mentality.
 
7331poas said:
Which is it?

I never mentioned prestige. I simply pointed out that all the people in this thread typing away would probably not choose a DO program over Harvard med. Even though they are "treated exactly the same"
Click to expand...
Why don't you quote the whole other post. When I said hospital I didn't insinuate all specialties (as I addressed in the next line), amazing you could have done well on CARS with your trash reading skills. Literally no one in the history of SDN has seriously stated someone should attend a DO over Harvard.
 
7331poas said:
Being a Supreme Court justice isnt "above" being an ambulance chaser?

Man this is such a "milennial" mentality.
Click to expand...
Oh ****, he brought out the millennial card. We have a real social critic here, get this man a blog.

Man with a 37, you're capable of better commentary than that.

They understand that being a Supreme Court justice leads to getting more done, but we ought to not look down on people for not having the most prestigious position. There are lower level positions in law that have good work as well - not just chasing ambulances.
 
OrthoTraumaMD said:
I feel like too many people here are on some high-ass pedestals. With all the ruffled feathers and “how dare you consider prestige as a reason to enter medicine or not want to be a DO,” they all must be choosing personality over looks in their partners. OP, you do you. Some people enter medicine for morality, some for parental pressure, some for money, some for prestige. None of them are better doctors than the rest. Decide how much your perception of DOs will bother you, and choose accordingly. Law isn’t a picnic either, FYI.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
But some of those people whose primary motivations are the bolded will definitely be more miserable than the others.
 
LOL, well done. Pissing off SDN for lulz was ur goal and you have achieved it. Clever way to do it i must say
 
Terror Billy said:
Why don't you quote the whole other post. When I said hospital I didn't insinuate all specialties (as I addressed in the next line), amazing you could have done well on CARS with your trash reading skills. Literally no one in the history of SDN has seriously stated someone should attend a DO over Harvard.
Click to expand...

Never made any comment about specialties. I am talking about medical schools.

Lets say you want to go into family medicine. Who in this thread will pick their local DO program over Harvard Med? Assuming equal costs.
 
altblue said:
Oh ****, he brought out the millennial card. We have a real social critic here, get this man a blog.

Man with a 37, you're capable of better commentary than that.

They understand that being a Supreme Court justice leads to getting more done, but we ought to not look down on people for not having the most prestigious position. There are lower level positions in law that have good work as well - not just chasing ambulances.
Click to expand...

First. I agree that the milennial thing is a very stupid descriptor in most circumstances. But that cutesy take on how "everyone is precious and we all are equals" very much fit the bill.
 
Terror Billy said:
I have more respect for ambulance chasers (whatever they actually are) than for Clarence Thomas
Click to expand...

How so? Generally when people make these comments they understand very little about textualism or constitutional law in general and instead lambast Scalia for "hating blacks" or insulting Ginsberg for "legislating from the bench".
 
7331poas said:
First. I agree that the milennial thing is a very stupid descriptor in most circumstances. But that cutesy take on how "everyone is precious and we all are equals" very much fit the bill.
Click to expand...
As a heads-up that idea's been, in less of a strawman form, around for hundreds of years - it's not a recent trend.

Like nobody is saying "well physicians and garbage men do the same level of work they're all good" What we're saying on some level is that it's difficult, impractical to directly weigh one's contribution to society based on prestige alone. We're also saying that it's a dick move to look down on someone based on their professional status/contribution alone, unless they've done something wrong.
 
7331poas said:
How so? Generally when people make these comments they understand very little about textualism or constitutional law in general and instead lambast Scalia for "hating blacks" or insulting Ginsberg for "legislating from the bench".
Click to expand...
Scalia was consistent within textualism, but he actually chose to adopt textualism, which we can fault him for. Those were his rules to choose. Hopefully he was aware of the fact that by interpreting the law with his philosophy, African, Latino, and LGBT Americans would repeatedly be slammed down, and that this would not happen with other methods.

Reminder that the prestige or accomplishment of a position doesn't mean you actually end up doing a lot of good
 
the real reasons why you shouldn't go DO if you can avoid it:

- Your tuition will likely be higher

- You have to do OMM stuff that you probably won't like

- You have to take 2 board exams and try to beat out MD students who don't have to do this (if you want something other than primary care)

- You have to deal with less research opportunities / more community based rotation sites

- You have to grind an uphill battle do anything other than primary care (if that's your goal)
 
altblue said:
As a heads-up that idea's been, in less of a strawman form, around for hundreds of years - it's not a recent trend.

Like nobody is saying "well physicians and garbage men do the same level of work they're all good" What we're saying on some level is that it's difficult, impractical to directly weigh one's contribution to society based on prestige alone. We're also saying that it's a dick move to look down on someone based on their professional status/contribution alone, unless they've done something wrong.
Click to expand...

To address the first point, everyone is equal *under the law*. Full stop. Nothing further that that has extended "for hundreds of years".

Second, you are the only person here bringing up prestige. Everyone gets my respect. Garbage men, janitors, and senators. But that doesn't mean they are "equal people" under my eyes. Some people are more valuable than others. Not under the law. But under any semblance of common sense.
 
altblue said:
Hopefully he was aware of the fact that by interpreting the law with his philosophy, African, Latino, and LGBT Americans would repeatedly be slammed down
Click to expand...

Perfect. So we have determined that the lens you use to examine judges is incompatible with the scope of their power.

The judicial branch is by far the most powerful in the united states. The Supreme court's word is supreme law. With it requires significant restraint regarding how judges "pass laws" without any electoral oversight.

I am actually not a textualist. But you need to review case law and the principles of judicial review before you start talking about Scalia as if he was the same as Mcconnell.
 
7331poas said:
Perfect. So we have determined that the lens you use to examine judges is incompatible with the scope of their power.

The judicial branch is by far the most powerful in the united states. The Supreme court's word is supreme law. With it requires significant restraint regarding how judges "pass laws" without any electoral oversight.

I am actually not a textualist. But you need to review case law and the principles of judicial review before you start talking about Scalia as if he was the same as Mcconnell.
Click to expand...
Scalia was welcome to interpret the law as he wanted and did so legally. I still disagreed with his philosophy and his actions, and on a personal level looked down upon them. He was welcome to interpret the law, and I was welcome to have a low opinion of him.

I never said he was the same as McConnell - though I very much disagree with both men, and I disapprove of the actions they took. There's no point in holding the judicial branch in reverence over the others.

I'm happy to PM you more over this.
 
7331poas said:
Being a Supreme Court justice isnt "above" being an ambulance chaser?

Man this is such a "milennial" mentality.
Click to expand...

I think we all secretly aspire to be Lionel Hutz.

huts.png
 
altblue said:
I'm happy to PM you more over this.
Click to expand...

I see no point. You talk of things like "disagreeing with his philosophy" yet understand little about constitutional law or judicial review. At the end of the day you have political disagreements with textualists, not academic ones. You don't know anything of the case law, but will agree/disagree with the Court's opinion based on whether you want your congressman to vote for/against. Therefore what is there to discuss?
 
7331poas said:
I see no point. You talk of things like "disagreeing with his philosophy" yet understand little about constitutional law or judicial review. At the end of the day you have political disagreements with textualists, not academic ones. You don't know anything of the case law, but will agree/disagree with the Court's opinion based on whether you want your congressman to vote for/against. Therefore what is there to discuss?
Click to expand...
Huh was a nice reply too much to ask for?
 
Terror Billy said:
@altblue no point in debating someone who thinks they're the smartest person in the room
Click to expand...

Nah im mostly just trolling.

The main point i was making in this thread was the hypocrisy of stating that DO = MD but most people apply MD when their stats are higher anyway.
 
7331poas said:
Nah im mostly just trolling.

The main point i was making in this thread was the hypocrisy of stating that DO = MD but most people apply MD when their stats are higher anyway.
Click to expand...
You kinda have a point.

Now, URM MD acceptance v ORM DO acceptance? who has more SDN street cred?:eyebrow:
 
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