stop bull****ting and tell the truth

[ADRIANSHOE]

a friendly poll:
why did you REALLY go to med school:
a. MONEY
b. PRESTIGE
c. GET NICE CAR, TOYS, HOUSE
d. CHICKS DIG DOCTORS
e. Boyfriend has female doctor fetish
f. tired of deadend jobs
g. interesting stuff
h. liked to kill bugs as child
i. show off my intelligence
j. its easier than most other science pHD fields.
k. access to medicines
l. access to drug reps
m. DADDY
n. MOMMY
o. OLDER SIBLING WAS DOCTOR
p. got pregnant need to pay for the kid
q. delay undergraduate loan payback
r. blew out knee during first match as pro wrestler
s. prostitution seemed too honorable
t. chance to actually see a vagina
u. chance to actually see a penis
v. chance to actually COMPARE my penis to someone else
w.see if husband was lying about AVERAGE size of penis
x. like having arrogant know it all self absorbed people around me all day
y. GOD TOLD ME TO DO IT
z. sincere need to help people.


I am curious, can you all give me your top three REAL reasons.

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[RollTide]

You left off my #1 reason!

zz. Could not think of a damn thing I would rather be doing with the next 8 years of my life

But my favorites from your list are:

q. delay undergraduate loan repayment
x. like having arrogant know it all self absorbed people around me all day (ie yourself)

Nice post John..the things people come up with at 4am


[This message has been edited by RollTide (edited 02-16-2001).]

 

[zhuge]

Yes, there is a lot of b.s.ing that goes around pertaining to the reasons a person goes into medicine, I must admit. Undergrad was full of "premeds" who openly portrayed their reasons for wanting to go into med school, but I guarantee that none of them repeated this to the admissions committees. No one is that dumb.

What I couldn't believe is the number of people that cited money as the number one reason they wanted to go into medicine. I for one could not think of a worse way to raise your standard of living. There are much better ways to earn much more money than going through 4 years of tough undergrad, 4 years of extremely tough medical training, 3-7 years of being treated like a peon and paid the equivalent, and then have to pay back $150,000 in loans. It would make much more sense to be a business major and work in the business or commodities world if you really wanted to make money your priority. People like Gates (college dropout) and Buffet would never get to that level being a doctor. I know that is an extreme example but there is a definite cap on how much a doctor can make working as hard as he/she can. There is no such cap to a smart businessman who works as hard as he can.

For ADRIANSHOE - if the timeline is correct, you should have graduated and be in a residency by now. After reading your comments last year, I was wondering if anything had changed and if you were happy about your situation now. Do you feel that, even through all the trouble you experienced, you still received a good education and are prepared to be a doctor?

 

[ADRIANSHOE]

hmmmm...i am probably the worst person to ask that question of at this point...medicine has been priority number three for the past 14 months or so.
give me about two more years and ask me.
I will stand behind one statement: unless you are a complete sociopath, a monkey could pass the last two years of medical school.
(clarification: at least in the hospitals i have been to)
so to those of you who were wondering...no i am NOT a complete sociopath....yet.
...but aren't we all just works in progress?

 

[ewagner]

Speaking only for myself, I genuinely wanted to learn more. Since I was already in a health field, I new there was ALOT more to know and I felt as though I was "up" for the challenge. Granted, I do find the history of medicine to be very noble and interesting, and I enjoy being part of it.
My parents are blue collar and only a few in my family made it to college.
There are quite a few "punks and brats" out there in medicine, so I guess let God and the patients sort us out (the good from the bad).
There ya go.

Oh yeah...I guess I always wantd to order a a "stat PCXR" too.

[This message has been edited by ewagner (edited 02-16-2001).]

 

[kyoung]

If any of you had the time to see ER last night you would have gotten a kick out of it. It pertained to interviewing students for med school, and asked your exact question. Of course everyone answered "To help people", with everyone on the board knowing it was bull****. My reason to go to medical school is the sincere interest in medicine - the knowledge, research, diseases, patients. And of course, to help people.

 

[Christopher Bengson]

Unfortunately, I must agree with the originator of this post regarding the self-serving reasons of those who choose to pursue medicine. And it is certainly true that many hide their true intentions about their pursuit of medicine behind blankets of wanting to serve humanity. The reality is that while many of these truisms you referred do exist, many of them are also balanced with a sincere desire to help and be of service to others. What better way to make money then to know that your efforts will be really appreciated. As for other reasons, I really don't like it when people assume that being a business man will pay more and is an easier pursuit. People often cite Bill Gates, etc. as alternative paths to making money aside from medicine. Let's face reality folks...Bill Gates is the exception. There are thousands of businessmen who make a respectable living and also work 100 hours a week...what's the difference between that and medicine??!?? There is a job security you have when you are a physician. As a business person in corporate america, you can be work your tail off and be making money for a firm but a cutback, downsize, merging, etc. can end your career with a severe halt. Even becoming a stock broker (ohh...looks so easy) but you know that in order to build a good book and make good money, you gotta know wealthy people who are willing to trust their money with some young, inexperienced broker...it's all about who you know). Young brokers who are doing well know through family, wealthy people...they are passing rich people's money around to make more money. As for the technology industry, yeah...you hear folks making $50,000 to start and six figures after a few years of experience...but do you really want to spend your life sitting in front of machine...thinking of new code?!?!? Medicine affords you a comfortable life with little chance of layoff. Now we can all ponder the road less traveled and mention extraordinary cases of successful businessmen and wonder whether or not we should have taken that route but let's balance that with the headlines we see everyday of big corporations laying off thousands of would-be Bill Gates of the world because of the ugly world of mergers and acquisitions. Let's not delve into the world of business without really knowing what we're talking about.

 

[adismo]

hey adrianshoe,

actually, it was the next exciting thing after being a race car driver. seriously though, if i had to list my top three it would be the profession itself(healing, prestige, power), the cars, the chicks. But God was directly involved in my admision to medschool (hehe, you'd turn pale if you saw my stats).

if you dont mind, adrian (or John, whatever), what kind of residency are you in, what kind of car do you drive, and how hot is your chick? below the belt, is it?
take it like a man. haha

 

[ADRIANSHOE]

ROFLMAO:
also, thanks for your post chris excellent points.

1. family practice.
2. i drive a 1990 buick park ave with a falling headliner and a broken driver side mirror and 180000 miles.
3. not dating any chicks at the moment, but i hand out tons of business cards everyday that have my name and title on them...chumming the waters. usually i do this at model searchs at the mall. takes a lot of time to find these things, but hey when your hunting trophy game you have to be a little persistent right?

 

[adismo]

But the ACSchnitzer-tuned BMW 330Ci is on order, right? c'mon, admit it, player. haha

 

[EstesDO]

1) Boredom with the career I already have. (computers)
2) Who says "Thank you" when you fix a network card?
3) Job security forever (I know what it's like to get laid off when you're already accustomed to a standard of living. It's too hard to find your way back!

 

[Im_Not_Paranoid]

to self medicate and help with my condition...

 

[legrita]

"Now we can all ponder the road less traveled and mention extraordinary cases of successful businessmen and wonder whether or not we should have taken that route but let's balance that with the headlines we see everyday of big corporations laying off thousands of would-be Bill Gates of the world because of the ugly world of mergers and acquisitions. Let's not delve into the world of business without really knowing what we're talking about."

Right on! I never really thought anyone thought like me. This is a very important and essential statement. Well, my reason for applying and soon attending med school is sincerely to help others. I want to practice medicine in the inner city and in Haiti for the underpriviledged. I will open up several free clinics (and orphanages in Haiti)and not have to ask the gov't for one red cent. (I happen to own my own business and will be paying for my education as well as my practice(s) w/o needing loans). Medicine affords little lifestyle lately. It is no longer as lucrative as it used to be. I was speaking with a few physicians that were telling me about how all the $$$ is in law and business. Those physicians claimed to be enjoying their work, but their faces were stress-ridden and the hours seemed to be killing them. Being a woman, I'd definetly like to raise my own kids once I'm married. The hours that physicians must work in order to make a lot of money is ridiculous. In order to mother my kids properly and take good care of my home, I feel the need to be a part-time physician and that's what I plan to do. But I sincerly would like to help and that is why I m doing medicine. If I find another way that will enable me to drastically help my community and others around me, I'd do it in a heart beat. Medicine is the brightest idea I've got so far.

Rache

 

[muonwhiz]

You are right for not getting into business reasons unless you have been there and done that. My reason is probably insanity or a love for academic punishment. I've been there and done that in the business and corporate world, and it has its downfalls too. You can make alot of $$$ (I did) but eventually you find that money isn't everything and that if you are not happy with your work no amount of $$$ can purchase that satisfaction.

 

[Doggy]

A contributing factor is that I want to promote health. By that I don't just mean the health of my future patients in the hospital (although it can be very rewarding), but my own health and that of my friends and family.

So why didn't I choose another health profession to promote health? Cuz I'm masochistic

, and I just love the science.

 

[Firebird]

Mine would be A, Z, and C...maybe in that order.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by kyoung:
If any of you had the time to see ER last night you would have gotten a kick out of it. It pertained to interviewing students for med school, and asked your exact question. Of course everyone answered "To help people", with everyone on the board knowing it was bull****. My reason to go to medical school is the sincere interest in medicine - the knowledge, research, diseases, patients. And of course, to help people.

•

I remember that episode! It really made me think of what I might say to admissions people.

I think one of my main reasons wasn't listed on the list. I think medicine would just about the most fun career I can think of. Not because it's interesting material, or anything like that, but because it would just be fun; you'd get to meet lots of people, you'd be able to help people feel better than they did before you saw them (I'm sincere here), and the things you would be doing would just be plain fun.

And it would be challenging too. I think I would do better in an anatomy class than a gen bio class because gen bio is boring.

 

[NurseyK]

////s. prostitution seemed too honorable....//////
________________

I believe that reason "S" already applies to my job at the present.

With that said, it is reasonably simple to conclude that my real motivation as to why I am going into medicine is to become the Brothel Madam.

[This message has been edited by NurseyK (edited April 04, 2001).]

 

[adismo]

As a ghetto child, the influx of $$$ will be a welcome change, albeit not the most important reason. Maybe the second.

 

[adismo]

As a ghetto child, the influx of $$$ will be a welcome change, albeit not the most important reason. Maybe the second.

 

[Dr. P]

Come on Guys, admit it... The prestige has ALOT to do with it too. If not, we'd all be in PA school right now! There's something very cool about being called Dr. So & So!!
The money and the girls are also pretty cool. And yes, and probalby most important,(corny corny).. helping people is a sincere rush. I'm sure we've all felt so humbled by that heart-felt thank you or the amazing feeling the first time you delivered a baby. This is a good post. It makes me reflect on how much I really love our profession. And face it, had we not gotten in way back when we applied, we'd all still be trying!! Guys, we made it! Without a doubt, the most respected, most noble and most rewarding profession, in every way possible. What else can match it?

Dr. P.
NYC

 

[Doggy]

I agree with Dr. P. What's more, I think we see from all the postings that the reasons for choosing medicine are many. No one can, in good conscience, say it's a right or wrong reason as long as we enjoy and excel in the profession. And Adrianshoe, some of those reasons you posted were FUNNY

 

[Matt Norman]

Well, as an RN I have found myself constently wanting to know more about the reasons behind the conditions that I help treat in the ER. I am with the wanted to know more crowd I guess. I also long for a larger part in the care and decision making part of my patients care.


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Love God, Hate Sin

 

[Austin Powers]

I've always wanted to be able to buy a brand new Corvette, I love the idea of someone calling me Dr., being able to see the tattoos that people don't usually get to see, and the opportunity to date women who are out of my league. These are the big reasons I wanted to be a physician. I don't have the Vette yet, student Dr. is ok for now, I've seen some great tats, and I have dated some incredible women.

This is the greatest profession in the world!!!

Austin

 

[dieselkid]

One word...autonomy.

 

[ADRIANSHOE]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by dieselkid:
One word...autonomy.•

hmmm...might want to rethink your career choice then...autonomy and modern medicine are not really synonymous....on the whole that is...there are niches that are more autonomous than others...certainly you could become a pure osteopath and just accept cash...some do this and it seems to be both autonomous and rewarding for them.
but if you are going to hitch your wagon to the insurance companies, the drug reps and the hmos (to say nothing of medicare) your autonomy will sometimes be illusory...on the whole however you are certainly much more autonomous than say a professor or a chemist or a nurse....much less autonomous than an entrepeneur however....so in short LOL, you may be right...it depends on your expectations and perspective.

 

[dieselkid]

Two words...elective procedures. Like you said, it depends on what you decide to do.

Sure entrepreneurs have autonomy...but, unless they are "angels" (not many of those around here anymore... dot.com blow-out)...it has been my impression that they are ultimately accountable to whomever holds their purse strings.

Even the illusion of autonomy is better than a poke in the eye...

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Nothing doing.

 

[crisis_response_director]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Dr. P:
Come on Guys, admit it... The prestige has ALOT to do with it too. If not, we'd all be in PA school right now! There's something very cool about being called Dr. So & So!!
The money and the girls are also pretty cool. And yes, and probalby most important,(corny corny).. helping people is a sincere rush. I'm sure we've all felt so humbled by that heart-felt thank you or the amazing feeling the first time you delivered a baby. This is a good post. It makes me reflect on how much I really love our profession. And face it, had we not gotten in way back when we applied, we'd all still be trying!! Guys, we made it! Without a doubt, the most respected, most noble and most rewarding profession, in every way possible. What else can match it?

Dr. P.
NYC•

Some people say this about social work: "most respectable, most noble and most rewarding" It is hard work and the pay can be good depending on where you practice. I know msw's that make a pretty good living.

 

[crisis_response_director]

[This message has been edited by crisis_response_director (edited April 06, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by crisis_response_director (edited April 06, 2001).]

 

[JThomas88]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by RollTide:
You left off my #1 reason!

zz. Could not think of a damn thing I would rather be doing with the next 8 years of my life

But my favorites from your list are:

q. delay undergraduate loan repayment
x. like having arrogant know it all self absorbed people around me all day (ie yourself)

Nice post John..the things people come up with at 4am


[This message has been edited by RollTide (edited 02-16-2001).]•

I agree Roll Tide. it's sad but true


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"If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have been given one ear and two mouths"
-Mark Twain