What kind of doctor? If any?

[littlesooyon92]

I thought I made my decision to go on the path of becoming a vet, but I'm having second thoughts... I read a lot about different information, and my other dream job I wanted was to become a pediatrician, I didn't want to deal with people ... and their problems... but I'm kind of leaning towards it again.

My mind changes ALOT!!! so I have a really hard time choosing a major/career and sticking with it.

I even went to bed last night thinking, "what bout obstetrics?" LOL, then I woke up and I read some things, yea... not the job for me.

I already know that pediatrics don't deal with happy kids, its about the sick kids and how to treat them, some don't even speak so you have to treat them as how animals are treated (not in a bad way, I mean that you have to guess their symtpoms)


I really don't know... if I want to attend medical school? Is it... going to be right for me? :/

I'm attending my first year at a CC (out of state stud, so I'm starting off at CC)


what should i do?!

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[Nct16]

You probably want to shadow a veterinarian and a doctor. This would allow you to see what both are really like. You might also consider would you rather care for people or animals. This is just advice I've picked up by reading and no first hand experience. Good luck!

 

[Morsetlis]

Being a pediatrician is like being a vet anyway

 

[Fai]

Well, what I would do is look at specialties that require Med school (Opthalmology, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Primary Care, Emergency Medicine etc) and see if any speciality catches your interest. Then, do research in each of your interested specialty and then volunteer/shadow a physician.

Know that sometimes, people who go into Med school thinking they'll be say, a Dermatologist will enjoy a rotation in Surgery and enjoy it so much they don't want to be a Derm anymore. Switching specialties tend to happen! So it would be wise to go in with a few specialities in mind in case you won't like your primary choice.

See if it's med school you want to get in first. Find some specialities that'll interest you, and tower all those specialities over Vet school and say "Well hm, do I want to be a Vet more than a neurologist, pediatrician, psychiatrist etc?" I say this because with Med school, you're exposed to a variety of specialities and if you ended up not liking one, you could always go for the other and be happy. As for Vet school, you're going there JUST to be a Vet.

That's what I'm doing to balance between a psychiatry/opthalmology/emergency against Psychology. Seeing as how I'm having strong interests in the three above and against psychology, I'd like to get into medical school since should I not enjoy Psychiatry during rotation, I'll enjoy Opth or E.M. With Psych (or your situation, vet school) you're in that specific field till the end.

Hope I helped and good luck on your decision!

 

[Bman1047]

I thought I made my decision to go on the path of becoming a vet, but I'm having second thoughts... I read a lot about different information, and my other dream job I wanted was to become a pediatrician, I didn't want to deal with people ... and their problems... but I'm kind of leaning towards it again.

My mind changes ALOT!!! so I have a really hard time choosing a major/career and sticking with it.

I even went to bed last night thinking, "what bout obstetrics?" LOL, then I woke up and I read some things, yea... not the job for me.

I already know that pediatrics don't deal with happy kids, its about the sick kids and how to treat them, some don't even speak so you have to treat them as how animals are treated (not in a bad way, I mean that you have to guess their symtpoms)


I really don't know... if I want to attend medical school? Is it... going to be right for me? :/

I'm attending my first year at a CC (out of state stud, so I'm starting off at CC)


what should i do?!

You went out of state to attend a CC????

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Being a pediatrician is like being a vet anyway

Because, of course, there are dozens and dozens of baby species that all react differently to different treatments and get different disease presentations that you have to know about


No, no, I know what you are saying. I kid,

OP, volunteering, or at least shadowing, is the best way to go about it.

If you don't want to deal with people and their problems, veterinary medicine also may not be for you. The majority of your interactions as a clinical vet is with the owners/clients. Yes, you treat animals, but you HAVE to be able to enjoy interacting with people, explaining treatment protocols, giving prognoses and explaining options, educating them on care and management of their animal/herd/flock/whatever. Not to mention managing your technicians, assistants, etc. s And yes, there are clients that will drive you just as crazy as the average human patient. There is a saying that if you don't like people just as much as you like animals, don't be a vet.

 

[I'm No Superman]

You went out of state to attend a CC????

Maybe he/she can get in-state tuition next year.

 

[laughsmart]

Unlike veterinarians, there are so many different branches of doctors. If you do not like working with people's problems, you can work as a Hematologist, Pathologist or Radiologist. But, if you decide you do want to be come a doctor, you do not have to choose what branch, now. Besides, you can easily change your mind by the time you are out of med school In third and fourth year med school, you are mainly doing rotations of many different units-OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Physcology, Surgery, Family, Internal Med, Emerge... If you choose medicine, you will have plenty of time to decide what you want to specialize in.

 

[Morsetlis]

For today, I want to be the kind of doctor that sue other doctors.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Unlike veterinarians, there are so many different branches of doctors. If you do not like working with people's problems, you can work as a Hematologist, Pathologist or Radiologist. But, if you decide you do want to be come a doctor, you do not have to choose what branch, now. Besides, you can easily change your mind by the time you are out of med school In third and fourth year med school, you are mainly doing rotations of many different units-OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Physcology, Surgery, Family, Internal Med, Emerge... If you choose medicine, you will have plenty of time to decide what you want to specialize in.

Find some specialities that'll interest you, and tower all those specialities over Vet school and say "Well hm, do I want to be a Vet more than a neurologist, pediatrician, psychiatrist etc?" I say this because with Med school, you're exposed to a variety of specialities and if you ended up not liking one, you could always go for the other and be happy. As for Vet school, you're going there JUST to be a Vet.

Dudes, are you high?

Veterinarians have practically all the same specialties. Surgery, Dermatology, Radiology, Anesthesiology, Theriogenology, Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (my current residency is in Pathology), Oncology, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Parasitology, Toxicology, Exotic Medicine, Neurology (a good friend of mine is a board certified veterinary neurologist), Pharmacology (extremely important in both animal and human drug development), Nutrition, Ophthalmology, all the species-specific residencies...the list is endless. The only difference is that we are not required to do a residency in order to be just the basic general practitioners. But it is not uncommon at all that after veterinary school, vets do at least an internship and sometimes a residency as well in order to specialize and do more in-depth referral work, usually at large teaching hospitals where a lot of complicated referral cases end up (i.e.vet schools) or specialty practices. A supposed (and untrue) lack of specialty option is a laughable reason to not go into vet med.

 

[Starlightembers]

Unlike veterinarians, there are so many different branches of doctors. If you do not like working with people's problems, you can work as a Hematologist, Pathologist or Radiologist. But, if you decide you do want to be come a doctor, you do not have to choose what branch, now. Besides, you can easily change your mind by the time you are out of med school In third and fourth year med school, you are mainly doing rotations of many different units-OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Physcology, Surgery, Family, Internal Med, Emerge... If you choose medicine, you will have plenty of time to decide what you want to specialize in.

Sorry to nitpick, because I know what you meant; but it's Psychiatry, not Psychology. Psychology is a whole other, non-medical profession that, while similar to Psychiatry (a medical specialty), is also very different.

 

[Tin Man]

The thing about pre-med is that once you start, being wishy-washy becomes significantly more expensive.

So if you're still undecided when you're starting college, then take classes that apply to both career paths. Hopefully, you'll figure it out before you have to start taking classes dedicated to one side or the other.

But I would advise against being a doctor if what you really want to do is work with animals, and vice versa. I haven't seen many cases where high-schoolers have been unable to choose to be a physician before college even started (excepting criminal records).