What's a good answer to "why medicine"?

[Senlin]

Hi everyone,

I'm having a really hard time articulating an answer to the question, "Why do you want to go into medicine?" This is further complicated by the fact that I wish to pursue an MD/PhD. I would appreciate it if some of you could post your reasons, or reasons that you would consider to be respectable.

I do have reasons for wanting to be a doctor (the physician part of physician-scientist), but I feel that they are clichéd, idealistic, and perhaps overly simplistic. Basically, it boils down to:

1) I like science. Science is intellectually stimulating. Seeing a patient can also be intellectually stimulating; for example, figuring out the diagnosis, considering the possible avenues of treatment, various risk factors, etc.

2) I would like to help people. More specifically, I would like to be with a patient when they receive their diagnosis, educate them about the relevant medical issues, answer their questions, and calm them down if possible. For example, one doctor I shadowed had to explain what genes are to the parents of a baby with a congenital blood disease. She used Legos as an analogy for genes. 🙂

3) Why MD/PhD? I think medicine and science can be synergistic. I mean that as more than idealism; I currently work for a physician-scientist and our lab members sometimes do work on patient samples. Patients with inherited conditions have helped my boss elucidate biological pathways, and research in our lab could potentially lead to ideas for new therapies or biomarkers to help the patient or similar patients. More generally, I think I would be very frustrated as a physician if all I did was stay within the existing treatment framework and not break new ground or ask new questions. If I had a patient with an unexplained condition, I would want to explore it further through research, and I think the best way to become qualified to do that is by having both an MD and a PhD.

Connection back to 2): Biomedical research in this past century has vastly improved our quality of life and life expectancy (vaccines, chemotherapy, neonatal diagnosis, PCR, MRI, way too many examples).

tl;dr, my reasons are "I think it's interesting!" and "I would like to help people!" Aren't those very weak and generic answers? Can there be better answers, or am I just second-guessing myself unnecessarily? I'm not saying I'm going to co-opt someone else's answer that I find convincing, but I just keep seeing holes in mine and feel that an interviewer or AdCom member will rip them to pieces. If asked "Why medicine?" at an interview, could I say "I think medicine is interesting" and "I want to help people [to understand and overcome their ailments]"? That's the truth, and I don't know how to make it sound more sophisticated.

Thanks in advance!

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[kansaskid]

The only person who can effectively answer "why medicine" for you, is you. Figure out specific details about why you think the science of medicine is interesting. Link your interest to a particular event in your life or a specific research subject that really gets you going. You want to help people? Figure out why exactly. Spend some time analyzing your reasons, do some in depth self exploration. No one else can answer this question for you!

 

[Senlin]

Thanks for your response!! I realize that I titled my thread poorly; it really should be "please help me articulate my own reasons for wanting to pursue medicine."

Can someone please read my justification and tell me what they think? Please tell me if something is unclear, or will set off a red flag to an AdCom. I'm being totally honest here (this forum is anonymous; I have no reason to make anything up), but I do want to know if something can be presented in a better light if it rubs against you the wrong way.

No one really close to me has died, or become seriously ill (though of course many people I know have significant health issues that impact their lives). My grandmother's a doctor, but not in the US. She retired before I was even born. My parents aren't doctors, nor do they specifically pressure me to be a doctor. Now, they ARE against jobs like acting or writing that can be really unstable, but I've never wanted to act or write for a living. In college, I wanted to be a scientist, so I explored classes in geology and field biology but neither were for me.

So my reasons are:

Medical science is interesting. I mean, you’re studying aspects of life itself. How do we survive when the world around us is teeming with microbes, and our body is a goldmine of nutrients? We can then study our immune defenses to find out. What causes aging and senescence? Studying patients can give us insights into basic biology. For example, mutations in DNA repair proteins lead to accelerated aging syndromes.

I want to do medically-relevant research. In my first lab, we worked on a topic that at the time seemed 100% academic. Even my mentor struggled to explain its relevance. As a medical researcher I would be particularly qualified to identify research topics that hold potential for improving human health.

One physician I shadowed influenced my decision to apply MD/PhD. In a single day, I saw her teaching fellows/med students, counseling patients, and directing research in her own lab. I'd already decided I wanted to do research at that point, but seeing her sheer SKILL at empathizing with the patients, calming them down, and educating them made me want to have the same job. (She was a pediatric oncologist, so as you can imagine, you see some really hysterical parents.) Does revering a physician you shadowed as a role model reek of hero worship? That doesn't seem like a strong justification for wanting to do something.

What do you think? Are my answers at least coherent? They may not be unique, but at least it's not made up... 😕

 

[GH253]

The answer should be that you are attracted to the content of a medical career. You love human anatomy and physiology and want to master this knowledge and to fight disease. Some people love cars and become cars and become car salesmen, some people love guitars and give guitar lessons for a living, and you want to be a doctor because you like the human body and want to be a master technician of it. I would discourage you from saying that you want to "help people" because that is too generic.

 

[PianoMajor]

You have to realize that the people interviewing you have interviewed many people before you. They ask you the question 'why medicine?' simply to test you sincerity toward the profession. There isn't anything you can say that they haven't heard, and it shouldn't be your goal to say something ground breaking as you might end up saying something very stupid. So just be honest and say exactly why you want to be a doctor.

Also, it would be a great idea to back up your reason(s) with PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.

 

[Senlin]

Thanks for the replies. 🙂

Now that you mention it, there are only so many possible answers to "why medicine." No one's answer can be unique. It's a specific job, with specific responsibilities -- you must want to be a doctor because you like certain factors of that job, and there are only so many factors, whether it's the income or the prestige or the fact that you get to study the human body and help people when they need it the most. Right?

And of all the possible answers to "why medicine?" mine just happen to be that I find "life" (on the cellular level as well as on the systemic level) to be fascinating and that I know how scary it is to have an illness you don't understand, and I want to be the person who helps patients understand as well as maps out a course for their recovery. A huge motivational factor in the direction of pediatric oncology is that if you can drive a young patient's cancer into remission, they very well may have 70+ years ahead of them; their lives are just starting.

Here's a new question: when someone asks you, "why medicine?" is the answer expected to be a motivation ("human biology is interesting"), OR is the answer expected to be a narrative illustrating how you came to want to be a doctor? ("I shadowed some cool doctors")

 

[morning]

I have yet to see a single response to that question that seems both unique and sincere...and that includes anything I've ever said or thought about it. I'm convinced it's a trick question and I doubt adcoms place much emphasis on your response unless you say something really, really dumb or really, really awesome. And the people who've come up with the latter are not going to share it

 

[bobsmith]

my reasons are "I think it's interesting!" and "I would like to help people!" Aren't those very weak and generic answers? Can there be better answers, or am I just second-guessing myself unnecessarily? I'm not saying I'm going to co-opt someone else's answer that I find convincing, but I just keep seeing holes in mine and feel that an interviewer or AdCom member will rip them to pieces. If asked "Why medicine?" at an interview, could I say "I think medicine is interesting" and "I want to help people [to understand and overcome their ailments]"? That's the truth, and I don't know how to make it sound more sophisticated.

Thanks in advance!

Yes, the answers "I think it's interesting" and "I would like to help people!" are generic. I think pretty much everyone going into medicine finds it (at least somewhat) interesting and likes the idea of helping people. Where you differentiate yourself is by talking about why exactly it's interesting to you, what aspects of it are interesting to you and how exactly you've tested this desire.

If you keep seeing holes in your answer or holes in your experiences, you've probably got some more thinking to do or some more experiencing to do. I mean, you argued that science is "intellectually stimulating," but I could argue that law is intellectually stimulating, too, so why not become a lawyer? What don't you find intellectually stimulating about other fields?

For example,

In college, I wanted to be a scientist, so I explored classes in geology and field biology but neither were for me.

Why weren't these fields for you? Be specific.

So why science exactly? (Note, you don't have to answer me here, just pointing out some of the types of questions to think about)

It's definitely a good thing to think about holes in your thought process or holes in your experiences not just because interviewers can bring them up, but also because you want to make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into. So basically, if you want your generalized answer to "sound more sophisticated," you need to be honest with yourself and talk about what you like and be very specific about why you like it.

 

[Senlin]

Where you differentiate yourself is by talking about why exactly it's interesting to you, what aspects of it are interesting to you and how exactly you've tested this desire.

So you would accept my reason if it were elaborated upon and personalized to my own experiences, but nonetheless still REDUCES to "I find biomedical science intellectually stimulating" and "I enjoy helping people"? You're saying that there's nothing intrinsically wrong with these motivations, just that I haven't expanded them?

 

[bobsmith]

So you would accept my reason if it were elaborated upon and personalized to my own experiences, but nonetheless still REDUCES to "I find biomedical science intellectually stimulating" and "I enjoy helping people"? You're saying that there's nothing intrinsically wrong with these motivations, just that I haven't expanded them?

Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm saying.

My general feeling on it is that admissions committees mostly just want to know that you've put a lot of thought into your decision and tested it rather than just sort of thinking, "Hey, being a doctor sounds pretty cool -- you get to help people and stuff" or just blindly following the path laid out for you.

 

[Earl Grey]

Reread about rhetoric and start from there. It's not what what you say, it's how you say it. After all you're asking on how to articulate your desire to pursue medical school, not advice on as to change your reasons to appear more unique.

Great writing makes for a great read which makes for a great impression.

 

[bannie22]

Silly, why does it matter if your response is generic. If its your response then its your response.

 

[Morsetlis]

Silly, why does it matter if your response is generic. If its your response then its your response.

But but we're all unique snowflakes.

 

[LizzyM]

Science and helping pretty much sums it all up. Your examples of experiences you've had that confirmed that this seems like a good fit with your interests and personality (being with patients when they get a diagnosis, helping to explain things, the doc who used legos to describe genes) is what puts meat on the bare bones and makes it seem more personalized to you, and less of a cliche.

 

[NickNaylor]

It's whatever answer you have, and you'll be judged according to what you've developed.

 

[Marcus Brody]

You can use the generic answers, just don't explicitly verbalize them, ie don't bother saying "cuz i like science." Instead just illustrate it with concise stories/personal details.

 

[oceanbluehonu]

I had a hard time with this question as well. My first time applying, I came up with this weird off the wall answer and it didn't go over so well. I think the problem was I was trying so hard to be different that I forgot to be myself. It took me like two years to come up with something better. What I did was to determine how I wanted to live my life (i.e. be compassionate, connect with people, be kind, etc) and see how becoming a doctor helps me achieve those goals. Just be honest and sincere.

 

[Morsetlis]

The bottom line is, medical school application isn't about reinventing the wheel...

 

[hewmanoid]

Hi everyone,

I'm having a really hard time articulating an answer to the question, "Why do you want to go into medicine?" This is further complicated by the fact that I wish to pursue an MD/PhD. I would appreciate it if some of you could post your reasons, or reasons that you would consider to be respectable.

I do have reasons for wanting to be a doctor (the physician part of physician-scientist), but I feel that they are clichéd, idealistic, and perhaps overly simplistic. Basically, it boils down to:

1) I like science. Science is intellectually stimulating. Seeing a patient can also be intellectually stimulating; for example, figuring out the diagnosis, considering the possible avenues of treatment, various risk factors, etc.

2) I would like to help people. More specifically, I would like to be with a patient when they receive their diagnosis, educate them about the relevant medical issues, answer their questions, and calm them down if possible. For example, one doctor I shadowed had to explain what genes are to the parents of a baby with a congenital blood disease. She used Legos as an analogy for genes. 🙂

3) Why MD/PhD? I think medicine and science can be synergistic. I mean that as more than idealism; I currently work for a physician-scientist and our lab members sometimes do work on patient samples. Patients with inherited conditions have helped my boss elucidate biological pathways, and research in our lab could potentially lead to ideas for new therapies or biomarkers to help the patient or similar patients. More generally, I think I would be very frustrated as a physician if all I did was stay within the existing treatment framework and not break new ground or ask new questions. If I had a patient with an unexplained condition, I would want to explore it further through research, and I think the best way to become qualified to do that is by having both an MD and a PhD.

Connection back to 2): Biomedical research in this past century has vastly improved our quality of life and life expectancy (vaccines, chemotherapy, neonatal diagnosis, PCR, MRI, way too many examples).

tl;dr, my reasons are "I think it's interesting!" and "I would like to help people!" Aren't those very weak and generic answers? Can there be better answers, or am I just second-guessing myself unnecessarily? I'm not saying I'm going to co-opt someone else's answer that I find convincing, but I just keep seeing holes in mine and feel that an interviewer or AdCom member will rip them to pieces. If asked "Why medicine?" at an interview, could I say "I think medicine is interesting" and "I want to help people [to understand and overcome their ailments]"? That's the truth, and I don't know how to make it sound more sophisticated.

Thanks in advance!

Ask yourself why it can't be anything but medicine. What's so unique about it? There are many other professions that allow you to pursue science and help people. One of the best ways you can answer this question is how you have looked into other fields before deciding to go into medicine and confirmed that medicine is indeed the right thing to do (Of course, you should talk about your specific experiences that will back this up.) This will make a more convincing case than saying "I love science and human body and I've always wanted to become a doctor" I can't tell you exactly what to write since this has to come from you, but hope you get the idea. Good luck.