When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?

[RJGOP]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Kind of a fun question. I'm just kinda curious, although I'm not sure why. If you care, I probably knew I wanted to be a doctor (barring the miracle I could be a professional babseball player) when I was a sophomore or junior in highschool, even though I had been interested in medicine and anatomy since I was in elementary school. Anyway, have at it.

 

[Ophthoseidon]

A year or so before I applied. I was pre-PT, decided it wasn't for me, shadowed some docs, took the MCAT, and applied.

 

[happiness7]

Not until junior year of college. I was one of those people who had doctor parents and rebelled against the idea and wanted to do something different. But obvs came around to it 🙂.

 

[RJGOP]

Not until junior year of college. I was one of those people who had doctor parents and rebelled against the idea and wanted to do something different. But obvs came around to it 🙂.

I had so many doctors in my family, including my mom, so really I'm nothing special. However, it really cultivated my interest in medicine. And I don't know if I'd be a doctor ( or in training) if it weren't for my family.

 

[DrJonesenberg]

Honestly I wasn't completely sold on it until I started med school. Now that I'm here I love it and wouldn't want to be doing anything else

 

[Ismet]

According to my mom, I was one of those kids who wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. I remember wanting to be an astronaut for the longest time. Why not both? 😛

But as for actually KNOWING, the first real inclination was when I shadowed an EM doc in junior year of high school as part of a "career" high school project. A patient interaction from that experience made it into my personal statement and it's still my favorite shadowing experience to this day.

 

[colbgw02]

Like about 40% of my freshmen class in college, I started out pre-med, but only about 2% ended up going to medical school (right away). So, it was common to get an eye roll when saying that you were pre-med. I just wanted to prove those eye rollers wrong.

Boy, I really showed them.

 

[NotAnOperator]

I never even considered doing anything in medicine. I joined the military for a fast paced-shoot 'em up job. That was great until I got injured and then reclassed as a medic. After being forced to get my EMT and LPN by the military, I realized I love the medical field and after working with all my ER docs, I know it's what I want to do in life.

 

[Psai]

According to my mom, I was one of those kids who wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. I remember wanting to be an astronaut for the longest time. Why not both? 😛

But as for actually KNOWING, the first real inclination was when I shadowed an EM doc in junior year of high school as part of a "career" high school project. A patient interaction from that experience made it into my personal statement and it's still my favorite shadowing experience to this day.

Porque no los dos?
Apparently there's a residency for aerospace medicine

 

[Ismet]

Porque no los dos?
Apparently there's a residency for aerospace medicine

I have really bad uncorrected vision, like 20/800 bad. It's correctable to 20/20, but my dad crushed those dreams when he said I couldn't be an astronaut due to my eyesight. 😢

 

[RJGOP]

I have really bad uncorrected vision, like 20/800 bad. It's correctable to 20/20, but my dad crushed those dreams when he said I couldn't be an astronaut due to my eyesight. 😢

Do you have any interest in opthalmology?

 

[Ismet]

Do you have any interest in opthalmology?

Not at all. I can't stand eyes.

 

[colbgw02]

It's funny how people get weirded out by certain things but not others. My wife hated ENT because the idea of messing in patients' head holes freaked her out, whereas she would've been completely content to deliver babies all day. Yeah, because boogers are much worse than when the lady with an epidural in labor produces that wonderful mix of blood, urine, stool, and amniotic fluid.

 

[RJGOP]

It's funny how people get weirded out by certain things but not others. My wife hated ENT because the idea of messing in patients' head holes freaked her out, whereas she would've been completely content to deliver babies all day. Yeah, because boogers are much worse than when the lady with an epidural in labor produces that wonderful mix of blood, urine, stool, and amniotic fluid.

Yeah I know, it's really interesting. My aunt is a colorectal surgeon, but when I was talking to her about orthopedics (of all things) she thought that was gross. She said there is way too much blood in orthopedics.

 

[Kahreek]

never really wanted to be a doctor till I was ms-2

 

[RJGOP]

never really wanted to be a doctor till I was ms-2

What made you want to attend medical school then?

 

[Kahreek]

What made you want to attend medical school then?

same thing as all others.

 

[RJGOP]

same thing as all others.

What do you mean? Most people go into med school because they already know they want to become doctors.

 

[Kahreek]

What do you mean? Most people go into med school because they already know they want to become doctors.

nobody knows if they really want to become a doctor until they are in.

 

[circulus vitios]

I decided to start working toward med school during my gap year between high school and college. I didn't get serious about pursuing med school until my junior year of college, I think.

I'm still not 100% sure that I want to be a doctor. Parts of it are really appealing, others not so much. I guess it's unrealistic to expect everything to be enjoyable, though.

 

[Psai]

Still not sure if I want to be a doctor

 

[colbgw02]

Still not sure if I want to be a doctor

 

[alpinism]

I have really bad uncorrected vision, like 20/800 bad. It's correctable to 20/20, but my dad crushed those dreams when he said I couldn't be an astronaut due to my eyesight. 😢

Don't worry most flight docs aren't flying missions, even in the military. Usually you're just taking care of pilots and astronauts. Lots of preventive medicine with very healthy patients.

 

[PL198]

Still not sure if I want to be a doctor

screw you I was going to post this. It's a constant battle where I'm not sure if the financial incentive is adequate given other factors.

 

[RJGOP]

screw you I was going to post this. It's a constant battle where I'm not sure if the financial incentive is adequate given other factors.

Aren't you in an accelerated program? I mean, of course you will still have debt unless your parents paid for everything, but I'm sure you'll have an easier time paying it off than most docs.

 

[PL198]

Aren't you in an accelerated program? I mean, of course you will still have debt unless your parents paid for everything, but I'm sure you'll have an easier time paying it off than most docs.

yes I am, I'm paying(totally want to, would never ever pay for my kids). my concerns are more based on the "derivative" of the outlook of medicine, more so than the actual current compensations themselves. I'd be fine with those if their values stayed constant, but I'm not sure that will be the case.

 

[RJGOP]

yes I am, I'm paying(totally want to, would never ever pay for my kids). my concerns are more based on the "derivative" of the outlook of medicine, more so than the actual current compensations themselves. I'd be fine with those if their values stayed constant, but I'm not sure that will be the case.

I think part of the problem with reimbursement now is the economy (and Obamacare) , which can be fixed with a competent president. However, the other issue is the insurance companies and the patients themselves. Insurance companies don't pay anything and patients don't want to pay anything. So, I don't really know what the future holds either.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Kind of a fun question. I'm just kinda curious, although I'm not sure why. If you care, I probably knew I wanted to be a doctor (barring the miracle I could be a professional babseball player) when I was a sophomore or junior in highschool, even though I had been interested in medicine and anatomy since I was in elementary school. Anyway, have at it.

MS2 and truth be told I still don't know for certain haha.

But, I got interested when I was a sophomore in high school.

 

[The Buff OP]

About 4 years ago.