When did you make the decision?

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TheVillain

TheVillain

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Almost every time I read success stories about various individuals becoming doctors, it seems as though they made the decision early on. For example, "I wanted to be a doctor since....like, seven years old." It's as though if you didn't want to become a doctor at a young age, than you are obviously not serious enough....or something lame as, it isn't your calling, you gotta KNOW you were/are going to be a Doc. Personally, I never really thought much about being a doctor at a young age. When the thought did cross my mind in high school, I felt as though I wasn't smart enough, or competent to become one :idea:. I finally realized that if I lost the chance of going for the greatest challenge, I would always live in guilt for settling for less. Anyways, at what age, or during which time of your life depending on your circumstance, did you make the decision, and went after it?
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September 2008 when the recession started.
 
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I was teaching in a juvenile detention center and saw a need for public health/primary care doctors in the inner city after watching some of my students struggle with health care... The idea had crossed my mind previously, but I had dropped out of school a year earlier and didn't think medicine was a possibility anymore. It's possible, no matter your circumstances :)
 
I first became interested in medicine the day of my conception, where I was intrigued by the process of fertilization and fetal development. While I was in the womb, I was able to communicate to the OB/GYN via Morse code about the lifestyle of the average physician and my chance at being accepted to a US allopathic school. Since then I've known that I would never be happy in another career.
 
TheVillain said:
Almost every time I read success stories about various individuals becoming doctors, it seems as though they made the decision early on. For example, "I wanted to be a doctor since....like, seven years old." It's as though if you didn't want to become a doctor at a young age, than you are obviously not serious enough....or something lame as, it isn't your calling, you gotta KNOW you were/are going to be a Doc. Personally, I never really thought much about being a doctor at a young age. When the thought did cross my mind in high school, I felt as though I wasn't smart enough, or competent to become one :idea:. I finally realized that if I lost the chance of going for the greatest challenge, I would always live in guilt for settling for less. Anyways, at what age, or during which time of your life depending on your circumstance, did you make the decision, and went after it?
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Well I don't know about the wisdom of pursuing medical school just because you wanted to challenge yourself... but to answer your question I didn't even really think about medical school until a year into undergrad. I initially wanted to go into finance. Like you, I never even really considered medicine in high school, both because I didn't feel like I was smart enough and because I hated my high school chemistry and biology courses. It wasn't until I took those classes in college (from good professors) that I realized that not only was I good at them, but also that I really enjoyed the sciences. Then for a while I debated between medicine and grad school. After some shadowing, research, and lots of internal reflection I decided, like so many others, that I wanted a career based in science but that also had a heaping dose of human interaction and working with those who were "down". The allure of job security, good income, and a flexible and customization career solidified my decision.

After making the decision I was already more than a year into school so I had to play catch up a little and worked hard to strengthen the weaknesses in my app with high quality ECs. It all worked out great for me and I'll be starting med school in a little over 3 months.

I'd bet, although this is based purely on anecdotes and speculation, that the average medical student's scenario is more similar to my story than the "I knew since I was 8 years old..." people. SDN is great for a lot of thing, but representing the average pre-med is not one of them... so don't compare yourself to things you hear on this site.
 
I decided in fall 2006 after becoming disillusioned with economics/accounting.
 
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flatearth22 said:
Nah I wanna do surgery now.
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Cool, good luck with that sir (or madame).


Addressing the actual thread: I think I began to seriously think about medicine senior yr of high school during my anatomy class. We dissected a cat and I absolutely loved it.
 
My freshman year of college. I was never interested in medicine before that point.
 
I decided a few weeks ago. I will be 23 in a few months.

I never really knew what I wanted to be. Since graduating high school in 08 I've taken about 70 credits worth of classes at my local community college. Switched majors a few times and nothing felt right. I've always had an interest in medical stuff especially surgery. A few weeks ago I was watching some surgery on the Discovery channel and eating lasagna. While I was "operating" on my lasagna it just clicked.
 
Pretzel12 said:
I decided a few weeks ago. I will be 23 in a few months.

I never really knew what I wanted to be. Since graduating high school in 08 I've taken about 70 credits worth of classes at my local community college. Switched majors a few times and nothing felt right. I've always had an interest in medical stuff especially surgery. A few weeks ago I was watching some surgery on the Discovery channel and eating lasagna. While I was "operating" on my lasagna it just clicked.
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It's destiny :smuggrin:

I was 22, as well.
 
TheVillain said:
Almost every time I read success stories about various individuals becoming doctors, it seems as though they made the decision early on. For example, "I wanted to be a doctor since....like, seven years old." It's as though if you didn't want to become a doctor at a young age, than you are obviously not serious enough....or something lame as, it isn't your calling, you gotta KNOW you were/are going to be a Doc. Personally, I never really thought much about being a doctor at a young age. When the thought did cross my mind in high school, I felt as though I wasn't smart enough, or competent to become one :idea:. I finally realized that if I lost the chance of going for the greatest challenge, I would always live in guilt for settling for less. Anyways, at what age, or during which time of your life depending on your circumstance, did you make the decision, and went after it?
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Count me in the group who decided at a young age. I suffered a broken leg at the age of 3 and 1/2, spent about a month in the hospital, and after that, my parents had to read this book http://www.amazon.com/Some-Busy-Hospital-Seymour-Reit/dp/0307655997 to me at bedtime every night for the next 18 months. Knew from that point on. Obviously like anyone I had my doubts over the years, but everything worked out.
 
TheVillain said:
What do you mean by disillusioned?
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I went into college with high hopes for an exciting career in finance, but after a few business economics/accounting courses, I realized that type of future didn't interest me in the slightest.
 
EBTrailRunner said:
I went into college with high hopes for an exciting career in finance, but after a few business economics/accounting courses, I realized that type of future didn't interest me in the slightest.
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Oh, ok. I thought that you were thinking about making big $$ and then found out it isn't so.
 
Count me in the young crowd. When I was 5, my parents gave me a Fisher-Price doctor's set. I would go around with my fake stethoscope and check my family's heartbeats. If I remember correctly, I also gave my dog a checkup or two.
 
About 8 years old.

Before that I wanted to be an artist. Then I found out I couldn't draw.
 
Praefectus said:
Count me in the young crowd. When I was 5, my parents gave me a Fisher-Price doctor's set. I would go around with my fake stethoscope and check my family's heartbeats. If I remember correctly, I also gave my dog a checkup or two.
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I had one too.

This is the one I had.
fp2010-EB71425109-B.JPG


I really don't know how I didn't figure this out sooner. I used to play with it all the time.
 
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Problem solving is fun, but I'm not good enough to be a Physicist
 
decided when I started watching Scrubs in my sophomore year of high school, i wanna be just like Perry Cox
 
I haven't decided definitively yet (though leaning towards medicine), and I'm a junior.

I always kinda wanted to become a doctor growing up but only got serious about it during my senior year of high school. Was really gung-ho about the whole pre-med thing throughout that year, but then, strangely, I never really felt the same zeal for it during my first three years here in college—thought medical school was for suckas and that I wanted a more laid back job. At the same time, I never fully denounced it and still made sure I got good grades, and now the last few weeks I've slowly been getting back into the possibility of a medical career. I hope to decide at some point next year whether to officially go for it or scrap the idea for good. I will be 22.
 
Pretzel12 said:
I had one too.

This is the one I had.
fp2010-EB71425109-B.JPG


I really don't know how I didn't figure this out sooner. I used to play with it all the time.
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Omg, I had that too! I just saw it since my niece plays with it now :)

For me it was around 5 when I would watch ER with my mom when I couldn't sleep (damn juvenile migraines) and eat turkey sandwiches. I wanted to be a trauma surgeon for so long, then college happened and I realized trauma isn't as cool as neurosurgery :)
 
Don't know an exact age but I was pretty young. My mom works with 3rd and 4th years med students and I remember being at her office a lot and talking with med students and residents in the school's family practice residency and looking at medical texts and old projector slides, etc. I could just never get enough of that stuff and found everything to be super fascinating. Of course I didn't actively pursue medicine until I had one semester left to finish my music education degree...nothing like spending 7 years in undergrad.
 
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Seems like those who were exposed to medicine (parents, toys) became more apt at pursing medicine. I wonder it there is a correlation of success of those making up their minds early vs those in High school / College.
 
I made up my mind to be a lawyer early in HS because I was terrible in science :oops:, so I took all AP humanities courses (world history, us history, gov't, english lang & english lit) and avoided the hard sciences. It wasn't until 12th grade that I realized I wanted to be psychiatrist instead. The details are pretty sketchy though...
 
I'm definitively not the type who always knew. I remember when growing up in a poor third world country, my grandma was pretty sick with arthritis, but could not see a doc or get any medication for the pain cause there was no money for those things. She used to cry a lot and I felt powerless and wished I could do something about it. Many different but similar things have lead me to this path...
 
TheVillain said:
Seems like those who were exposed to medicine (parents, toys) became more apt at pursing medicine. I wonder it there is a correlation of success of those making up their minds early vs those in High school / College.
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It definitively influenced people's desires to pursuit medicine. I think it all depends on how strong your motives are. You raise a good question though.
 
Both my parents were doctors so I was pretty much brainwashed into being one since I came out of my mother's womb. However, growing up in the Philippines is definitely a different experience when it comes to learning about a physician's lifestyle. Back there, the money and the prestige are the biggest draws to medicine. None of these altruistic elements that US medical schools love to hear about. Also, getting into medical school is only based on grades (and connections). ECs? volunteering? research? job experience? personal statement? Useless...

However, moving to America has been great. It took me a year to realize that medical school here isn't just about the grades, but I think I'm getting there when it comes to my ECs. Also, I now get more excited about the service that I may be able to give to patients, than the profit that I may get from this service.
 
lobo12 said:
I'm definitively not the type who always knew. I remember when growing up in a poor third world country, my grandma was pretty sick with arthritis, but could not see a doc or get any medication for the pain cause there was no money for those things. She used to cry a lot and I felt powerless and wished I could do something about it. Many different but similar things have lead me to this path...
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I am also from a third-world country where corruption and bribes are the status-quo. Many times in my family medical emergencies would occur where due to financial issues, expensive medical techniques that were offered by the doctors were out of question. Ironically, my family isn't too supportive (perhaps they are bound close-minded, non-ambitous, and legacy notions) which made my decision, a sort of determination to break out of the chain of "failure." But who knows....I got a long road ahead.
 
I had the same FIscher-Price medical kit as well. When I was young, I wanted to be a doctor, but by the time I reached college, I decided a career in the business world would be more exciting.

My career in the business world lasted a few years before my then-girlfriend (now wife) faced a life-threatening health crisis. I spent a lot of time around doctors during her recovery, and decided to pursue medicine one night while we were in the ED. I started doing research on career-changing the next day.
 
I had thought about it a number of times as a child, but focused on law in high school. I went all through college working to get a BA in history, intending to apply to law schools afterward. By the time I graduated though, I had decided it wasn't for me. I decided to start taking the classes I needed for med school and completed the pre-reqs plus some science electives, but met my wife near the end of those courses and got a job instead of actually applying for med school.

We got married, and just over a year ago my wife, expecting out first child, went into the hospital with complications from her pregnancy. She ended up delivering our son 8 weeks early, and he spent over a month in the NICU. The exposure to the hospital, doctors, the environment there, the various procedures, all convinced my wife that I should be a doctor, a goal I had effectively abandoned when we were getting ready to get married. My desire to be a doctor hadn't disappeared, even though I had accepted that I had chosen having a family over being a doctor. Talking about it and with the doctors in the hospital convinced us both that I would be able to still be a husband and father while becoming a doctor, so I registered to re-take the MCAT and applied this past summer.
 
TheVillain said:
I am also from a third-world country where corruption and bribes are the status-quo. Many times in my family medical emergencies would occur where due to financial issues, expensive medical techniques that were offered by the doctors were out of question. Ironically, my family isn't too supportive (perhaps they are bound close-minded, non-ambitous, and legacy notions) which made my decision, a sort of determination to break out of the chain of "failure." But who knows....I got a long road ahead.
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:thumbup: I have also thought about breaking the vicious circle of "failure" around my life... Keep it going!! I bet your life experiences will be an asset in the future, at least that is how I see it.
 
pretzel12 said:
i had one too.

This is the one i had.
fp2010-eb71425109-b.jpg


i really don't know how i didn't figure this out sooner. I used to play with it all the time.
Click to expand...

That's the one! Thanks for the wave of nostalgia.
 
I started out as wanting to be a nurse. My mother was a CNA and I would spend some nights at the nursing home talking to the nurses, and I really loved my pediatric nurse (I had the same one from birth until I turned 18). I knew it wasn't very demanding school wise, and I would have a lot of time to be a mom and a wife and what not. But once I finished my Medical Assisting program and started working, I realized my pediatric "nurse" was a medical assistant, and that most nurses end up sitting in a chair doing triage. I realized I wanted more, and once I started working hand in hand, assisting physicians I found my place.
 
as a child, I toyed with a number of potential career options.

the life of a velociraptor would have exciting, but the potential for advancement basically topped out once you hit pack leader and pay was mostly in savaged animal bits.

alternatively, i was giving serious consideration to becoming a fire truck. i know, all glitz and glamor. fresh red coat of paint and extravagant lights. but it isn't all about appearances, i could have helped people, you know? unfortunately i can't handle diesel fuel.

I stumbled onto the general notion of "hey maybe doctor???" in senior year of high school. I then rode an enthusiastic wave of "sure, why not" into med school.
 
I was 39 years old, stocking shelves in a grocery store, and getting tired of the heroic paramedics taking all the interesting calls from me because I was only an EMT on my ambulance service. I attended a men's empowerment seminar that winter and they told me to show some initiative in my life.

I wanted to one-up those paramedics and become a Physician Assistant, but when my parents got wind of this plan they kept introducing me to their friends at the senior center as "MT Headed, future doctor" despite my numerous corrections. I finally decided it would just be easier to become a doctor than to keep correcting them all the time. The next week I turned 40.
 
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