Why be a Doctor?

[singinfifi]

I say this quite simply, and I'll use the same answer that I used in interviews when I was asked, because it's the honest one:


Because, there is nothing else for me.

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[mandinca]

I say this quite simply, and I'll use the same answer that I used in interviews when I was asked, because it's the honest one:

Because, there is nothing else for me.

That is exactly how I feel!
I've either done or seen many other jobs in the medical field and none beats the intrigue of the science, the level of respondsibility, or the ability to impact a patient's health and wellness to the degree of that of a physician. Nursing came close......

 

[VALSALVA]

I say this quite simply, and I'll use the same answer that I used in interviews when I was asked, because it's the honest one:


Because, there is nothing else for me.

Okay, but isn't that just a more poetic way of saying, "because I want to help people." I mean...it's not really an answer. Personally, I give you credit for getting into NSU and if the line worked, than it worked. Just be glad you didn't run into me on the interview trail because after that line, I would have been like, "And...why is that?"

 

[singinfifi]

Okay, but isn't that just a more poetic way of saying, "because I want to help people." I mean...it's not really an answer.

Not even a little bit. It most certainly is an answer.

If you want to help people you can be a teacher, or a researcher, or a fireman, or a CEO of a non-profit, or a candy striper, or a nurse, or a person who gives regularly to the MDA or any number of charities. Saying that there's "nothing else" for me is very VERY different.

Personally, I give you credit for getting into NSU and if the line worked, than it worked. Just be glad you didn't run into me on the interview trail because after that line, I would have been like, "And...why is that?"

...The "Line" worked on the 5 other schools I was accepted to, and I'm guessing it also would have "worked" at the 4 schools I declined interview invites from as well. I had some wickedly tough interviews too. So much so to the point that upon leaving 3 of them, I was darn sure I wasn't getting accepted and after leaving 1 (that was ridiculously combative) I had decided to reject the school flat out even if they accepted me.

I did have someone ask me "and why is that?" my answer was that if I didn't go into medicine I may as well work at McDonalds because as far as I was concerned, any job that was NOT being a doctor would probably have that level of personal satisfaction for me.

There literaly is nothing else for me. I've tried working in business, I've tried working in education, I've even worked for comic book conventions (which, being a huge nerd...I love) and none of it...NONE of it has stirred up the anticipation and excitement and beyond that, the perfect peace that I've made the RIGHT (and only) decision that my choice to go into medicine has.

So no.

It's not the same thing, not at all.

 

[JoeNamaMD]

Doctors still make a good living compared to the rest of the population, you also have a position of privilege in that people place their trust in you, its very unique.

 

[fabu1ous]

Doctors still make a good living compared to the rest of the population, you also have a position of privilege in that people place their trust in you, its very unique.

So in a nutshell, your response is money and power?

You'll have to forgive me if I'm interpreting your response as shallow as I took it, but I think being a doctor for money is lame. There are plenty of other ways to make money... and if money is your motivation, and the power over someone's life is your motivation, and all the while you could care less about improving that person's life for the sake of making them better in some way, instead of the sake of the mere fact that you can, you should find another profession imo.

The people you serve HAVE to be your motivation, the challenge of learning new and ingenious ways to improve life, if not you will often find a doctor that is cold, uncaring, and unwilling to think outside of the box.

 

[truthdoc]

Hello all,
I came across this website a while ago and read a few threads. I'll reply to this one for now but will post a long thread about facts in medicine.

For this topic, i think Joe is the only one that gave an honest answer, instead of being a hypocrite like 99.9999% of applicants.

Almost all personal statements i've read make me laugh. They all contain stories of heroism and sacrifice... B.S.

Helping people? You can help people in a million ways in different professions. You can help people by volunteering. You don't need to be a doctor to help people. You don't need to go to school for 15 years to help people. Most of you are in for the rewards of which "helping people" will become on the bottom of the list.

If a doctor made 40K a year as an attending, then 99% of those applying would not have done it.

So accept the fact that yes, you are doing it for Prestige and Money.

You are a greedy self-centered person.

Can you live with that?!

I'm an attending now, and all i can tell you is that all my fellows do all day is fight for higher paying contracts, and that's exactly what you'll be doing too.
I once suggested starting or contributing to a charity clinic which will be free for all and with less formalities. I got laughed at! The responses i got were "if there's no money in it, then it'll be a stupid thing to do."

Most of you are young and naive, and so was I when i was in your shoes, but the truth is at the end of the day you're just an employee in a corporate system. Soon enough you'll give up and surrender to the fact of how this system runs. AT the end, you'll just be glad to recieve a good paycheck.

I will post another thread about the truths of practicing medicine later on.

NOTE: this post sounds negative, but it's just realistic. There are many positive sides which i will also list later on. Also, many (and i can't stress this enough) factors in your lifestyle/ practice will be dependent on where you practice (area/ hostpital system) and your specialty.

 

[justletmeinplz]

Hello all,
I came across this website a while ago and read a few threads. I'll reply to this one for now but will post a long thread about facts in medicine.

For this topic, i think Joe is the only one that gave an honest answer, instead of being a hypocrite like 99.9999% of applicants.

Almost all personal statements i've read make me laugh. They all contain stories of heroism and sacrifice... B.S.

Helping people? You can help people in a million ways in different professions. You can help people by volunteering. You don't need to be a doctor to help people. You don't need to go to school for 15 years to help people. Most of you are in for the rewards of which "helping people" will become on the bottom of the list.

If a doctor made 40K a year as an attending, then 99% of those applying would not have done it.

So accept the fact that yes, you are doing it for Prestige and Money.

You are a greedy self-centered person.

Can you live with that?!

I'm an attending now, and all i can tell you is that all my fellows do all day is fight for higher paying contracts, and that's exactly what you'll be doing too.
I once suggested starting or contributing to a charity clinic which will be free for all and with less formalities. I got laughed at! The responses i got were "if there's no money in it, then it'll be a stupid thing to do."

Most of you are young and naive, and so was I when i was in your shoes, but the truth is at the end of the day you're just an employee in a corporate system. Soon enough you'll give up and surrender to the fact of how this system runs. AT the end, you'll just be glad to recieve a good paycheck.

I will post another thread about the truths of practicing medicine later on.

NOTE: this post sounds negative, but it's just realistic. There are many positive sides which i will also list later on. Also, many (and i can't stress this enough) factors in your lifestyle/ practice will be dependent on where you practice (area/ hostpital system) and your specialty.

I don't know of many other fields, though I'm sure there are a few, where you can have such a profound and direct impact on the quality of people's lives. So to help people to the extent that many of us want to, yes you do have to go to medical school.

If we were greedy and self-centered, we would have gone to law school so we could sue doctors instead. While medicine pretty much guarantees you'll make a good living, it also pretty much guarantees you won't be "big tobacco lawyer rich."

As for your charity clinic, it's unfortunate you work with douche bags.

If this post is any indication of your planned "truths about practicing medicine" thread, you can save it...

 

[Miggs86]

Not even a little bit. It most certainly is an answer.

If you want to help people you can be a teacher, or a researcher, or a fireman, or a CEO of a non-profit, or a candy striper, or a nurse, or a person who gives regularly to the MDA or any number of charities. Saying that there's "nothing else" for me is very VERY different.




...The "Line" worked on the 5 other schools I was accepted to, and I'm guessing it also would have "worked" at the 4 schools I declined interview invites from as well. I had some wickedly tough interviews too. So much so to the point that upon leaving 3 of them, I was darn sure I wasn't getting accepted and after leaving 1 (that was ridiculously combative) I had decided to reject the school flat out even if they accepted me.

I did have someone ask me "and why is that?" my answer was that if I didn't go into medicine I may as well work at McDonalds because as far as I was concerned, any job that was NOT being a doctor would probably have that level of personal satisfaction for me.

There literaly is nothing else for me. I've tried working in business, I've tried working in education, I've even worked for comic book conventions (which, being a huge nerd...I love) and none of it...NONE of it has stirred up the anticipation and excitement and beyond that, the perfect peace that I've made the RIGHT (and only) decision that my choice to go into medicine has.

So no.

It's not the same thing, not at all.

You go Fifi!
Literally is the key word and I'm glad you spelled that out.
Awesome response.

 

[VALSALVA]

Not even a little bit. It most certainly is an answer.

If you want to help people you can be a teacher, or a researcher, or a fireman, or a CEO of a non-profit, or a candy striper, or a nurse, or a person who gives regularly to the MDA or any number of charities. Saying that there's "nothing else" for me is very VERY different.




...The "Line" worked on the 5 other schools I was accepted to, and I'm guessing it also would have "worked" at the 4 schools I declined interview invites from as well. I had some wickedly tough interviews too. So much so to the point that upon leaving 3 of them, I was darn sure I wasn't getting accepted and after leaving 1 (that was ridiculously combative) I had decided to reject the school flat out even if they accepted me.

I did have someone ask me "and why is that?" my answer was that if I didn't go into medicine I may as well work at McDonalds because as far as I was concerned, any job that was NOT being a doctor would probably have that level of personal satisfaction for me.

There literaly is nothing else for me. I've tried working in business, I've tried working in education, I've even worked for comic book conventions (which, being a huge nerd...I love) and none of it...NONE of it has stirred up the anticipation and excitement and beyond that, the perfect peace that I've made the RIGHT (and only) decision that my choice to go into medicine has.

So no.

It's not the same thing, not at all.

Well of course your line and "I want to help people" aren't literally the same. My subtle point I was trying to make was that lines like that don't really mean anything and that's why they are the same. Just like two distinct lines of gibberish aren't literally the same but both mean absolutely nothing. It's like saying something without saying anything at all.

Now, what you talked about when you elaborated about your business and education experiences...that's saying something. That's substance. That supports your one-liner-statement. That's the answer. Without that experience, your statement means nothing in the same way that "I wanna help people" means nothing. Anybody can claim a calling - even those who have tried nothing else. Once again, congratulations. I'm glad you found your calling.

p.s. I sat on an ADCOM as a med. student and had the opportunity to interview some potential students. Inevitably, the question of "why medicine" came up. If the pre-med gave me a poetic answer like, "I just know it's for me" or "Because there's nothing else" but couldn't back it up with tangible experience, that was a pretty big strike against them. Even something as simple as, "Well, I worked at a nursing home for 6 months and really enjoyed my interaction with the residents" was a more than adequate answer.

 

[VALSALVA]

You go Fifi!
Literally is the key word and I'm glad you spelled that out.
Awesome response.

You're joking, right? This is my biggest pet peave!!! Remind yourself of what "literally" means and get back to me. Let's not misuse the English language.

Examples of abuse:

He literally exploded with rage (oh really...he was so mad he spontaneously combusted??).

He soloist literally swept the audience off their feet (m'kay, so everyone in the whole opera house collapsed to the group when he hit that high C?)

 

[fabu1ous]

I don't know of many other fields, though I'm sure there are a few, where you can have such a profound and direct impact on the quality of people's lives. So to help people to the extent that many of us want to, yes you do have to go to medical school.

If we were greedy and self-centered, we would have gone to law school so we could sue doctors instead. While medicine pretty much guarantees you'll make a good living, it also pretty much guarantees you won't be "big tobacco lawyer rich."

As for your charity clinic, it's unfortunate you work with douche bags.

If this post is any indication of your planned "truths about practicing medicine" thread, you can save it...

I second that.

 

[moldovanits]

You know, we're supposed to shadow docs to get a feel for medicine, but really we should shadow people in a half dozen professions so we get to hear the universal bitch fest that is the average career. There's a downside and a fear factor in any direction you go. Engineering? Outsourcing. Business? Recession. Law? Tort reform. Nursing? Imported labor. Medicine doesn't own misery.

good point!

 

[rockdascrubs786]

This is a very simple question

Q: Why be a doctor?
A: To pick up girls in every conceivable social situation. Thats right, I use the "I'm going to med school" line with freshmen girls that are thinking about going pre-med. CHA CHING.

 

[OCHO]

To be able to do cool experiments like this...

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc[/YOUTUBE]

 

[badapplestix]

Lol

 

[OCHO]

I found these on another SDN thread...Courtesy of the EM thread.


To answer the OPs original question....

Need I say more?

Of course this wont be in my personal statement.

 

[Nasem]

With malpractice, NPs and PAs becoming independent, long years of medical school, huge amount of debt, and a low salary (for PCP) why even bother becoming a doctor?

what is your definition of "low salary" ?

 

[166035]

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