Why did you decide to become a Doctor?

[mdessayist]

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I am new here and this topic is probably somewhere on this board, however I was really curious as to why "you" wanted to become a doctor?

I decided to ask this after reading some of the posts - I would like to think the majority of you have either felt a higher calling or watched a loved one suffering or some sort of humanitarian reason is behind your aspirations for medical school. Unfortunately, it seems some of you are most concerned with the money aspect rather than the human emotional reason(s).

I am not knocking your decision either way, but am merely curious as to your reasons to become a doctor.

Thanks

 

[StormingWynn]

I am new here and this topic is probably somewhere on this board, however I was really curious as to why "you" wanted to become a doctor?

I decided to ask this after reading some of the posts - I would like to think the majority of you have either felt a higher calling or watched a loved one suffering or some sort of humanitarian reason is behind your aspirations for medical school. Unfortunately, it seems some of you are most concerned with the money aspect rather than the human emotional reason(s).

I am not knocking your decision either way, but am merely curious as to your reasons to become a doctor.

Thanks

I love learning, the challenge (I don't learn if I'm not challenged), helping people (specially my family because we have a history of diabetes) and I want the status (somewhat). 👍

 

[mfrizzo3]

Free Bandaids

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Because a PhD psychology doesn't pay enough lol.
Well I think medicine is a career which provides many a challenge and really I don't think that there are better careers really. I'm forced to say that when deciding between a PhD or a MD/DO the only real deciding factor gets down to the fact that a MD/DO will make a lot more.

Also i've got a *****ic belief that if the apocalypse happens i'll some what be valuable in the new world..... XD

 

[morning]

Definitely respect and money.

 

[Nativity]

Meh, I am sick to death of the sob stories that pre-meds throw out about why they want to be doctors. I did a dozen mock interviews with younger pre-med students and all but one had some Lifetime TV tale of how the witnessed a friend/family member suffer and it inspired them to become a doctor. Just tell me the damn truth.

I have always been floored by anatomy (I could name every bone in the body by the time I was 13) and becoming a surgeon is always what I have wanted. I love the idea of the money, I love the idea of the prestige, I love the idea of growing up with a family of 10 in a single-wide trailer and working my way to the top of the professional ladder (and there I go with a sob story), but it's what I want to do regardless of those factors. This is what I tell every person who asks, I hope they like the honesty more than they dislike the reason.

 

[BassCaster]

Definitely respect and money.

hahaha! his little legs are pissing me off.

 

[OCizzle]

Mostly for the money and respect

 

[illegallysmooth]

^hahaha!

Anyway, i knew a long time ago i wanted to be highly educated. not because of status, i just knew even as a little kid that i wanted to be well educated and involved in something highly intellectual.

my grandma had scleroderma, and i think that was a big part of my decision for medicine. it's just the most basic, important thing - our health. our lives.

 

[CarpeDium]

I fell in love when I took Anatomy & Physiology in high school. My interests lie in medicine and if I'm going to be a medical professional, I want to be the most educated I can. I also never want to stop learning, so the continuing education part of it has me stoked. I love to be constantly challenged.

Additionally, the helping people part of it provides a different type of paycheck, satisfaction.

 

[orthomyxo]

$$$$ and hot chicks (not really)

 

[Marcus Brody]

money and chicks

 

[WhizoMD]

I fell in love when I took Anatomy & Physiology in high school. My interests lie in medicine and if I'm going to be a medical professional, I want to be the most educated I can. I also never want to stop learning, so the continuing education part of it has me stoked. I love to be constantly challenged.

Additionally, the helping people part of it provides a different type of paycheck, satisfaction.

 

[circulus vitios]

I'm a good student, I like science, and I want to make good money.

 

[metallica81788]

Fancy cars in da Hollywood Hills.

Science, detective work + slicing, challenging, somewhat respected, good pay, helpful/gratifying, seems fun to fix a human.

...and da hoez 😎

 

[FloatOn]

I usually go with either one of two reasons on here: free stuff or to nab a doctor husband. I'm gonna go with BOTH this time.

 

[filhodeinferno]

People who say they're not doing it for pride/prestige are kidding themselves. Sure, we all love to help people, but really, what we all want is to run the show.

Frankly, I would feel like I've wasted my God-given talents if I settled for anything less.

 

[riverjib]

I can identify the precise moment: the last day of my first medical mission, when I saw hundreds of people still lining the halls of the hospital. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. I worked in the OR because it paid much better than any other job without a bachelor's degree. I liked it, and learned a lot, but still took classes part-time towards engineering. That moment crystallized that murky feeling I was developing about medicine. I loved questioning anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses about different cases, and found myself reading A LOT independently, but never thought medicine was for me, much less a real possibility for me in my late 20's, which seems ludicrous and naive now.

As it turned out, in all the years I spent working instead of pursuing my education, all I ever really wanted to read on my own time was medical journals and newsletters that detailed the newest pharmacological and surgical interventions. When I decided that medicine was for me, I asked for opinions. Everyone thought I was capable, which was encouraging, since I was on the bottom end of the totem pole. I was surprised when some surgeons (who probably should have chosen another field) told me that "medicine is going to ****...do something else. You're too smart to get trapped in this hellhole." Others said, "I'm so glad you realized this instead of going into engineering, which clearly isn't your passion. Go for it! And don't do it by going for nursing first...you're old enough that you have to push for it directly." I was pleasantly pleased to hear that my coworkers (better described as superiors) believed I was a perfect candidate for medicine. So I quit my full-time job and here I am...close to the grail 🙂

 

[cfx]

.

 

[eatsleeprepeat]

Definitely respect and money.

hahahhahaha

 

[oaklandguy]

So I can purchase this:

 

[riverjib]

Okay, clearly this thread isn't serious. Fine. But what are you going to do if/when physicians aren't making decent money? Switch careers?

 

[mechanictodr]

For the free caffeteria food and T3.

 

[filhodeinferno]

Okay, clearly this thread isn't serious. Fine. But what are you going to do if/when physicians aren't making decent money? Switch careers?

Depends on what your definition of decent money is....I don't seeing it falling below my threshold of "decent money."

 

[Schemp]

Okay, clearly this thread isn't serious. Fine. But what are you going to do if/when physicians aren't making decent money? Switch careers?

Physicians will always make decent money. Everyone who goes to school for 8 years makes more than decent money. Some specialties may not be making 300k+, and primary care docs may drop in pay too, but they'll still be making far more than the average person.

 

[filhodeinferno]

Physicians will always make decent money. Everyone who goes to school for 8 years makes more than decent money. Some specialties may not be making 300k+, and primary care docs may drop in pay too, but they'll still be making far more than the average person.

Amen. Amen.

 

[oaklandguy]

Okay, clearly this thread isn't serious. Fine. But what are you going to do if/when physicians aren't making decent money? Switch careers?

Dare I say it??? Insurance fraud.

 

[filhodeinferno]

Dare I say it??? Insurance fraud.

In this economy, you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[oaklandguy]

In this economy, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Just ask any Dentist 😉

Realistically I'll take any amount of money that allows me to have college funds for my kids, a fresh retirement fund, a sports car and an everyday car, and an alright crib with lake access + jetskis. That's really all I want. I say 225k a year can supply me with that if I'm prudent.

 

[riverjib]

I really hate that every time I bother to check this board, I'm completely disheartened. I would be thoroughly disgusted by a dozen sob stories, but just once, when someone asks "why medicine" I would really like to see someone respond to a thread like this with even a hint of sincerity. I almost hope that it all comes crashing down on all of us, just to stand by and watch all the trolls scatter for whatever might be more lucrative than medicine.

 

[filhodeinferno]

Just ask any Dentist 😉

Realistically I'll take any amount of money that allows me to have college funds for my kids, a fresh retirement fund, a sports car and an everyday car, and an alright crib with lake access + jetskis. That's really all I want. I say 225k a year can supply me with that if I'm prudent.

My thoughts exactly. If you have your MD, it's a pretty safe bet that you'll reach those modest goals and then some.

 

[filhodeinferno]

I really hate that every time I bother to check this board, I'm completely disheartened. I would be thoroughly disgusted by a dozen sob stories, but just once, when someone asks "why medicine" I would really like to see someone respond to a thread like this with even a hint of sincerity. I almost hope that it all comes crashing down on all of us, just to stand by and watch all the trolls scatter for whatever might be more lucrative than medicine.

Just don't take it too seriously man. Do we all want to help people and do good?? Probably. Are we all generally interested in science, learning, and challenging our minds? Yes.

But when it comes down to it, being a physician is a job. The purpose of a job is to make money. That's the bottom line.

 

[oaklandguy]

I really hate that every time I bother to check this board, I'm completely disheartened. I would be thoroughly disgusted by a dozen sob stories, but just once, when someone asks "why medicine" I would really like to see someone respond to a thread like this with even a hint of sincerity. I almost hope that it all comes crashing down on all of us, just to stand by and watch all the trolls scatter for whatever might be more lucrative than medicine.

I was being honest. I want a carerra gt. If I wanted a boxster I would become a nurse and travel. Rack up 100k a year for a few years while I'm single. I'd have minimal loans to pay off and I'd be set with a small porsche convertible. But that v10 will cost me 4 extra years of schooling and then some.

In all reality there are only so many reasons to become a doctor, so most of us have a lot of the same reasons. The influence on the world, the satisfaction of helping people, wanting a job that involves dealing with people, wanting to be a healer, the love of science, etc etc.

The real (sarcastic) reality is that we all want to be able to afford porsches and the ones who specialize want ferrari 599 gtb's. Plain and simple. If you wanted to help people and have an impact and satisfaction you would work at McDonalds and spend the rest of your time volunteering in the hospital.

 

[ABCZXX]

"An athlete who had reached the pinnacle of his sport was once asked what he wished someone would have told him when he first started playing his sport. He replied, “I wish that someone would have told me that when you reach the top, there's nothing there.” Many goals reveal their emptiness only after years have been wasted in their pursuit."

Bleh, my two cents is that many people in this thread will wind up as doctors but that few people in this thread that would do it all again if they could look into a crystal ball and see their future. I forcefully, audaciously, and epically switched out of my life track of becoming a future lawyer. I will never become a doctor and regret that I never became a lawyer. Most people passively decide to become a doctor rather than have an interesting response that will actually make a listener captivated by you and intrigued by your reasons. Heartfelt reasons for becoming a doctor are a dime/dozen. Interesting reasons are what get my attention.

 

[mipp0]

So I can purchase this:

GL getting that with a doctor's paycheck....

no where close buddy.

Unless you choose to live in that thing.

THen we're talking very possible.

 

[mechanictodr]

GL getting that with a doctor's paycheck....

no where close buddy.

Unless you choose to live in that thing.

THen we're talking very possible.

Ya... the GT is quite a lot for anyone. I would stick to the 911 Turbo. Still get a lot for the price with that car, and I know it can be done because behind the outpatient facility here there are a couple amongst other sweet cars parked in the physician only parking.

 

[mdessayist]

Meh, I am sick to death of the sob stories that pre-meds throw out about why they want to be doctors. I did a dozen mock interviews with younger pre-med students and all but one had some Lifetime TV tale of how the witnessed a friend/family member suffer and it inspired them to become a doctor. Just tell me the damn truth.

I have always been floored by anatomy (I could name every bone in the body by the time I was 13) and becoming a surgeon is always what I have wanted. I love the idea of the money, I love the idea of the prestige, I love the idea of growing up with a family of 10 in a single-wide trailer and working my way to the top of the professional ladder (and there I go with a sob story), but it's what I want to do regardless of those factors. This is what I tell every person who asks, I hope they like the honesty more than they dislike the reason.

A very honest and forthright answer!

The thing is, unless you have it in you to handle being a doctor, you cannot do the job anyway. You have to have the right mindset and not everyone does.

The perks are what they are, the perks. And regardless of what anyone may say their reasons are for becoming a doctor, being able to help another human being is what it comes down to. Even if that is not your main purpose, once you are a doctor and you touch the life of another person, you will understand why you went through all this crap to get there.

 

[Sesom]

I live on a hill and my girlfriend fell on it and got a key stuck through her hand. It bloomed from there.

 

[Old Grunt]

I am new here and this topic is probably somewhere on this board, however I was really curious as to why "you" wanted to become a doctor?

I decided to ask this after reading some of the posts - I would like to think the majority of you have either felt a higher calling or watched a loved one suffering or some sort of humanitarian reason is behind your aspirations for medical school. Unfortunately, it seems some of you are most concerned with the money aspect rather than the human emotional reason(s).

I am not knocking your decision either way, but am merely curious as to your reasons to become a doctor.

Thanks

It's a very good question to ask of yourself and have a good response too, because you are certain to be asked this question time and again during the interview trail. I would also venture to say that it's the one question you need to have a really compelling response too.

I decided to go into medicine after dealing with mortality on the battlefield.

I was usually given a pass on that due to being non-trad, but if you throw up some sort of vague, generic response, you are sure to get probed further.

I also don't personally think saying that you want to devote your time to a profession that commands respect and a decent paycheck is a bad thing to say. It's honest.

 

[DRMRL]

money

 

[DRMRL]

they might get upset if you say that in the interview 😀 hahahahahaha

 

[weightyheart]

To hire a 6' blond model to walk barefooted on my back, eat her left over food, and wear her used underwear. If she could save her bath water, that would be great too.

 

[surftheiop]

Some people might call me old fashioned, but I'd like to take care of sick kids 🙂

 

[nwdmd]

It's like my study pal Tom Oatmeal once said while we were socializing near the refrigerated water fountain in the science building:

"How hard is it really to just walk up to a girl and say, “Hi. My name is whatever and I AM A DOCTOR and what’s your name and I don’t know where my friends went, but yes I have friends – just not right here with me and I came here because I like chicken strips, but they don’t have chicken strips so I didn’t eat anything and I’m hungry so I might have to find something else and I hope that they take traveler’s checks because it’s safer for me to have that type of currency and I should go now because my friends are probably wondering where I am.”

Then I walk over to a door that I think is the exit, but is really just the door to some supply cabinet and so I wiggle the locked doorknob for way too long until finally I decide to just stand there, facing the door and wondering how long it will take for my stupidity to bore these people into looking elsewhere. There’s a live band you idiots! Leave me alone!"

 

[4X4MD]

Sob stories...

call them what you want, but things happen in peoples lives and it changes them forever

heres my 2 cents

i was a pre-health student before any of this happened

one night i was out and about, doin my thing and got completely trashed. i woke up the next morning, realizing that i had just about the worst hangover in the entire world and it was not going to go away. then, i saw a hospital band on my arm...i thought, wtf!!! and i got out of bed and could barely stand. my mom came in and started yelling at me. apparently i had gotten alcohol poisoning and i had to be rushed to the emergency room where a shot of epinephrine may have saved my life...i thought not much of this until later this day, i got a call from my best friend (more like a brother) and he told me that his little brother (basically my little brother) was in the emergency room. He had gotten in a car accident the night before and he was in critical condition. i finally made my way up to the hospital the next day...i never took hospitals very seriously before and i always had this feeling about death or illness, that it just never truly affected me or anyone close to me. i walked into the waiting room and i saw maybe 50-60 of some of my close friends and and my friends family. people are sitting around, crying, hugging each other and wat not. i walked up to my friend and asked him what was the deal. he brought me to his mom, who im very close with as well. she asked me how i was, and then broke down into tears. she told me that he was in a coma and the outlook was not very good at best. i sat with the family for a long time. this hospital was the hospital i volunteered at. whats more, i volunteered in the MICU, which was one unit over from the TNCC, where he was. i took my all-access card and decided id go see him (visiting hours were over, and no one was allowed in but his mother and brother)...i saw him laying there, completely helpless, wrapped in blood-bandages, and i thought to myself...oh my god, this is real. i had a wake-up call..bad things happen to good people, and sometimes there just isnt any thing we can do about it.

when i left the unit with his mother, she grabbed hold of me and starting bawling, and she said to me, one day, you are going to make an amazing doctor and you are going to help people who really need it, like my son

this family had been through so much...the two boys were already fatherless because of a drunk driving accident, there family matriarch had just passed, and they were all having real problems coping

since then, he has recovered slightly. hes home in a hospital bed with full-time care. he is here today because of the health care professionals that serviced him. i am here because of the health care professionals that serviced me.

i thought to myself, it was my life that had been spared, and the thought occured to me, why am i still here? i could have just as easily been in the car accident (it was a DWI accident)...i thought long and hard and decided that i really needed to put my knowledge to use...people have always regarded me as a very intelligent individual. ive always gotten perfect grades without much effort, but at this point in time, i knew that i needed to put my mind to the grindstone and start working toward something better with purpose

after that time, i found it very hard to go back to the hospital and i took a long break. i saw people everyday who were sick and dying and i was scared. i did some soul searching to make sure that this is what i really wanted to do...i talked to lawyers and actuaries and businessmen and people of all sorts. when it came down to it, i wasnt interested in servicing the economy or servicing the laws of mankind...i found that i had a real compassion for people that i never saw in myself before.

i went back to the hospital 3 months ago to start volunteering. i now spend about 6-10 hours a week in the MICU unit. sure i dont know much, but you would be surprised how much a smile or conversation can give to a person in an extreme situation...i find myself connecting with everyone i talk to and really wanting that person to get better...people die sometimes, sometimes they get better; in the end it is up to God, and i truely believe that some people are put on this earth to be His healers and do His work through their hands. I hope that I can one day be one of these people.

 

[alohakaoha]

To hire a 6' blond model to walk barefooted on my back, eat her left over food, and wear her used underwear. If she could save her bath water, that would be great too.

HAHA A+ Creepy Doc 2.0!

 

[Earl Grey]

Because I'm secretly a sadist. I delight in knowing one day I get to cut people up till I'm satisfied. You should've seen me hack away when we do dissecting, people gave me the funniest looks. (Thank god for those surgical masks amirite? No one can see me grinning)

I like the idea of cheating death and playing God.

Translation: Medicine to me is always a challenge. A struggle between man and the natural forces of life. I want to go into Medicine to improve lives and to pick up the diseased wherever they may fall. I completely advocate the motto that "Knowledge is Power" and in a medical profession, my knowledge will have the power to save lives. It's not about the prestige or the monetary benefits of being a doctor (granted they are the icing on the cake), it's about my passion for the sciences of medicine and life and being in a profession that, as time goes on, increases my potential to give back to the community.

...It's still a work in progress. I'm trying to figure out how much more cheese I can shove into it.

 

[Schemp]

I originally just returned to school because I missed learning, despite dropping out three years prior, and medicine was my top choice at the time because I knew it would be a challenge and I had felt like I was wasting my potential up to that point. That was about three years ago and I was just very lucky in that everything I've learned about the field has supported that decision - work pace, teaching opportunities, intellectual challenge and requirement for continued learning, working with people and fairly immediate results, opportunity to run a business, chance to set a precedent of achievement and wealth in my family, etc. It's the only career that encompasses all the things I'm looking for.

 

[OCizzle]

Translation: Medicine to me is always a challenge. A struggle between man and the natural forces of life. I want to go into Medicine to improve lives and to pick up the diseased wherever they may fall. I completely advocate the motto that "Knowledge is Power" and in a medical profession, my knowledge will have the power to save lives. It's not about the prestige or the monetary benefits of being a doctor (granted they are the icing on the cake), it's about my passion for the sciences of medicine and life and being in a profession that, as time goes on, increases my potential to give back to the community.

...It's still a work in progress. I'm trying to figure out how much more cheese I can shove into it.

You got most of the basics down, but you better add that you like to help people somewhere in there.

 

[roseglass6370]

I fell in love when I took Anatomy & Physiology in high school. My interests lie in medicine and if I'm going to be a medical professional, I want to be the most educated I can. I also never want to stop learning, so the continuing education part of it has me stoked. I love to be constantly challenged.

Additionally, the helping people part of it provides a different type of paycheck, satisfaction.

Word for word what my answer would've been. Literally. It's almost kind of scary....