Why do/did you want to be a physician?

[buymecookies]

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I wish I had a completely altruistic answer for this question, haha.

 

[Venko]

Ah, explains a lot. You really had no interest in medicine when you first entered?

It's hard to remember exactly how interested I was because its been so long, but I clearly remember the battles regarding my primary want to be a teacher or lawyer.

I will still probably retire and try and teach math one day but I am really really blessed the way things worked out.

 

[MedWonk]

you are one of the brave to admit it on SDN 🙂

but I seriously doubt that anyone dares to say it in their personal statements

I like to think as a non-trad that I've lost the naive bullcrap view of "I'd do it for free." Medicine is totes interesting, and I like helping people, but at the end of the day I have a family to feed, bills to pay, and my own future and my family's future to worry about.

 

[NontradCA]

I've taken too much from society, and now I have to repay the debt.

 

[DermViser]

It's hard to remember exactly how interested I was because its been so long, but I clearly remember the battles regarding my primary want to be a teacher or lawyer.

I will still probably retire and try and teach math one day but I am really really blessed the way things worked out.

I think it will be a lot of fun. Depending on the type of school and grade, it can be really rewarding.

 

[Rmaurer754]

You don't have enough street cred to have the ability to trivialize ANY specialty in medicine, much less any other profession at this point.

You don't need street cred or experience to tell someone they're being stupid.

 

[Avicenna]

There's a counterargument for any reason you can come up with; so really, there's no single reason I have for pursuing the profession. It's rather the amalgam of all aspects I've seen in the work of a doctor through my hours of shadowing and googling.

 

[DermViser]

You don't need street cred or experience to tell someone they're being stupid.

You're right. It speaks to your credibility or lack thereof.

 

[Avicenna]

Damn dermviser you're taking on all the SDN premeds in a debate ;D It's how I would imagine a 12 v 1 chess match against Bobby Fischer would go

 

[touchpause13]

Because I think it will make me happy

 

[DermViser]

Damn dermviser you're taking on all the SDN premeds in a debate ;D It's how I would imagine a 12 v 1 chess match against Bobby Fischer would go

If you've seen some of the utterly stupid conclusions that some of the premeds here draw (i.e. MCAT scores/undergraduate GPA and clinical ability as an attending physician), you'd see that it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_fish_in_a_barrel

 

[touchpause13]

I thought this was a very fun question. I want to become a physician because I watched 3 of my loved ones pass away from cancer and I was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer. I tried research, but I didn't find the experience invigorating. Medicine is by far the only profession that would allow me to adequately learn more about this disease while also helping diagnosed patients.

I'm sorry for your loss and I hope everything goes will with your cancer. One of my sorority sisters had that and it was tough emotionally on all of us. They caught it super early and she is doing fine now.

Best of luck with your career in medicine

 

[jlt2665]

It's hard to remember exactly how interested I was because its been so long, but I clearly remember the battles regarding my primary want to be a teacher or lawyer.

I will still probably retire and try and teach math one day but I am really really blessed the way things worked out.

I actually used to teach math/science to 3rd/4th graders. They're extremely fun to work with and teaching them was very rewarding, although elementary students are very different from HS students. Either way, IMO teaching is a very understated career. I think it's great that you're considering teaching math after retiring. It's something I'm thinking about doing as well.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

I had misdiagnosed MSK illness as an adolescent and it made everyday life into a nightmare. Doctors were quick to give a "diagnosis" (or lack of). Without a correct treatment plan, PT's exacerbated imbalances and made things worse. What I found really striking was that doctors would give a "diagnosis" without doing a comprehensive MSK examination (even some MSK specialists). After finally finding a good physiatrist, I became aware of the level of incompetence I experienced with past medical professionals.

I also realized that many physicians know very little about the MSK system and I actually want to work on changing this. About 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain and we're not doing enough to fix this problem. I want to be part of the solution. And I realize it's possible that I may fall in love with something like vascular surgery in med school, but at the very least I want to increase the awareness of MSK disease and possibly get an MPH along the way.

And I also love science and helping people.