Why Do you want to be a doctor?

[Alex05]

I was wondering what do you guys say when asked this question?

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[beep]

i have given a different answer at almost every interview. the one thing i've never said (though it's true) is, "because i want to help people."

 

[internet]

I can't sing or dance

 

[po' boy]

i like to see people suffer.

 

[JAMMAN]

Mad hunnies and a grip of benjamins

 

[Blue Scrub]

What else would I do with a Biology degree?

 

[Dr_Amr]

I don't know

 

[gbiz]

So I can move to Cali and prescribe myself some medicinal marijuana, among other things

 

[nist7]

Mad hunnies and a grip of benjamins

awwwwwwww..............yeah!

 

[sunny123]

Because Pedro did it.

 

[gbiz]

Vote Pedro. Pedro offers you his protection.

 

[Shredder]

I was wondering what do you guys say when asked this question?

to work toward the eradication of illness

 

[AStudent]

1) Help those in the greatest need get better
2) To be an agent of social change
3) To be well respected
4) Job security
5) Good pay
6) Marketable skills

 

[Docta "O"]

This is the one thing that I believe I can do that gives my existence meaning, and makes it more than just another insignificant drop in the ocean. Or at least thats what I tell myself.

 

[virilep]

haha.. a lot of funny replies. but i all actuality, i don't think people can convey to u the real reason over SDN. this is kinda something that u have to figure out on ur own and u have to figure out the reason. we each have our own. some deal with hunnies, benjamins, marijuana, and even other stuff. but u just gotta figure out ur own homie. mine's a combo of challenge, personality, satisfaction or work, and lifestyle. and other stuff. but it's hard to put an answer on here without giving you my personal statement.

 

[Blue Scrub]

some deal with hunnies, benjamins, marijuana, and even other stuff. but u just gotta figure out ur own homie.

Spoken like a true former Viking, now newest Raida! Alex05, doctors dont write checks. So how do they pay fines? Straight cash, homey!

 

[golfboy]

Satisfaction...feels like you actually accomplish something
Applied knowledge...all that school wasn't for naught
good compensation...work your butt off in school and know that you will be compensated in the end

 

[virilep]

hahaha, damn, that did sound like randy... what am i turning into. eek! but i make a lot of money. s'all goooood.

 

[jeffsleepy]

To cut people up without going to jail

 

[Alex05]

I think you guys mis-understood the question. I have been accepted to medical school already. What answer do you provide to relatives, as well as, friends, when they ask "why do you want to be a doctor?" No matter what I say, they always think I am in it for the money. While I admit it is a factor, it is not the only one.

 

[tacrum43]

I think you guys mis-understood the question. I have been accepted to medical school already. What answer do you provide to relatives, as well as, friends, when they ask "why do you want to be a doctor?" No matter what I say, they always think I am in it for the money. While I admit it is a factor, it is not the only one.

I started off my personal statement by saying:

"Many people, including my parents who are both retired science teachers, have asked me why I want to be a doctor and the answer is hard to put into words, because it is more of a deep feeling inside of me than a set of reasons. I did not sit down one day to make a list of things I would want in a career and compare them to all the possibilities available and then make my decision, instead, I gradually became more and more interested in becoming a physician."

I then went on to explain the different experiences I've had that led to me decision to apply to medical school. I guess you call it a "story" type of personal statement. I had my parents read it and they seemed pretty satisfied with my reasons. I guess it might also just be because it's what I really want to do, and so they're being supportive. So as you can see, I had trouble summarizing it concisely too. Anyway, if other people want to think it's about the money, let them. Even if it were about the money, you're still making that money by helping people and not ripping them off like a lawyer would .

Maybe you should have your PS handy for your friends and relatives to read (if it's applicable) if they care that much. Otherwise what more can you do but tell them the truth? I also think it's interesting how there's no middle ground with non-medical people and medical school. Either you're a greedy person who doesn't really care about the patients or you're going to be living in poverty because of malpractice insurance. I don't plan on it being either one of those and I'm pretty sure that in reality it's not like either.

 

[tacrum43]

Vote Pedro. Pedro offers you his protection.

What is with people and that movie? It was dumb. And not in the funny, quotable way that Austin Powers was. It was just dumb, and boring too.

 

[Og kingofBashan]

what movie is that?
\
oh wait.. is that Napoleon Dynamite? LOL ... "do the chickens have large talons?"

 

[MedicineBird]

I think you guys mis-understood the question. I have been accepted to medical school already. What answer do you provide to relatives, as well as, friends, when they ask "why do you want to be a doctor?" No matter what I say, they always think I am in it for the money. While I admit it is a factor, it is not the only one.

Just tell them they're right -- that you thought it was a better bet than being a gold digger.

 

[gary5]

I was wondering what do you guys say when asked this question?

Tell stories about how you were volunteering in a clinic and which parts you enjoyed. Then you're providing something concrete and you demonstrate that you know what you're trying to get into.

 

[Skeptrix]

-because of the respect you get and that feeling of satisfaction because you helped another human being that you can never replace for anything else.

 

[wyzeguy]

I was wondering what do you guys say when asked this question?

Because I'm a fu(klng idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sunny123]

What is with people and that movie? It was dumb. And not in the funny, quotable way that Austin Powers was. It was just dumb, and boring too.

Austin Powers was dumb.

 

[Darth Asclepius]

Some things I have learned about myself in the past few years that made me realize how much I want to be a surgeon:

I love science, but after 2 years of working 30-50 hours/week in the lab, I realized that the part of research I like is the benchwork (setting up the PCR, cloning my gene, etc - i.e. working with my hands) and the science behind the stuff I do. I don't like sitting in front of a computer analyzing data for days on end. I don't really enjoy writing papers and I don't want to spend my life caught in the must get a grant proposal in, so I can get more money, so I can get more publications, so I can get more grants, so I can get more publications cycle.

I love working with my hands. I taught myself to play the bass guitar. I used to like to make models when I had more time for it.

I always liked dissecting things (from the bee in the little jar with my first microscope when I was a kid, to biology lab).

I've always been fascinated with surgery. I used to watch it on tv whenever I could, but ever since I've been able to shadow a surgeon, I am absolutely hooked on being in the OR.

It turns out I really like working with patients. I discovered this from volunteer work and shadowing the surgeon.

I honestly can't think of anything else that would make me happy now that I've figured out what I want to do. There are other ways to work with patients, but I want to be a surgeon, so med school, here I come.

 

[TravisP]

Money, and that is about it.

 

[Shredder]

I think you guys mis-understood the question. I have been accepted to medical school already. What answer do you provide to relatives, as well as, friends, when they ask "why do you want to be a doctor?" No matter what I say, they always think I am in it for the money. While I admit it is a factor, it is not the only one.

tell them doctors dont make a lot of money. they dont. tycoons do, by a few orders of magnitude more than doctors. and they dont have to study as much to achieve those positions either, they just need a knack for making deals, negotiations, and sales. so tell them if you wanted solely money you would have been an investment banker, stock broker, or entrepreneur. imagine the wealthiest doctor you know and then think of gates, dell, warren buffett, trump, rupert murdoch, steve jobs, paul allen. there are no doctors on the forbes list of rich folk, no truly loaded doctors. a few hundred thousand dollars just isnt that much, maybe enough to buy a nice house and car, but not enough to make a big difference in the world. without being a leader and having people work for you, one person is only capable of pulling in so much money through his own solo efforts. its a pretty unsophisticated way of making money actually, slogging.

so, i hope that would convince them, and maybe afterward you can tell them you just find the field interesting, which they likely thought at least to some degree about their careers as well.

 

[melimi]

"cuz i ain't no good at anything else"
........ really, even my grammar sux

 

[acarson]

a few hundred thousand dollars just isnt that much,

Obviously you didn't grow up in a true middle income (or lower) house growing up. My family of 6 was raised on an annual household income around $60 a year. We didn't go hungry, but "a few hundred thousand" sure would have made a difference!

 

[lulubean]

I was wondering what do you guys say when asked this question?

oh no! it's like interviews all over again!!!

 

[TravisP]

Obviously you didn't grow up in a true middle income (or lower) house growing up. My family of 6 was raised on an annual household income around $60,000 a year. We didn't go hungry, but "a few hundred thousand" sure would have made a difference!

edited

 

[nadica31]

This is the one thing that I believe I can do that gives my existence meaning, and makes it more than just another insignificant drop in the ocean. Or at least thats what I tell myself.

Hey Docta O, this is exaclty what i said in both my statement and as an answer, just worded differently, but the way you said it souunds perfectly.Anyway, the final outcome is finding the true meaning of our lives, and every person finds that in differeent ways, some to amuse pple, some to contribute to economy, but we have chosen to save lives.
Good luck, and by the way, what med school are you going to?
Nadia

 

[Ross434]

tell them doctors dont make a lot of money. they dont. tycoons do, by a few orders of magnitude more than doctors. and they dont have to study as much to achieve those positions either, they just need a knack for making deals, negotiations, and sales.

yeah, cause most science oriented academic types are excellent at making deals, negotiations, and selling.

I hate how people say "oh, you want money, im sure you're smart, you should have gone into banking!!"

The traits that make somebody a good doctor arent going to guarantee them success in business. I'm good at science. I'm smart. Does that mean i would be able to make insane amounts of money as a banker or tycoon? No. Does it mean i can make a pretty sweet amount of money as a doctor? Yes.

If we were all really that good at building massive business empires and conducting large scale financial analysis, we'd probably be living in our huge estates and have our private jets.. But we're not, and getting a ferrari and a nice house is probably good enough.

 

[roadrunnerrita]

Because I'm crazy, that's why.

 

[dopaminophile]

I don't want to be a doctor.

 

[vhawk]

Just tell them they're right -- that you thought it was a better bet than being a gold digger.

Nah, tell them its so you always know that, whoever you meet, you're better than them. Then ask, Why, isnt that why YOU became a garbage man?

 

[vhawk]

Or just tell them "I am the walrus." They will stop asking, guaranteed.

 

[tazdevil52]

Here is what I said, and I think it was original and addressed the fact that they hear the same things over and over...

"Before I answer the question, I would like to note that I have always wanted to be a doctor since I was a child, that my grandmother did die as a result of poor medical care, and that I have always and will always want to help people just like every other applicant before me... that being said, I also want to be a doctor because I love the mystery of the patient presenting with symptoms, and the fact that anybody can ask the questions necessary to find the diagnosis but that only the doctor through years of training and practice can decipher the answers to those questions to figure out what is wrong with the patient. Additionally, I love the fact of knowing that I will never become bored practicing medicine no matter how long I practice, for there will always be something new to learn, some new skill to perfect, or some new tool/machine to master, because running on autopilot throughout my day and not consciously thinking of the task that I am performing, or having the feeling of being mentally stagnant, is intellectual death to me, and my worst fear in life. Lastly, having a person come to you suffering from an illness who is sick mentally, physically, or emotionally and to prescribe medication, surgery, or offer counsel and have them leave feeling better than when they walked in, possibly curing them of their ailment, is truly the closest thing there is to magic, and I imagine the greatest feeling of reward this world has to offer."

the above answer is copyrighted 2005, and cannot be used, sold, reproduced, or paraphrased in any way, shape, or form, without the express written consent of the FUKITOL drug company.

lol, whatever... use it if you can remember it, and best of luck getting into medical school.