Why do YOU want to be a doctor?

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bubbaap

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Hey everyone! I was just wondering what was the driving force behind your decisions to become physicians? Was it a memorable experience, sudden insight, breeding passion? For me, it was a gradual process beginning in college. Any interesting anecdotes would be appreciated!

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Why do I want to be a doctor?

Well, I get NO respect here in the workplace or at home, my opinions and input mean SQUAT--I have no authority and no one EVER listens to me, and I make next to NOTHING as far as my income. Hence, the thought of being called "Dr" sends chills down my spine and the thought of being in a superior/power-hungry role bossing people around while making LOADS of cash gives me goosebumps.

That pretty much sums up my reasons... :D

Oh wait, I'm going to dental school--but same reasons :D
 
Honestly, I've just always been fascinated by science. I consider this a gift that I am discovering many people don't have. So I figured that I could use it for a higher purpose that reading journals for my own enjoyment. :)
 
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This may sound corny or arrogant, but I honestly think God has called me to be a doctor since I was 6 years old. Also, I absolutely love kids, and thought the best way to connect that love and my love of science was to try to be a pediatrician. Not for the money though; if that was the case, I'd try to be a stock broker and make gobs and gobs of it like all my friends seem to want to do.
 
Well, up until the end of my senior year of high school, I thought I was going to be a math professor. I spent a lot of time with a good friend of mine whose parents were both doctors, a pediatrician and a geriatrician/internist. The idea of practicing medicine just started to grow on me over the summer, so I read as much as I could about medicine. I still was on the fence and decided to major in mathematics, but the more I thought about it the more medicine seemed to be a good idea. Now, I can't imagine doing anything else.

I mentioned in my PS and vision statement that one of the main reasons I want to be a doctor is the deep emotional fulfillment that the work will bring. I mean, how cool would it be to get up in the middle of the night and go save someone's life? As a doctor you are in a position of great responsibility and authority, and with that comes the ability (to some extent) to make patients' lives better every day. It is work of such vital importance and societal value that it will always be awe-inspiring to me to have such a sublime duty.

I feel guilty to have done this, but I have considered the benefits to the doctor as well. Let's face it, who can honestly say that he or she never thought about life as a doctor, along with the prestige and lifestyle that comes with it? Yes, I expect to be financially comfortable. I'm not saying I'm going to sign a lease on an S 500 the day I start private practice, but I expect not to have to worry about making ends meet and have some disposable income.

But how much is all this going to matter if I'm working 60+ hour weeks and have no life outside of the hospital? If I do get to be a doctor, I'll be coming to people's aid every day. The other stuff will be nice, but I think that how I feel after every small medical success will be what it's really about to me, and will be what makes me get up and go to work every day.
 
Well, I want to be a doctor for several reasons.
First, because I think that most doctors out there today just plain suck! They never know as much as they think they know and they are placed in charge of medications and performing surgeries which in my opinion makes them dangerous. They never seem to want to talk to you about your health problems or how you feel mentally and phisically and they never seem to have the social skills to help comfort you when you are most afraid. They just want to push a drug on you that alters your mood or temporarily relieves pain to shut you up and get you out of their office.
I believe that I can be a better doctor than this and hopefully I can help to make someone feel better and improve their quality of life.

Secondly, I want to be a doctor to take care of my family. In part I am talking financially, however mainly I mean being their primary care giver. I really wouldn't trust my family's health to anyone else. And what I really hate the most is when someone I love has a medical problem and is possibly in pain, they call their doctor's office to try and get an appointment. What do they get? They get the standard response of: "We don't have any available appointments for the next two months. If you are in pain or need to see a doctor immediately, please go the the Emergency Room". That really bakes my noodle. If I am a physician and someone in my family has a medical problem, I can take care of the problem immediately so they don't have to wait for a two-month appointment to roll around. Or I can use my connections as a doctor to get them in to see another doctor sooner.

Sorry for the rants, however it's late at night and these comments are all based on numerous personal experiences that I have had in the past two years mainly with primary care physicians. And I know that these statements don't apply to all physicians.

And if you have asked this question to get ideas for writing a personal statement or in preparation for interviews, I don't know if you should use my comments. The adcomms almost always have doctor on them and it may not go over very well.
 
don't feel guilty for liking the idea of being rich and prestigious. that's the LEAST you should be getting for all the crap you have to go through. personally, i think a healthy and MATURE person finds a balance between selfishness and selflessness.

i'm doing it for da honeyz :D :eek: :cool:
 
Well thanks for all your comments. I think the next generation of future physicians will be a unique bunch indeed...and hopefully we'll all be included! :D
 
I *HATE* doctors. I hate their all-too-often omnipotent demeanors. I hate their white coats. And like Bubba, I hate how they are so unpersonable.

Now, the *REASON* I want to be a doctor is not specifically because I hate them. However, that is a part of it... indeed, like Bubba, I want to be different.

So.. why did I choose medicine? Well, to start, I can't think of why anyone WOULDN'T choose medicine - other than perhaps a fear of blood/guts. It's a career that juxtoposes science with humanity, economics with morals, and life with death. It's a HUGE challenge - which reaps of benefits in the end.

Of course, one can be involved in medicine in an array of other ways - PA's, NP, nursing, paramedicine, etc. But the reason I chose to be a phycician, in particular, is because it is the position which suits my personaility best. Moreoever, it is the one that would keep me most involved and excited (i.e. keeping me from getting bored).

Lastly, medical schools, unlike many other post-graduate training, allows someone to do SOOOOOOO many things. you can do research, be a writer, be involved in ethics... be a surgeon, or pediatrian. EVEN BETTER, an MD allows you to do a little of whatever you want. For example... teach, practice, and research. It's all there... again... why WOULDN'T I want to be a physician. Jeez i can't wait...

Leon
 
For me, it started out with an interest in science, trying to "explain the unexplained." I did a class project on surgery when I was in the 5th grade, and attended "mini med schools" put on for the public by Texas Tech when I was in high school. Coming to college just reinforced my interest in medicine. I currently volunteer at a clinic that serves only those who cannot afford health insurance. The amazing thing to me is that the staff consists of only volunteers: the nurses, the doctors, the pharmacists, ... everyone! Seeing the dedication these doctors have to serving medicine, even if it means donating a day of their time to those who cannot afford to pay, has inspired me even more to pursue a career in medicine.

I hope this helps you with your situation. Everyone has their own personal reasons for becoming a doctor - make sure yours exemplifies who you are and who you want to become!
 
Originally posted by BUmiken12:
•This may sound corny or arrogant, but I honestly think God has called me to be a doctor since I was 6 years old. Also, I absolutely love kids, and thought the best way to connect that love and my love of science was to try to be a pediatrician. Not for the money though; if that was the case, I'd try to be a stock broker and make gobs and gobs of it like all my friends seem to want to do.•

I wouldn't share that in my interview: "God calls me to be a doctor", that would scare most interviewers off. They'll think you're delusional or way into yourself.
 
Originally posted by Aggiemaj:
•I currently volunteer at a clinic that serves only those who cannot afford health insurance. The amazing thing to me is that the staff consists of only volunteers: the nurses, the doctors, the pharmacists, ... everyone! Seeing the dedication these doctors have to serving medicine, even if it means donating a day of their time to those who cannot afford to pay, has inspired me even more to pursue a career in medicine.•

The clinic I volunteer in is exactly the same way, and it is truly an inspiration.
 
Doesn't everyone wonder why so many people (especially pre-meds) agree that doctors can be terrible people with outrageous egos and yet we are (hopefully) all future doctors...will we turn in to this? What turns a scared respectful pre-med into a money-grubbing (although some already are) power-tripping doctor? I know that all doctors aren't like this but it seems that these types are over-represented in the doctor population. What's your opinion? Do they start out like that or are they turned into it?
 
It's kinda funny, but if you look around at your undergrad, you'll notice that many premeds are egocentric, self rightious, dinguses. That's where dingus docs come from. We live in a society where being a doctor is the most respected profession. That happens to attract very arrogant people.

If you think about it, nowadays, it's even filtered down a bit. Today, we seem to appreciate compassionate people who truly want to help.

Twenty years ago, society wasn't quite so idealistic, so we produced a whole lot of arrogant dingus docs.

If you want to make sense of it, adcomms are looking for "well rounded people" who are compassionate. Adcomms are made up of the good docs from the past. That's cause most docs in academic medicine aren't after money, they don't make as much as the average private practice folks. So they want to make tomorrow's doctors true warriors of humanity like they are. From my experience, most younger docs, seem to be a bit better people than the older ones.

Of course many older docs have learned their lessons from humanity, and are wonderful people and fantistic physicians. And there are plenty that were good people from the start. Yet, there still exists a lot of older docs who do plague medicine with egocentric money grubbing attitudes.

But face it, twenty, thirty years ago, being a doc was a lot more about money and prestige than it is now.

That's why adcomms are so weary about making dingus cut-throat premeds docs. Those premeds will make dingus cut-throat docs, who will order an extra test for the extra buck, just like many of older docs do.

If you have read this and think that you are being a doc to fulfill your ego instead of to use your god given talents to help humanity, please go into law, business, etc., and leave this NOBLE profession for the people who care.
 
anacapa,

I asked that very question a little while back in the Everyone forum.
Do all doctors start out idealistic???

The answer bascially was that the stress of residency turns doctors into dinguses. :rolleyes:
 
I agree with the Twostevesquared...some doctors have the whole "God" complex and others do not. For example, I work for a private practice with 3 physicians. One of them is eccentric, yet harmless. Another is quite easy going--the whole office could be falling apart and he wouldn't even break a sweat. And lastly, the third one--I'll call him Dr. X--has a severe case of a superiority complex. He wears a 3 piece suit to work every day and starts complaining as soon as he walks in the door. From what I've observed, Dr. X is also the doc that stays in the office until 11:00 every night catching up with dictation and what not--even though he has two little kids at home. My point is (yes there is one) that I think the arrogant personalities that some doctors have has a lot to do with their self confidence. Like for Dr. X, his profession makes him who he is--even though there are other aspects of his life too. I think he uses the superiority that he feels by biting everyone's head off to feel good about himself. Whereas, other docs, who are more self confident, act more civilly because they get motivation and happiness from other parts of their life as well.

Okay, I think I rambled a bit, but I hope this helps :)
 
I agree with the above - I think where I was going with this is that many times I find myself having the same questions/doubts/etc. as people on this board and wonder how I or the people posting would ever turn into an egocentric doctor. At the same time, there are MANY posts that go wild with insults at the drop of a hat so I suppose there are all types of pre-meds!
 
Hmm...Why do I want to be a doctor? It must be because I just LOVE being jerked around and lied to. At least that's what AMCAS seems to think!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Homer J. Simpson

At least your honest!!! lol....

I think everyone said some really cool things. I was thinking of posting this post, but someone already had...Great minds think alike.
 
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