Why medicine, for me

[BurghStudent]

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From what I gather most folks on here have known they want a career in medicine from an early age. The reason is sometimes the death of a loved one, or some other tragic event; basically a solid point in time. Or perhaps it's something less dramatic, like an illness overcome at a certain age etc.

I want to be a doctor, plain and simple. No one is forcing me and no one could tell me otherwise. However, it is in conveying this fact that I am lost. I do not have a typical story that would naturally point me in the direction of medicine. Nor did I ever have any exposure to medicine growing up. It sort of just grew on me as I was entering college.

I started college with the notion of becoming a doctor simply because I really enjoyed an A & P class in senior year of high school. So I followed the general curriculum. However, I let myself experience medicine through volunteering and shadowing, as well as even courses co-registered in the med school. I've taken numerous leadership roles, majored in what I wanted to, pursued my genuine interests and I still come to the same conclusion; I want to be a doctor.

My fear is I will not be able to convey this in a way that does not make me look inauthentic. My journey to medicine was gradual; I never had that moment, that point in time that I knew I had to be a doctor. I sort of just had a hypothesis and never proved it wrong.

How can I convey this in essays, interviews etc? Is anyone else in the same boat?

 

[point542]

I think a lot of us are in the same boat bro. For me it began with an affinity and interest for chemistry and biochemistry, and I like the way that medicine integrates our current knowledge to improve ways that we treat ailments, etc yada yada

Also, I like science and helping people 🙄

Like you said though, everybody's journey to medicine should be gradual.

 

[gettheleadout]

From what I gather most folks on here have known they want a career in medicine from an early age. The reason is sometimes the death of a loved one, or some other tragic event; basically a solid point in time. Or perhaps it's something less dramatic, like an illness overcome at a certain age etc.

I want to be a doctor, plain and simple. No one is forcing me and no one could tell me otherwise. However, it is in conveying this fact that I am lost. I do not have a typical story that would naturally point me in the direction of medicine. Nor did I ever have any exposure to medicine growing up. It sort of just grew on me as I was entering college.

I started college with the notion of becoming a doctor simply because I really enjoyed an A & P class in senior year of high school. So I followed the general curriculum. However, I let myself experience medicine through volunteering and shadowing, as well as even courses co-registered in the med school. I've taken numerous leadership roles, majored in what I wanted to, pursued my genuine interests and I still come to the same conclusion; I want to be a doctor.

My fear is I will not be able to convey this in a way that does not make me look inauthentic. My journey to medicine was gradual; I never had that moment, that point in time that I knew I had to be a doctor. I sort of just had a hypothesis and never proved it wrong.

How can I convey this in essays, interviews etc? Is anyone else in the same boat?

I think expanding on what you just said would be a great way to convey your motivation clearly. Not everyone has to have had some crystallizing experience that imbued them with the drive for medicine; I sure haven't. For many of us, it has been a cumulative experience as it was for you. The fact that everything you've done further reinforced your interest in medicine is only a positive. 👍

 

[gmcguitar4]

You don't need some definitive moment in your life to prove that medicine is for you. The adcoms aren't necessarily looking for a story of how you saved an entire african village from malaria, they just want to know the truth. So tell them the truth in a clear and concise answer. That is all they want.

A good way to answer this question is maybe describe how you felt during a clinical experience you did. You already knew that you wanted medicine, but this experience solidified your decision. The rewarding experience of helping others, the fascination of the body, new technology in healthcare. The point is you can find plenty of things to talk about.

 

[orthomyxo]

I started college with the notion of becoming a doctor simply because I really enjoyed an A & P class in senior year of high school. So I followed the general curriculum. However, I let myself experience medicine through volunteering and shadowing, as well as even courses co-registered in the med school. I've taken numerous leadership roles, majored in what I wanted to, pursued my genuine interests and I still come to the same conclusion; I want to be a doctor.

How can I convey this in essays, interviews etc? Is anyone else in the same boat?

Sounds fine to me. Your reason doesn't have to be awe-inspiring, just genuine.

 

[Stumpyman]

Same here. Never had a big moment or anything. I'm going to be facing some serious writer's bloc by the time I start filling out med school applications.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

What party pushed me towards medicine was when I first volunteered at a pharmacy. I was originally pre-pharm as my first 200 posts on this site can show. I hated volunteering there, but what was worse, the pharmacists job every day. It was just so redundant and boring. I knew I wanted to do something in the medical field, I was going to jump straight to Medicine, but I wanted to give mos choices a clear shot. I crossed out nursing, as I did not like the job they do, (I was overexposed due to all 12 of my immediate aunts and probably 50 more relatives who were nurses) I do not like teeth, dentist was crossed off. Feet aren't really my favorite part of the body either, so Podiatry was out. I'm terrified of working with the eyes, optometry was also out. It wasn't really as straightforward was I made it out to me, butI hope you get the point.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I could say that when my mom died when I was 12 years old. I wanted to be a Doctor, but hat isn't true. For that year, I loathed hospitals, but as the years went by, I gradually started to gain more and more respect for the medical field. Maybe that would be something to put.