Would you rather....

[lisichka]

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you may be rich, but there are still 24 hours in a day. what are you going to do for the next 60 years? i'm sure driving your Ferrari gets boring after a while.

that's exactly my point. armybound was modded for a reason. the only wise man in this thread😀

 

[myKuduSlewaZulu]

you may be rich, but there are still 24 hours in a day. what are you going to do for the next 60 years? i'm sure driving your Ferrari gets boring after a while.

That's just it....money=freedom. Do whatever you want. Personally, I'd go investor/philanthropist. I wouldn't be confined to any particular field. Once you get tired, move on to something else. Life is short...there are way too many opportunities out there to get bored.

 

[StealthNerd]

wait a second. what if i want to live in the US and practice medicine right here, right now? i don;t want to be crowned. i just want to practice medicine in the US. I do not want to practice medicine in Zulu, because my friends and family live right here in the US. what is wrong with that?

Listen hon, you're not gonna be practicing medicine in the U.S. "right here, right now". ... And not for around a decade, give or take.

O, and with that much money you don't even need to worry about visiting your friends and family. Buy them a place on the Med where you can all hang out when you pop in from wherever. Don't like "weird" countries? Try Western Europe. You'll like it. England, Germany, hell even France now that they stud Sarkozy is in charge. 🙂

... and thanks for the two 👍 Kudu!

Bedtime for Bonzo... I'm gonna go dream of $100M. 🙂

 

[alwaysaangel]

you may be rich, but there are still 24 hours in a day. what are you going to do for the next 60 years? i'm sure driving your Ferrari gets boring after a while.

There are plenty of things people can do other than work. You could do so much volunteer work - put money into free clinics, homeless shelters, etc. I mean not all rich people drive their ferrari all day long - plenty make a lot of very cool contributions to society.

You could take on all kinds of careers other than medicine too if you really wanted - or do PA, NP, etc. And donate your services where they're needed.

 

[lisichka]

That's just it....money=freedom. Do whatever you want. Personally, I'd go investor/philanthropist. I wouldn't be confined to any particular field. Once you get tired, move on to something else. Life is short...there are way too many opportunities out there to get bored.

ok, then what would you do. there are only 24 hours in a day. you can;t drive two cars at the same time, can;t sleep in two plush ritz carlton beds at the same time, can't be at two places at the same time, what else would you do. women? (if u are a guy), you'd get bored after a while since they;d sleep with u for money anyways? what else is there? we all die eventually....

 

[NoUse4aName1286]

100 million; Financial security for me, my family (both now and future). You know, w/the way medicine is going now, you cant guarantee that anymore.

Plus, I can put my siblings through college. Now.
Get a PhD, be a PA. Get a biz. degree of some sorts and run the hospital, fund your own free clinic, here, in the US, right now.

 

[AlexMorph]

ok, then what would you do. there are only 24 hours in a day. you can;t drive two cars at the same time, can;t sleep in two plush ritz carlton beds at the same time, can't be at two places at the same time, what else would you do. women? (if u are a guy), you'd get bored after a while since they;d sleep with u for money anyways? what else is there? we all die eventually....

Because there is absolutely no other job in the world than being a doctor right? Hell, if you wanna stick with health care, there are plenty of things you could do. And you would be putting the money to good use.

This kind of blind ambition towards one goal and one goal only is what makes pre-meds a bunch of annoying people as a whole. Get real!

 

[AlexMorph]

100 million; Financial security for me, my family (both now and future). You know, w/the way medicine is going now, you cant guarantee that anymore.

Plus, I can put my siblings through college. Now.
Get a PhD, be a PA. Get a biz. degree of some sorts and run the hospital, fund your own free clinic, here, in the US, right now.

She may be too naive and innocent to catch that...

 

[Virgil]

If you're going into medicine for the chicks and money, you'll take the money.

If you're going into medicine to help people, you'll take the money.

If you're going into medicine for the respect, I don't really know. Money can buy respect, but it can't buy a MD.

If you're going into medicine for the inherent high that accompanies the job, you'll take the top choice school unless you know of a job that'll duplicate or surpass that high.

As for me, I know the money will corrupt me. There is something about hard work...about striving hard for a cause that will give a life meaning. Although I won't pretend to know what that something is, I know I'll find it sooner or later. Right now I'm trying to fight the influence of a cushy, privileged life to find that meaning and an extra 100 million won't help.

Oh, and there's nothing stopping me from earning the 100mil (or more) after I get my MD.

 

[lisichka]

well finally after some time on SDN i;ve been called annoying naive, innocent pre-med all in the same thread

finally...

but really i ONLY want to be a doctor, not an assisstant, nurse. just a simple down to earth doctor. here. now. in this country. i do not need millions of dollars. there are many rich people in the world, billionaires, multi-billionaires, but that money cannot buy them health. i;ve seen patients like that, who can buy the whole frigging hospital with doctors and staff in one second, but it doesn;t buy them health. for me medicine is passion, something that no one can buy or sell. period. ok i am weird, but yeh, very genuine and honest.

and virgil, i second ur post 🙂

 

[Virgil]

nvm

 

[AlexMorph]

well finally after some time on SDN i;ve been called annoying naive, innocent pre-med all in the same thread

finally...

but really i ONLY want to be a doctor, not an assisstant, nurse. just a simple down to earth doctor. here. now. in this country. i do not need millions of dollars. there are many rich people in the world, billionaires, multi-billionaires, but that money cannot buy them health. i;ve seen patients like that, who can buy the whole frigging hospital with doctors and staff in one second, but it doesn;t buy them health. for me medicine is passion, something that no one can buy or sell. period. ok i am weird, but yeh, very genuine and honest.

and virgil, i second ur post 🙂

Money can't buy people health? What the hell are the uninsured, who don't have any due to lack of finances, complaining about then? Guess they have nothing better to do...

And can anyone check on how long Magic Johnson has been living with HIV now? Why aren't people in Africa living just as long as he is? What could he possibly have that they don't...

 

[lisichka]

So your corollary is that becoming a doctor will give you health whereas a millionare cannot buy health?😕

no, wrong assumption.

just like money cannot buy health, money cannot buy happiness/passion. and for me it is medicine.

 

[135892]

So your corollary is that becoming a doctor will give you health whereas a millionare cannot buy health?😕

just let the girl dream...

 

[lisichka]

Money can't buy people health? What the hell are the uninsured, who don't have any due to lack of finances, complaining about then? Guess they have nothing better to do...

And can anyone check on how long Magic Johnson has been living with HIV now? Why aren't people in Africa living just as long as he is? What could he possibly have that they don't...

wow wow, that is a completely different topic.... let's not get into extremes now: African people and Magic Johnson. there are other people, and other ailments also.

 

[alwaysaangel]

ok, then what would you do. there are only 24 hours in a day. you can;t drive two cars at the same time, can;t sleep in two plush ritz carlton beds at the same time, can't be at two places at the same time, what else would you do. women? (if u are a guy), you'd get bored after a while since they;d sleep with u for money anyways? what else is there? we all die eventually....

Well I wasn't going to say anything to the people who pick medicine because if you really really want that then thats your choice.

But to insinuate that someone couldn't actually do good and keep themselves busy for their whole life with 100 million dollars is pretty ridiculous.

Lets see I'm 23 - my family tends to live for a really long time so lets say I have at least 67 years left.

With 100 million dollars in some really good stocks etc. I could be making like 10 million/year off it.
I could help my parents out so they can have some of the stuff they never got to have because we were pretty poor.
I could make scholarship funds for my umpteen dozen cousins in Kentucky so they could all afford to go to college and get out of the labor workforce that most of my aunts/uncles/cousins are in.
I could pay for my grandmother to have full-time nurses at home so she could always stay in her own home and never go to a nursing home.
I could buy a private jet so I could stay closer to my family and friends.
I could be a stay at home mom, do the PTA, soccer-mom, community volunteer thing while still affording to send my kids to private schools. My kids would be able to go to college, professional school, whatever they want - completely debt-free.

Now outside of the personal stuff:
I could open and fund dozens of fully functional free clinics.
I could create scholarship funds for students like me so that they wouldn't have to work their ass off through undergrad.
I could fund new medical school programs to train future doctors to work with underserved communities.
I could pay for doctors, medical studnts, and nurses to go on international medical missions.
I could pay for tons of medications to go to underserved places in the world where basic medications that we take for granted are almost impossible to get.
I could donate to schools so that they can improve the level of education of our youth (which massively SUCKS at the moment).
I could create a lasting foundation after I die that would continue this kind of good for years after my death.

Lets say I'm a doctor (right now I'm thinking ER physician). If I see 1 patient every 15 minutes and work 3-12 hour shifts per week for 50 years (unlikely I'd work that long) - then I would help 345,600 people in my lifetime.

If I have 100 million dollars and am a hardworking philanthropist then my free clinics alone would help that many people in just a matter of years. Add in the scholarships, schools, medications, family, and of course the benefit to my own kids and I would help WAY more than that 345,600 people.

And frankly, it would be more satisfying because I would be helping people that need it most - I would have time to get to know them and keep in touch with them.

 

[Virgil]

no, wrong assumption.

just like money cannot buy health, money cannot buy happiness/passion. and for me it is medicine.

Ah. I agree.

 

[TopDocChick]

I pick med school, no question. I hate money. It makes me nervous.

 

[AlexMorph]

I pick med school, no question. I hate money. It makes me nervous.

Can we count on you then to donate all of your earnings to charity? Or better yet, will you be working for free? I'm sure your services will be extremely useful if you were to offer them free of charge.

 

[SoFlaKnight]

Well I wasn't going to say anything to the people who pick medicine because if you really really want that then thats your choice.

But to insinuate that someone couldn't actually do good and keep themselves busy for their whole life with 100 million dollars is pretty ridiculous.

Lets see I'm 23 - my family tends to live for a really long time so lets say I have at least 67 years left.

With 100 million dollars in some really good stocks etc. I could be making like 10 million/year off it.
I could help my parents out so they can have some of the stuff they never got to have because we were pretty poor.
I could make scholarship funds for my umpteen dozen cousins in Kentucky so they could all afford to go to college and get out of the labor workforce that most of my aunts/uncles/cousins are in.
I could pay for my grandmother to have full-time nurses at home so she could always stay in her own home and never go to a nursing home.
I could buy a private jet so I could stay closer to my family and friends.
I could be a stay at home mom, do the PTA, soccer-mom, community volunteer thing while still affording to send my kids to private schools. My kids would be able to go to college, professional school, whatever they want - completely debt-free.

Now outside of the personal stuff:
I could open and fund dozens of fully functional free clinics.
I could create scholarship funds for students like me so that they wouldn't have to work their ass off through undergrad.
I could fund new medical school programs to train future doctors to work with underserved communities.
I could pay for doctors, medical studnts, and nurses to go on international medical missions.
I could pay for tons of medications to go to underserved places in the world where basic medications that we take for granted are almost impossible to get.
I could donate to schools so that they can improve the level of education of our youth (which massively SUCKS at the moment).
I could create a lasting foundation after I die that would continue this kind of good for years after my death.

Lets say I'm a doctor (right now I'm thinking ER physician). If I see 1 patient every 15 minutes and work 3-12 hour shifts per week for 50 years (unlikely I'd work that long) - then I would help 345,600 people in my lifetime.

If I have 100 million dollars and am a hardworking philanthropist then my free clinics alone would help that many people in just a matter of years. Add in the scholarships, schools, medications, family, and of course the benefit to my own kids and I would help WAY more than that 345,600 people.

And frankly, it would be more satisfying because I would be helping people that need it most - I would have time to get to know them and keep in touch with them.

John Stuart Mill is rolling in his grave, while Immanuel Kant is projectile vomiting in his🙄

 

[lisichka]

Can we count on you then to donate all of your earnings to charity? Or better yet, will you be working for free? I'm sure your services will be extremely useful if you were to offer them free of charge.

flawed argument. she needs to eat and feed her kids. she can;t be a homeless bum. you are all about extremes. there is quite a huge difference between 100 mill and a doctor's salary. c'mon. logic please.

 

[lisichka]

John Stuart Mill is rolling in his grave, while Immanuel Kant is projectile vomiting in his🙄

c'mon what's wrong with being a soccer mom? with 100 mill.

 

[alwaysaangel]

c'mon what's wrong with being a soccer mom? with 100 mill.

Pssh..its my dream come true. But I'm a little nuts so I guess not everyone would agree.

 

[Maxwell Edison]

If you truly cared about "helping" other people, you would take the 100 mil. As a doctor, sure you can treat people, but the number of patients you can treat are limited. If you had 100 mil to contribute to charity, you would have a greater impact upon a lot more people.

By this logic, if clinicians truly cared about helping people, they would give up all money made in the practice of medicine for charity and wander aimlessly, in some kind of neo-Hippocratic philosopher's quest. But this isn't the case.

I have to say, I'm surprised by the preponderance of responses in favor of the cash.

 

[craniotomy30]

Definitely medicine!! There is nothing better

 

[AlexMorph]

flawed argument. she needs to eat and feed her kids. she can;t be a homeless bum. you are all about extremes. there is quite a huge difference between 100 mill and a doctor's salary. c'mon. logic please.

If she is going to go so far as to say she hates money, I certainly am allowed to ask if she is willing to donate it all.

 

[AlexMorph]

I think it's also important to keep in mind that the med students have voted in favor of the money, while it's some of the pre-meds who would rather go to their top-choice school.

 

[TopDocChick]

Can we count on you then to donate all of your earnings to charity? Or better yet, will you be working for free? I'm sure your services will be extremely useful if you were to offer them free of charge.

You are assuming that I want to be a doctor in order to help people...

 

[AlexMorph]

You are assuming that I want to be a doctor in order to help people...

Fair enough. What is your motivation then in turning down a hypothetical 100 million?

 

[TopDocChick]

I said already...

 

[brianmartin]

Let's just say god exists, hypothetically. Turning down that 100 mil would look great on your resume. SDN'ers should see the value in that!

Please note, I am agnostic and would take the 100 mil in a heartbeat 🙂

 

[myKuduSlewaZulu]

I think it's also important to keep in mind that the med students have voted in favor of the money, while it's some of the pre-meds who would rather go to their top-choice school.

Bingo!

People seem to think you're not going to get bored as a Dr. I'm pretty sure after the first 100 appendectomies they get a little less interesting. With the money, you can switch things up as often as you like, and you can still work hard and be passionate about whatever you do WITHOUT suffering through the "job" aspect of it. IOW, you should be LESS bored taking the money.

 

[Maxprime]

If you'd take the $100m, why are you going to medical school? You can eventually make a few million bucks a year if you go into banking. If you can get into med school, you're hard working, have a decent personality, and pretty smart - money is easy to get when you have that combo. One of the reasons that physicians are special is because they choose service over money.

 

[Maxprime]

Bingo!

People seem to think you're not going to get bored as a Dr. I'm pretty sure after the first 100 appendectomies they get a little less interesting. With the money, you can switch things up as often as you like, and you can still work hard and be passionate about whatever you do WITHOUT suffering through the "job" aspect of it. IOW, you should be LESS bored taking the money.

See one, do one, teach one. 🙂

 

[batman1983]

If you had a choice and only could do one or the other, would you choose to have a 100 million dollar winning lottery ticket or get into a top choice med school (Harvard, UCSF, <insert your fav med school here>).


I mean I know a lot of us want to do some good in the world with a degree in medicine, but imagine what you could do with 100 mill.

BUT

If you take the 100 million you could never go to any med school ever for the rest of your life.

Take the $100M and make your own medical school

 

[DoctorDreamer]

It depends. I'd give up my top choice school for the money, but only if I could get into another medical school. If it was straight money vs medical school at all, I'd probably go medical school.

I'm not saying it would be an easy choice... But everyone is saying that the money could do so much good... Well, of all the good done in my life, very little of it was because of money. There is a ton of money in the world, and little good being done comparitively with it. We could always use another person using their life for good, though.

Also, money doesn't make me happy, and I only feel career peace when I think about being a doctor. There are other ways to be involved with healthcare, but they aren't the ways for me.

And I believe in myself enough to know that I can make money other ways. Making money is always an option - taking away medical school deprives me of a very important option.

 

[jbrice1639]

Maybe I should come clean about the fact that I'm an experienced computer hacker and know the identity of all of you who voted for the MONEY. I was hired by the AAMC to weed out those that would take the money over the top school.

eh, whatever - if that had been an interview question, i would have told the interviewer i wanted the money too. $100 million dollars is way better than a harvard education. it's not like there aren't other careers out there that are fulfilling.

i mean, medicine is great, and definitely a calling, but as others have said, it's still just a career with ups and downs. $100mil would let you do anything you want...hard to argue with that.

i could open up a little coffee shop or something and never have to worry about it being profitable...just doing something i'd enjoy.

 

[jbrice1639]

she needs to eat and feed her kids.

wouldn't it make more sense to feed the kids first and then eat them? eating them first would making feeding them difficult. and pointless.

 

[batman1983]

Im not if this is accurate (would be helpful if there is an accountant here), but arent lottery winnings taxed as Short Term Income, which at $100M, is essentially the max tax bracket. Im not sure what that tax rate is for that bracket (I think its between 35-50%), but that means that you are actually getting anywhere from $50-65M. Even then, I still would choose the money. You could do more good with the money than as a doctor(ie, buy your own hospital and etc).

 

[Bartelby]

If you think all you could do with $100 million is sit around your mansion and drive your porsche, you lack imagination. Come on... I bet if people here really had that choice, only 1-2% would actually take the school (if that).

 

[armybound]

Well I wasn't going to say anything to the people who pick medicine because if you really really want that then thats your choice.

But to insinuate that someone couldn't actually do good and keep themselves busy for their whole life with 100 million dollars is pretty ridiculous.

Lets see I'm 23 - my family tends to live for a really long time so lets say I have at least 67 years left.

With 100 million dollars in some really good stocks etc. I could be making like 10 million/year off it.
I could help my parents out so they can have some of the stuff they never got to have because we were pretty poor.
I could make scholarship funds for my umpteen dozen cousins in Kentucky so they could all afford to go to college and get out of the labor workforce that most of my aunts/uncles/cousins are in.
I could pay for my grandmother to have full-time nurses at home so she could always stay in her own home and never go to a nursing home.
I could buy a private jet so I could stay closer to my family and friends.
I could be a stay at home mom, do the PTA, soccer-mom, community volunteer thing while still affording to send my kids to private schools. My kids would be able to go to college, professional school, whatever they want - completely debt-free.

Now outside of the personal stuff:
I could open and fund dozens of fully functional free clinics.
I could create scholarship funds for students like me so that they wouldn't have to work their ass off through undergrad.
I could fund new medical school programs to train future doctors to work with underserved communities.
I could pay for doctors, medical studnts, and nurses to go on international medical missions.
I could pay for tons of medications to go to underserved places in the world where basic medications that we take for granted are almost impossible to get.
I could donate to schools so that they can improve the level of education of our youth (which massively SUCKS at the moment).
I could create a lasting foundation after I die that would continue this kind of good for years after my death.

Lets say I'm a doctor (right now I'm thinking ER physician). If I see 1 patient every 15 minutes and work 3-12 hour shifts per week for 50 years (unlikely I'd work that long) - then I would help 345,600 people in my lifetime.

If I have 100 million dollars and am a hardworking philanthropist then my free clinics alone would help that many people in just a matter of years. Add in the scholarships, schools, medications, family, and of course the benefit to my own kids and I would help WAY more than that 345,600 people.

And frankly, it would be more satisfying because I would be helping people that need it most - I would have time to get to know them and keep in touch with them.

and once you've paid for all of those things, what would you do with the other 50+ years of your life?

a beach is a beach. a tropical vacation is a tropical vacation. a cruise is a cruise. are you telling me that you'll do that for the rest of your life and not get bored?

 

[Tndoorijones]

I would travel the world and throw some money at my alma mater

 

[GoldShadow]

Screw the money, I would want to go to med school and become a doctor. The thing is, I love learning and I love being busy/productive. One of the draws of medicine is that it can fulfill both of those. Money can buy a lot, but if it destroys my ambitions, I would turn it down.

But maybe I'm just being an idealistic, naive pre-med. Who knows? I'd like to know my answer to this question in another 5 or 10 years.

 

[alwaysaangel]

and once you've paid for all of those things, what would you do with the other 50+ years of your life?

a beach is a beach. a tropical vacation is a tropical vacation. a cruise is a cruise. are you telling me that you'll do that for the rest of your life and not get bored?

What part of the time with family, philanthropic work and volunteer work are you not getting? They're all very active processes that take time and could easily keep me very busy and very fulfilled my entire life.

I didn't mention any of the crap you said - did you even read my post?

 

[myKuduSlewaZulu]

and once you've paid for all of those things, what would you do with the other 50+ years of your life?

a beach is a beach. a tropical vacation is a tropical vacation. a cruise is a cruise. are you telling me that you'll do that for the rest of your life and not get bored?

How you are NOT going to get bored at times spending 50 years in the same profession? People with the 100 mil have less chance of getting bored....

 

[myKuduSlewaZulu]

Screw the money, I would want to go to med school and become a doctor. The thing is, I love learning and I love being busy/productive. One of the draws of medicine is that it can fulfill both of those. Money can buy a lot, but if it destroys my ambitions, I would turn it down.

But maybe I'm just being an idealistic, naive pre-med. Who knows? I'd like to know my answer to this question in another 5 or 10 years.

Why would you not love learning and being productive with 100 mil? In a sense, you are implying that you need external discipline imposed you on such as from fear of bad grades or an employment contract to achieve in the very things you love to do.

 

[GoldShadow]

Why would you not love learning and being productive with 100 mil? In a sense, you are implying that you need external discipline imposed you on such as from fear of bad grades or an employment contract to achieve in the very things you love to do.

I could read textbooks and take classes and read scientific and medical journals after getting the 100 mil for the rest of my life, but to what end? I'd like to really apply that knowledge, and the only (and most fulfilling) way of doing that, as I currently see it, is as a medical doctor.

 

[Drogba]

Anyone who thinks medicine is the only way to help people is not very imaginative.

 

[Jolie South]

I could read textbooks and take classes and read scientific and medical journals after getting the 100 mil for the rest of my life, but to what end? I'd like to really apply that knowledge, and the only (and most fulfilling) way of doing that, as I currently see it, is as a medical doctor.

yea, i feel you. I would take the money and then find a way to go to med school.

The public health type work that I did as a volunteer was good, but I don't think I could spend the rest of my life doing it. That's the reason I'm applying to med school. 🙂

I would go to med school and then become a doctor, which I would do part time so I could raise kids and travel the world. It would be cool because I could do work in all the places that I won't now for financial reasons(extremely small salary).

I could live in Africa for the rest of my life, live on less than half of what I do here, and do the philanthropic doctor thing.

 

[neuro1617]

I'm gonna get slammed for this, again, but if you said you'd rather take your top choice med school over $100M then you are, in fact, a ******. You can do whatever you want with that much money. ****, the interest alone would be way more than I could spend or give away. Throw it in a freakin money market and get 5%, or $5M each and every year.

You could do A LOT of good with $100M. You could also hire some of the smartest people on the planet to teach you, one-on-one, everything you'd ever learn in med school. Then build your own hospital overseas, and hire your own staff. Make your own clinical experiences. Crown yourself "Best Doctor Ever" and then go save lives left and right. Sure, you may not have the "MD" in this scenario, but that doesn't stop you from being a doctor. You're just missing a diploma. And for that, you've saved countless lives and improved God knows how many others.

Seriously people. Come on. You're killin' me. 🙂

If I could crown myself "Best Doctor Ever," take over all the other doctors & be able to diagnose & treat people then I'd take the $$$. If I could never go to med school or do anything in medicine, I'd take the top choice school. I would have all that money but not be getting to diagnose & treat like I want to. I could buy all the books on medicine but Idk that it'd be the same...I think I'd feel, after buying whatever I wanted, that I'd be missing something..in all honesty.

But I'm sure once I'm in med school/residency, slaving away & not seeing my family & not having time to send out christmas cards or pay my bills & never sleeping, living on coffee, making hardly any $ & poor me, I'm doing "just what I wanted," I would take the $ and run.😎 That's what most residents & med students I've met would do...

Also I'm someone that gets bored so easily I have to have my ipod on when walking to classes if I'm by myself..so...I'd get bored really quickly.