Your Why?

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kb1900 said:
yes i remember having to write my personal statement too
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While I do appreciate the snarky response, I am actually a freshmen pursuing my bachelors, which is quite far away from "writing my personal statement" when it comes to med school, thank you very much. I'm still not actually sure if I want to pursue medical school, which is why I was curious as to what drives other people in this field.

I appreciate all of the helpful responses to this post and all of the wisdom that you all have given me. Thank you.
(sarcasm).
 
I find pleasure in pain.

--> Only half kidding tbh. I think a lot of us have a slight addiction to being stressed and then overcoming it successfully.

I have a lot of experience in the medical field, and at the end of the day I was always asking "how?" and "why?". I wanted to be the person with the knowledge who collects data, analyzes it, and presents a plan to help someone.

Get some experience in the medical field. You'll find the role that fits you best.
 
caramelbear said:
I find pleasure in pain.

--> Only half kidding tbh. I think a lot of us have a slight addiction to being stressed and then overcoming it successfully.

I have a lot of experience in the medical field, and at the end of the day I was always asking "how?" and "why?". I wanted to be the person with the knowledge who collects data, analyzes it, and presents a plan to help someone.

Get some experience in the medical field. You'll find the role that fits you best.
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This.
Experience in the medical field is where one finds the "why" or the "why not" of pursuing a degree in medicine.
For me it was the possibility of both pursuing a career in not only medicine but also teaching and research.
 
I know exactly the kind of doctor I hope to be. I am privilege to work with eight of the most incredible physicians I could imagine, in a field that I can't get enough of. When I told them I was applying to medical school, I got high fives and lots of encouragement. I also know the patients that I could help, the issues that they face and what I could bring to the table as their provider. I'm in the position I'm in because of the unconventional route I took to medicine by building upon the relationships I have from my original career. But even as a college freshman, you can get out there and start getting experience and insight into medicine. There are wonderful mentors out there, you just have to go find some.
 
Why? So I could get all the drugs I could ever want. Then I got to med school and they said that's not the case and by that time I was in deep with the debt so here I am
 
I'll give you a serious answer, lol.

For me, it's a combination of personal family history with illness, a love for science, and a passion for education. I've shadowed, volunteered, and worked in multiple professions (I'm a non-trad) and something about medicine resonates with me in a way nothing else has.
 
Saw a team of humans cut someone open, take a vein out of said persons leg and use that vein to bypass clogged arteries in their heart....all while holding a convo like it was nothing. Found out it wasn't sorcery or magic, just medicine.
 
Kgizzle said:
Saw a team of humans cut someone open, take a vein out of said persons leg and use that vein to bypass clogged arteries in their heart....all while holding a convo like it was nothing. Found out it wasn't sorcery or magic, just medicine.
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For some reason, this just sounds so bada$$. Especially if you were to say it like Matthew McConaughey during an interview.
 
It's honestly the perfect intersection of things that I want to get out of a career. It'll allow me to be a caregiver, advocate, educator, and scientist. Plus, I love physiology, but I also really like the idea of working with my hands (which is probably why I'm attracted to certain specialities, lol). I've been making stuff my whole life, might as well use my hands to heal others instead of making random crafts :laugh:
 
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Kgizzle said:
Saw a team of humans cut someone open, take a vein out of said persons leg and use that vein to bypass clogged arteries in their heart....all while holding a convo like it was nothing. Found out it wasn't sorcery or magic, just medicine.
Click to expand...
I observed this surgery as well. It was amazing!
 
Kgizzle said:
Saw a team of humans cut someone open, take a vein out of said persons leg and use that vein to bypass clogged arteries in their heart....all while holding a convo like it was nothing. Found out it wasn't sorcery or magic, just medicine.
Click to expand...

I became an OR tech on a whim because I needed a job and thought it would be a decent way to make money while I went to school. The first time I set foot in an OR, I was blown away. One of my first cases was a lymph node bx from the aortic arch. I got to manually retract the heart. Feeling it beat against my hand was one of the weirdest, most humbling experiences I've ever had. Locked medicine in for me.
 
Because Dr. PatchA has a nice ring to it
 
I'll give a serious answer.

Had a personal illness early in high school. I had a cardiac condition that went undiagnosed for a long time. I finally started seeing a cardiologist and oddly enough I always loved going for a visit. Every time I went to a hospital I got excited and butterflies in my stomach and just fell in love with medicine. Stayed up all night reading about heart rhythms and other cardiac illnesses. I was a failing high school student and once I had my operation it was like my whole life changed overnight and that was something I wanted to do for others (be able to give back quality of life or at least be able to diagnose and start treatment to help their conditions). After my procedure I started doing a lot better in school and graduated from a great university. I never knew how much your health and quality of life could mean to you until you lose it. I learned that its important to listen to your patients because so many of them feel like they're alone in what they're feeling. Most of my family and pediatrician (don't blame her she was overworked) brushed off my symptoms and it was a huge relief when my cardiologist was able to accurately diagnose it.

I never tell anyone this story and I'm not sure if I'll even talk about it in my PS because its cheesy. But its my personal "why" and there are a lot of other experiences over the years (clinical, shadowing, research) that confirmed that I really was passionate about the field.

TLDR: I was a failing high school student with a personal illness that got big eyed around smart doctors and wanted to be just like them.
 
Medicine is a great intersection of my passions for science and for working with people. Also, medicine saved my life two years ago and I can only hope to become half the doctor as the one who was so compassionate while treating me.


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wb100 said:
I'll give a serious answer.

Had a personal illness early in high school. I had a cardiac condition that went undiagnosed for a long time. I finally started seeing a cardiologist and oddly enough I always loved going for a visit. Every time I went to a hospital I got excited and butterflies in my stomach and just fell in love with medicine. Stayed up all night reading about heart rhythms and other cardiac illnesses. I was a failing high school student and once I had my operation it was like my whole life changed overnight and that was something I wanted to do for others (be able to give back quality of life or at least be able to diagnose and start treatment to help their conditions). After my procedure I started doing a lot better in school and graduated from a great university. I never knew how much your health and quality of life could mean to you until you lose it. I learned that its important to listen to your patients because so many of them feel like they're alone in what they're feeling. Most of my family and pediatrician (don't blame her she was overworked) brushed off my symptoms and it was a huge relief when my cardiologist was able to accurately diagnose it.

I never tell anyone this story and I'm not sure if I'll even talk about it in my PS because its cheesy. But its my personal "why" and there are a lot of other experiences over the years (clinical, shadowing, research) that confirmed that I really was passionate about the field.

TLDR: I was a failing high school student with a personal illness that got big eyed around smart doctors and wanted to be just like them.
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definitely craft your personal statement around this
 
My semi-serious answer is fascination with the subject matter, progress addiction (I blame Call of Duty for this), as well as a sense of obligation. In my opinion if you like something and have the potential to be good at it (whether it be art, science, or a combination of the two), not pursuing it would be doing a disservice both to yourself and to society as a whole.

Or at least that's how I justify taking a hard left-turn after college and potentially taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
 
Swoleserratus said:
My semi-serious answer is fascination with the subject matter, progress addiction (I blame Call of Duty for this), as well as a sense of obligation. In my opinion if you like something and have the potential to be good at it (whether it be art, science, or a combination of the two), not pursuing it would be doing a disservice both to yourself and to society as a whole.

Or at least that's how I justify taking a hard left-turn after college and potentially taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
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More like Skyrim...


...and MD/PhD
 
freak7 said:
Classic rock is so agreeable that I can't imagine many people would object. Heck, it's my favorite genre.
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Yeah. There were always one or two who didn't want music on in the OR. They were usually the less confident ones (and not surprisingly, the dick bags--luckily they were few and far between).
 
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