Learn From My Mistakes
I was pretty much the traditional pre-med student when applying to medical school. I did the standard volunteer experiences, had the ECs, and my GPA and MCAT scores were pretty good.
As most of you know, however, I did quite a lot wrong. Let’s take a look at my thought processes when deciding to attend medical school.
Job Security
Probably the number one reason I wanted to become a physician was job security. In fact, I told each interviewer this at all schools where I was accepted. I think they appreciated the blatant honesty.
My father was laid off work after 15 years of service, and then had to deliver Domino’s Pizza to make ends meet. I saw first hand at what poor job security could do to a family, and I wasn’t going to make that mistake.
There certainly is quite a bit of job security in medicine, so I feel this was a valid reason for me wanting to become a physician. On the plus side, you can pretty much work wherever you choose to (or at least close to where you’d like to be) due to the good demand for physicians in the workplace.
Money & Prestige
Although I never straight out and told the admission committee that one of the top two reasons for me wanting to pursue medicine was money and prestige, it sure as hell was true. Yes, you have to work seemingly ungodly hours for good pay but where else can you complete a post-bac and make a guaranteed 6-figure salary?
This was my thought process regarding the money and prestige reason initially as a lowly pre-medical student. Looking back now, however, I’ve learned that (for me) medicine is simply not worth it.
Despite what the majority of pre-med students will tell you, I still think that money is a huge decision factor for students – along with the “prestige” that being a physician can offer.
Caring For The Sick
I honestly never really gave a crap about caring for sick people. I even knew back when I was doing my volunteer experiences that I didn’t particularly like working with sick people who complained all the time. Why didn’t I listen to my heart way back then? Well, honestly I chalked it up as me not liking [insert volunteer specialty here]. I thought that out of all the specialties in medicine, surely I’ll find something I like. Don’t always bet on that.
Before I started school, I actually thought I wanted to practice family medicine in some podunkville town somewhere. My, my how things change.
Pillar of the Community
We hear so much about the “community” these days. Admission committees like to hear your crap about communities too. The honest truth was that I didn’t (and still don’t) really give two shits about the community. Sure, I have lifelong friends and cool neighbors, but in general I like to be left the hell alone. I just don’t like people knowing what I’m doing all of the time. Habitat for Humanity? I’ll let someone else build the homes.
In my opinion, to be really truly happy in medicine, I think you guys need to be thinking much less about money and prestige, maybe a little bit about job security, and focused a hell of a whole lot on caring for sick people and doing stuff to better the community (or your patient population).
I was the exact opposite, and have a really bad taste in my mouth for the practice of medicine. Premeds, if you’re like me, don’t try to fake it. Get out, and get out while you can. Otherwise, you might wake up one day and realize that you’re unhappy and 65 years old.
damn, Hoover, I’m not sure where I fall in that. Yes, I like the job security; yes, I like the whole “exi, MD” idea; but no, I don’t particularly have a bleeding heart for people. I’m actually fairly impatient with some things.
Then again, I do enjoy a chance to be the one to whom people come in need, and provided I can do something useful, that’s fantastic.
Have not thought about the community pillar thing at all, really.
If you’re “fairly impatient with things” now, just wait until you get to medical school and have to study a ton of stuff, have little free time, and are always under pressure from the next test on the horizon. It takes the patience out of people.
Don’t do it for the “MD” after your name. Granted, after four years it’s cool to have, but for all this work and, frankly, HELL? If I had to do it again, I’d go to Pharmacy school or get a Ph.D.
There are special people who are meant to be physicians. I give them a lot of credit and have a lot of respect for them. But I wasn’t meant for it. I’m doing the best with the hand I was dealt…by me.
Justin – I was talking about, well, “stupid human tricks” more than anything else. But yeah, that’s not encouraging either.
And I wouldn’t do it or anything else just for a degree after my name; I’m just admitting the appeal of it. I thought about going with a DDS/DMD or Pharm.D. for awhile, but I have a feeling that if I did that, I’d kick myself in the ass later.
Come to think of it, I’ll probably kick myself in the ass no matter what I do.
I have a feeling I’m not meant for it either. I just wish I could shut up the nagging voice in my head that tells me I am making a big mistake by not going for the MD. Definitely can relate to the ass kicking.
Great post. I know it sounds corny, cliche, trite, but I think it’s true. I think it would be very difficult to be a satisfied physician without the desire to help people.
great post, why is it a great post? because it is true. you need to chose medicine for the right reasons. if you want to make a lot of money and have prestige, you are just going to be frustrated.
even though i actually love what i do, when i have a chance to speek to someone deciding to go into medicine, i actually try to discourge them. i question why they are going. you have to be willing to put up with the pain for the privilege of taking care of patients. is it worth it? it is for each individual to determine for themselves.
I was talking to a pharmacist friend of mine recently when she told me that she makes over $100,000 a year working for Walgreen’s, straight out of pharm school. Given that the average internist works a hell of a lot more and makes $150,000 a year in my area, I’d say she hit upon a gold mine.
About the money issue: I covered my thoughts about pre-meds’ seeking money before. If you look at the number of people applying to medical school each year and compare it to the growth of the U.S. economy, you’ll find some shocking trends:
http://halfmd.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/are-you-going-into-medicine-for-the-right-reason/
I guess I won’t feel bad about flat out telling the interviewers that job security is one of the primary reasons then if they appreciate the honesty, because quite frankly, that IS one of the reasons medicine has so much appeal to me. With how many jobs get outsourced, how many people get sacked or laid off for a company to survive, etc., health care is one of the few fields where you basically can keep your job unless you’re a fuckup.
Money and prestige? I won’t lie, the prestige helps, but I don’t care about the amount of money. Money itself, sure, I’m not a missionary and I need to eat (and there needs to be enough to justify the student loans), but if I wanted to just make six figures I’d go into business. I figure I survived before on 25,000 a year at my old job, so anything I make as a doctor which is leftover after paying bills is gravy since I live check to check like most people do.
Community? Don’t give a rat’s ass about it. Most people are too god damn nosy as it is.
Caring for the sick? Sure, but I don’t really care about the patients per se. I like the idea of the challenge of problem solving someone’s health problem, finding an intervention for it, and then directing someone (nurses, etc.) to carry out those interventions then observing the results and going from there. Sure, I could do without the people with horrible hygiene, the smells, etc., but there’s shitbags in every job and on every street corner so avoiding them is pretty much a lost cause.
Hoover, I appreciate your honesty and telling it like it is. I’m a pre-med and am aware of all the hoops that I’ll go through but to be honest I’ve considered every other alternative career. EMS Tim talked about business as a good career.
Here’s my problem: I think I would be an excellant business man, but how is the job market for an MBA? Apparently an MBA isn’t worth anything these days, and the job market is so so…(not sure. Plus I’m a minority, would I advance in the corportate world without tons of ass kissing? Business would be my alternative, but I have no idea what to do in business and whether I’d get a well paying job. Job security is important. Medicine gives me this security and respect (no one will give a damn about my MBA, but they will about my MD)or am I wrong here?
In my community especially (Indian) a doctor is god. Unless you’re a multi-millionaire, a US licensed physician is the next best thing. And if I can become a doctor here, I’m guarenteed a beautiful girl in India for marriage – just the way it is and I’ll live happily ever after. I’m already respected among my family just for being a pre-med, and indian doctors in general have a great rep for their patient care. And I’ll be making a nice salary and living comfortably here in the states.
This is just my own perspective…we all have our reasons for doing this. I’ve considered everything…and I keep coming back to medicine..and you know, I think I’ll be a great doctor. Wish me luck..
KK, MBA degrees are getting somewhat more common these days but think about what’s going to be make the happiest. If you feel you’d be good at business and really love it, then go for business.
I know you’ve probably got a strong family influence to direct you towards medicine, but ultimately you need to do what’s right for you. Doing things to please other people (as you mention that nobody will care about the MBA, but they will the MD) will most likely cause you unhappiness in the end.
Remember, who cares what people say about an MBA or an MD degree. When you’re 50 years old none of that is going to matter. But if you’ve lived the last 30 years of your life unhappy, that will matter.
KK– My dad was dying in Arizona and he was taken care of by an Inidan doctor. That man was so kind and I came home after my dad died wanting to be a doctor. I signed up for college but Hoover’s site has talked me out of that
The doctor from India was graceful. His use of the English language was almost scented with perfume. While I cried about my dad dying, he quoted the Bible until he realized that I am Eastern in faith and he then quoted Indian philosophers. I have never met and may never meet someone as educated as that man, even though I will spend my life in academia.
You can still be a businessman. My father went through med school but dropped out before getting his MD. He would help do research on artificial body parts and was present for one of the first pace maker inserts in the world. My dad would leave medicine entirely and became a salesman on business concepts and motivational speaking and did extremely well at both and had a stunning wife and a gorgeous daughter, too!
Business people sell things. It sounds like you’ll finish medical school, but don’t forget your desire to be in business. I don’t know if you are an inventor or a marketer or what you really love, but you can “sell” your patients on good health. You probably have a great personality that people warm up to instantly. People like you give speeches at symposiums and other MDs will flock to hear you speak and listening to you will make them happy that they are in the profession.
In the states, bringing prestige to one’s family isn’t as big of a deal as it is in India. It almost sounds like leaving medicine would cause you grief. For you, medicine may be like an inverted funnel– make it through the narrow opening and then see what opens to you. Then. . . come to the United States.
EMS Tim — You should do some reading before you jump because I think you’re going to be disillusioned really quickly. Outsourcing is coming to medicine too. It’s already prevalent in fields like diagnostic radiology. It’s going to be a different kind of outsourcing though. Non-emergent surgeries are going to increasingly go wherever it’s the cheapest. A primary care? It’s going to NPs and PAs who will staff clinics at Wal-mart. If you think I’m kidding or can’t imagine how this will ever come to pass, educate yourself on how economics (for better or worse) drives the world. And you say you don’t really care about patients? I promise you there are better ways to accomplish your goals …
KK — You mention concerns about how you will “advance” in the business world. Maybe it’s different in your country, but in America there really is no “corporate ladder” in medicine. It’s a whole different ballgame buddy. You will be a cog in the system. Sure, your patients will love you, but that little part of your personality and spirit that longs for the advancement style of the business world will fester with disappointment.