Is this a bad reason for becoming a doctor?

[Tim Haas]

Hey all, i'll be flat out honest. One of my main reasons for wanting to become a doctor, is that my family never amounted to anything...My mom dropped out of high school in 11th grade, my dad was a crack head/druggy/drunk, and the never made it anywhere-he's handicapped cuz he was drunk, wrecked a motorcycle,and then had it bad. Anyways, I dont know how i am even have the intelligence that i do, but hey. Is it wrong of me to be considering being a doc for the $? I mean, I'm not too people oriented, i mean i won't go up to people i never met before and just start chatting w/ em. However, i do like helping others and it makes me feel good. So what do ya'll think? I mean i definitely will make the grades to be competitive enough to get into osteo school, but i dunno.

If i dont' become a doc, i'll be a mechanical engineer, but that seems a little dull for me, and the $ isnt anything to brag about. I love math and science, and basically im having a tough time choosing which one would better fit me overall. Thanks, for listenin

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[Bevo]

reasons aside, you're still in HS? and have yet to even start college?

why not do both. Do the mechanical enginnering major but do the premed prereq courses as well. You dont have to be a biology or chemistry major to apply for med school.

Volunteer at a hospital or find some other way of getting some clinical exposure and see if its something you could do for the rest of your life possibly.

If your doing something for the money but dont enjoy it, is it worth doing at all?

 

[Tim Haas]

yepp, still in hs. Thats what i had decided on, engineering w/ the prereq's for med school, but i figure i'll end up paying a few thousand $ out of my pocket for all the prereq classes, and i barely can afford to go to my school in the 1st place...

 

[Cookie Monster]

I agree with Imbebo, do some volunteer work to make sure you really are interested in medicine.

Bottom line - becoming a doctor takes a lot of perseverance, money, and not to mention time. If your heart isn't in it, that's a big price to pay just to say you've made something of yourself. There're a lot of professions you can go into and say that, and they may take half the effort and time.

Also, I think that becoming a doctor must be for the benefit of the patients, not just for the enrichment of the physician.

 

[Albah]

There's nothing wrong with your goal as long as you enjoy what you are doing. Actually, there are many people out there who go into med school thinking that they are going to make big money, and not necessarily take into consideration how much they would enjoy the profession. Besides, nowadays, the majority of doctors don't make as much as they used to.
Like the other posters say, there are many other professions that can pay well. So, don't let money be the only factor because if you don't really want to be a physician, you aren't going to be very happy.
You are still young so you have time to decide. Go to college and explore both options to see which you would like better. But don't limit yourself!
Good luck!

 

[ez073323]

1) Enjoy undergrad

2) Do everything you can to assure to yourself that medicine is/isn't for you.

3) With respect to your post that "i definitely will make the grades to be competitive enough to get into osteo school" ...then you might as well apply to allopathic programs that you are intersted to as well, because a truly competitve osteopathic applicant should/could be a competitive allopathic applicant. Yes, just looking at mean numbers and the such one will find a statistically significant difference between DO and MD schools with respect to MCATs, and the reasons for that has been the topic of many threads... Nonetheless, I don't think it is any easier to get into and osteopathic program than it is to get into an allopathic program

4) Ask some 4th year medical students or better yet, some resident physicians how much debt they have accumulated and when they expect to pay off their debt... you will quickly find that being a physician is not the most financially prudent carreer choice.

I would like to type some more, but I tired.... I will attempt to elaborate after a little nap...

Brian Enriquez
[email protected]

 

[applegirl]

I went to a high school that was geared toward the medical profession. We shadowed a lot of doctors, nurses techs. It was fun.....for some. Man people who started wanting to be doctors, had enough and didn't like medicine any more.

If you are seriously thinking about medicine and you don't have much money for college to just discover what is right for you, you should definitely call and do some volunteer work. Through this, you will be able to meet physicians who might let you shadow them. Trust me, you might find out you hate the stinky unwashed people and you don't like being around the sick who are coughing up phlem.

 

[H0mersimps0n]

First... shadow a bunch of physicians...

Second and MOST IMPORTANT: take an EMT class, do basic EMS ASAP. Finding out if you can cut the academics is for medical schools to decide, you are responsible on your own for knowing if you can cut the "people" side of medicine. If you survive volunteering or working part time I'd say feel pretty comfortable about heading into medicine. It will be a lot about what you bring to your EMS experiences and what you can take out of them (i.e. how well you can stand the pressure of critical patients vs the "tooth-aches")

I think over time after you get a few patients on your stretcher, start filling out paper work, hearing about insurance problems, etc you will really know if you are cut out...

I'll admit there are other methods and routes to go by (my girlfriend is a tech at a hospital and has equally rewarding experiences as a premed applying next year).

I think you'll find as many of us have that the medical school application and preparation process is not for the light at heart and typically has a way of filtering out those who aren't suppose to be there *remembers ORGO I drop-outs*

Just because you choose "premed" doesn't mean you can't be an engineering major either, as a matter of fact there really isn't much lost if you get to your 3rd or fourth year and decide you'd rather just get a Ph.D. or something.

seriously though, have some fun and GOOD LUCK!

 

[skypilot]

Don't forget that you might become a psychiatrist, a radiologist, a pathologist, or an anesthesiologist and have a very different type of interaction with patients then someone who does internal medicine. My dad is a pathologist. He only "sees dead people" and pieces (biopsies) of live ones.

 

[spoons]

Quick question. Probably in the wrong forum but, I was just wondering how all the successful DO applicants manage to get recommendation letters from DO. I live in LA but what little DO who practice here are too busy to talk to me, let alne write me recommendation. I do have high GPA and reasonable MCAT, and I have seen DOs in action in ER. It is just that they are very unapproachable. I am trying to apply for fall 2004, and am beginning to worry that not having solid rec from DO will kill my chance to get into any DO school. Can anyone help me? Does every good candidate need to have solid rec letter from DO who he/she shadowed for one or more years?

 

[ez073323]

I just got back from a flight (so my desire to be a health care provider has been reaffirmed) and I several opinions on some of the subjects brought up so far.

Spoons: I have a tough time accepting the idea that there is a lack of osteopaths in the LA area. Western cranks out 150+ osteopaths a year, I am sure some of there grads are in the area and would be more than willing to let you shadow, answer your questions, etc. With respect to the your question if "every good candidate need(s) to have solid rec letter from DO who he/she shadowed for one or more years?", from the TUCOM catalog, "An evaluation form or letter from an osteopathic physician is preferred, An MD letter may be submitted to fulfill this requirement." A TUCOM specific tip is that "A M.D. letter from a personal physician who has known you for years may actually be preferable to a letter from a D.O. who has known you for 15 minutes. " I had an MD letter of rec in my file when I was offered an interview, so it is possible to score an interview with only an MD letter of rec. The question now is how will you answer the question, "Why do you want to become an osteopathic physican?"


EMS is an awesome place to gain experience... you get to see and experience a lot of things... almost too mant things... I am flying with some of the very best flight nurses tonight, and I will be very proud of myself if I take care of my patients as well as they have taken care of their patients tonight. Nurses are awesome, EMTs and Paramedics do great things in the field, dispatchers are amazing multitaskers and coordinators, and I have been blessed to have worked as an EMT, dispatcher, and CPR intructor along side some great docs, nurses, medics and the such. If this DO thing doesnt work out, there are so many other ways i can serve my community in a medical capacity.


Tim Haas: enjoy undergrad. Continue, mature, and develop your passions from high school. Keep your GPA up and always be forward thinking. Don't forget those who have helped you become the person you are and always be true to yourself.


Just be the person you would want your doctor to be...


Brian Enriquez
[email protected]

 

[Tim Haas]

thanks everyone, i definitely can't wait to start college in the fall. I'm sick of all this senior high school crap already. Did you guys experience senioritus? and what did you do about it? I mean my grades now are like 3.9 gpa, im accepted to my college, and it's starting to kick in...

 

[ez073323]

Exactly what is senoirits? For some reason, the first picture that pops into my head is a swollen, edema-stricken grandparent...

When I said keep up your GPA, I was referring to your college GPA... No one has asked me about my high school gpa for a long long time.. (but don't let that slip either!)

If you are close to your teachers, I don't think it would hurt to be honest with them and ask them what it would take for you to ace the classes, then just knock them out as soon as possible so you can enjoy your summer!

One more thing I wish I did as an undergrad was be more involved with the anatomy program here at UC Davis. I have a friend that took the class, then became a TA, and is now a third year here at Davis, and needless to say, I envy him....

I will enjoy watching your progress over the next four years and please feel free to email me if you ever have any questions or concerns...

Brian Enriquez
[email protected]

 

[H0mersimps0n]

Originally posted by heelpain
Ummm. Getting a phd is just as difficult. For some it is more time consuming. It is a long road!!! You've got coursework, comp exams, research, dissertation committee to deal with, etc.

whoa dude you misunderstood:

1.) when I said 3rd or 4th year I meant of undergraduate

2.) when I implied he'd change his mind I meant for reasons of academic interest NOT to take Ph.D. as an easier path...

I was just trying to make the point that premed's can major in anything, ANYTHING and just as long as pre-req's are met, you're set.

partly my fault for being unclear but that should clear that up...

P.S. your quote is NOT from AA