I want to be a doctor for lots of reasons! can i make it happen?

[Moila]

At the moment im 19yrs old, and i am studying Radiography this is where you end up treating patients with Cancer, you pass radiation to the tumour to shrink it down and you deliver the treatment as well as plan it with other health professions.

But what i really want so much is to be a doctor I have always watched ER, House and stuff from when i was a young because i was fascinated by what a doctor/surgeon does, i think its the best job for me, i really enjoy it and what it actually involves, i dont care if i have to do nightshifts if it means i could get a chance, its a well respected job, good profession, everyone gives you prestige, you gets load of money, my family wont think i am dumb, and i am trying to compete for cousin who is one yr older then me she is clever and works hard and got into medical school. Maybe i can do it after i finish this degree, i have only 2 yrs left.

Gosh i NEED to get it. If i dont my life is doomed for ever!, no one even recognises my career, it is small profession my younger sister was teasing me the other day and saying you got a crap career.

 

[Hermiod]

Good on you. I doubt there's anyone here who will criticise you for trying to become a doctor.

 

[IndyJones]

It's a Hell of a lot of work, but totally worth it!

The day I got my doctorate I felt a sense of accomplishment unlike any other I've experienced.

 

[Moila]

IndyJones what did you get a doctorate in?

I want to be a doctor in Hospital and then end up being a general practioner sometimes think do i even have the brains for this? but i want it so much to the point that i will wipe up my bank account if it means i can do it. i just want my degree to finish and then try Medical school!

 

[FPAlpha]

At the moment im 19yrs old, and i am studying Radiography this is where you end up treating patients with Cancer, you pass radiation to the tumour to shrink it down and you deliver the treatment as well as plan it with other health professions.

But what i really want so much is to be a doctor I have always watched ER, House and stuff from when i was a young because i was fascinated by what a doctor/surgeon does, i think its the best job for me, i really enjoy it and what it actually involves, i dont care if i have to do nightshifts if it means i could get a chance, its a well respected job, good profession, everyone gives you prestige, you gets load of money, my family wont think i am dumb, and i am trying to compete for cousin who is one yr older then me she is clever and works hard and got into medical school. Maybe i can do it after i finish this degree, i have only 2 yrs left.

Gosh i NEED to get it. If i dont my life is doomed for ever!, no one even recognises my career, it is small profession my younger sister was teasing me the other day and saying you got a crap career.

Uhm.. you want to be a doctor based solely on money (lemme tell ya.. it aint as muchas people think if you don't specialize heavily and are good), respect by others and some sort of competition with your cousin

To be blunt.. you'll barely make it through medical school if these are all your reasons much less enjoy your job if you make it through.

Many people choose this profession because it is one of the most respected jobs in the world but many also choose it because they want to help people.. that single, most important reason is completely missing in your listing.

You are studying radiography which is cool too and a noble job too.. you are helping people get rid of cancer for christ's sake!

Gosh i NEED to get it. If i dont my life is doomed for ever!, no one even recognises my career, it is small profession my younger sister was teasing me the other day and saying you got a crap career.

This especially needs a comment.. please grow up! Your sister is younger which means she knows crap about about careers and such (except if she's a genius who played piano with 3 and made her PhD with 15). You are building your life right now and are young.. at the beginning so why are you getting yourself influenced by someone younger and are trying ti compete with someone else because you feel inadequate?

Just finish your current studies and by that time you still have enough time to decide if you want to pursue a different career (yoour current study will surely help you in a big way).

And for the love of god.. please don't take TV shows as a realistic portrayal of real life much less use them as a tool to decide your career!

 

[IndyJones]

I have an OD (I'm an Optometrist, though the profession is quite different in America than in other countries).

Often it's not that the material itself is hard to learn, but rather that so much is thrown at you in such a short time.

And listen to FPAlpha, he speaks the truth. It's too much work to do for the wrong reasons.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Go for it if it is what you want out of life. But make sure you do it for the right reasons.

What are the right reasons to be a doctor? Wanting to help people? You can help people as a volunteer in the homeless shelters. Wanting to make money? Go into IT or big business or (once the time is right) investment banking. Want prestige and respect? Go into lecturing and become a university professor.

Sorry, I was just being facetious. But being a doctor isn't as romantic as the TV shows make it seem to be. In fact, you'll find equal amounts of rubbish, bureaucratic hoops to jump through, and emotional exhaustion as you'll find joy and satisfaction. Especially in the NHS here, generally a whole mess of bureaucracy and meeting targets.

I don't have much experience of general practice (I've been more of a hospital doctor) but the cushiness and high salary are generally over-reported from what I gather. Plus, I have the sort of personality that doesn't like to miss anything out, something which as a GP I might end up doing given the time pressures, and the last thing I want to do is to not refer someone to hospital who needs it, and vice versa. Plus I don't like gynaecology or working with children.

Yet while it's a useful idea to know what you want to do when you become a doctor, sometimes people don't know where they want to go, and it's not unusual to change tack in your medical career. Me, I'm 5 years into internal medicine, and already I feel like I want to change direction and go into a less clnically-orientated track. And that's the beauty of the career - medicine isn't just all about looking after patients. Some use their medical degree to go into journalism, become a drug rep, take up full-time research, develop clinical guidelines etc. Me, I'm now considering going into pathological medicine, using my clinical experience as a bonus, perhaps doing an occasional locum on-call shift to keep my hand in.

Some still end up leaving medicine completely and opt for a different sort of lifestyle altogether - just ask Harry Hill.

Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[iguana_tonante]

At the moment im 19yrs old, and i am studying Radiography this is where you end up treating patients with Cancer, you pass radiation to the tumour to shrink it down and you deliver the treatment as well as plan it with other health professions.

I suppose that what you are studying is Radiotherapy, not Radiography, which is the use of X-rays to view the innards of people. Sorry bub, but it looks like you are not studying very hard.

Gosh i NEED to get it. If i dont my life is doomed for ever!, no one even recognises my career, it is small profession my younger sister was teasing me the other day and saying you got a crap career.

As others have said, these are not very good reasons to choose a career. If you want to be a physician, more power to you. But be sure you are getting into that for the right reasons: because if you don't, medical school will be very, very difficult to go through.

And for the love of god.. please don't take TV shows as a realistic portrayal of real life much less use them as a tool to decide your career!

And thinking that I went into astrophysics after watching Armageddon by Michael Bay.

 

[Australis]

So many mnay things to say... but I won't.

Instead, a doctor's first thought should be, I want to make people better.

Not money, respect and all that. If you waren't there to make people better first, then a lot of them WILL die. Not good.

Become a rock star instead. Or, given your interest in your other threads, a photographer.

 

[Angry Angel]

my family wont think i am dumb

Your family is dumb, period.

and i am trying to compete for cousin who is one yr older then me she is clever and works hard and got into medical school. Maybe i can do it after i finish this degree, i have only 2 yrs left.

Gosh i NEED to get it. If i dont my life is doomed for ever!, no one even recognises my career, it is small profession my younger sister was teasing me the other day and saying you got a crap career.

I think you need to re-evaluate why you would want to become a doctor, and I don't see why you shouldn't be proud of what you're already doing, whatever other people in your life might say.

 

[StolenThunder]

Me, I'm now considering going into pathological medicine, using my clinical experience as a bonus, perhaps doing an occasional locum on-call shift to keep my hand in.

My intercal was in experimental/clinical pathology. It's enjoyable I think, and I hear there are a good number of senior positions available.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

No you cannot be. Based on the wording of your post your intelligence is shockingly limited. Medical school will be much too hard for you. Your better off being the guy who takes them to the morgue once they die or cleans up after them once they vomit. Hope this helps.

 

[Kestra]

You don't need to get it. It's not the best route if you're looking for money, and there are plenty of other prestigious jobs. Heck, earning honest wages and being a decent person should be enough for anyone.

Getting into medical school is hard. Getting through medical school is harder. This is followed by attempting to match for residency, and then make it through that. Sprinkle that with board exams every now and again, heavy tuition, and little money for a long time. Being a doctor can be a profitable and rewarding career, but it takes more than a desire for money and willingness to work nightshifts to get there.

If you are at all serious about pursuing this (which is difficult to believe), I suggest you take some premedical courses and shadow/interview a doctor.

Good luck in your future endeavours.

 

[Finn]

Like other have said, you seem to have all the wrong motives . You said nothing about helping others. You seem to be more selfish (money and showing people that you aren't stupid).

 

[Holdfast]

I run a lecture course, interview skills course and other educational material for prospective applicants to medical school, so no free advice for you. Book, and then we'll talk.




Seriously though, there are lots of reasons people think about going into a medical career, and I defy any current doctor to deny that mixed in amongst the more altruistic reasons, there were a lot of more superficial/shallow reasons too. Especially considering how YOUNG someone is when they choose to become a doctor. Only natural, and I know for sure I had them too. In fact, I'd be lying if I didn't say that Frasier influenced the speciality I chose, just a little.

The thing is though, you DO need the balance of having some genuine interest in people (even if it's something as simple as loving to talk to the general public) because the process of becoming a doctor and then specialising is long and tiring enough that the superficial rewards are insufficient long-term motivation since you can acquire all of them by simpler, more direct routes (the City, Law, actuarial work, dentistry, etc, etc, etc).

Anyway, the biggest free bit of advice I'd give is to THINK ABOUT IT and familiarise yourself with the realities of the job (though of course, one only REALLY learns not by just seeing, but by doing it... and then teaching it... which, come to think of it, is what I've ended up doing regarding medicine as a career! Guess the training really does stick... )

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Me, I'm now considering going into pathological medicine, using my clinical experience as a bonus, perhaps doing an occasional locum on-call shift to keep my hand in.

My intercal was in experimental/clinical pathology. It's enjoyable I think, and I hear there are a good number of senior positions available.

Mine was in medical microbiology, which I really enjoyed. I might gear myself towards something in that direction - microbiologists are not common nowadays.

Seriously though, there are lots of reasons people think about going into a medical career, and I defy any current doctor to deny that mixed in amongst the more altruistic reasons, there were a lot of more superficial/shallow reasons too. Especially considering how YOUNG someone is when they choose to become a doctor. Only natural, and I know for sure I had them too. In fact, I'd be lying if I didn't say that Frasier influenced the speciality I chose, just a little.

My influence was seeing Raquel Welch in "Fantastic Voyage". Anatomy was my strong point in medical school...

Anyway, the biggest free bit of advice I'd give is to THINK ABOUT IT and familiarise yourself with the realities of the job (though of course, one only REALLY learns not by just seeing, but by doing it... and then teaching it... which, come to think of it, is what I've ended up doing regarding medicine as a career! Guess the training really does stick... )

Ah, good old "See one, Do one, Teach one..." never fails. Otherwise, agreed 100%.

 

[Holdfast]

My influence was seeing Raquel Welch in "Fantastic Voyage".

Breast/Endocrine surgery never looked a more tempting option...

 

[Zulu Romeo]

My other influence was French semi-educational cartoon "Once Upon A Time... Life" (I was a big fan of the earlier "One Upon A Time... Man" series as a very young kid. Never saw the third in the series, "... Space" though, which was more science-fiction-y than educational.) Such a sweet show, with free cartoon nudity, public urination, and death, in places.

 

[Tim]

...I defy any current doctor to deny that mixed in amongst the more altruistic reasons, there were a lot of more superficial/shallow reasons too.

The man speaks the truth, especially for folks who specialize in derm, radiology, or some of the other "lifestyle" residencies. Sure, you chose derm because you are "fascinated by the skin." Give me a break.

I'll be jumping back into the clinical world soon to wrap up med school. It's going to be interesting as I've been out of circulation for four years getting a master's and (just completed) Ph.D. At least I'll be oodles more mature than those straight third years.

 

[Kestra]

The man speaks the truth, especially for folks who specialize in derm, radiology, or some of the other "lifestyle" residencies. Sure, you chose derm because you are "fascinated by the skin." Give me a break.

It's possible, if unlikely. I know early on I was fascinated by the skin and tried to educate myself about it, most likely due to my own personal experiences. Is that the sole reason someone would choose dermatology? Probably not. But it can still be a fascinating subject to some.