Why do so many Asians take the Medicine/Dentistry route?

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I know. I got loads and loads and loads of Legal Work Experience. I haven't got experience in finance, accountancy etc...?
I don't know even know where to start?

Try asking in the appropriate forums - they'll give you specialised advice.

Reply 121

StateSchooler95

Original post by Ayesha.Tabassam95

Sorry to interupt. Im doing my highers which is basically the same as alevels. Do you want to be a doctor?
And how hard is Chemistry?!

Im in year 11, im choosing these for next year.
So I cant really say how hard it will be.. but for sure.. Not easy :biggrin:

Reply 122

Ayesha.Tabassam95

Original post by StateSchooler95

Im in year 11, im choosing these for next year.
So I cant really say how hard it will be.. but for sure.. Not easy :biggrin:

Your choosing your subjects already in school?? And just to be clear you have the rest of this school year and then your final year.. and then uni??

Reply 123

StateSchooler95

Original post by Ayesha.Tabassam95

Your choosing your subjects already in school?? And just to be clear you have the rest of this school year and then your final year.. and then uni??

No, I have year 11, which is the final year of my GCSE. Then I've got 2 year of a-level and then Uni.. hopefully :biggrin:

Reply 124

Ayesha.Tabassam95

Original post by StateSchooler95

No, I have year 11, which is the final year of my GCSE. Then I've got 2 year of a-level and then Uni.. hopefully :biggrin:

Are you 16? Ive only got next year and then uni.. And same hopefully :smile:

Reply 125

StateSchooler95

Original post by Ayesha.Tabassam95

Are you 16? Ive only got next year and then uni.. And same hopefully :smile:

Yes, I'm 16.. if I was born one day earlier I would be in the same year as you - born 2nd September - so I'm oldest in my year :smile:

Reply 126

Ayesha.Tabassam95

Original post by StateSchooler95

Yes, I'm 16.. if I was born one day earlier I would be in the same year as you - born 2nd September - so I'm oldest in my year :smile:

Aww. Unlucky! I think we would be in the same year if I was in England cause im November... Its one of the perks of Scotland :smile:

Reply 127

Happymelon

Original post by Zangoose

And by Asians I'm mostly referring to Indians/Pakistanis, then maybe throw in a couple of Chinese/Korean.

Lets not beat around the bush here, a lot of Asians take the Medicine/Dentistry route. I'm not saying that most people who apply for these courses are Asian but you have to admit, most Asians will apply for those courses or go down the Biochem/Biomed route with the hope of getting into Medicine - but why?

It is prestige? Do people in the community look up to you because you're studying Medicine and Dentistry? Or is it just money? This is a genuine question because every single Indian/Pakistani person from my college is either studying Medicine/Dentisry/Biomed, aspiring to study either of those or doing something in Business/Accounting (which is still typical). I think it's disgraceful to be honest.

Here you have Kid A, who takes genuine pride in serving their community. Ever since they could walk, Kid A was deeply intrigued by the inner workings of the body. They see the human anatomy as a grand vessel for knowledge and the idea of working with people firsthand, giving them advice, curing them and even performing surgery on them appeals to them very much so they do everything to achieve their goal.

However, now you have Kid B. Kid B is doing their GCSEs/A levels and doesn't know what to study in university so their parents tell them to do Medicine/Dentistry because it's the bee's knees. Now the thing is, Kid B doesn't actually care about the implications of taking on such a challenge. Kid B is of above average intelligence and despite having absolutely zero passion for Medicine or Dentisry, Kid B decides to do it anyway just for prestige, even if it means spending countless hours pretending to enjoy work experience in some smelly retirement home or skimming through science journals, only to memorise and recite a few key phrases in a Medicine interview in order to brownose the interviewers. The disturbing thing here is that Kid B doesn't care about serving his or her community. They just want the title of 'Doctor'.

In case anyone didn't understand my euphemisms, Kid A is someone who has a genuine passion for Medicine and Kid B is a typical Asian.

(In b4 politically correct and brainwashed morons fishing for rep say something along the lines of: "Yeah but you're generalising, blah blah blah."
Or an Asian who isn't doing Medicine/Dentistry tries to discredit my argument with:
"I am an Asian and I'm doing Sociology, therefore, despite being a rare exception to an obvious trend, your argument is stupid"

I understand what you're trying to say, but maybe this just happens to happen to the group of Asians you happen to know and the stereotype of Asians you happen to have heard of? (In other words, it's not true to say that most Asians would want to become doctors, with or without a genuine passion for medicine.)

I don't think it's disgraceful if the entire community wants to pursue the same goals or dreams, but what would be disgraceful is if they do it for reasons that go against the moral upholding of said goals and dreams. What I mean in this case would be if a person wants to study medicine PURELY for the money or PURELY for the prestige, because medicine happens to be a profession with "helping people" at its core. For this reason, I agree with you on the point that Kid B should have at least the interest in serving his/her community. After all, factors like money and prestige will most probably come along after years of working, and it is a well-known fact that the monetary benefits of working as a doctor may not be equal to amount of time and effort put in.

However, (while I understand you might have personal reasons for saying this) it is wrong to say that Kid B is a typical Asian. Not every Asian wants to be a doctor nor has above average intelligence, and definitely not every Asian would put in the effort to even study medicine. The same goes for business/accounting/engineering.

As an Asian, I have thought if it is worthwhile to do medicine for all the reasons you mentioned, and while I agree that some of what you mentioned are true, I can't say that they are true for the majority of Asians. I do know people who want to do medicine for the prestige, for the money and a bunch of other reasons I think you'd hate to know, but I can certainly say that not all Asians are like this. I certainly do not want to do it purely for those reasons. And to be fair, I don't think that Asians are the only ethnic groups who might want to do medicine purely for all those reasons. It can happen to any race.

We Asians have different cultural values from westerners, which might explain why some parents would push their children down whatever road they view as success. The reason for this could be the strict conditions they had themselves grown up under and that they take pride in their children's success. And, let's admit it, no one wants to be looked down by society, so as much as possible, people try to take on careers that are at least deemed "prestigious". During the days of our ancestors, the freedom of choice was not exactly available to them, but I believe this is getting better. I do agree though, that better education and understanding can definitely play a role in improving the situation.

As a premed, I highly agree that patients would benefit the most from doctors who have both the passion and the ability to treat them. Not doctors who just have the passion but lack the ability to treat patients, and not those who purely view patients as money providers.

Reply 128

Waqar.

I'm asian and I'm doing medicine because, put simply, I'd like to help people out. I'm not in it for the money, in fact, I'd love to work for charities in africa and asia :biggrin:

I doubt anyone who wasn't genuinely interested in medicine would even get into university with the competition there is atm. I'm such a terrible liar that theres no way I'd manage to bluff my way through an interview lol

Reply 129

No Future

Did you get rejected from med school, OP?

Reply 130

iSoftie

Meh. There are a load of asians in the medical sector but whey? Who cares at least they got there.

It's better than some god forsaken psychotic maniac killer :L

Reply 131

iSoftie

Original post by Waqar.

I'm asian and I'm doing medicine because, put simply, I'd like to help people out. I'm not in it for the money, in fact, I'd love to work for charities in africa and asia :biggrin: