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Reply 20
Original post by Konflict
Well that's alright I guess. Would you day a job as a doctor is worth all of the preparation you had to do during college and university?


To be honest, when I question whether my job is "worth it," the factors that cross my mind are not the length of time I spent getting here. I have excellent A-levels and a degree which was great fun (mostly!) and will allow me to work in many other areas if I want to, so even if I did quit medicine I wouldn't think it was time wasted.

The real question for me is whether the satisfaction and interest I got from doing my job outweighs all the crappy downsides like working antisocial hours, being abused by patients, nurses and anyone else who feels like having a pop (Daily Mail?!), having my pension stolen by a government backtracking on its promises, trying to do my best for patients in a system that can't afford to do the best for everyone... Fortunately I've found a specialty I love, so yes, it is worth it; if I was still stuck in something I wasn't so keen on, I'd be a lot less sure.
Reply 21
Helping save and improve peoples lifes. I'd say it's worth it.
Reply 22
Original post by Becca-Sarah
You seem to be very focused on what people earn. The vast majority of graduate careers will pay you enough to keep yourself and a family. Beyond that, you have to actually want to work there.

Any sufficiently intelligent Tom, Dick or Harry can be a chemical engineer. Being a doctor is a privilege and a vocation, not a job.


No, I wouldn't really say I'm completely focused on what you earn. It has to be a factor though, as you'll ultimately spend the rest of your life doing it. If you have a family, your family will also depend on you for income. If all doctors were paid minimum wage, I think we'd see fewer people doing medicine. It is, unfortunately, something people think about when picking a job, or a degree option. Would you see so many people pushing their children towards engineering or medicine if they didn't know about the money which it provides?

I, personally, want to be a doctor to help people. As everyone has, I've been ill and my family have been ill, and you just see people ill - you want to do something to help them. Of course, the income has to play some part of the choice, but I hope that I'll become a doctor for the sake of helping people, and not for the sake of making money. I don't want my entire life to be fuelled by seeking money, and I don't want to be the sort of person who, when I have money, would refuse to give to charity.

Right now, my ambition is to be a doctor, after studying medicine of course. I think I like the sort of challenge it provides, and the knowledge which the degree provides I find to be very interesting. And, as a previous poster said, saving lives is definitely a job that is worth it. :smile:

Original post by Helenia
To be honest, when I question whether my job is "worth it," the factors that cross my mind are not the length of time I spent getting here. I have excellent A-levels and a degree which was great fun (mostly!) and will allow me to work in many other areas if I want to, so even if I did quit medicine I wouldn't think it was time wasted.

The real question for me is whether the satisfaction and interest I got from doing my job outweighs all the crappy downsides like working antisocial hours, being abused by patients, nurses and anyone else who feels like having a pop (Daily Mail?!), having my pension stolen by a government backtracking on its promises, trying to do my best for patients in a system that can't afford to do the best for everyone... Fortunately I've found a specialty I love, so yes, it is worth it; if I was still stuck in something I wasn't so keen on, I'd be a lot less sure.


Yeah, the antisocial hours and the abusive patients really annoyed the staff at the hospital in which I did work experience! :tongue:
But, I'm sure the lovely patients make up for them. I was fortunate to meet a really nice guy, who told me all about his son and grandson's journey to become medics themselves!
Reply 23
Haha, how funny. I was about to make this exact same thread until I saw it on the first page. I'm also on work experience at the moment! The junior doctors and registrar that I spoke to all agreed that, if they could go back, they would have chosen dentistry instead, and they really complained about how they are treated like children. It just got me thinking.

I suppose that with the variety that medicine offers, getting through your F1/2 years is the difficult bit, but from there onwards it can be really enjoyable if you choose a specialty that suits you. So it isn't all bad :smile:
Reply 24
Original post by House MD
Haha, how funny. I was about to make this exact same thread until I saw it on the first page. I'm also on work experience at the moment! The junior doctors and registrar that I spoke to all agreed that, if they could go back, they would have chosen dentistry instead, and they really complained about how they are treated like children. It just got me thinking.

I suppose that with the variety that medicine offers, getting through your F1/2 years is the difficult bit, but from there onwards it can be really enjoyable if you choose a specialty that suits you. So it isn't all bad :smile:


The weird thing was that nobody would recommend Medicine! Some say it was a joking/sarcastic tone, while others appear to seriously mean it, or just are unable to produce an answer!
Even my career advisor says she doesn't recommend medicine. But, it's what I want to do! :tongue:

If I pick Chemistry/NatSci rather than medicine, I know I will regret it forever if I don't end up enjoying it. But, even if I end up stressed with a job in medicine, hopefully, I'll feel the same satisfaction that others in the profession feel.

Are you enjoying your work experience? I personally really enjoyed know. It really is a pain to try and organise some more work experience though! :tongue:
We can't tell you whether or not to do it, if you want to do it, apply for it.

Edit: Why the hell was I negged, lol.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Konflict
Hi, I really want to study Medicine at university, and become a doctor. It's been my ambition from an early age (only, I didn't really know you had to study Medicine to become a doctor back then :tongue:).

However, I recently conducted some work experience at a hospital (only done one day so far, but still have one more day left to go!), I was shadowing a doctor, and the staff appeared to share this internal joke of 'putting me off medicine.'

I know it's only a joke, but some people said that they wouldn't recommend medicine. They said choose dentistry (no way am I accepting that - teeth are boring! :tongue:), and seemed to not really recommend medicine as a degree due to the stresses, the fact that you're treated as s**t (their words, not mine), and the relatively low pay.

Obviously, I would be lying if salary doesn't influence me, but I really am wondering whether going through medical school to become a doctor really IS worth it. Not coming from a very 'privileged' background, with both parents on minimum wage, it inspires you to make something of yourself, and earn money, eventually - for your families sake: it's necessary.

However, some of the people I talked to said would not trade it for anything! I also spent a week in a GP, and the GP said the same thing! Although it's a lot of hard work, it is worth it.

I hope a Medicine degree really is worth it after you've completed it, because it's, ultimately, what I wish to become. However, their comments have reminded me that everything is not perfect in this world - I had a rather 'fairytale' view, I suppose. A lot of a doctor's experience depends on the patients, and, thankfully, I've met some lovely patients.

On the wards, there were some times where I really enjoyed it - and didn't want time to speed up! (I remember looking at the clock, and being thankful it was only 12). And, seeing a medical procedure, and the gratefulness of some of the patients, made me think this is the place for me.

However, I must admit, the doctor I was shadowing put a little doubt in me - his random interview questions, and general medical questions threw me off guard! Some of the questions were things I had learnt in AS level, but, for some reason, even though I had the answers circling in my head, I never said anything! I just froze! :frown: I had the answers ready! I knew what he was asking about, and what I was supposed to say!
Also, seeing the junior doctors do their work kind of made me wonder: How would I know what to do? How would I know what the cause is, and how to treat the patient? Watching them run about, treating patients, coming back to the senior doctor, the senior doctor instructing them with more things to do etc recycled - and it was that aspect of the experience that kind of troubled me, and caused me to doubt myself. Would I be able to do it?

I suppose the most difficult thing about this is that I'm 'only' 17. I haven't really seen enough into a doctor's lifestyle. I haven't really learnt enough to be capable of treating someone. And, as I'm not doing a Medicine degree yet, it seems so far away, as if I will never be able to develop the skills I need to become a very successful doctor. I guess I'm thinking about becoming a doctor as if I'm qualified as soon as I finish college - I forget that there's still university left, however, my worry stems from the fact that I don't have any experience of the degree, therefore I don't have any experience of what being a doctor is truly like.

What are previous graduates of medicine, whatever you're doing now, thinking about their decision? Would you have chosen another course? I understand that the stresses of the job are great, and, although the salary is decent, it's not really what you would expect - is the job, though, worth the stress? Surely, the happiness when you cure someone of a disease, or help them, and see a smile on their face should keep you content. Ultimately, are the stressful years at medical school worth it for the stressful years as doctors?

I'm only 17 years old, so perhaps my views on the outside world are a little distorted by what I think the job of a doctor is! Other than Medicine, I'm also interested in Chemistry, and Natural Sciences - however, my determination really remains on studying medicine at a 'top' university!

Please help! Any comments, experiences, suggestions etc are greatly appreciated! :smile:


Any career can be great if greatly pursued. Medicine is a great career and there is no career without its own challenges. However, your passion/inner drive for your job will help you overlook the challenges. If you don't enjoy your job, thats already a daily stress you will be subjected to. One thing is for sure, choosing medicine as a career is also choosing the lifestyle of a doctor. Make sure you are happy with the lifestyle.

Don't worry about what people say, go for your heart. Do what you enjoy the most


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so what did you end up doing?
So quick question. Are you a doctor yet?😂😂

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