The Student Room Group

Why do YOU want to do Medicine?

I wanted to be a Geneticist, but then kept changing my mind and ended up having to choose between several career options which got really confusing to a certain degree. I didn't know what speciality to choose because I loved a ranged of things including: Genetics, Medical Physics, Cardiology, Anatomy etc etc and I always wished there would be that one course where everyone of these specialities was incorporated... then I found Medicine.

Also, I don't think Medicine is just about helping others, it's also about finding yourself and what you want to do and what you want to specialise in. Many people say that a career in medicine is stressful but life is stressful - so what's the difference? I'm prepared to face any type of stress as long as Medicine gives me the opportunities I need. I am one of the unfortunate people to have witnessed the death of a person quite close to me and the fact that I couldn't do anything about it devastates me. I feel that Medicine has the ability to equip me with what I need so that I may equip other people with what they need, which is care.

I'd love to know why others want to do Med too :biggrin: !!!!!!!!!

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Original post by Angelo12231
I wanted to be a Geneticist, but then kept changing my mind and ended up having to choose between several career options which got really confusing to a certain degree. I didn't know what speciality to choose because I loved a ranged of things including: Genetics, Medical Physics, Cardiology, Anatomy etc etc and I always wished there would be that one course where everyone of these specialities was incorporated... then I found Medicine.

Also, I don't think Medicine is just about helping others, it's also about finding yourself and what you want to do and what you want to specialise in. Many people say that a career in medicine is stressful but life is stressful - so what's the difference? I'm prepared to face any type of stress as long as Medicine gives me the opportunities I need. I am one of the unfortunate people to have witnessed the death of a person quite close to me and the fact that I couldn't do anything about it devastates me. I feel that Medicine has the ability to equip me with what I need so that I may equip other people with what they need, which is care.

I'd love to know why others want to do Med too :biggrin: !!!!!!!!!


Honestly, i don't think you need to get all philosophical about your career choice.

No other career questions their "reasons for joining the profession" as much as medics do. For me its simple: "intellectually stimulating career, diverse choices, keeps you on your feet, sky is the limit (as opposed to a dead end job), good pay, job stability"
Original post by Okorange
Honestly, i don't think you need to get all philosophical about your career choice.

No other career questions their "reasons for joining the profession" as much as medics do. For me its simple: "intellectually stimulating career, diverse choices, keeps you on your feet, sky is the limit (as opposed to a dead end job), good pay, job stability"

Oh no! :biggrin: Its just personal but a lot of the time, philosophy does lead to an interest in a career
(edited 9 years ago)
I'll be very honest, medicine isn't as great as everyone thinks it is, especially in the UK. My reasons for continuing with it now are that 1) I'd get bored to death if I did an ordinary office job, 2) I've invested so much time into this now there's no way I am backing out, 3) it's stable and gives you many opportunities.

All the "saving people" stuff gets knocked out when you see the realities of day to day life as a doctor... Sad, but true.
Original post by tania<3
I'll be very honest, medicine isn't as great as everyone thinks it is, especially in the UK. My reasons for continuing with it now are that 1) I'd get bored to death if I did an ordinary office job, 2) I've invested so much time into this now there's no way I am backing out, 3) it's stable and gives you many opportunities.

All the "saving people" stuff gets knocked out when you see the realities of day to day life as a doctor... Sad, but true.

I think it really depends on what type of speciality you go into but I'd like to see what you say for myself. Either way, its a very rewarding career and hard work will pay off so you have every reason to continue, I guess :tongue:
Reply 5
I'll be very honest, medicine isn't as great as everyone thinks it is, especially in the UK. My reasons for continuing with it now are that 1) I'd get bored to death if I did an ordinary office job, 2) I've invested so much time into this now there's no way I am backing out, 3) it's stable and gives you many opportunities.



All the "saving people" stuff gets knocked out when you see the realities of day to day life as a doctor... Sad, but true.

-------------------
Could you elaborate? Particularly on the second part


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by ja1
I'll be very honest, medicine isn't as great as everyone thinks it is, especially in the UK. My reasons for continuing with it now are that 1) I'd get bored to death if I did an ordinary office job, 2) I've invested so much time into this now there's no way I am backing out, 3) it's stable and gives you many opportunities.



All the "saving people" stuff gets knocked out when you see the realities of day to day life as a doctor... Sad, but true.

-------------------
Could you elaborate? Particularly on the second part


Posted from TSR Mobile


Original post by tania<3
I'll be very honest, medicine isn't as great as everyone thinks it is, especially in the UK. My reasons for continuing with it now are that 1) I'd get bored to death if I did an ordinary office job, 2) I've invested so much time into this now there's no way I am backing out, 3) it's stable and gives you many opportunities.

All the "saving people" stuff gets knocked out when you see the realities of day to day life as a doctor... Sad, but true.

...
Reply 7
Original post by Angelo12231
I'd love to know why others want to do Med too :biggrin: !!!!!!!!!


are you asking because you need ideas for your UCAS statement?
frankly i think you should dedicate a few lines of your statement to your commitment of preventing unnecessary deaths in the NHS given that so many thousands have died unnecessarily, year in year out, in the hospitals up and down this country.

if i was part of the admission tutor team and came across an application which talks about this then this would very much catch my attention and i would be more inclined to give him or her and offer.

simple because everyone else will not talk about this at all.
Original post by Maura Kat
are you asking because you need ideas for your UCAS statement?
frankly i think you should dedicate a few lines of your statement to your commitment of preventing unnecessary deaths in the NHS given that so many thousands have died unnecessarily, year in year out, in the hospitals up and down this country.

if i was part of the admission tutor team and came across an application which talks about this then this would very much catch my attention and i would be more inclined to give him or her and offer.

simple because everyone else will not talk about this at all.

Not really, a lot of people on here crave med so I though it'd be rather interesting to know. I probably won't say that to the interviewer but thanks...
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by ja1
I'll be very honest, medicine isn't as great as everyone thinks it is, especially in the UK. My reasons for continuing with it now are that 1) I'd get bored to death if I did an ordinary office job, 2) I've invested so much time into this now there's no way I am backing out, 3) it's stable and gives you many opportunities.



All the "saving people" stuff gets knocked out when you see the realities of day to day life as a doctor... Sad, but true.

-------------------
Could you elaborate? Particularly on the second part


Posted from TSR Mobile


A lot of the time it's not about "helping people" but instead filling out paperwork and being a glorified secretary, at least for the first few years. It's a "gypsy" job as well, you go where the work takes you which can end up being really difficult for people, and I think, the hardest thing for me at least, is the fact that the job will always come first. Everything else pretty much second. Even now, as a student, I had to dedicate my entire summer away for studying and after like a two week break, I'm back at uni again! So it feels like it just never ends :tongue:

That's not to say that it wouldn't get better. It's a ob unlike many others and I feel that you'd only really understand when you're a medic yourself. It has it's pros and cons like every career, but there are definitely easier ways of earning a living.

But I'd be lying if I said my opinions on medicine haven't changed since my UCAS days, lol.
Original post by Maura Kat
are you asking because you need ideas for your UCAS statement?
frankly i think you should dedicate a few lines of your statement to your commitment of preventing unnecessary deaths in the NHS given that so many thousands have died unnecessarily, year in year out, in the hospitals up and down this country.

if i was part of the admission tutor team and came across an application which talks about this then this would very much catch my attention and i would be more inclined to give him or her and offer.

simple because everyone else will not talk about this at all.


Why is it that it seems every post you do is trashing the NHS? :confused: A look at your profile tells me you're originally from the US, you do realise unnecessary deaths occur in US hospitals too right?
Original post by SpringNicht
Why is it that it seems every post you do is trashing the NHS? :confused: A look at your profile tells me you're originally from the US, you do realise unnecessary deaths occur in US hospitals too right?


i am not thrashing the NHS. im sharing a valid view that may very well help someone get an offer over someone else from a very prestigious uni.

if the individual was applying to the US universities, I would have mentioned the same thing but in a US setting.

if you want, you can report this or my previous post to the moderators.
they will be quick to ban me but you or them can't shut me up.
i'll be back, ban or no ban.
Original post by Maura Kat
are you asking because you need ideas for your UCAS statement?
frankly i think you should dedicate a few lines of your statement to your commitment of preventing unnecessary deaths in the NHS given that so many thousands have died unnecessarily, year in year out, in the hospitals up and down this country.

if i was part of the admission tutor team and came across an application which talks about this then this would very much catch my attention and i would be more inclined to give him or her and offer.

simple because everyone else will not talk about this at all.


You are mistaken about not talking about it, we as medstudents are taught about unnecessary deaths and ways in which we could prevent them. Doctors are not infallible - mistakes do happen and there are a lot of policies in place which try and stop them from happening. Actually I would argue that in this country doctors end up doing a lot of unnecessary testing and prescribing in order to counteract these unnecessary deaths, and to safeguard themselves. Whilst we are aware of things that go wrong, sometimes the situation is a lot more complex and does not come down to just doctors - management and the NHS as a whole has a part to play
Original post by tania<3
You are mistaken about not talking about it, we as medstudents are taught about unnecessary deaths and ways in which we could prevent them. Doctors are not infallible - mistakes do happen and there are a lot of policies in place which try and stop them from happening. Actually I would argue that in this country doctors end up doing a lot of unnecessary testing and prescribing in order to counteract these unnecessary deaths, and to safeguard themselves. Whilst we are aware of things that go wrong, sometimes the situation is a lot more complex and does not come down to just doctors - management and the NHS as a whole has a part to play


so the newspapers are lying then?
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/doctors-basic-errors-are-killing-1000-patients-a-month-7939674.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-22366147

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/10513079/Major-hospital-blunders-including-40-patients-given-surgery-on-wrong-limb-revealed-by-official-statistics.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10281888/300-NHS-blunders-so-bad-they-should-never-happen-in-just-one-year.html

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jun/21/jeremy-hunt-nhs-errors-patients

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/70m-in-payouts-for-medical-blunders-the-hidden-burden-on-overstretched-health-budgets-30543083.html
Seriously guys, don't feed the troll - just ignore it and maybe it'll get bored and go away (we can but hope).
Original post by Maura Kat
are you asking because you need ideas for your UCAS statement?
frankly i think you should dedicate a few lines of your statement to your commitment of preventing unnecessary deaths in the NHS given that so many thousands have died unnecessarily, year in year out, in the hospitals up and down this country.

if i was part of the admission tutor team and came across an application which talks about this then this would very much catch my attention and i would be more inclined to give him or her and offer.

simple because everyone else will not talk about this at all.


Actually I think it may even come across as well intentioned but naive. Doctors do a lot to prevent unnecessary deaths, and this is taught in the curriculum. I think it is pretty obvious.

Did you lose a family member? Why do you care so much about this issue?
Original post by Okorange

Did you lose a family member? Why do you care so much about this issue?


Textbook example of feeding the troll - hopefully you see what I mean now?
Original post by FutureHeartSurg
May I ask what you decided to specialise in?


She is a 3rd year medic. Medics don't specialize until after foundation year 2. Foundation years happen after graduation from medical school.
Original post by ja1
Could you elaborate? Particularly on the second part


My take is a little different. Yes a lot of doctoring is paperwork and some of it makes **** all sense but most is actually pretty important; when you're trying to co-ordinate so many different specialists you need to have good communication. You save far more lives signing off on some anti-clot medication than you do performing CPR or something. Its a part of 'saving lives'.

But that should perhaps tell you that what we mean by 'saving lives' is a little different to the public's perception. Its rare that you get a person coming in who needs instantaneous life-saving treatment and then they get completely better and live many years. The vast majority of cases are confused demented old people who have multiple things wrong with them. You might 'save' them, but actually they'll be back next month with the same thing - its life extension not 'saving', and their quality of life drops with every passing year. For many others you fix them up a little and then realise their current living situation is that they're incontinent and living in their own excrement, haven't showered in months and are severely malnourished as they can't use the kitchen any more, yet somehow they're insisting on going home and not to a care home/sheltered facility. If they can be convinced organising that can take months. The hospital gets clogged up with dozens of these cases then can't take new actually sick patients from A&E and ambulances end up queued outside the hospital and you get stories like this. Maybe in the meantime the patient picks up a pneumonia or rolls out of bed and breaks a hip and dies because of their general frailty, and the family kick off at you as they think its your fault. Or then you've got your crazy patients who come into A&E every 3 days with nothing wrong with them at all but you have no choice but to treat each presentation as if it might be real.

And then you have to remember that in a modern setup, whilst it may feel like you're alone and over-worked, actually there are a lot of people looking over your shoulder: nurses, seniors, the daily ward round... what you actually did would have been done by someone else in the vast majority of cases. Especially if you consider that if you hadn't got into med school, someone else would have taken your place. Are you definitely doing a better job than whoever they would have been? I don't think you can ever claim you extended someone's life until you can say that you caught something someone else in your position, nor anyone else in the team, would not have caught.

Its an important job. Even the paperwork. However, you rarely 'save' lives. Your one part of a machine that works to slightly extend them.
Original post by Maura Kat
i am not thrashing the NHS. im sharing a valid view that may very well help someone get an offer over someone else from a very prestigious uni.

if the individual was applying to the US universities, I would have mentioned the same thing but in a US setting.

if you want, you can report this or my previous post to the moderators.
they will be quick to ban me but you or them can't shut me up.
i'll be back, ban or no ban.


I've seen you make a couple of posts where you give advice that you think will "impress the admissions tutors", but I don't really think it's good advice.

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