I'm interested in a career in medicine but have the social skills of a turnip

Hello lovely internet people :smile:

,

I'm 17, I like maths and science and would like a job that would genuinely make a difference to people's lives, so naturally I thought of something medicine related.However, my social skills aren't great (ok, they're not exactly as bad as a turnip's) which I think probably rules out being a doctor.

I was interested in Bio medical science, but I looked at some videos about the career and it look really boring!

Do you have any suggestions (I'm doing Chemistry, Biology and History A Level and Maths As) of medicine related careers?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

goldenshades

Original post by Mad_Cat_Lady

Hello lovely internet people :smile:

Have you considered getting a job/volunteering/taking a year out in order to build up your social skills (many people do this). Medical schools aren't looking for perfect people; you don't necessarily have to be a loud person to be a doctor, just someone who is able to communicate things across well :smile:

Related careers include:

Pharmacology
Biochemistry
Psychology
Biology
Chemistry
Genetics
Neuroscience

Reply 2

Democracy

Which social skills do you think you're lacking?

The sort of careers you can get with a BSc in biomedical sciences are quite routine and boring. But if you were interested enough to work your way up to a PhD, you could go into research which would probably be far more interesting.

Become a pharmacist?

A turnip... :rofl:

Original post by Mad_Cat_Lady

Hello lovely internet people :smile:

you don't have to be a doctor to improve people's lives. a hairdresser or massage therapist both make a difference.
also being a doctor is like well stressful... you can see from the news.

Reply 6

returnmigrant

Look at Medical Sciences instead - one example : http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cellmolmed/study/undergraduate/

Reply 7

Chief Wiggum

I'm not sure if you should assume you can't be a doctor because of self-perceived "poor social skills".

Reply 8

MonteCristo

Original post by the bear

you don't have to be a doctor to improve people's lives

This is true. However, it's also true that you don't need Barack Obama's social skills to be a good doctor. It's difficult to say without meeting you but medicine is a very broad church and there are a range of careers available that require a range of different social skills.

Reply 9

Ghotay

Original post by Chief Wiggum

I'm not sure if you should assume you can't be a doctor because of self-perceived "poor social skills".

Seconding this. Trust me, there are plenty of turnips in medicine who are becoming doctors right now because they're not even self-aware enough to realise that their social skills are terrible. The fact that you're aware your social skills are lacking meaning that you'll probably work on improving them, and that alone puts you a cut above the rest. You're 17, it's totally normal to be a bit socially awkward. You'll get better.

It's another matter if you think you wouldn't enjoy medicine due to the due social side of it. That would be fair enough. But if you think you'll enjoy medicine, go for it!

Reply 10

Democracy

Seriously, to echo the above, a lot of people have gotten this idea that you need to be super extroverted and smiley and chatty all the time in order to be a good doctor. But I think these people have confused medical school with a Miss World pageant.

Reply 11

User947387

My ortho surgeon is so shy, he actually stares at the wall/floor when doing a consult. Anything even remotely politely "personal", i.e. "hows your day been?" is met with a blush from him.

Reply 12

Quilverine

I have pretty poor social skills but being at work isn't a social event. You could be great at communicating with co workers and patients and leave being a turnip for your social endeavours. It's much easier to talk to people when you have a specific role and agenda than say meeting with a group of peers and being awkward and silent. I have found a lot of confidence through my job, I can almost hold a conversation with neighbours now!

Reply 13

exoexo13

Original post by Mad_Cat_Lady

Hello lovely internet people :smile:

Lol that's kindaa like me but that doesn't stop me from wanting to become a doctor. You should choose what you enjoy doing. It's easier to develop your social skills than to change your career. Also, it's mainly gps that have to talk a lot, doctors in the hospitals probably don't need to talk as much to their patients. :smile: