Should I be a Doctor? 10 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Going into to Medicine
Posted by Dr. Cason on Sunday, October 26th, 2008
Last night I spent a teeny amount of time looking at all the Google searches that have found their way to my doorstep. Interestingly enough a lot of them were doctor related. Probably because I have Dr in my title and my most popular post is about doctoring. Hmmm…no mystery there.
I never interviewed other doctors. I didn’t know doctors when I grew up- except for my family practitioner. All I remember about him is he was a gruff that never talked to me and who ripped off my bandages without so much as a warning.
So if your reading this you may have asked the question: Should I be a doctor? And to that I say,
Don’t ask me. Ask yourself.
- Could you see yourself insanely happy, fulfilled doing something else?
- Do you gravitate to medicine?
- To people?- I mean this seriously! Do you even like people? Or do they irritate you?
- Do you like the mystery?
- Are you willing to pursue it above all else?
- Do you like being needed. – Cause if you can’t stand the clingy person who is scared and needs lots of reassurance then don’t do it. It’s not fair to the one who needs it or to you who will be drained immensely by their questions.
- Would you be happy doing anything else in medicine? There are a lot of really important people needed as a Physician Assistant, Nurse? Radiology Tech?
- Would your life handle medical school right now. It’s 4 years of all out studying and sleepless nights.
- Are you married? And will they support your decision? Though some people in my class were married the majority weren’t. You need to have incredibly supportive people surrounding you. Because honestly you may be ignoring them (even unintentionally) a good deal of the time.
- Do you have kids? The majority didn’t have kids. And the ones that did had wives to pick up the bulk of the work. The one women who had a child started the year before me and just finished her residency this past summer. That’s a total of 12 years and 4 kids later. – Don’t let that discourage you though. She did it her way and she has a healthy happy family. And she a wonderful doctor.
If you answered I don’t know to any of these then think about all the medical stories you have heard. Did you wish you were there? In the action. If above all else you want the buck to stop with you. Then pursue on.
Don’t worry about all that you read – even my other post- The Ugly Side of Being a Doctor. That’s not all it is about. It’s not just about the pain.
- Being a doctor is not about declining reimbursements.
- And the sleepless nights.
- It’s about hope.
- It’s about people
- Sick and well.
- It’s about not knowing.
- Watching families grow up.
- It’s about 3am calls.
- Delivering a baby to a gleeful family. Shining tearful happy faces.
- It’s about knowing you can do that job.
- Being around people, for them and about them.
- It’s about always knowing you can do more.
- And being willing to do it.
So the very last question you need to ask yourself is….Are you that person?
Filed in Everything Medicine | 14 responses so far
Lanceon 26 Oct 2008 at 2:07 am 1From your writing, Sheila, I know that you are that person…
Kathleenon 26 Oct 2008 at 2:42 am 2You know, as one grows older they always have one thing they would do over again – IF THEY WERE YOUNG! At the age of 56 and with serious arthritic issues, my one thing would be to go into the field of medicine.
I used to think maybe as a nurse or nurse practitioner, but after meeting you Sheila the idea of medical school has sounded much more what I would love and be suited for.
Maybe in my next generation of grandchildren — we will see. For now, this old woman just has to be happy to work around medicine, love the sweet children, be there for the parents, and maintain that database of information.
About the time I was considering nursing school, I was hit with this arthritic — so maybe God was telling me this was not in His Plan for me.
Kathleens last blog post..a new poetry
Kristinon 26 Oct 2008 at 6:25 am 3Nope, not doctor material here.
I do however work with people who are going through Liver or Lung transplants. I go to support groups, I offer up my time to just sit with people and talk to them. I offer my experiences of being a caregiver to my husband who had a liver transplant. 5 years ago I would have never ever seen myself in this position – I’m more of a Food Services person. I like to chat with customers, give impeccable service, make people happy and serve great food or coffee. That’s what I was called to do until my husband got sick. Then it all morphed into what I described above.
Kristins last blog post..The Kindle
Kylaon 26 Oct 2008 at 8:03 am 4Once the kids are a little older and KayTar is hopefully a little healthier, I’d love to.
Kylas last blog post..My life is weird.
Bethon 26 Oct 2008 at 8:47 am 5I’m on 24-hour call in the PICU right now. I have a total of eleven patients, all at various stages of being ill.
And I’m smiling like a crazy woman.
I’m getting to be towards the end of residency now and looking back, I’d do it all again. It’s all been worth it. I feel (mostly) prepared to start my new job next summer and I know I’ll be ok.
I love the people I work with – nurses, attendings and residents. I spent 20 minutes tonight talking with a respiratory therapist who had just come back from a conference at Duke Children’s and all the cool stuff they were doing down there.
I can’t possibly imagine doing anything else.
Beths last blog post..Blinding flash of the obvious
tiffon 26 Oct 2008 at 10:50 am 6I used to love nursing. Used to enjoy the humanity. I loved being a midwife and being with families. Now, I’m not so sure. I’ve been a stay at home mum for the last twelve months and the thought of it all seems so overwhelming and I am different now, having been on the other side of the bed.
I so admire the paed nurses. It is something I am not sure I would be able to do.
Nikkion 26 Oct 2008 at 5:25 pm 7Doctor’s life… not a chance! Too much work, I don’t have an attention span that big. Maybe a nurse one day, we’ll see when little D gets bigger Mama may make her way back to the world of education. Who knows!
Kathleenon 26 Oct 2008 at 6:03 pm 8We are very blessed in Memphis to have wonderful medical units near our main hospital which helps those without insurance so much – The MED unit here in Memphis.
Among this we have an incredible Trauma Unit and Newborn Center. It is my understanding most of the funding for these two centers to be developed and built initially came from donations from Elvis Presley and his estate. He did so many wonderful things for the people of Memphis, and usually anonymously. The Newborn Center is especially wonderful as we have so many problems with poverty level mothers who do not receive the proper prepartum and postpartum care. This facility has saved so many babies who would not have otherwise survived.
I am also proud to say our HIV program has a subunit at The MED, and our nurse practitioner sees any mothers tested and found to be HIV positive. They are provided pre- and postpartum care, and are given medications to prevent the transmission of HIV to their newborn infants. If you ever are in Memphis, please take a tour of these incredible facilities as well as St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
http://www.the-med.org/themedhistory.pdf
Kathleens last blog post..a new poetry
Lisaon 27 Oct 2008 at 6:16 am 9I thought at one time I could be a doctor…but all of those years of school were too much for a single parent. And being a nurse is different. I feel like I have more time to spend with my patients than doctors do, and I also get to work less so I can be with my family.
Lisas last blog post..I’m Too Fat, Too Fat For My Pants
Sara Rosson 27 Oct 2008 at 9:35 am 10I thought about being a psychologist, even have my degree, but I just couldn’t bring home all that depressing work, work all those hours, and not see my family. Now I am an architect, bring home work, and often times don’t see my kids when I have deadlines. Hmmm, should have been a psychologist, would have been paid more!
Patriceon 05 Mar 2009 at 1:08 pm 11Okay, I’m a college student at the moment and I don’t want to continue and get into something that I can’t do. I want to be a Family Practitioner. Right now, I’m majoring in Biology and it’s driving me crazy, but I’m not giving up. I really want to become a doctor. After hearing that I won’t have time for my own family or even start a family, seems like this is going to be hard. That’s not the main reason why I feel like I might be wrong in my decision. I want to work with people, young and old, I love learning about different things in the body like what can cause the problem what you can do to prevent it and stuff like that. Do I just need encouragement? or stop pouting, I really want to become a doctor but after reading what it’s all about and what all you have to do, I don’t know if I’m made for it.
Amyon 07 Jul 2009 at 12:21 am 12Hello Dr. Carson!
Your blog is very entertaining, and informative. Your Son’s allergies are bringing up all sorts of wonderful memories about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Vegan foodstuffs and First Aid training.
I’m a year 12 student from Australia (I guess that translates to senior year?…anyway, about to go to University next year.)
In Australia, you can do Medicine as a 5-year undergraduate degree, or a 4-year postgraduate degree. At the moment, I don’t have the grades to get into undergrad medicine (Nor would I want to get into Medicine at only 18!).
Any undergrad degree will allow you to start postgrad medicine. In your opinion, would you expect that a biology/chemistry background help me more in medical studies than a nursing background?
I assume that graduating as a nurse will allow me to have more flexible working hours while I study, and will open up my eyes as to what actually happens in a hospital.
I’d love to hear your opinion on this, at your earliest convenience of course!
Thank you.
Brynon 24 Jul 2009 at 11:14 am 13How did you keep your momentum when the people you are closest to question why you’d want to go to meds and tell you how hard it was for their best friend’s cousin to get in?
This is the only thing blocking me from working on my app and studying harder for the MCAT. Sometimes I feel motivated to “show them” but it only lasts a short while, like a sugar kick.
Great blog! I am applying to MAC and NOSM this fall, for entry in August 2010, and I am so excited about Medicine.
Dr. Casonon 25 Jul 2009 at 4:27 pm 14Hi Bryn-
Just smile and say Mmmhmmm….Do you know how many people made me listen to all the facts and how it was unlikely that I would make it! Even my premed advisor! I smiled back and worked even harder!!