Comments on: Should I be a Doctor? 10 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Going into to Medicine

By: Dr. Cason

Dr. Cason — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:27:45 +0000

Hi 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!!

By: Bryn

Bryn — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:14:46 +0000

How 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.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:21:49 +0000

Hello 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.

By: Patrice

Patrice — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:08:21 +0000

Okay, 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.

By: Sara Ross

Sara Ross — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:35:42 +0000

I 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!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:16:11 +0000

I 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

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:03:06 +0000

We 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

By: Nikki

Nikki — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:25:14 +0000

Doctor’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!

By: tiff

tiff — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:50:36 +0000

I 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.

By: Beth

Beth — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:47:19 +0000

I’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