<p>Physicians have traditionally encouraged their children to pursue careers in medicine. Most physicians I know now discourage careers in medicine.</p>
<p>If you are a doctor, have you encouraged your children to pursue medicine?</p>
<p>If you are a child of a doctor, has your parent encoured you to pursue medicine?</p>
<p>He sat me down and told me to consider other things besides medicine. I'm a rebel. I applied to med programs.</p>
<p>Not sure if this applies to me... I'm the grandchild of a physician who practices in another country. When she came to visit, she encouraged me to go into medicine. </p>
<p>I mean, I guess this doesn't fit your question at all, really... but I just wanted to share...</p>
<p>A friend of mine went to shadow with his uncle for a day. Every doctor he met that day, 20+ said don't do it, bail out.</p>
<p>Why did they discourage him?</p>
<p>There are many physicians who are unhappy with medicine in 2006, as they had the experience of practicing medicine before the explosion in regulation. So the first issue is that many practicing physicians are less satisfied with the profession. </p>
<p>A second reason is the long road of sacrifice, during your younger years. Becoming a MD is no small task, and if you instead directed this same effort into another area, it is likely that you would become highly successful at an early age. The years of your young adulthood are consumed when you go into medicine. Contrary to the television shows, life is not that exciting and filled with fun and games when you are in medicine.</p>
<p>On the other hand, a person should do what they enjoy. If you like medicine, and do not like other fields, be happy and do what you enjoy.</p>
<p>Simply they all say its not worth the commitment for the crappy treatment you get. People are horrible to you and don't understand you have other issues in life besides only their issue (ie other patients) they act as if you shouldn't make any mistakes ever, and are willing to sue the hell out of you and drag your name through the mud for an honest mistake. With all the regulation and declining pay in general the time comittment for the pay is definitely no where near where it should be. There are other ways to help people, be happy, make lots of money and not work/train for as long. It really is as if you are giving up a large part of your life just to the practice, and in turn your personal and social life suffers greatly. Hence the high divorce rates for docs, and rising number of unhappy docs.</p>
<p>Everyone here obviously has an interest if not a serious interest in the medical career. It seems like there is so many negative things that comes with being a doctor. If work hours are long, pay is not that good, and there is a lack of respect with the job, why be a doctor? </p>
<p>I'm just curious about some thoughts.</p>
<p>Interest. If there is a sincere interest, and you recognize that you would probably not be happy in another occupation, become a doctor. Too many people spend their lives working in a field that they are not interested in but have to earn a living. Few people get to work in the field that truely interests them.</p>
<p>Love of medicine, thats all that really should be the interest in entering the field. You do not get many other perks then basically practicing the artform that is medicine, at least not anymore.</p>
<p>Yeah even though the life of a doctor may not be as luxurious as it was in the past, I'm sure you get an extremely good sense of job satisfaction. You have to work everyday for the next 30-40 years of your life so you may as well enjoy it. You're "somebody" when you're a doctor. You're not just another businessman or whatever your're special and you touch many people's lives.</p>
<p>I shadowed a doctor who encouraged me to go into medicine as long as you can handle the workload and you love what you do or love what you are going to do. I LOVED what he did so I decided to pursue that career myself. (Emergency Pediatric Physician) If I wanted $$ Id be an orthodontist but Im not interested in fixing people's smiles.</p>
<p>And why you and not his kids?</p>
<p>Jeez, my dad loves his job. He would really like me to follow his footsteps, so it's not like everyone hates their job.</p>
<p>"We understand that you resent us, and that's okay. We know you don't want to go to medical school, and that's okay too. But we think you don't want to go to medical school because you resent us, and that's not okay. So we want you to go volunteer in a hospital to prove to yourself that you really don't want to do it."</p>
<p>And then I got hooked.</p>
<p>My parents are both doctors and all along they told me not to do medicine. I followed their wishes until about halfway through AP Bio my junior year, when we got to human systems. Then I got really interested in it and from then on my plan has been to become a doctor. Now that they see that it's what I want to do, they are very supportive of it and are helping me along. It'll actually be pretty cool, because I'll probably end up at the same med school they went to. Anyway, back to the question, my parents said don't do it, but now that I want to they're supportive, they just make sure that I realize exactly what medicine is like and how it's probably going to be in the future.</p>
<p>My dad's a doctor, and while he's never explicitly told me to go into medicine (my parents would support me no matter what I did), he is definitely happy that I do have a very strong desire to become a doctor.</p>
<p>my dad's a doctor, mother was a nurse but is now a hospital administrator. They always said to pursue any interest I had. I am sure that the constant exposure to medicine and the medical world had an effect on me, as I never have been interested in anything but a medical career. My brother, brought up in the same environment, has no interest in medicine-so, it's hard to predict the effect of medical parents. Once I chose to go to medical school, however, my parents went into 'high gear' to help me get in(they have lots of connections), and it worked out.</p>
<p>Honestly, it depends on the kid. DH and I are both docs. first kid has the talent but no interest. Fine. Second kid has expressed interest but doubt he'd be able to get the test scores. Told him OK to try but better have a plan B. Third kid too young to tell. Medicine is a great job for those so inclined to love it. I've met people who went into it because their parents insisted they do so and they are not happy campers.</p>
<p>i've often heard that children make the best patients. I have heavely considered being a pediatric anesthesiologist. Would this be more risky than treating adults? I think I would love being an assisstant in saving children's lives. How do you all feel about being a life saver?</p>