<p>I just feel like I should let this out- many, but of course not all, people that I know who are interested in the field of medicine are interested because of money and prestige. For example my grandparents- they were doctors, in the upper middle class, made lots of money, were well regarded by their community, etc. And they wanted their son (my dad) and me and my brother to go into medicine for this reason. Of course that is important, but that shouldn't be the sole reason one goes into medicine as opposed to another profession. Because medicine isn't about that. Medicine is about using science to help people. It is about altering the science of the body in a way to help a person and improve their way of life. It's about being truly interested in the chemistry and biology, specifically in the body. It's also about caring for humanity and helping people. Of course one needs to have enough money to make a living and survive. But who wants a money-hungry doctor? And who wants a premed who could care less about science, and then becomes a doctor while not caring about you, only helping you because that way society will look highly upon him or her? Really?</p>
<p>I certainly don’t think this way.</p>
<p>I have always dreamt of becoming a family practitioner since I was a kid. My reasons for doing this is to not only get a chance to help people everyday with their medical issues and queries, but to also enjoy doing something that I will love doing. Common health related topics fascinate me. </p>
<p>As a kid, I didn’t play a huge amount of video games or play catch with my dad on the street. Instead, I was always checking out books at the library or going through online articles related to health and the body.</p>
<p>Before I decided to aim for a career in medicine, I always hated everything about growing up because the thought of spending hours sitting in an office or filing paperwork sounded monotonous and dull.</p>
<p>But, interacting with patients, going over health related concerns with them, forming long term relationships, all sound like a dream job. I’ve done “unofficial shadowing” of my family doctor many times in the past just for the fun of it.</p>
<p>If I do make it to medical school and become a family practitioner, I want to definitely try my best to help all my patients. I’ve seen doctors that have been less…zealous towards patient concerns. I don’t want to be like them. </p>
<p>Of course I’m not in it for the prestige, or else I would be like “I wanna be a surgeon!” or “I wanna be an Anesthesiologist!”, neither job I would see myself doing. Family practice definitely does not roll in huge bucks or prestige.</p>
<p>I just think that others’ people reasons are none of my business. I simply do not care. If doc. is not doing his job well, I will look for another. If he is fine, no mater what original reason has motivated him, I will stick to this provider for my medical problems. Why the reason to pursue certain profession is important? If the reason is wrong for this person, he will pay for his mistake and will have to adjust in a future. for some money and prestigious might be very important, for others, there are other factors that are more important. There is no possible way for some stranger to decide which factors are important for other.</p>
<p>“And who wants a premed who could care less about science, and then becomes a doctor while not caring about you, only helping you because that way society will look highly upon him or her?”
-This is very naive, there is NO chance for such a person to become an MD. None, zero, zilch. Simply do not have to worry about this person becoming an MD, it will not happen. The point is mute.</p>
<p>Mute or moot? ;)</p>
<p>I think people need to realize that medicine is like any job; there are positives and negatives. A lot of the money is going away. Physician salaries have been dropping when you account for inflation and will continue to drop further with Obamacare and projected Medicare reimbursement cuts. Prestige? Apparently to everyone but my patients. Despite our numerous years of education and training, many of my patients still prefer to trust Dr. Google or the cousin of their friend’s sister when it comes to health matters. Even your ability to “help people” as a non-surgeon is very limited. There are very few curable non-surgical diseases.</p>
<p>
The previous message was brought to you by Downer Doug who is obviously having a moment of reflection. To which he is entitled. And anyway, that cousin of my friend’s sister is hot. </p>
<p>:) 
;)</p>
<p>Curm,
You just made me laugh out loud. Thank you. To make someone smile every day is a gift.</p>
<p>To the OP, it must be tough to feel that way sometimes. It sounds as if your strong family ties to medicine has impressed upon you and your personal values something a bit different than just a desire for money and prestige. You are blessed. And I’m sure they are all proud of you. (and not just of any title you might earn) Best of luck in the future~</p>
<p>There are some of us who care about primary care/public health.</p>
<p>Is there any money/glory in public health? Probably not. If someone was a $$$ whore he/she would have gone into healthcare administration aspect of medicine, not public health/primary care.</p>
<p>There are so many different aspects of medicine rather than just clinical private practice medicine. Find your niche.</p>
<p>I believe that whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you…STRANGER!!! </p>
<p>Ultimately though, people should have a passion for medicine. They should have the aptitude to see that passion through - if they don’t well then. If not, well they can celebrate their success with money and prestige. That is a reason for people wanting to become doctors. Even if its not the main reason, it is still usually a secondary aspect.</p>
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<p>Then there are many Downer Dougs in my med school ;)</p>
<p>They’ve actually done studies on medical students’ attitudes as they progress through med school. Not surprisingly, people get jaded. I personally love medicine. I love the intellectual aspect of it. I love coming to the hospital every day and solving puzzles. However, the longer I’m in this game, the more I realize we end up managing people’s diseases, rather than curing them. Diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, etc. are largely incurable diseases. Even many surgical diseases are just not curable. Nothing like spending 10 hours doing a flap surgery for a spinal cord patient only to see the flap die a day later or the patient develop another ulcer 3 months down the line, requiring another flap. And then another flap for another ulcer 6 months later. As long as people know what they’re getting into, it’s fine. I realized long ago I won’t be doing any primary care or surgeries.</p>