<p>One of my science professors asked the class,"so just as a show of hands how many of you want to become a doctor or go into the medical field?" Of course a typical science class 99% of the hands went up. He pointed out all the flaws in medicine and how hard it is going to get and all that great stuff. Then he asked so how many of you still want to become a doctor and their where still a lot of hands up. He said that if you have a reason other than the generic answer then you have a good chance at making it.</p>
<p>I was just curious as to what other peoples motivation/ desire to enter the medical field is.</p>
<p>Unless this person was a physician, I would take his comments with a hefty dose of salt. Many people in science have very negative views about medicine and about doctors as scientists. Others are very tired of dealing with pre-meds who feel that because they want to help people, their professors should give them good grades (or that admissions committees should overlook their poor MCAT) </p>
<p>The biggest reason I want to be a doctor is because I want to help people. Much of what we want to change in the world feels out of our control (e.g. government policies, world wars, environment change) and I feel so honored that I will be able to make such a difference in people’s lives, “even” one person at a time.</p>
<p>What your professor should have said, is that wanting to become a doctor because you want to help people isn’t enough. You have to be a smart and motivated person to earn good grades and score well on the MCAT. You have to have passions outside of science that help to develop you as a person and to help you relate to patients who come from different backgrounds than your own. You have to be dedicated to long hours and thousands of dollars spent during your training. There is absolutely nothing wrong with practicing medicine because you want to help people.</p>
<p>Shortest answer: the only thing in this universe more interesting than how the human body works is how it gets sick.</p>
<p>^ I was so exited about the Higgs Boson discovery. Thanks for ruining it all for me. Now I have to look for the secrets of the universe in the running noses and all. :D</p>
<p>The only HBP I care about is high blood pressure 8)</p>
<p>I believe that the main reason is the same as for other professions. Why I decided to go to IT? Why somebody is a teacher and another is a Graphic Designer. Some of us are lucky to follow their calling and love it, others are somewhat lucky to be able to switch even in their 30s, 40s, others will never ever be happy with their job…and for that third group, the job will be just a job, not their major entertainment. I feel sorry for this group. However, there is an additional consideration if you are planning to become an MD. The road is sooooooo hard, that if you are not 100% not only into this profession but also into extremely challenging academics, that would require to study for way over 10 hours / day for weeks (for some periods of this long road), and not just long hours, but studying a very cahllenging material in huge amounts, literally foot+ stack of books, the stuff that you may have never heard before, if you are not up to it, then maybe you should think about something else.
In regard to what is interesting, it is very personal and goes back to my first sentence. there is nothing more entertaining to me personally than making my computer work, yes, I have to win, not the stupid machine, I am a ruler here. I do not know any programmer who is not excited about his job, for us it is a real entertainment. And I can see that MD would think the same way about workings of the human body, but this one is way way more complex than any computer out there, which is nothing, cannot do anything at all without software that tells it what to do.</p>