How Did You Know You Wanted to be a Doctor

Urethra Franklin.

The reason why I'm posting this in GEM is that when I was in LC I personally found many of the peolle wishing to study medicine was not to be a doctor but rather for the prestiege of saying they were studying in medicine, the assumption that if you were going to study medicine meant you must have been a genius. Even now I know many medical students, some very personally, well its obvious some got it for the wrong reasons, I don't think it will make them any way lesser of a doctor but their reasoning for putting down medicine may not have been ideal. Given that GEM is such a financial burden in comparison and requires extra time I believe people pursuing GEM see becoming a doctor as more of a vocation rather than a reward certificate stating theyre smart. Then again I may be completely incorrect in that assumption either

Anywho, just as the title states, why did you decide to become a doctor? What put any of your worries and doubts at rest? I'm still on the fence about sitting the GAMSAT next year. I worry if I will be good enough and the stress of the job. I know being a doctor or heck even just studying medicine is an emotionally and mentally demanding job and I am concerned it will all be too much? So how did you, any of you who are aspiring to/are studying medicine/doctors yourselfs finally realise medicine was the career for you, regardless of the downfalls. How did you put any of your fears or doubts to rest?

pfannkuchen

Personally, my interest in medicine began at a young age when I collected a magazine and video series (How Your Body Works, or something similar!) and was subsequently encouraged to watch every episode of ER ever made by my mother :P Not the most realistic but it ignited some kind of love! I also really enjoyed biology at school, but always found that I wanted to know more when we had finishing covering a topic. So there was no one big thing that swayed me, but I just always knew that I was going to end up working in a medical field. Medicine was my first choice when doing my Leaving Cert and I sadly fell short by a small number of points. I did not feel in a position to repeat as I had given it my all (exams and HPAT) and was completely drained by the whole ordeal. In hindsight, I feel like this was a blessing in disguise as I am not sure how I would have handled medicine as an 18 year old. I definitely didn't know enough about what it was going to entail and I think that I may have struggled a little.

In the end, I took my second choice course and became an allied health professional. During my time in college, the desire to do medicine never left me so I did some work experience in a number of hospitals, which confirmed that a more clinical work environment was for me. Since I qualified, I have been lucky enough to work in an acute hospital, in a job that I absolutely love. Despite working very closely with the medics and having a lot of patient contact and input into care, I still can't shake the fact that when it comes down to it, I am not the doctor and I feel that there is something really missing, so I am considering GEM My exposure to doctors at work means that I have been left with absolutely no doubt about what the job entails (in terms of hours, the often mundane nature of day-to-day jobs, politics but also the massive rewards). I have spoken to numerous doctors at every level and from many different backgrounds and all have been very supportive of my decision, so hopefully it will work out of these years!

I completely agree that there is the element of prestige about medicine and it does sway quite a few at the age of 18, but it definitely doesn't take away from their abilities or passion for the job overall. It's definitely not the career to pursue if you don't have a serious love for it!

Interested to hear everyone else's stories

Esophagus

I have long been interested in science, and Medicine, as a profession, will always have a future -- the world isn't suddenly going to stop requiring doctors. Moreover, Medicine is an incredibly versatile degree, you can find disciplines that will suit many different personalities (e.g. if you are not keen on patient contact, you can become a pathologist), while other degrees tend to be more restrictive/specific.

Lady is a tramp

I'm in a similar position OP! I'm going to sit the exams in March, and I'm quite confident that I'll do well in them. My dad has offered to loan me the money to cover the four years, and he really wants me to go for it.

I'm not convinced though. I do love science (and briefly studied Radiation Therapy in Trinity) but, having spent a lot of time in hospitals as a patient and with relatives who were patients, I'm not sure I'd be emotionally/mentally capable of giving enough of myself to every patient I saw. I've seen so many excellent doctors and so many meah ones ... I'm just afraid that, on bad days, I'd fall into the latter category. And that's not fair on anyone.

I'm seriously considering Forensic and Environmental Science in DIT as an alternative! Much broader range of careers available, whether with living people or not!

I also have a 1:1 degree in Business Studies, and various qualifications/experience in Accountancy, Insurance, Finance, HR, Auditing etc. So I'm sure if I get some sort of sciencey degree, there's a job out there that's perfect for me. Just not sure what it is yet!

I'm 30 and still not sure what I want to be when I grow up!

sReq | uTeK

Lady is a tramp wrote: »

I'm in a similar position OP! I'm going to sit the exams in March, and I'm quite confident that I'll do well in them. My dad has offered to loan me the money to cover the four years, and he really wants me to go for it.

I'm not convinced though. I do love science (and briefly studied Radiation Therapy in Trinity) but, having spent a lot of time in hospitals as a patient and with relatives who were patients, I'm not sure I'd be emotionally/mentally capable of giving enough of myself to every patient I saw. I've seen so many excellent doctors and so many meah ones ... I'm just afraid that, on bad days, I'd fall into the latter category. And that's not fair on anyone.

I'm seriously considering Forensic and Environmental Science in DIT as an alternative! Much broader range of careers available, whether with living people or not!

I also have a 1:1 degree in Business Studies, and various qualifications/experience in Accountancy, Insurance, Finance, HR, Auditing etc. So I'm sure if I get some sort of sciencey degree, there's a job out there that's perfect for me. Just not sure what it is yet!

I'm 30 and still not sure what I want to be when I grow up!

Don't wait until March. Sit the exam in September. Dublin has been added as part of the UK sitting.

Lady is a tramp

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

Don't wait until March. Sit the exam in September. Dublin has been added as part of the UK sitting.

Can't, I'm in hospital until at least the end of October and won't be able to sit it then.

sReq | uTeK

Lady is a tramp wrote: »

Can't, I'm in hospital until at least the end of October and won't be able to sit it then.

Can't get out for a day?
At least you should get plenty of study done

Anita Blow

I think it's nice to get the Sep sitting in if you can but it's by no means necessary. I got 62 on my first sitting in March

Sallywag

Urethra Franklin.....you have articulated all of my feelings and worries and concerns about even considering to embark on a career in Medicine. I sat the Gamsat 2 years ago and got a score of 49...I did really well in both my English sections and obviously abysmal in the Science. I come from a background of an undergrad in English lit and so I had to teach myself the Science subjects from scratch. I only gave myself 2 months, which in hindsight wasn't enough to fully grasp the concepts entwined in each Science question. I decided to give up the dream of Medicine and was utterly lost for a over a year. I then decided to go back and do an MA in Applied Psychology, which I'm really enjoying. However, for the past few months this feeling at the pit of my stomach, the butterflies, determination and utter conviction I had when I was studying for the Gamsat have begun to ignite in me again. It's a feeling that I just can't shake off. I don't know if I'm crazy to be even considering taking the Gamsat again, but I really feel that I have to try!! I'm so silly, but when I'm faced with a decision such as this one, I always try to think of myself when I'm old and grey and what advice I would offer myself now. I know the 80 year old me would be saying to just do it and be fearless!!

I hope this helps you on your quest...

Flange/Flanders

Final year GEM here, left a career in finance behind me and while I cant say I loved the course (having no money, seeing all my friends settled down in good careers, the hours of study), I have no regrets about it. Well, 1 regret, that I didnt work hard enough at my leaving cert!! Have to say, the 2 years of torture that are the pre clinical years are quickly forgotten about when you hit the hospitals.

Anita Blow

If it's in the back of your mind then in my opinion you owe it to yourself to go for it. It is a bit **** not being in a career for 4 years while your friends are, but the pay-off is worth it. I know myself that medicine is something I wanted for so long and that nothing else would ever do, and now that I'm actually in it there hasn't been a week that's gone by that I don't smile to myself that I'm finally doing what I love, no matter how ****ty it gets.

Urethra Franklin.

Guys these replies are awesome! I like the direction this thread is taking! Keep em' coming peeps!

Ok seeing as people are putting up a bit of background info about themselves I reckon I should too!

The name's Urethra. I'm a final year college student in a science discipline. I think I'm going to take the GAMSAT in March but I'm not expecting to do well. Take the UK entry in September 2018 and GAMSAT again in March 2018 (provided I dont get enough marks in 2017 but Im going to be pretty caught up in my final year exams/projects that I don't expect I'll have much time to prepare soooooo) IF I decide to study medicine. I don't read alot so I feel I will do quite poorly in section 1 and 2 of the GAMSAT....its been a long time since Ive had to write an essay expressing an opinion and even when I had to do such a thing I HATED it and never did well sooo I think I'm going to need a lot of practice

Medicine has always been something which niggled at me. I did first aid for a few years and I was enthralled by it but had to give it up for various reasons. However I feel the pressure and stress of undertaking a career in medicine and have heard it can have very negative effects on mental health. I have other options instead. Easier more straightforward options but yet medicine is always playing on the back of my mind.

Flange/Flanders

Urethra Franklin. wrote: »

Guys these replies are awesome! I like the direction this thread is taking! Keep em' coming peeps!

Ok seeing as people are putting up a bit of background info about themselves I reckon I should too!

The name's Urethra. I'm a final year college student in a science discipline. I think I'm going to take the GAMSAT in March but I'm not expecting to do well. Take the UK entry in September 2018 and GAMSAT again in March 2018 (provided I dont get enough marks in 2017 but Im going to be pretty caught up in my final year exams/projects that I don't expect I'll have much time to prepare soooooo) IF I decide to study medicine. I don't read alot so I feel I will do quite poorly in section 1 and 2 of the GAMSAT....its been a long time since Ive had to write an essay expressing an opinion and even when I had to do such a thing I HATED it and never did well sooo I think I'm going to need a lot of practice

Medicine has always been something which niggled at me. I did first aid for a few years and I was enthralled by it but had to give it up for various reasons. However I feel the pressure and stress of undertaking a career in medicine and have heard it can have very negative effects on mental health. I have other options instead. Easier more straightforward options but yet medicine is always playing on the back of my mind.

Id say do the GAMSAT in September, put it out of your head that you wont get it, just say you're going to do it to see how it is, to see how you get on and if you fail, what about. You're from a science discipline so you've a bit of an advantage in section 3, start practising section 2 essays (2 a day timed), buy the sample papers (tho they're accessible ) and start reading the opinion pieces in the likes of the Irish Times or Independent. I was non science so what I did for SIII was read organic chem for dummies, read a couple of rapid revision leaving cert physics and biology books. Tho in the end, the biology section for my year was all about interpreting graphs or to be able to interpret the respiratory system of a bat or fruit fly or something, something that would have been impossible to study beforehand. What brought me up is my section 1 and 2, it's very possible to do well in them......I hated english in school and I still did well enough to get through!!!

Cymini Sectores

Hi, starting 3rd year GEM in September. Worked as a carer in almost all hospitals and nursing homes for 9 years before doing GEM. It's hard going having a business/law background.
Actually not mad about med school, I don't know how people can say they 'enjoy' doing it as every student is STRESSED out all the time, some more than others. I am happier in the hospital placements and not keen on all the inevitable studying.
Simply put, I am not as excited as I was this time 2 years ago.