A calling..in medicine?

Question

I want to be a doctor..so I just wonder how do I know if medicine is my calling?

I've been volunteering in a hospital for almost a year, so I'm pretty sure this is my calling, but I just wonder if there are anything else that I need to be aware of...

Answer 1

I wanted to be a doctor, too. Until I found out that you had to stay up 24 to 48 hours in a row, get treated like **** and deal with blood and gore regularly. You get trained to cut people apart or fill them up with drugs. Drugs that cause side effects that require other drugs. You become a pill pusher.

Or...you can change people's lives, educate them, and deal with emergencies. I think ER docs are the best...they are doing what allopathic medicine should be doing, treating severe problems generally caused by accidents, not lifestyles.

So, rants aside, are you willing to put up with "hazing" that occurs when you go through the education process? Is it worth it to you? Are you in it for the money or will it feed your soul? Are you willing and able to take on the American myth that doctors are god and that doctors should never make mistakes? Are you willing to deal with insurance companies that deny coverage for necessary treatments?

Answer 2

So far, no one has mentioned the smarts involved. How are you doing in school right now? Do you like biology, chemistry, math and physics?
AND do you like people? Do you have enough physical stamina, and can you function on 4-5 hours of sleep a night for a week at a time?

It's one of those professions that can give you all the satisfaction in the world, but all the same it's one of the hardest in terms of time schedules, making rounds at 7 am and again at 6 pm and all the office hours or time in surgery in between. Then you go home and get called by your answering service, hospital nurses, etc. You may have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to check on a patient at the hospital. Some doctors seem to hate it. Other doctors are dedicated, gifted and a blessing to mankind.

I liked one of the other respondent's suggestion--volunteer this summer at your local hospital or nursing home. See if working with sick people gives you a warm feeling--if it does you can get past the blood and gore. Find out whether you've got a true calling or are just a Grey's Anatomy fan.

Answer 3

What draws you to it? Do you like working with people or is it more the sense of being able to help them? Are you willing to make lots of sacrifices to learn and train and carry a huge load of responsibilty? I am not trying to be a jerk or anything, it's just that medicine is a long road to go down. I suggest you spend some time outside of volunteering with a doctor one on one, shadowing them at work for a few days to understand what it is they really do. It would also give you a great opportunity to talk with them and hear their story about what it took to get them to where they are today. I would also encourage you to shadow other healthcare professionals such as a physicians assistant, a nurse practitioner, or a critical care nurse to understand the broad roles that exist in healthcare outside the medical field. Occasionaly, people enter med school and are dismayed at the lack of patient contact they end up having, or feel drawn to different philosophies of care. Spend some more time exploring, it may help you decide one way or another. Keep an open mind...you may find something that interests you more!

Answer 4

If it's your calling, you won't be happy in any other job. But try this>> volunteer at a hospital... or obtain a certified nursing assistant certificate.... get a certified assistant for hospice. You have to get into the nursing profession first and actually get the feel of helping others. Hospice, as you well know, is for the terminally ill patients who have chosen to succumb in their homes instead of a sterile environment such as a hospital. I think that would be the most rewarding of all>>> knowing your patient is dying and there is nothing any one can do but let the person live out their remaining life in the comfort of their own home and enjoy their remaining time left on this earth with friends and loved ones surrounding them. I hope this helps you, but in any case, I know you will make the right choice, Janet

Answer 5

You can always go volunteer at any hospital in your area and just see what goes on in that setting. Being a good observer and a good listener is a great start. Then ask to speak with the hospital administrator and see if they can arrange for you to speak with or make rounds with the Chief of Medicine or another physician, perhaps one of the staff docs and see what happens. Tell them what you are interested in and see if they can help out. Most of them would be glad to assist if at all possible. Be gracious of their time.

Answer 6

Medicine is an interesting science and a very fine art. Fine artists like musicians,dancers and painters have an 1)ACUMEN for it.
Medicine needs average 2) intelligence 3) will to work hard and 4) money to study.
If you have all the four you should become a doctor of medicine.

Answer 7

You have a form of the old 'paradox of learning'. In short, how do I know a thing is worthwhile before I know that thing?

The answer is simple. You try it out. You imagine it. You see what else comes up in your life that seems better.

Funny isn't it. The only way to learn how to live is to live. And the only way to know if a doctor is for you is to get on the road to becoming a doctor.

Answer 8

Love of people, communicaton skills, helping people, long hours, no sleep, lots of tuition fees, years of toil and sweat. Up all night to study and work. Not seeing the almight $$ as the answer to being a doctor. It is NOT easy.

Answer 9

You don't know. You either pursue it as a field of study or you don't. If you do, and it works out and you love it, it's your calling. Otherwise it was just a whim.

Answer 10

Sure , hope your an optimist...the medical field needs caring people...