Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Why I Want to Be a Doctor

Today, I was talking to my lab partner, who is also pre-med. We were working on a particularly difficult set of problems together when she said that she just wanted to quit and turn in the paper as it was. "He's going to drop our lowest lab grade anyway," she said.

"I don't know. I feel like I have to do my best, other wise I don't feel like I did a good job, even if I pass the assignment- or the whole class in the long run. I just won't feel like I did my best, and isn't that what med schools want to see? Students who did their best?" I said.

"You know what they call medical school graduates who graduated with all C's?" She asked.

"No, what?"

"Doctors."

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People like this that bother me. As a current patient and future doctor, I do not like to see people who don't take the "doctor status" as seriously as they should. Most doctors spend about ten years in college and spend upwards of $300,000 in college. It's not something you can just decide you want to be one morning. Becoming a doctor means lots of planning ahead, studying, and sacrificing social activities for text books. This girl is not going to be a very good doctor if she keeps thinking this way. Now, I could be totally wrong and she could end up becoming the next Nobel Prize winner, for all I know. But this is how I see people who are a part of one of the more rigorous degree plans available as an undergrad: You are either going to succeed, or you're not. It's sad to say, but most pre-med students will not get into med school. For those who do get into med school, only a few will get the internships they desire, and some won't even finish, as some may change their mind about becoming a doctor, or others will be kicked out for bad grades.

Doctors have to be trusted by their patients, so why should anybody trust you if you got all C's in medical school? Why should anybody trust you with their body and their health if you used Yahoo! Answers to cheat on your lab reports? If you don't learn about the human body yourself, you're not going to have that information when you're treating patients.

As a patient with many rare and painful diseases, I know what makes a good doctor and a bad doctor, and trust me, I've had PLENTY of bad doctors. I've had doctors accuse me of lying about being in pain just to get drugs, I've had doctors tell me it's all in my head and there's nothing they can do to help me... the list goes on. I know how hard and how painful it is to go from doctor to doctor just to be told you can't be helped because the doctor doesn't know how to help you. I want to change that. I want to become a doctor so I can help people and I won't be able to help people if I don't take my studies seriously. I want to change that stigma that doctors don't care, because I do care. If someone tells me they think something is wrong with their body, who am I to say that they don't know what they're talking about? YOU know your body the best, and if my future patients believe something is wrong, I'll do everything in my power to find out what is wrong and help them feel better. Isn't that a doctor's job anyway?

For someone to sit there and tell me that they only want to become a doctor for the paycheck, and then tell me I'm weird because I actually give a crap about my grades only makes me feel stronger about my desire to become a doctor. I will not give up on my dreams because some ignorant person thinks they know everything, when they clearly don't.

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I apologize for ranting here. I know most of you are here to read about my experiences with Endometriosis and Intestinal Epilepsy, but it's my blog and I can rant if I want to. :)

Next week, I will be answering all your questions. If you have a question about me, my disorders, or anything else, please comment them below! Thank you everyone for reading, commenting, and supporting my blog! Your support means a lot to me and I'm so thankful to have you guys in my life. :)

<3 Mouse



1 comment:

  1. Do you know what that call people who got Cs in medical school? Not doctors. Most medical schools grade pass-fail because they have higher standards than undergrad for what constitutes a passing grade. As in only As and Bs are considered passing grades. Do you know what they call premed students with Cs? Not getting into med school. Don't get mad, just thank her for not being your competition in the applicant pool.

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