How did you know that medicine was the right choice? (2 Viewers)

[zeek]

Hey guys,

I'm in my 3rd year of a BSc majoring in anatomy and immunology. My original plan was to complete the degree, do honours and then go onto some postgrad study, however, I'm now wondering if Medicine may be the better path for me.
I enjoy helping people, I really enjoy immunology, anatomy and learning about the body in general (I haven't tried any physiology units though), I like solving problems and I like fixing things. My biggest "fear" is that I'll just turn into some diagnosing machine and I'll never be able to carry out some sort of research in immunology or anatomy.

So what does medicine involve (after you complete the course)? How did you know that medicine was right for you and not honours/masters?

PS: I'd also like to try and complete the GAMSAT this year. Is it possible to do well in it with just a month to go?

 

[zeek]

bump. 23 views and no reply, I need some sort of reply before wednesday guys

 

[Joel8945]

Hey guys,

I'm in my 3rd year of a BSc majoring in anatomy and immunology. My original plan was to complete the degree, do honours and then go onto some postgrad study, however, I'm now wondering if Medicine may be the better path for me.
I enjoy helping people, I really enjoy immunology, anatomy and learning about the body in general (I haven't tried any physiology units though), I like solving problems and I like fixing things. My biggest "fear" is that I'll just turn into some diagnosing machine and I'll never be able to carry out some sort of research in immunology or anatomy.

So what does medicine involve (after you complete the course)? How did you know that medicine was right for you and not honours/masters?

PS: I'd also like to try and complete the GAMSAT this year. Is it possible to do well in it with just a month to go?

This is sort of like my dilema. Although my interest is with maths and physics (and I'm starting first year uni) and I'm wondering whether I should go into engineering to apply this knowledge (I percieve this as similar to how doctors apply medical knowledge to treat patients) or phyics to research. If you want money I would say that going into medicine would be a good path to take, whilst, if research is your thing go down that track. Hopefully I'll know what path to take once I have completed 3 years of uni.

 

[L]

kinda a waste of your life tbh

 

[zeek]

This is sort of like my dilema. Although my interest is with maths and physics (and I'm starting first year uni) and I'm wondering whether I should go into engineering to apply this knowledge (I percieve this as similar to how doctors apply medical knowledge to treat patients) or phyics to research. If you want money I would say that going into medicine would be a good path to take, whilst, if research is your thing go down that track. Hopefully I'll know what path to take once I have completed 3 years of uni.

Lol, this was exactly what I wanted to do when I first started university. Fortunately, I picked a biology unit in first semester to make up my credit points and that got me really interested in the human body and how it works (I never did biology at school).
Good luck with uni, keep a look out for things that may interest you because it might just end up being your passion.

kinda a waste of your life tbh

Do you want to expand on that thought?


I don't really care about the money. If money was my priority I would have done acturial studies. I just don't want to end up in a job that is repititve, isn't challenging (hence my thoughts on going into research). I don't want to turn into a 9-5pm drone.

 

[rcr4fags]

all jobs are repetitive

e.g if your a judge, 99% of your day will be handing out avo's, traffice offences.


if your a doctor 99% of the day u would be writing medical certificates for the common cold, see pregnant women, old decrepid men for uncurable diseases.


repitition is the epitome of a job.

 

[Lightlessice16]

all jobs are repetitive

e.g if your a judge, 99% of your day will be handing out avo's, traffice offences.


if your a doctor 99% of the day u would be writing medical certificates for the common cold, see pregnant women, old decrepid men for uncurable diseases.


repitition is the epitome of a job.

good point, though some jobs are more boring than others

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

ok.. i still dont know... lots of people still leave after they graduate

you just make a decision.. and stick with it..

you can do more medical research

 

[PrettyVacant]

all jobs are repetitive

if your a doctor 99% of the day u would be writing medical certificates for the common cold, see pregnant women, old decrepid men for uncurable diseases.

Lol depends on what you wanna specialise in when you graduate honestly. Not all doctors are GPs.

If you want money I would say that going into medicine would be a good path to take,

No, you don't want to do Medicine for the money because honestly the work:money ratio is very low. You should do Medicine for reasons other than money, if you're doing it for money you're doing it for the wrong reasons.

 

[rcr4fags]

Lol depends on what you wanna specialise in when you graduate honestly. Not all doctors are GPs

meh if u work in a hospital, u will prob specialise. if you are in emergency, u will see car accidents, knife wounds, broken legs, same shit daily

if your in oncology, you'll be looking at womens vaginas all day.

 

[PrettyVacant]

meh if u work in a hospital, u will prob specialise. if you are in emergency, u will see car accidents, knife wounds, broken legs, same shit daily

if your in oncology, you'll be looking at womens vaginas all day.

Oncology is the study of cancer...noob.

 

[rcr4fags]

its late fuck head

 

[PrettyVacant]

I bet you wouldn't have known that even if it was daylight, loser.

Just give up man, you know jackshit.

 

[rcr4fags]

I bet you wouldn't have known that even if it was daylight, loser.

Just give up man, you know jackshit.

i put my spoof on your teddybear:rofl::wave:

 

[arjungamer123]

Obstetrics/Gynaecology is the study of the vagina.

Any noob who watched Scrubs could've known that.

 

[PrettyVacant]

Lol not just the vagina but the female reproductive system, and childbirth.

 

[Lightlessice16]

Lol not just the vagina but the female reproductive system, and childbirth.

ya, i remember that because there was this black lady on the Dr. Phil and The Drs show who was an Ob/Gyn =)

 

[KFunk]

No, you don't want to do Medicine for the money because honestly the work:money ratio is very low. You should do Medicine for reasons other than money, if you're doing it for money you're doing it for the wrong reasons.

If you take a public consultant and assume a salary of $200k, a working week of between 40 and 70 hrs (taking the weekend off), and no weeks off during the year you get something in the range of $54-96 / hour, which doesn't seem bad for a dependable income. Their are some (competitive) specialties with amazing hours + amazing pay if that's what a person is focused on (some people I've encountered in fertility medicine and dermatology).

 

[Bacilli]

Yeah

 

[KFunk]

So what does medicine involve (after you complete the course)? How did you know that medicine was right for you and not honours/masters?

Ultimately I find that there is something about the therapeutic relationship, noting that this relationship often takes place in the face of things like reproduction, birth, sickness, decline, death, psychological distress, psychosis etc... I find it quite special to be privy to such significant aspects of the human experience (on a regular basis no less!).

Add to this:
- Good money
- A fascinating (,expanding) body of knowledge which is integral to practice
- Opportunities in research and teaching
- Being part of an intelligent and politically significant/relevant community
- Interesting problem solving
- Moral dilemmas (sometimes big ones)

I'm sure that I could be happy in something like academia, clinical/neuro- psychology, social work, NGO work, teaching, etc., but none of these options are quite as appealing as medicine (broadly considered). Medicine has continued to grow on me, especially through the increased clinical exposure I have had over the last year.

-------------------------------------------

On what medicine involves, I don't know if I can come up with an adequate cover-all summary. Note thate different medical careers can be very different.

Compare, for example:
- GP
- Pathology
- Surgery (and then, say, general surgery vs. super-specialised orthopaedics)
- O&G (obstetrics vs. fertility medicine)
- Internal medicine
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
- Opthalmology, Dermatology, etc... etc...

Each of these areas can have a vastly different case load and work environment, not to mention differences in working hours and remuneration. Then you have private vs. public vs. academic practice, and so forth.