Hi everyone,
For those of you who do not know me, my name is David and I've recently graduated from a science/law degree. My science degree had an emphasis on the biomedical sciences.
Firstly, congratulations to those students who have finished year 12! If you're reading in this forum, I assume that you're interested in pursuing a career in medicine. That's great!
Why are you interested in medicine?
I write this thread in a similar fashion as I have asked my tutoring students, other students at university and high school, all of who were interested in undertaking a course in medicine.
If it's for prestige or money, that's a fair enough reason for me - a little unfortunate from my perspective (as a potential patient!) but everyone's entitled to their reasons. This is not what I tend to discuss as this opens a whole but very different kettle of fish.
My concern is more towards those who enter into medicine under a misunderstanding - this might lead to a big 'oops'. This isn't your fault but more due to misconceptions held by the general public.
Those who would like to 'help people' - that's great! Now, I challenge you to ask yourself (but don't feel obliged to post a response here): 'how? and why?'
If you would like to help others by treating patients directly, medicine is perfect for you. Medicine in the undergraduate years is very clinical - you will LOVE it!
If your primary reason for wanting to enter medicine is to 'find a cure', I challenge you to have a re-think. Like I have mentioned, medicine is very clinically based, whereas a science degree (in the biomedical sciences) is very research based. When you hear about 'breakthroughs' in such and such, they are research scientists. These research scientists usually have a background in science. There are MANY physicians who are also involved in medical research although they undertake a medical science degree or pursue postgraduate studies to obtain a PhD.
My point is that you can end up in medical research either way, but medicine can be seen as the very long and incorrect way if what you wanted to be in the first place was in medical research. It is not all a lost, however, as you will be a medical researcher with a very strong clinical background AND you can also practice in medicine to fund your studies and research i.e. the PhD candidates I have known who are doctors also practice part-time to further fund their studies and the PhD doctors I know also have their own practice. PhD students with a medical background are usually paid more throughout their scholarship (due to prestige and to attract the best physicians).
It's never really an issue when students who have relatives or know people who are medical doctors. Others, however, are a little misdirected due to misconceptions. These can lead to very unsatisfied students who drop out of medicine and enter into medical science - this stage is not necessarily unfortunate, but more that it has taken away a few years to get there instead of 'getting it right' from the start. This applies to any student who enrols in a course for the wrong reasons due to misunderstandings.
Slightly out of topic (but relevant to those who might miss out on medicine but wish to transfer at university), I have met dozens and dozens of students in science who had aspirations to transfer into medicine because they missed out on medicine in year 12. However, all the students who had high enough grades to transfer and chose not to do so have said to me it was because they discovered that biomedical science was what they had looked for. Hence, missing out turned out to be a major blessing.
Sure, medicine sounds more prestigious than the sciences - I can understand that from a year 12 student's point of view - but I assure that it fades if the decision is made for the wrong and disappointing reasons. With any discipline, pursuing a course that you find the most interesting will ensure a rewarding and life-time career.
To close, I want to make it clear that I do not intend to discourage people from entering medicine. In contrast, I would like to encourage people to enter into medicine for the right reasons for their own benefit. I welcome anybody to agree or disagree - getting input more input here for the benefit of everyone. The reason I have taken this time to write is in the hope of helping people (or at least one person) from making a decision they might regret and what I write might save you a few but valuable years.
I hope this helps!
Regards,
David
For those of you who do not know me, my name is David and I've recently graduated from a science/law degree. My science degree had an emphasis on the biomedical sciences.
Firstly, congratulations to those students who have finished year 12! If you're reading in this forum, I assume that you're interested in pursuing a career in medicine. That's great!
Why are you interested in medicine?
I write this thread in a similar fashion as I have asked my tutoring students, other students at university and high school, all of who were interested in undertaking a course in medicine.
If it's for prestige or money, that's a fair enough reason for me - a little unfortunate from my perspective (as a potential patient!) but everyone's entitled to their reasons. This is not what I tend to discuss as this opens a whole but very different kettle of fish.
My concern is more towards those who enter into medicine under a misunderstanding - this might lead to a big 'oops'. This isn't your fault but more due to misconceptions held by the general public.
Those who would like to 'help people' - that's great! Now, I challenge you to ask yourself (but don't feel obliged to post a response here): 'how? and why?'
If you would like to help others by treating patients directly, medicine is perfect for you. Medicine in the undergraduate years is very clinical - you will LOVE it!
If your primary reason for wanting to enter medicine is to 'find a cure', I challenge you to have a re-think. Like I have mentioned, medicine is very clinically based, whereas a science degree (in the biomedical sciences) is very research based. When you hear about 'breakthroughs' in such and such, they are research scientists. These research scientists usually have a background in science. There are MANY physicians who are also involved in medical research although they undertake a medical science degree or pursue postgraduate studies to obtain a PhD.
My point is that you can end up in medical research either way, but medicine can be seen as the very long and incorrect way if what you wanted to be in the first place was in medical research. It is not all a lost, however, as you will be a medical researcher with a very strong clinical background AND you can also practice in medicine to fund your studies and research i.e. the PhD candidates I have known who are doctors also practice part-time to further fund their studies and the PhD doctors I know also have their own practice. PhD students with a medical background are usually paid more throughout their scholarship (due to prestige and to attract the best physicians).
It's never really an issue when students who have relatives or know people who are medical doctors. Others, however, are a little misdirected due to misconceptions. These can lead to very unsatisfied students who drop out of medicine and enter into medical science - this stage is not necessarily unfortunate, but more that it has taken away a few years to get there instead of 'getting it right' from the start. This applies to any student who enrols in a course for the wrong reasons due to misunderstandings.
Slightly out of topic (but relevant to those who might miss out on medicine but wish to transfer at university), I have met dozens and dozens of students in science who had aspirations to transfer into medicine because they missed out on medicine in year 12. However, all the students who had high enough grades to transfer and chose not to do so have said to me it was because they discovered that biomedical science was what they had looked for. Hence, missing out turned out to be a major blessing.
Sure, medicine sounds more prestigious than the sciences - I can understand that from a year 12 student's point of view - but I assure that it fades if the decision is made for the wrong and disappointing reasons. With any discipline, pursuing a course that you find the most interesting will ensure a rewarding and life-time career.
To close, I want to make it clear that I do not intend to discourage people from entering medicine. In contrast, I would like to encourage people to enter into medicine for the right reasons for their own benefit. I welcome anybody to agree or disagree - getting input more input here for the benefit of everyone. The reason I have taken this time to write is in the hope of helping people (or at least one person) from making a decision they might regret and what I write might save you a few but valuable years.
I hope this helps!
Regards,
David
I am glad that money is not your primary reason because if it was, there are many other disciplines which would provide significantly more income (ie. industries revolving around money). That said, the doctors I know of have mentioned to me that they are living comfortably and never have to worry about money - however, they are specialists.
