Syntho-sis

If a stupid, misguided thread makes you not want to be a doctor then you shouldn't have even considered it in the first place. Doctors heal people, thats the simple truth. There are alot of good doctors out there just like there are alot of good people. There are also bad people, who do bad things. Doctors are given knowledge, and knowledge is power. By training yourself for many years in the arts of healing you obtain a power, one which you can use for either good or bad. The choice is yours, yes doctors are well compensated for and they should be. All great powers come at a price. Without doctors most of us would have died several times in our lives. To be a doctor means to make people's lives easier so they can lead happy lives, to make the impossible, possible. Thats why it is up to those of us who have the talents and determination necessary to drive ourselves towards the goal of acquiring knowledge. There are still many people who need help, and there always will be. That is why a career in medicine is worth it.

Cheers

Billy Pilgram

In other words: "With great power comes great responsibility."

bluedevilmike

While I appreciate the sentiment in post #406, it's a little melodramatic.

Re: "healing," doctors spend the vast majority of their time managing diseases, not healing them. Things like diabetes, CHF, etc. -- in other words, the major diseases in America today -- do not have cures and cannot be healed, only managed and ameliorated temporarily.

Most of "us" are young adults. Probably very few of us have ever encountered anything that would have killed us, and certainly not "several times" to this point.

Syntho-sis

Healing, managing, curing, take your pick. I was simply making a point, so what if I was a little melodramatic(In your opinion that is.) There is still a massive amount of good that can be done by doctors to help people. When I wrote that, I was thinking of the people all over the world who don't get adequate health care and die from trivial things that WE in the civilized world have the ability to CURE. Completely-100% cure. Simple things which there is no need to list.

Also while most of us are young adults (including myself.) Based on the statistics we have all died several times. Just a few hundred years ago, the average life expectancy wasn't very old. Through advances in healthcare, physicians(and other healthcare workers) are now able to treat and cure many different illnesses and increase quality of life.

What I was trying to bring out was that having the chance to go to medical school is an honor(contrary to what many misguided individuals may think.) Many people have the idea that people who choose to become doctors are just in it for the money or personal gain. I will say there are a number who are "crooks" only in it for the money. But why spend 12 years or more of your life dealing with overwork, sleep deprivation, and unappreciative patients, when you could go be an investor and live a perfectly happy life trading stocks in the Caribbean? I don't know what reasons you may have for choosing this career path, thats something you need to assess before you start on it. The medical field has no place for people who can't even figure out why they're there in the first place.

Cheers

Syntho-sis

^ I wasn't specifically referring to bluedevil-in the last paragraph-just everyone in general-- sorry it if it looks that way...

bluedevilmike

You're right that in overseas medicine (not what most people on this board are thinking of), healing and curing will be a major part of the job. It is important not to be melodramatic in the description of the medical field. Many premeds enter medicine for money and are disappointed; many premeds enter medicine for high drama, saving lives, instant impact, etc. -- and are even more disappointed.

While you're right that medicine has helped all of our lives, I still insist that "several times" is just not plausible. At worst, each of us would have had probably a 30% chance of death or so. That's dramatic enough on its own; no need to tell a twenty year old that modern medicine has almost certainly saved his life five to seven times by this point.

Billy Pilgram

"At worst, each of us would have had probably a 30% chance of death or so."

Hmmm, I always thought it was 100%.

GoldShadow

Nope, some of us are going to live forever and ever.

Syntho-sis

lol Yes I agree. Its just annoys me to no end when people sit in their big cushy chairs and continuously criticize the medical field. Heck I get that from my own family. My grandpa and I once had a lengthly conversation on this topic. He spent most of the time trying to convince me that a cure for cancer could be found in baking soda, and that modern medicine was ignoring it for lack of profit!! If a cure for cancer had been found don't you think someone would start researching it and synthesizing the responsible compound (Instead of wasting billions of dollars on cancer research)? It's hard to find encouragement so I've learned to find it within myself. Sometimes I get a little too over the top. lol I'm sorry if my melodrama offended anyone.

Cheers

MagicDrumSticks

I have read through this thread and can conclude this.

People become doctors for the money, plain and simple. It may not be the ONLY reason, but it's definitely a HUGE reason. Before you guys start crying and complaining about how I'm wrong, ask yourself this. If you wanted to "help people" then why not become a PA? Or a NP? Maybe even a Priest for all I care. Because they all have one thing in common, they don't pay as well as an MD. I have questioned many doctors on why they work so much, the universal answer in some form or fashion? Money.


I don't care what you whiners say because honestly, you're just hiding the real reason behind your incentives. Maybe you think it's too taboo to say in society, but deep down, it's all about the cash.

GoldShadow

You've opened my eyes and made me see the light.

Princess'Dad

Ask an academic trauma surgeon who gets paid by the University and not by the patients (as most don't have insurance, etc). Works 36 hours and is off 8 and still gets calls in the middle of the night. Who is a twin of Hawkeye.

Ask him (or her) if they are getting paid the big bucks (they are probably ****ed at the plastic surgeons who cash the check before they book)

Money is not the answer.

Forever LSU

Medicine 20 years ago was worth it. Today, with the scum bags they have roaming this earth waiting to sue a doctor for emotional distress at the drop of a hat, hahah. I am sorry to say it, but some people just need to drop dead. If you plan on becoming a doctor do plastic surgery. Every other field will land you in court or hoping states. Good luck to you brave souls pursuing this difficult and hard road. God bless you, because god knows your patients won't.

Princess'Dad

Come on LSU, don't be so synical.

Every time I go to Walmart, I get grabbed and hugged by some Mom or Dad. Sometimes hugs are worth more than $

Syntho-sis

hahahhaha for the money?

You're kidding right?

hahahaha

insurance, plus all the additional bills have definitely put a hole in the once lofty salary of American physicians.

If it was about the money, why not do banking or even politics?