Biology Forums - Study Force

At my college most people are trying to go to medical school. Every race in my town is saying that they are pre med and that they want to apply to medical school, including myself lol. Why is that. I find it hard to believe that all of these kids that are in "pre-med" classes will actually become doctors. Someone please enlighten me and tell me how screwed I am. Just completed 1st semester of freshman year.

Ikr.. My mom wants me to become a doctor too.. -__-

The medical career is very promising. Many professions in the medical career pay very well and there are always jobs.

Because doctors get paid a lot of money. It's as simple as that. Everybody dreams of making several hundred grand a year, regardless of the fact that you really do need a passion for medicine to be successful.

Most of those people will decide that they probably aren't cut out for medical school before the end of their Bachelors degree, and not even apply. Most people who do apply to med school will be rejected because they never took that goal seriously enough to be a competitive applicant. And among those who are accepted to med school, some will drop out because they realize that the stress and workload isn't worth the money in the end.

Only those who have passion for the medical profession will deal with the difficulties and become a doctor.

Just because they are in medical school it doesn't mean they are necessarily becoming "doctors".With the degree u can work as an assistant, xray technition,the people that help during labor etc.To be a doctor would great because that's big money.The med-field is always in demand,good$

Because they can't get into vet school D'oh!

Because you get tons of money. Duhh.(;

Most people who WANT to be in med school won't make it. If you REALLY want it (spend lots of time studying to get that near perfect gpa, prepare well for the MCAT, do plenty of extra-curriculars), AND are more intelligent than most (you don't have to be a genius, necessarily), then you have a very reasonable chance of making it if you apply to lots of schools.

first off, the one who answered your question his name was "top", he is gross and i hope to god he isn't in school to be a Dr. and 2nd i think that if you have the intelligence and the motivation and the desire to do what feels good, then go for it,and trust me when i say out of all the kids in your college that are in pre-med classes i know that half of them will probably end up changing their minds and drop the doctor thing. it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become a Dr. think about it like this- you are doing god's work and you are not god, that is a huge amount of pressure, including all the other pressure of the hard long classes and internships and blood, guts, death, and people crying and sometimes blaming you for what goes wrong, but then their are the good things that make up for all the bad, like saving someone's life, a child, adult or an animal

Well honey, the reason I want to become a doctor is not for the money but to help people in need, take for example I hope to go Ito Navy medicine and become a doctor for the navy and help the women and men that serve our country and to help natural disasters and all those who are less foutanate to get the proper medical care that they need, medicine is always a must not matter in what situation, I love people in general and i love to see people happy and healthy and to give someone health and comfort is I all love to see.

A lot of people want to become doctors because it would make their parents proud (not a good reason). Many think, "I'm smart so I should do medicine." (Also not a good reason). Some think they'll be rolling in money (you won't be, so a rather deluded reason really... I recommend banking or finance if money is the priority). Some genuinely want to provide comfort and care to ill people, keep well people well, and love the idea of learning for the rest of their lives. (Much better reason).

While you do have to be smart, hard-working is even more important. While parents may be proud, you won't last the distance or you'll hate your life if this is the only reason someone is doing medicine. While you might have good job security and the salary isn't bad, the debt is huge and there are many many years of study where you won't be earning, while all the non-med people are.

I remember 1200 of us in first year putting up our hands when asked 'Who wants to get into medschool?' Then they told us to get used to the idea that 1000 of us wouldn't get in. All the best and remember that you need those grades to be fantastic so work hard.

i had a teacher who asked a classroom of 650 chemistry students who was going into healthcare.
99% of the hands went up.
the fact is, not all these students are going to continue into healthcare, and a good chunk are going to change their mind. college is rarely a straight road.
always be true to yourself and do what you're truly passionate about.

Most won't even apply to med school, and of those that do, only a few will be accepted.

If your grades are near perfect and you get a killer score on the MCAT, then go for it.  If you find organic chemistry to be more of a challenge than you bargained for, that's when you (and many of your classmates) will be looking at alternative career options.

Good luck.

They all think they will make a trillion dollars.

It ain't the truth.
Being a doctor means not having a life, not ever seeing your family, working 80+ hours a week, being legally responsible for every single healthcare worker under you, malpractice insurance, being sued, etc etc etc.

It's the main reason I went into nursing. The doctor may have most of the legal liability and write the orders... But I RUN THE PLACE.
Patients who piss me off don't get care, don't get their drugs, and end up "out the door".

And when my shift is over.... I GET TO GO HOME.

Not so with doctors!

I think there's a lot of different reasons why people want to become a doctor. They could have a passion for taking care of others on an intensive level, they want to make a lot of money, they want a stable profession because they know doctors will always be in demand.

There will always be a demand of people in the medical field no matter if it is a CNA, Nurse, Doctor, or a Surgeon. The medical field is a field that will never go away because people will always have health problems.

I don't think there's anything desirable about being doctor other than the fame of having the Dr. in front of your name, and the glory.

Anyone saying they want to be doctors to help people... right, there are few exceptions but most of them are just messing with you. There are far far more easier ways to help people than spending in 100k range and over a decade of your life. You could volunteer, save your money for charity, start a scholarship foundation. I burned all the roads to become a doctor after working in the local hospitals, but one of the things I'm aiming for is dentistry which is a similar field as far as the admission is concerned. I'm doing this to gain financial freedom, help people while I can, and run a business that's relatively safe from economic cycles. Big companies will always have insurances... that's the only reason why dentists making a killing haha. And I like routine jobs. I may not be the most talented guy but after years of experience, I will be competent in it. Competency is the currency of the world that will never inflate, and maybe I'm no the most passionate and altruistic guy, but I worked in denturist places and I know I can deliver. So that's why I'm prepping for DAT. If money was no object, I would have gone into history/philosophy field.

I know fame and pride is a big thing for some, but not for me. After I save enough of it, I'd teach or do something more casual. Heck, maybe I can be a prof in dental school who's not a jerk... well, I'm a jerk but I don't bully without reason haha.