Are you cut out for medical school?
A career in medicine may be considered as one of the most rewarding, prestigious, and important professions available to mankind. Medical doctors are more often than not respected and looked up on in their community. As medical doctors, every time they treat a patient, they practically place the patient’s life into their hands. This is why it is much needed that a medical doctor undergo rigorous training, and actually, never stop learning.
Medical doctors have a huge responsibility and wanting to become one needs more than just the fact that you want to become one. You have to have a serious “about myself” assessment before you decide on entering a medical school. Actually, you should start your “about myself” assessment even before you plan to apply for one. The following are just some of the factors you have to consider when planning to go to med school.
Long work shifts
Emergencies can happen anytime, and that is why medical clinics and hospitals are always open 24 hours a day, requiring medical doctors and the staff to work on longer shifts. Starting from the time a medical student works directly as a trainee at the hospital, he or she is subjected to long, working hours, a usual part of a medical doctor’s shift. It will actually continue well into residency training, where a 36-hour shift is not rare. After all, a medical doctor, whether in the hospital or not, is practically always “on
call.”(1)
Continuous learning
The field of medicine is not an exact science, and it is always evolving and improving for the good of mankind. It is actually evolving very fast that the knowledge of today may be obsolete on the years to come. Therefore, it is important for a medical doctor to be an advocate of learning—always reading the latest medical journals, attending conferences and trainings and the like, aside from being open-minded, of course. That is why even though the interview and the “essay about myself” requirements are important,
the undergraduate scores and the Medical College Admission Test Scores are considered extremely important when admitting students into med school. Your grades and examination scores will show at least a hint if you have the discipline to study well and hard.(2)
Making sacrifices
From medical school to the specialty training, a medical professional will have to sacrifice much for his or her profession. Long, working hours will make you miss affairs and holidays which you enjoyed before entering medical school. That is why the interview and the “essay on myself” requirements are very important, for in it one can see if you have the passion and ability to make sacrifices for the profession that you want.(3)
(1) http://www.bls.gov/k12/help06.htm
(2) http://www.mommd.com/toughdecision.shtml
(3) http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/memag/Medical+Economics+magazine/Reaching-your-potential/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/370383
One Response to “Are you cut out for medical school?”
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Medicine is not an ordinary course. It takes a lot of
courage to become a doctor and cure patients. A doctor is considered to be the
most important person in the hospital or even in the community.
When I was young, I really wanted to be a doctor. But since
I don’t have enough money to enroll myself in a medical school I ended up
becoming a nurse. I believe that there
are lots of factors that hinder a person in becoming a doctor. First of all,
you need a lot of money to sustain your schooling. You also need to be very
dedicated in what you do because becoming a doctor has lots of responsibility.
And most of all you need to be hard working and flexible.
Financial Support
Medical schools are not that cheap you know. Major medical
schools are usually located in the city where there are major hospitals
located. You need a lot of money to finance your schooling even though you’re a
scholar or you are supported by the school. Basically you need to buy those
books to be needed and talk about a lot of thesis and research and all those
paper works you need to pass on time. I got to say that it is not that easy to
send yourself to a medical school with all these expenses you need to spend on.
Dedication
Another factor that is said to be considered when enrolling
yourself to a medical school is that are you dedicated in what you do? Do you
have enough patience to endure for all those sleepless nights studying and
working in the hospital? Patience is always a virtue when you’re a doctor. This
is the key in a successful doctor.
Hard Working and Flexibility
It is important to know that you are willing to work late at
night and take time examining patients visiting them in their rooms. I believe
that in order to become a good doctor you need to work hard and you know how to
manage your time. Flexibility is also a key in a successful doctor, it is
always expected that a doctor comes in time whenever he is needed in the
hospital. These things should be considered when you decide to become a doctor.
Do you have what it takes to become one?