How do i know if i would be a good doctor or not?

Question

I really want to be a doctor. I have the grades but when I told my mum she said she didn't see me as a doctor. She said she didn't think I could cope, so now I'm not so sure. It's such a lot of money to go to uni so I want to be sure I'm doing the right course.

How can I be sure that medicine is the right course for me?

Answer 1

follow your heart, it will be a hard job but a very rewarding one, and think how proud your mum will be when you are saving lives, good luck in the future

Answer 2

Firstly, ask yourself why you want to be a doctor. There are so many facets to the job, which are not commonly known, that the only way to appreciate this, is to expose yourself to the many faces of the profession. I would really recommend doing lots of work experience to gain this insight, and of course this would look good on your application to medical school. Ultimately, you never truly know what the job entails, and this is reflected in the blissfully ignorant, and disinterested look on the faces of every medical student I've ever come across, and some junior doctors too. If you're willing to put other people's well-being ahead of your own, and feel you can cope with the ever-increasing bureaucracy that makes you day-to-day job harder, then you may be right for the job.

Answer 3

if you like helping people and think you could handle the stress of knowing you have been chosen to perform on someone with given risks wether its someone fighting depression (therapist) or fixing a knee ligament (surgeon) there will be a lot depending on you.

I'm studying to be a bioengineer, its just a type of engineer that designs and works with biological mediums and im excited that i could potentially be working with people for pacemakers and c**p

Answer 4

Hi there, my mom and family don't see me as a doctor- they see me as the little kid I used to be. Thats fine and pretty normal because I have talked to my collegues and their moms don't truly see them as doctors either. This is not a problem as att though because you only have one mother and will have tons of patients who will see you as their doctor.

Your mom's response is surprising because I would think that most moms would want the best for their kids and push them to excellence.

Answer 5

First of all the doctor should be patient-friendly. He should have devotion to his profession and should not have any greed for money. He should not order for unnecessary medical tests or prescribe costly medicines solely to help the hospital management or drug companies. There should not be any medical negligence on his part.

You have to take a decision according to your conscience. You have to study for more than 10 years to become a specialized  doctor.

Answer 6

I suppose you need to distance yourself from your mother's opinions.  You need to make this decision by yourself, since YOU are the one who will have to live with it.

You might try volunteering for a few hours each week at a hospital.  If you enjoy it, then perhaps being  a doctor is a good decision...

Answer 7

At the risk of sounding slightly cheesy, the fact that you have asked this question indicates that you will be. A commitment to bettering yourself and being honest about your flaws will ensure you have a great career. Its the people who say 'I've known I was going to be a great doctor since I was 7' that worry me. No room for complacency in medicine!

Answer 8

Do you care about people? Can you deal with them? Does medicine really fascinate you? Are you willing to go through the 8 years of school and 3 years of residency to become a doctor?

If you really are, I think your heart is in the right place, which is a good start. I agree with Bruce though, perhaps you should volunteer and see if you like the environment. It might seem nice in theory, but you never know how much you'll like it in reality ;)

Answer 9

Interesting situation.  Did you ask your mom for details about why she didn't think you were cut out for medicine?  If not, you really should start there.  But take her answers with a grain or two of salt.  I am a mom & I know that sometimes it is hard to see your child without preconceived ideas about what they are capable of.  

I am a nurse.  My daughter has started talking about wanting to go into nursing.  My initial response was that I couldn't see her doing that, mostly based on the fact that she tends to have fairly lazy study habits.  She got through HS because she is bright, but to get through nursing school, I know she will need to apply herself like she never has before.  But the more I thought about it, the more I could see her being a very good nurse.  She is bright, she likes the sciences, she is a people person, with strong ethics.  So my initial knee jerk reaction really wasn't fair to my daughter.

But back to your inital question... you need to be an excellent student with a high GPA both to get into medical school & to suceed as a physician.  You need to be able to communicate well with others & be able to listen well too.  You need to be able to make decisions quickly in a crisis.  You need to be able to handle long working hours w/o adequate sleep to get through your residency.  You need to be confident in your own skills.  (I have often wondered at the ego it must take to pick up a scalpel & cut into another human being, confident that you can fix their problem.  It really is pretty amazing!)  You need to be willing to make some sacrifices regarding your personal life.  If all of that sounds like you, then you might want to consider volunteering at a hospital to get a closer look at physicians in practice.

Good luck sorting things out & don't sell yourself short.