Questioning career choice: is medicine for me?

I'm sorry to break it to you, but none of the medical television shows are particularly accurate.

Here is my advice to you:

1) Evaluate whether or not you actually interested in medical science. I know a lot of people hate science yet like the idea of becoming a doctor (helping people, glamor, respect, money, and so forth). Part of the satisfaction of being a doctor is an interest in the science of medicine. If you don't fundamentally have this, it can be a grind.

2) Get some real life experience-check out a shadowing program, work as a medical scribe, et cetera.

3) Question whether or not you are willing to work hard and at a fast pace. One of the most inaccurate things about the medical shows is the focus on things outside of medicine-people standing around and chatting, hospital romance, mentally masturbating about an interesting case. There isn't necessarily time for that in the real world. You are constantly seeing patients, charting, making phone calls, doing paperwork, talking to staff, et cetera.

A lot of medicine is about managing chronic disease, disease prevention, counseling patients.... Very little of it is "miracle" cures.

I'm a neurologist, and I've had some amazing cases (i.e. good recovery from a massive stroke with IV tPA, recovery from dense paralysis after transverse myelitis, recovery from autoimmune encephalitis and other acute illnesses). However, the overwhelming majority of what I do is routine and not glamorous. You would probably bored out of your mind if you followed me around all day.

What I like about medicine:

1) social interaction

2) Helping people

3) interesting cases

4) chronic care-developing relationships with people

5) research opportunities, advancing/changing science

6) good pay (though with significant debt and opportunity cost)

what I don't like about medicine:

1) malpractice liability

2) occasional mean/demanding/abusive/anxious patients that give you a hard time

3) untreatable debilitating disease that are depressing to treat (not that big of a deal to me though; I accept that the world is imperfect)

4) paperwork

5) doctors are generally jerks-hierarchical, boring, arrogant

6) decreasing respect for doctors overall in society.

The questions are whether 1) you love the study and practice of medical science, and 2) that interest is enough to carry you through despite acts of government that are making the practice of medicine more difficult and less rewarding. The gov basically wants to treat docs like servants. Don't think about other people. Don't think about social status or appeasing others who say you should only want to become a doctor to "help people."

Did someone call a whambulance?

0/10 troll thread I hope. Do you make all your decisions based on TV?

This is one of the lamest troll attempts that I have seen in a while. Perhaps you should enroll in remedial troll school and try again, after you have mastered "Trolling 101 - An Introduction to Trolling".

If you're watching that much TV, you might not be studious enough to be a doctor. Stop watching TV and actually go outside and find out more about the job.