After an unimpressive visit to my new cardiologist last week, I thought to myself, "What an idiot. I know way more about my heart condition than he does. I could totally do a better job than him." So ever since then, I've been wondering whether I should just go to medical school and become a heart doctor myself.
On the one hand, I'd be totally stoked to help other people with heart conditions, especially those with Marfan Syndrome. And I'm still relatively young, so I could potentially get a good career going by my late thirties. And I've always wanted to live up to the same epitaph as Thurgood Marshall did: "He did what he could with what he had." Becoming a doctor and a lawyer in one lifetime would surely maximize my potential.
On the other hand, I'd have to go back to school to get 38 more units of science credits (an estimated 1.5 years worth of school) & take the MCATs before I could even be admitted into medical school. Then there's med school itself, studying for and taking the boards, residency and "paying your dues" as a bitch doctor...
While I think I could do it, I don't think I would be happy for a very long time. And even if I tortured myself and jumped through all the hoops, there would not necessarly be a guarantee of happiness in the end. Don't doctors work long hours and never see their families? And what about medical malpractice insurance and medical school debt? Yeah, that's not really what I'm into. So for now, it looks like it's back to relying on the boneheads that managed to jump through all the right hoops.
New Roof - Summer 2019
3 years ago
5 comments:
Ok, now you sound like me. I am an architect, but I'm pretty sure I could be an awesome doctor, like, way better than some people could be. I'm pretty sure of it. How hard can it be? I'm 31, so let's see - that's one post-bach with some o-chem in it, some applications, um... medical school, internship, residency, what-have-you. Then they give me a lab coat and I'm good to go, right? Let's do it.
I think you hit on something very important- just because you can do something, doesn't mean it's what will make you happy. Sure, we are all capable of becoming doctors, but unless there's some burning desire and passion driving you to this goal, rather than a simple "I know I can do this better than this idiot had I the right papers behind me"- why do it?
I think you hit on something very important- just because you can do something, doesn't mean it's what will make you happy. Sure, we are all capable of becoming doctors, but unless there's some burning desire and passion driving you to this goal, rather than a simple "I know I can do this better than this idiot had I the right papers behind me"- why do it?
I know that in the last couple years, I've learned a lot about medicine. The thing that's the most important is that I am very involved in my and my daughter's medical care if there's a problem that is not an earache, a tonsil infection, or the flu.
Doctors don't know everything, and they don't always think things through like you'd think they would. And so I think it through for them, and then impress them with the powers of google.
I would rather have a pretty good doctor who listens to me, is willing to look into my questions and call me back with answers instead of claiming to know it all during our appointment, and can admit that my body/my daughter's body is more important to me than it is to them than a really super-fantastic-looks-amazing-on-paper doctor.
You forgot to mention the best part: the parking spots.
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