green34 444 Posts Aug 29, 2013 I know my friend was programmed to be a doctor and guilt-tripped into it. I don't think she's applied for medical school yet. She's always wanted to work with people who have English as a 2nd language. I think she is working for the health department right now in some capacity. My ex wanted me to become a doctor and I laughed at him because I didn't want the responsibility. He was an internal medicine resident.
ccso962 68 Posts Aug 29, 2013 I know my friend was programmed to be a doctor and guilt-tripped into it. I don't think she's applied for medical school yet. She's always wanted to work with people who have English as a 2nd language. I think she is working for the health department right now in some capacity. My ex wanted me to become a doctor and I laughed at him because I didn't want the responsibility. He was an internal medicine resident.I think a lot of the "gotta be a doctor" hype comes from the way doctors are portrayed in the media. What I mean is that most shows, even "real life" shows like Boston Med or NY ER, do a really good job of showing doctors at their best or on their good days. What they don't show as often, at least not in a realistic fashion, is the "down sides" to a career as a physician. Sure they talk about the long hours of residency, but they don't show (could they even really show this?) how those hours translate into additional stress from missing things like family events, birthdays, etc. They don't show the physician thinking of moving to a smaller more rural area to practice, maybe like they always "dreamed", and then having to look at the college debt and realize its not an option. In essence they seem to paint physicians as something they are not -- a superhuman hybrid or something -- instead of what they are -- people like the rest of us that have a job to do. Of course, when you get a lot of recognition simply for having the MD after your name many people are not too keen to "correct" the image and in the process lose the recognition. Your career should be about what you know is right for you not what others "know" is "right" for you. (Boy if I had a dollar for every person in my life that just "knew" what was the "right" thing for me to do . . . )
jimlyle 6 Posts Sep 4, 2013 Hey ccso962, that is so true!I too agree with most of you. Many people decide upon their career thinking about what people will think of them. But, guys its time we all understand that the career one chooses is his, it is he who has to work on it and he who has to earn a living for himself. It all depends on what job will keep you happy and satisfied in all aspects.
ccso962 68 Posts Sep 4, 2013 Hey ccso962, that is so true!I too agree with most of you. Many people decide upon their career thinking about what people will think of them. But, guys its time we all understand that the career one chooses is his, it is he who has to work on it and he who has to earn a living for himself. It all depends on what job will keep you happy and satisfied in all aspects.100% agree. If you surf the internet you will find any number of forums that supposedly are for "physicians" to discuss issues with their school, practice, etc. What I have noticed is that it is fairly easy to pick out the "internet only physicians" on these sites. What I mean by this are the people who are a "physician" only in the sense that they play one on the internet. These type of people almost always seem to be belittling allied health professions, nursing, heck even many other "physicians" that just don't happen to practice what ever area of medicine they are pretending to work in. Now true, there are probably some who carry around the "doctor's own healthcare" chip on their shoulder who are actually physicians, but I do not believe these are the majority. Simply put most physicians that I have worked with have had a lot of respect for allied health, nursing, etc. if for no other reason than they do not want to, nor have the time to, perform the x-rays, clean the patient, run a CBC themselves, etc (although most recognize that the modern practice of medicine could not exist as it does without all the people who are not physicians that contribute to the field). The problem with the sites that cater, if you will, to the "internet only physician" crowd is that an uninformed reader could very easily get the idea that aside from being a physician there is no way to have a meaningful career in which you contribute to the medical care, health, and well-being of the patient. That is the first "source", if you will, of disinformation concerning medical careers. The second is maybe even a little more harmful. Those are the people who "settled", are now unhappy, and take it upon themselves to spew forth their hate filled rhetoric to any who will listen, or will at least lend an internet forum. These are the people that really didn't want to be a nurse, for example, but "settled" on nursing because of the money, shorter classroom education than medical school, or for whatever reason. Nursing is just an example here. You can really substitute any medical career in here. It also works the other way (i.e. the physician who really wanted to do something other than medicine but "settled" for medical school to make a family member happy, etc.). These too are the people who really never had, and still do not have, any desire to really work in the healthcare field with the sole exception that it is "a job". All of these people contribute to a bias against certain career fields, because they let their dissatisfaction in their career choice influence those who have yet to decide. Included in this group are the people that tried to take a "short cut" to the career they wanted. People like those who really wanted to be an MD but decided to take the "shorter" route of NP or PA. Now they are unhappy with their career not because PA or NP is a bad career but because it wasn't what they really wanted to do. Sadly, many times these people, instead of acknowledging the problem, take the attacking either the profession they are in or the one they truly desire to be in. So, as myself and others have said (others probably more eloquently than me) make a career choice based on what is right for you. Think of things such as work-life balance, what the job entails in the day to day, etc. Spend less time worrying about how you will "look" to others with this or that career, and life will be a lot happier. This is the advice I would give to someone who is looking to decide what career is best for them (healthcare or not).
jimlyle 6 Posts Sep 5, 2013 100% agree. If you surf the internet you will find any number of forums that supposedly are for "physicians" to discuss issues with their school, practice, etc. What I have noticed is that it is fairly easy to pick out the "internet only physicians" on these sites. What I mean by this are the people who are a "physician" only in the sense that they play one on the internet. These type of people almost always seem to be belittling allied health professions, nursing, heck even many other "physicians" that just don't happen to practice what ever area of medicine they are pretending to work in. Now true, there are probably some who carry around the "doctor's own healthcare" chip on their shoulder who are actually physicians, but I do not believe these are the majority. Simply put most physicians that I have worked with have had a lot of respect for allied health, nursing, etc. if for no other reason than they do not want to, nor have the time to, perform the x-rays, clean the patient, run a CBC themselves, etc (although most recognize that the modern practice of medicine could not exist as it does without all the people who are not physicians that contribute to the field). The problem with the sites that cater, if you will, to the "internet only physician" crowd is that an uninformed reader could very easily get the idea that aside from being a physician there is no way to have a meaningful career in which you contribute to the medical care, health, and well-being of the patient. That is the first "source", if you will, of disinformation concerning medical careers. The second is maybe even a little more harmful. Those are the people who "settled", are now unhappy, and take it upon themselves to spew forth their hate filled rhetoric to any who will listen, or will at least lend an internet forum. These are the people that really didn't want to be a nurse, for example, but "settled" on nursing because of the money, shorter classroom education than medical school, or for whatever reason. Nursing is just an example here. You can really substitute any medical career in here. It also works the other way (i.e. the physician who really wanted to do something other than medicine but "settled" for medical school to make a family member happy, etc.). These too are the people who really never had, and still do not have, any desire to really work in the healthcare field with the sole exception that it is "a job". All of these people contribute to a bias against certain career fields, because they let their dissatisfaction in their career choice influence those who have yet to decide. Included in this group are the people that tried to take a "short cut" to the career they wanted. People like those who really wanted to be an MD but decided to take the "shorter" route of NP or PA. Now they are unhappy with their career not because PA or NP is a bad career but because it wasn't what they really wanted to do. Sadly, many times these people, instead of acknowledging the problem, take the attacking either the profession they are in or the one they truly desire to be in. So, as myself and others have said (others probably more eloquently than me) make a career choice based on what is right for you. Think of things such as work-life balance, what the job entails in the day to day, etc. Spend less time worrying about how you will "look" to others with this or that career, and life will be a lot happier. This is the advice I would give to someone who is looking to decide what career is best for them (healthcare or not).Now a days we also see people considering a profession fit for a specific gender. People need to keep in mind that we have to do what we like. Gender does not matter. If we chose nursing, that does not speak about our gender. Its just the career that we have selected and we are happy in it. One statement that I impressed me as soon as I read it was, "Nursing is a career and not a Gender".
NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN 1 Article; 1,066 Posts Specializes in Med-Surg, Emergency, CEN. Has 10 years experience. Sep 5, 2013 So I'm curious how the OP did. This is 2 years after the original post.
ccso962 68 Posts Sep 5, 2013 Now a days we also see people considering a profession fit for a specific gender. People need to keep in mind that we have to do what we like. Gender does not matter. If we chose nursing, that does not speak about our gender. Its just the career that we have selected and we are happy in it. One statement that I impressed me as soon as I read it was, "Nursing is a career and not a Gender".Another wonderful post! Gender bias is disappearing, or has disappeared, in most other career fields (last October I had a car wreck and the firefighter who literally broke the door open with their hands was a woman and the LT on the truck -- not too many years ago most people considered firefighting to be a "male" profession). However, from my own experience, gender bias seems to be alive and well in the healthcare field. As you point out Nurse is a career title not a gender. Midwife means "with woman" not that you are a wife. So, in both of these cases naming someone who is not a woman but has one of those careers as a "male nurse" or "male midwife" is inappropriate. Society at large would not stand for someone being labeled a "female pilot" or a "female cardiologist" and, in fact, in most cases you never hear this type of labeling anymore. The internet is full of stories of women who have become upset because they felt pride in being a physician but had a patient ask "are you my nurse". I am sure there are just as many men who are nurses who feel extreme pride in their profession and are more than a little upset to have a patient ask "are you my doctor" or "are you the orderly" (as if we even have people with that title anymore). Several years back I talked to a man who was in school to be a Family Nurse Practitioner he told me that one of the programs he applied to asked him if he had also applied to PA school. When he said no he said she seemed shocked that he was a man and had only applied to NP schools. As if the title NP implied feminine and the title PA implied masculine. OK, sorry to rant, but that is one of my hot button topics. I, like you, agree that a person, male or female, should feel free to choose the profession that best suits them without regards to what gender they are. :-)
ccso962 68 Posts Sep 5, 2013 So I'm curious how the OP did. This is 2 years after the original post.Good point.
