Every now and then, I get email from young aspiring physicians who wish to drink from my fount of wisdom with respect to Choosing a Life Direction. I find this hilarious, seeing as my path to where I am now has been of the relatively winding variety, and that even on the best of days, I still see myself as a seeker. Although I am honored that these bright stars look to me for suggestions, they really could do better.
And do better, they shall! I'd bet that at least a couple of the medical types that read this humble blog could offer guidance greatly exceeding mine on multiple levels. To them, I say: I hereby submit for your review several representative snippets from inquiries I've received. If the spirit moves you to do so, please post your responses in the comments section below. Together, we can shape young hearts and minds! And by we, I mean you.
Now that you guys have things under control, I'm going to go do this other thing over here.
On behalf of the kids, thank you.
Dear Signout,
I currently work as a computer programmer. Unfortunately, I am desperately bored and yearning for something new, something interesting. I originally was purely interested in computers and slowly slid into biology, and over the past few months I have been toying with the idea of becoming a doctor. I have no knowledge of what it is like to be a doctor beyond the highly romanticized version you see on television but I enjoy solving problems and the problems you solve as a doctor seem to be some of the more relevant.
I am wondering if you could shed any light on how one decides if that career path is really for them? It is a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of work, and in the end is it really all that interesting? How did you choose that medicine is where you wanted to be? What options does one in my position have, if any? I would be getting into it exceptionally late and it is many years of training. Perhaps focusing on medicine that does not directly involve patients might be something to consider?
Thank you,
M.Dear Signout,
I am a medical graduate from India aiming for the 2008 match. I found your blog while scanning the internet, looking for ideas for my personal statement [ed. i.e., an essay that is part of the application for U.S. residency programs]. I'm nowhere near getting this thing completed, so I turn to you. Could you be kind enough to help?
Thanks,
K.
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M--
Have you looked into bioinformatics? You could slide right into it from computer programming. And you could focus on basically any kind of biology that catches your fancy-- viruses, brains, muscles, all kinds of cancers, every field needs bioinformatics people. AND, if bioinformatics is like most other fields of biology, you get paid to get your PhD.
Thats just what Id do, if I had your computer background :) I am completely and utterly biased, but I think youre going to be more challenged with solving problems in bioinformatics than you would be as a GP.
M--
You should really look into ERV's idea. I was raised among MDs and developed a huge interest in human pathology and a passion for learning "how the brain works and gets screwed up" as I was growing up. However, working on several of my family member's clinics made me realize that I really didn't want to deal with patients. I'm a grad student in neuropharmacology, and I honestly feel like I'm able to have my cake and eat it too.
Maybe you can volunteer in a clinic and get a taste of what these doctor-patient interactions entail. I know that for some these interactions can be very fulfilling. In my case they can send me running away screaming into the night :P
Dear M:
I would suggest that you volunteer in a doctors' office like Brigit and ERV suggested. You know, to get an idea of whether or not you enjoy interactions with patients. Don't get me wrong, but dealing with patients isn't for everyone.
Also, if your true passion is bioinformatics, then that would be a great way to translate your interest in biology and computers into solving real world medical problems. If your real passion is patient interactions, then medicine may be the right place for you. Be sure to consider and investigate allied health type areas (like occupational therapy), physician assistant programs, etc. Also, I think that another area that is likely to be blooming is mathematical/computer models of biological systems and medical problems. To date, those biological systems have been difficult to model because of computing and programming limitations combined with the complexity of biological systems, but we really are getting to the point where we can model these systems more accurately now.
Thank you for all the ideas. As an undergrad I actually specialized in bioinformatics, which is basically the next step below a minor. In the course of looking for work after graduating I got sucked into a non-biology related computer job. Over the course of working in that job I believe I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy programming as a secondary to solving a problem, not where the program is the end product. A few other people have strongly suggested I go back to bioinformatics and it seems like a good decision.
Since I have been working with computers for such along time I think I would like to focus on more of the biology. The bioinformatics work I did as an undergrad was mostly running series of programs on DNA sequences and attempting to draw some conclusions based upon how other DNA sequences looked. What is the day-in-the-life of a typical bioinformaticion? I think the point I am getting at is, I want to do more than just work on the computers, what are my options if I decided to look into further education in bioinformatics? Part of what seems so interesting about medical school is being able to see the results first hand. Fairly direct application of what I would spend the rest of my life learning and seeing the results, hopefully positive for the most part, is very seductive. The second point is, I'm really ignorant of the entire situation and am grateful for any advice and suggestions.
I think people differ greatly on this issue. For example, if it were completely unidentifiable as my own, I would have no problem with a picture of my naked ass being posted on the Internet. Others would be absolutely horrified by the prospect.