| Topic Name: |
Need Advice Going to Med |
| Message Name: |
Advice was still poor |
| Date Posted: |
08/18/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
Thanks to alejandroMD for the classy move of (more-or-less)preserving my anonymity and providing a public apology. That was appreciated...And to drking, thanks for the backup...That was also very appreciated
To dentalstudentdiamond and karenrobinson?
Trying speculate on my motivations for my particular career choices are pathetic demonstrations of a reluctance to just admit that YOU WERE JUST DAMN WRONG!
I would also add that your silly reluctance to simply apologize for your unprovoked and vicious attacks, accept responsibility for your manifold errors and attempt to re-start the discussion on a slightly less haughty basis should fatally injure ANY credibility that your arguments- with me or otherwise- may have had on this Board. CHILDREN who don't admit their mistakes just should not be allowed to have input when ADULTS are having a conversation. Period.
I don't mind being mis-cheracterized when the attacker has the balls to actually come out and apologize when I prove them worng as did alejandroMD. However, the fact that some children on this board insist on continuing their irrelevant little crusade to discredit me shows that winning a puerile argument is their true agenda rather than helping the original poster through a challenging situation.
Furthermore, your mean-spitited, cynical and judgemental atttitude to our differences shows your stunning comfort with sweeping judgments on the validity of someone's story, the importance of other professions (Financial, nursing, public health, pediatrics), and the validity of another man's motivations based based solely on what YOU think is right.
Not only is that a telling indictment on the smallness of your worlds, it also makes me weep for those unfortunate enough to be your future patients, colleagues, friends or co-workers.
It is clear from this conversation that your intellectual agenda revolves entirely around preserving your "rightness" at all costs. That makes you a potentially dangerous physician and again, *I WEEP FOR YOUR PATIENTS*
Given that my motivations are slightly more noble, allow me to make my point to the original poster again, and then leave the small group of malignant, petty, naive syncophants that have infected this board to their own devices...
Clearly, the decision to go to medical school is important at baseline, but when you add certain life circumstances- age 30+, marriage, child on the way- that decision should be made in the context of those life realities, not just on the possibiilty of acceptance, volume of volunteer work, accessibility of certain residencies, reimbursement levels or completion of a bunch of classes.
Again, I have no doubts that you CAN do whatever you put your mind to, but only you know whether the cost in time, money, energy and life opportunities you will ask your wife and child to pay on your behalf is fair, or even necessary given the career and life decisions that you have already made...
As I have said, I cast no aspersions on your dreams, but it's not just YOUR dream anymore is it?
My final piece of advice? Please ensure that your can coherently articulate your reason(s) for doing this given that the question "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" is one that you will hear often...
Best wishes to all of you, and to the children-
Isn't it past your bedtimes?
DOCTORNURSE
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| Message: |
Actually if you are going to attack them, you should include me in that diatribe. I also questioned your credibility and I too was wrong.
However, their message is not wrong whiles yours is. You were talking out of two sides of your mouth to say the least. You say medicine is not a life preserver, yet that's exactly what you used it for. You went into consulting and you fled back into clinical medicine when the economy tanked.
You can't advise someone on a course of action when your own life contradicts that advice. That is what you did.
I know you meant well, but your advice sounded really one sided. It's as if an MD was not good enough for that guy but it was for you. It can't be a coincidence that three of us saw some hypocrisy in your statements.
Now before you go on the offensive and start calling me a child as well. Perhaps, you should take some time to consider all of our comments. After all, that's 3 members that interepreted your message to be hypocritical.
I understand that you feel at 27, medicine may not be such a great undertaking if money is his prime motivation. But consider that this gentleman is probably going to go back to school in some manner. He will probably waste two years and 60K on an MBA. Then he will spend another 2 years doing gruntwork so that he stands a chance of raising his salary and responsibilities. Mind you, none of this is guaranteed. He could get layed off even with the MBA.
I would not encourage him to enter pharmaceutical sales. It is a sales position so your income is not guaranteed. And the job is pretty much open to anyone. They didn't even used to require a college degree for that position.
If he wants to become a pharmacist, he will have to acquire a degree in that as well. He will have to undergo 2-3 more years of work to get his pharmacy degree.
Chiropracty and dentistry require 4 years of school. PA requires two years. So you see, this person will most likely go back to school for something. He is not going to be able to survive on his bachelors degree alone unless he goes into sales which has no job security.
As you can see, it's not medicine or nothing. He will still end up going to school and incurring. He might as well do it the right way by pursuing what he loves in a great field: MEDICINE. Did you bother to think of all of these criteria before giving him the "gloom and doom" speech. Probably not
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