{"id":50278,"date":"2021-05-14T17:30:07","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T16:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=50278"},"modified":"2021-05-18T19:22:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T18:22:04","slug":"so-why-medicine-why-do-you-want-to-be-a-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/14\/so-why-medicine-why-do-you-want-to-be-a-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSo, why medicine? Why do you want to be a doctor?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Why do you want to be a doctor?\u201d It\u2019s a question that many medical applicants are urged to have an answer for as they prepare to be interviewed for entry into medical school. In our 50th episode of Sharp Scratch, host Nikki Nabavi was joined by two past Sharp Scratch hosts, Laura Nunez-Mulder and Anna Harvey, as well as expert guest Declan Hyland, a consultant psychiatrist who is involved with medical schools admissions at the University of Liverpool, to discuss their own motivations for wanting to study medicine, and how this might change throughout medical school and life as a doctor. The team also heard from some very special guests about why they chose medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The episode kicked off by discussing some of the \u201ccliches\u201d associated with answering the question of \u201cwhy study medicine?\u201d Nikki cited themes she had come across <\/span>on Twitter<\/span><\/a>, including the statements all medical applicants are advised to avoid such as \u201cwanting to help people\u201d and \u201cbeing interested in science.\u201d But why shouldn\u2019t these be excellent reasons for wanting to become a doctor? Laura agreed that when she was applying to medical school, these were big reasons for her own interest in medicine as a career, but felt that \u201cthey weren\u2019t good enough reasons,\u201d and that to stand out in applications and interviews, she had to come up with \u201csomething that was still true, but was a bit different.\u201d Many of our expert guests agreed that these two \u201ccliches\u201d were still true for them, with BMJ Editorial Registrar and surgical trainee Clara Munro reflecting that part of what keeps her in clinical medicine is \u201chaving a real curiosity and genuinely caring about patients, and enjoying engaging with them on a human level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another theme Nikki raised from responses on social media was another \u201ccliche,\u201d of medical students \u201cwanting to be a doctor since they came out of the womb.\u201d Portfolio GP and media doctor Zoe Williams wanted to be a doctor since her third birthday, when she was bought a toy doctor\u2019s kit by her grandmother, who was a midwife. \u201cOne of the reasons I wanted to be a doctor is because I found the human body fascinating.\u201d But those dreams weren\u2019t realised until many years later, when Zoe was one of the first students to have the opportunity to transfer from her Biomedical Sciences degree to Medicine. Declan discussed his similar pathway, highlighting that medicine isn\u2019t just for those who learnt the brachial plexus before they could walk!<\/span><\/p>\n

So with applications for medical courses <\/span>up by nearly 5000 in the 2020-21 application cycle<\/span><\/a>, what are admissions tutors looking for when asking applicants these questions at interview? The panel turned to Declan, who has had experience interviewing potential medical students, for his take. \u201cEnthusiasm is one of the key things, and that usually comes across pretty quickly,\u201d he said, continuing, \u201c[applicants should] justify why medicine is more suited to your interests, rather than any other particular career within the health service.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The variety of work that is available to those with a medical degree is another factor that guided our panel members towards medicine, with Laura explaining that one of the reasons she chose medicine over other careers she considered was that \u201cthere\u2019s not just one job within being a doctor that would interest me, there\u2019s lots of jobs, and I would leave that choice open for longer.\u201d Anna agreed, remembering comments she had received when applying for medical school from people concerned that making such a decision during her last years of school meant she was boxing herself into medicine, and not leaving enough options open. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think I could have picked something at the age of 18 that could have given me more options.\u201d Declan, speaking on his own career, said: \u201cI\u2019m fortunate that I have a lot of involvement with Liverpool medical school, which is entirely different and separate from my clinical work. It\u2019s something like that that keeps you really inspired, refreshed and stops you burning out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna also spoke about her desire to be part of something that is bigger than just herself: \u201cI think a big part of it for me was wanting to have that community, and that agency; because you do have agency as a doctor that you might not in other professions.\u201d Declan agreed: \u201cIt goes without saying that it\u2019s still a very respected profession.\u201d And it can\u2019t be ignored that, for all the debate over hours and training, the career is one that can be lifelong, and provides reasonable stability in terms of salary.<\/span><\/p>\n

For our final reflections, we turned to perhaps the most famous doctor in the UK – the Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty. Reflecting on his career, he said: \u201clike many others, I have changed my mind multiple times, and the only thing that ran through all of it was clinical practice, which I still do. I\u2019ve done various jobs, all of which I have enjoyed, many of which I would only do once, but I enjoyed that once.\u201d He continued, \u201cthe reason to do a job is because you wish to do it, and if you manage to do that, medicine is a fantastic career.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Zoe highlighted, being a doctor is not just about the skills and knowledge you acquire throughout your career, but also how you feel: \u201cIt\u2019s not just what I do, it\u2019s who I am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To readers and listeners: why did you want to study medicine? Have your reasons changed throughout your career? We\u2019d love to hear from you on social media using the hashtag #SharpScratch<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna Harvey <\/b>is a final year medical student and soon-to-be junior doctor in North Cumbria. She is a past Editorial Scholar at the BMJ and sits on the Steering Committee of the <\/span>MedEd Research Collaborative<\/span><\/a>, where her interest in identity is indulged through qualitative clinical education research.<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to the episode on <\/span>spotify<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>apple pods<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Sharp Scratch<\/span><\/a> Panel:<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nikki Nabavi,<\/b> The BMJ, University of Manchester<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna Harvey<\/b>, Final year medical student, King\u2019s College London, past editorial scholar, The BMJ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Laura Nunez-Mulder,<\/b> Final year medical student, Cambridge University, past editorial scholar, The BMJ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow us on Twitter:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Panel: <\/span>@nikkixnabavi<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 <\/span>@a_c_harvey<\/i><\/b><\/a> @lnm_rugby<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Guest: @HylandDeclan<\/span><\/p>\n

Brought to you by: <\/span>@bmj_latest<\/span><\/a> @BMJStudent<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Sponsored by: <\/span>@MPS_Medical<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Instagram\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brought to you by: <\/span>@BMJ_Student<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Why do you want to be a doctor?\u201d It\u2019s a question that many medical applicants are urged to have an answer for as they prepare to be interviewed for entry […]<\/p>\n

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