5 ms·

Here's a big, dark secret: being a physician isn't really that hard. Sure, there's a lot to learn. Yes there are some physical techniques that must be mastered

Here's a big, dark secret: being a physician isn't really that hard. Sure, there's a lot to learn. Yes there are some physical techniques that must be mastered (lots if you want to become a surgeon). But the raw intellect required is not especially high--anybody above the 66th percentile would likely do just fine. A long time ago I was in pre-med. Similar to the article, I got a 35 on my MCAT. I know a lot of physicians. They're all very smart (because you have to be to get into medical school). The vast majority of them are bored with medicine. They do anything they can other than see patients. Some invest in real estate, some manage other physicians in a group practice--there's one guy who built a small datacenter and runs a business selling electronic medical records systems as a service to other medical practices! The point is--the practice of medicine kind of sucks. It's mostly the same things over and over, with a lot of paperwork thrown in. Med school lures in the young with the prestige attached to the magic letters "M.D." and because med school is an ultra-exclusive club for smart people. The sick joke is that after all the work and sacrifice and expense the job usually isn't worth it. If you want to be a doctor, imagine yourself working in subsaharan Africa helping the neediest, poorest people imaginable. If it doesn't sound like something you'd want to do, you don't like medicine enough for the career path to be worthwhile to you.

tomwalker 12y ago
Very good post and I agree. The job is stressful, the individual liability is extremely high and the sacrifice is not worth it for many. Often family expectations are involved.
- cpwright 12y ago
  One of the things that struck me about the article was how many of these people wanted to take over a practice from a parent.
hacknat 12y ago
Reminds me of a dailybeast article from a while back: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/14/how-being-a-doctor-became-the-most-miserable-profession.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/14/how-being-a... The article doesn't specifically cite boredom (that I remember) as a cause of unhappiness, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.
dataminer 12y ago
I can't upvote this enough, if you are in it for money or prestige there are much better ways to earn both of those. Medical practice is a calling, yet I see many doctors who go into it for all the wrong reasons and then lead miserable lives. If anyone wants to become a doctor, please volunteer at a hospital or clinic for more than a year to see the working conditions.
beachstartup 12y ago
this isn't a secret at all. i think anyone's who's been to the doctor even a handful of times realizes that the lack of organization, rampant misdiagnoses, bad/outdated advice, and incorrect prescriptions are the norm, not the exceptions. these days i just go to urgent care and tell them what's wrong with me and how i want to fix it, they're glad to have me out of there as soon as possible.
hkmurakami 12y ago
My friend echoed this sentiment to the dot: that she funds medicine to be repetitive and boring, and that you don't have to be that smart to be good at it. She wishes that a particular mutual friend of ours had chosen physics instead of medicine in undergrad, because said girl excelled to the degree that the Princeton physics department reached out to ask her to major in physics (though this was probably partly motivated by the fact that the physics department had zero female majors that year). We feel that in a way, a great mind was put to poor use by her choosing medicine.
scarmig 12y ago
IOW, people imagine daily life in medicine to be like an episode of House, but in reality it's closer to that of a well-paid social worker.
DocSavage 12y ago
"Being a physician isn't really that hard." I think it's very hard. It takes a lot of discipline and hard work to master all the prerequisites, all the knowledge necessary for the basic science component and then the clinical component, and then put in all the hours per week during med school rotations, post-grad residencies (especially internships). That said, it's mostly about the hours and volume of information and not so much about the intellectual difficulty, which you state... and then say all physicians are "smart". So instead of saying every physician is smart, I'd say most physicians have a good memory and the ability to work really hard. If you can get reasonable grades in Comp Sci, you can certainly handle medicine if you are willing to put in a lot of hours. I remember feeling so depressed watching the sun rise through a window next to an OR, having put in another really long day with not much sleep during a rotation. At least in Comp Sci, you are building something, actively solving problems while doing an all-nighter. In medicine, particularly at the med school level, you are doing something more trivial like holding a clamp for a while or asking people about their history. IMHO the practice of medicine indeed sucks if you want a creative job. Almost by definition, the practice of medicine requires you to not be creative unless you want to be sued for methods outside accepted practices. There are a few truly gifted individuals who combine scientific research with a limited clinical practice, but to be at the forefront of both requires more talent and time management skills than I had.

tomwalker 12y ago

Very good post and I agree. The job is stressful, the individual liability is extremely high and the sacrifice is not worth it for many. Often family expectations are involved.

cpwright 12y ago
One of the things that struck me about the article was how many of these people wanted to take over a practice from a parent.

hacknat 12y ago

Reminds me of a dailybeast article from a while back: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/14/how-being-a-doctor-became-the-most-miserable-profession.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/14/how-being-a... The article doesn't specifically cite boredom (that I remember) as a cause of unhappiness, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.

dataminer 12y ago

I can't upvote this enough, if you are in it for money or prestige there are much better ways to earn both of those. Medical practice is a calling, yet I see many doctors who go into it for all the wrong reasons and then lead miserable lives. If anyone wants to become a doctor, please volunteer at a hospital or clinic for more than a year to see the working conditions.

beachstartup 12y ago

this isn't a secret at all. i think anyone's who's been to the doctor even a handful of times realizes that the lack of organization, rampant misdiagnoses, bad/outdated advice, and incorrect prescriptions are the norm, not the exceptions. these days i just go to urgent care and tell them what's wrong with me and how i want to fix it, they're glad to have me out of there as soon as possible.

hkmurakami 12y ago

My friend echoed this sentiment to the dot: that she funds medicine to be repetitive and boring, and that you don't have to be that smart to be good at it. She wishes that a particular mutual friend of ours had chosen physics instead of medicine in undergrad, because said girl excelled to the degree that the Princeton physics department reached out to ask her to major in physics (though this was probably partly motivated by the fact that the physics department had zero female majors that year). We feel that in a way, a great mind was put to poor use by her choosing medicine.

scarmig 12y ago

IOW, people imagine daily life in medicine to be like an episode of House, but in reality it's closer to that of a well-paid social worker.

DocSavage 12y ago

"Being a physician isn't really that hard." I think it's very hard. It takes a lot of discipline and hard work to master all the prerequisites, all the knowledge necessary for the basic science component and then the clinical component, and then put in all the hours per week during med school rotations, post-grad residencies (especially internships). That said, it's mostly about the hours and volume of information and not so much about the intellectual difficulty, which you state... and then say all physicians are "smart". So instead of saying every physician is smart, I'd say most physicians have a good memory and the ability to work really hard. If you can get reasonable grades in Comp Sci, you can certainly handle medicine if you are willing to put in a lot of hours. I remember feeling so depressed watching the sun rise through a window next to an OR, having put in another really long day with not much sleep during a rotation. At least in Comp Sci, you are building something, actively solving problems while doing an all-nighter. In medicine, particularly at the med school level, you are doing something more trivial like holding a clamp for a while or asking people about their history. IMHO the practice of medicine indeed sucks if you want a creative job. Almost by definition, the practice of medicine requires you to not be creative unless you want to be sued for methods outside accepted practices. There are a few truly gifted individuals who combine scientific research with a limited clinical practice, but to be at the forefront of both requires more talent and time management skills than I had.