why did you choose your career in the medicine/biology field?

leesmom

im doing an assignment for college on why people choose their careers(more specificaly radiography,medicine,nursing,physiotherapy).what infuences them to choose that particular path etc...
so if anyone could give reasons as to why they chose their career, id be really grateful:)
mods apoligies if i shouldnt have posted it here
oh and if theres anything else that influenced you r desicion please say, thanks

Kevster

There's a fundamental flaw in your study, and this is what it is: You have no option for those who were simply interested in Biology and wanted to study it because they thought that it would be a career that would make them happy (like me).

tallaght01

Most people get into it for altruistic reasons. Being able to cure another person, or to alleviate their suffering, or to save a life are very powerful attractions early on.

I think that should be an option.

2Scoops

Needs 'didn't want to waste my points' option. :pac:

mardybumbum

tallaght01 wrote: »

Most people get into it for altruistic reasons.

Perhaps a few people do, but I wouldnt imagine that being the motivation for most.

Colpriz

Have you thought about pier pressure? emanating from their parents, family, friends, society?...or sheit career guidance teachers?

tallaght01

mardybumbum wrote: »

Perhaps a few people do, but I wouldnt imagine that being the motivation for most.

Well, I think it's a combo. You get to do nice things for people while having a relatively secure job.

I think a lot of the youngsters entering medicine are quite idealistic about it. It's much easier and just as lucrative to do a lot of other courses, that are shorter than medicine.

tech77

I'm sure for most people there's a whole heap of reasons.

Altruism.
Prestige/respect that job brings (?used to bring).
Power to help others.
Family pressure.
Interest in Biomed sciences.
Job security.
Money?

For most it's the nurses though.

No, seriously, i'm sure it's a complex mish-mash of reasons- but for some reason (and this sounds trite) i genuinely don't think money is a primary motivator for the majority tbh.

I'd say for a lot it's a basic "get to really help people" idealism tempered with things like prestige, job security/decent standard of living.

tallaght01

I agree. I really wanted to help people. That would have been top of the list. But I was also fascinated by biomedical stuff. Was reading everything I could on medicine etc since I was a teenager.
I think, at the time, I'd have done it if it was a low paying job. Wouldn't have stopped me from applying.
Though I do appreciate the relative job security at the moment. Especially when i keep hearing from Ireland about people losing their jobs. I'll probably go back to Ireland in about 3 years, and I know I can just go there and get a job. So, while it wasn't an issue when I applied, it's something I appreciate a lot now.

allsaintssue

I told my family when I was 2 that I wanted to be a doctor (I must have been a pretty obnoxious toddler!) and I have litreally never changed my mind. I've never came across any other career that holds any interest for me and the more I learn about medicine the more certain I am about it. There is no-one thing that makes me want to do it, just the knowledge that I dont want to do anything but medicine:)

PhysiologyRocks

I plan to be a doctor so I can help people, among other reasons.

I realise that I could be helpful in other professions, too, but this option involves doing so directly. It combines human contact and the application of science.

I love that my work will be practical. I look forward to making decisions, and offering assistance and reassurance. I'll get to work with, and for, a wide range of people. It really appeals to me that medicine is always evolving.

I have no family in medicine, (as doctors or nurses). I wanted to study medicine long before I ever watched a medical drama. If I wanted to get rich, well I can think of better ways!

No other career appeals to me.

liberal

because i had a good biology teacher that got me interested

IM0

if youve ever been an in patient in hospitall for any significant period of time you will realise why they do it, you see someone coming in in a 'mess' and you get to help them recover and see the before and after and everything, some people just like a 'worthwhile' job get rid of half the civil servants and bolster the healthcare numbers :pac:

bythewoods

Chicks, money, power and more chicks.

mardybumbum

tallaght01 wrote: »

I think a lot of the youngsters entering medicine are quite idealistic about it.

Yep, this is what I was trying to touch on.
Some people think you need to be Mother Theresa* to be a great doctor.
I like to think Im a nice person, I like to help people in whatever way I can, but I would have chosen nursing rather than medicine If helping people was my sole reason for choosing a course.
A lot less stress and study.

Its all about the buzz of medicine for me.
I actually find the idea of sticking needles in people, CPR, surgery, working in a hospital 36hrs straight exciting. :eek:

I may feel differently about that in five years time though. Who knows.

*Perhaps mother theresa is not the best example, but thats another thread completely.

Larianne

Mostly because I really like to help people. It's in my nature.

Also, I got my interest in healthcare from my mother who is a healthcare professional (Dietician). When I was younger I used to love reading her books on children's diseases and looking at the pictures. I've always asked her about different diseases and causes and why this and that.

I love learning how the body works and functions, how it can be effected and ways to repair it.

I chose to study Physiotherapy as I'm quite a practical person and like using my hands and it was the one healthcare profession that really jumped out at me as something I'd like to do. (at one stage I did want to do nursing but swiftly changed my mind). Speech & Language Therapy would be the only other profession that I guess I'd be interested in. (Although I did start liking the idea of Pharmacy).

Edit: Maybe I should state too that I'm going back to study as a mature student but it has always been something I wanted to do. I just didn't get the points in the L.C. and gave something else a go. But Physio was always there in my head as something I wanted to do.