Telling People you Want to be an MD

I wanted to touch on this first because it is something that I have

encountered this year and something that has been personally

difficult to deal with 

Unfortunately when you tell certain people you want to go to

medical school you may not be met with

"oh wow thats great" so here are some ways

to deal with those difficult interactions

When you (especially as a female) tell older adults you want to go to
medical school you may get responses such as:

- "Why don't you become a PA or NP instead?"

- "Well don't you want kids?"

- "You won't get out of school until you're 30!"

My advice for these interactions:

- Remember first and foremost that you CAN have a family and be a physician if you put your mind to it. Thousands of doctor moms all over the country are doing a fab job at this everyday

- Remember you DO NOT have to justify your decisions to anyone (except maybe your parents)

- Research your options because PA and NP are both great paths too

Example responses to these comments are:

- Simply smile and nod

- Tell them that you intend to have a family and be a physician (if that's what you want to do)

When you interact with older physicians you unfortunately may get responses such as these:

- "Why do you want to ruin your life with medicine?"

- "You won't make any money as a doctor"

- "Young doctors don't learn anything anymore"

My advice for these interactions:

- Remember that older physicians may be a bit jaded, may be having trouble adapting to new EMRs, may be used to getting a lot more money than physicians now make

- Remember why you want to go to medicine and do not let them scare you

- I truly believe these questions are rhetorical and that many individuals who say them are just projecting

Example responses:

- Smile and say nothing (remember their comment isn't really about you)

- Politely say you are not going into medicine for money and move on quickly