Hello. I am some what new to this forum. I am not a doctor, or even YET in that field. I do very much wish to pursue my career in the medical field, once life my obsticles have calmed. I do believe that doctors these days have lost the true reason of practicing medicine. It's to make people better. To listen to the patient and completly understand where they are coming from. I have so frequently run into the "happy pill doctor." The kind of doctor who just pretentds to know what is going on, and not really understanding or listening to the situation. Then to only prescribe meds. I want to feel that when I go to a doctor I can fully trust what they are telling me will actually help me. I don't go see a doctor to just get a medication. I wish that more doctors would really try to help people. Find out their history before making thier egotistical assumptions. They rely too much on what insurance they have or if they have a HMO. I wish that it didn't have to be that way. I have realized that money is the only factor in this world. This is when it really starts to show how much money means to society. (medically speaking) millions of people die because of it.
I truly believe, their are WAY too many medications out there that pose a threat to humans. And why? beacause of money. The drug industry just wants to make a buck. Why do people have to suffer? You may say it's population control. well, that is up to God in my oppinion. He can say when is enough. maybe the glass is getting to full.... thanks for listening.

Tell Utah HI http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.giffor me. Born and raised S.L.C.

I agree with you totally and I very much hope that you will be great once you qualify as a doctor.

However, I would urge you consider training as an ND rather than an MD. That way, you will have more time for people and will be able to help them in a rather more natural way.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advise. I have so much work to do before I can even decide what kind of doctor to be. I was thinking a Physicans Assistant. I dunno, anyway thanks for the support. I hope the drug industry dies down a little in the future. We need more real drugs for people with life threatening diseases. Like ALS, and AIDS and very much with Cancer. There are so many ugly diseases out there that it wouldn't suprise me to find out that these NEW drugs are the cause. Or all the chemicals and preservatives we use trigger some of these horrible things to occur. I feel very impassioned about the medical field and wish to make a difference no matter where I go. Thanks for listening to me once again.

If I were you I would not go for a PA, as you cannot really make a difference. As far as I know, PA's do not even have their own licence to practice and everything they do has to be watched over by MD's. Even RN's have their own practice licence.

I would say that if you really want to make a difference train as either an RN, ND or MD and then you really can.

I think you should absolutely pursue your desire to be an MD, and take all those morals and values you have right now with you....Like you, I very much wanted a career in the medical profession so that I could help people and make a difference...I pursued that dream of mine by going to college to become an RN...I needed to work since I was already married with a child when I decided I would return to college..My plan was to take a two yr.associate degree course and earn my RN and then continue for my BSN at Ohio State while I worked in my profession....About the middle of the 5th QTR, during my clinical rotations, I realized that everything in the medical field was not the dream I had hoped it would be...I found out that the medical professionals don't control the medical field..The Insurance companies do!! I saw Drs who were completely frustrated trying to do what they felt was the right thing to do for their Pts. and having it blocked by the Ins...Well, I stuck it out and earned my degree and sat for the boards...I maintain my lic. but I have never worked in the field as an RN for even one day!...I lost all desire for it....I stayed in college and earned a business degree and have worked for many yrs. as a district surpervisor for a lg. retail/grocery chain....My work is exciting, at times very stressful, it involves long hrs., and many nights away from home....What i do doesnt help anyone at all, but, atleast Im not in a profession that canstantly revolves around conflict.....I have many friends(some from my college days) that are RNs and they tell me it has only gotten worse with time...For me I made a right choice.......Good luck.....Cathy

Cathy,

That is a real shame that you never got to practice when you put in all that hard work. However, at least you are now doing something that makes you happy and I am sure that what you do helps a lot of people.

I also trained as an RN in England and worked in the hospitals there for about six years, having specialised in renal. The health service here is not that much better and we never seem to see the benefits of the extra money from the Government at ward level. Still underpaid and overworked nurses.

Anyway, I then realised my dream of training in alternative medicine, by doing both acupuncture and homeopathy and have never worked as an RN in the States. I never got a practice licence, as I was studying. At least I am now doing what makes me happy.

Wow! thanks for all your graeat advise. I will take it into account when I start school. As with what you did, school is going to be the only way I will find out what I truly want to do. Right now I am a CNA for Hospice. (a company who takes care of people who are very close to dying or with terminal diseases) I love it! But as I work each day I see more and more that I would rather be doing what the Nurses do. The days that I am working with the doctors, I want to do their job. I really need to go discover myself educationaly. I do all the grunt work for the nurses. As of now I am on the bottom of the chain. It is frustrating. But I am happy to be somewhere in this field. I go home everyday, and feel like I made a difference with someone's quality of life. Even if I get a smile or a laugh from a patient, it makes me feel that everything is worth while.