hello! a friend shared this on facebook and it was too good not to repost. found is especially pertinent and some parts were even downright funny. i'm often asked why the switch and most people think i'm stark raving mad to go back to school after being called to the bar. i don't blame them - but over the past few months, i've refined my short answer (yes, i do try to spare most people the agony of the long version) and am happy to put it up here.
i'd always wanted to be a doctor but after 1) an emotionally and physically draining internship at 19 and 2) the prospect of only completing specialisation a decade after graduating, i chickened out of the blood, gore and hard work. switched paths comfortably enough and had a glorious 4 years in lawsch. however, throughout lawsch the desire to become a doctor didn't die a natural death like i'd expected. instead, it grew to a point where i almost applied to medsch in my second year of lawsch. decided against dropping out and strangely, wanted to complete what i began, with part of me hoping that i'd eventually grow to enjoy law enough to practice. applied to medsch at the manfriend's insistence upon returning from my grad trip. truth be told, it was probably the incessant whinging that drove him to unilaterally sign me up for the entrance exam. and for that, i am ever grateful.
started my training contract and really enjoyed the six months as a practice trainee. worked harder than i'd ever worked before, learnt more than i ever had, met people i have nothing but admiration and awe for, made solid friends. yet despite the dream-like experience, i still wanted to be a doctor. and when even the best of legal practice couldn't compel me to stay in the industry, i knew it would be ok to go. which brings us up to speed!
apologies for the lengthy preamble, here's the link haha. and the parts that cracked me up have been excerpted for your convenience.
4) You will get yourself a job of dubious remuneration.
You put in 4 years of med school, and at least 4 years of residency (up to 8 if you’re a surgeon). You even did a fellowship and got paid a pittance while doing that. And for all the good you’re doing humanity — you are healing people, for godssakes — you should get paid more than some spreadsheet jockey shifting around numbers, some lawyer defending tobacco companies or some consultant maximizing a client’s shareholder value, whatever the hell that means. Right? Wrong. For the same time spent out of college, your I-banking, lawyering and consulting buddies are making 2-5 times as much as you are.
And now, the only reason why you should go into medicine:
You have only ever envisioned yourself as a doctor and can only derive professional fulfillment in life by taking care of sick people. There’s really no other reason, and lord knows the world needs docs. Prestige, money, job security, making mom happy, proving something, can’t think of anything else to do, better than being a lawyer, etc are all incredibly bad reasons for becoming a doc.
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