It is a question that I, along with hundreds of thousands of medical applicants worldwide have been asked, time and time again, whether by friends or family or interviewers at prospective med schools. It is ranked no.1 of the top 10 questions I’ve been asked, along with “How are you?” in 2nd place.
In fact, when I was browsing around YouTube for preparatory videos for the Multiple mini interview (MMI) at Queen’s University Belfast,the night before the actual interview, I vividly recall some videos on how to answer the question “Why do you want to study medicine?” and I remember frowning because I found it peculiar as to why I was expected to prepare for a question on why I want to spend the next 5 to 6 years of my life studying my dream course. It was akin to asking me to prepare for the question “Why do you love your family?” because to me, it is such a natural response that one should not even hesitate to give, let alone spend hours preparing for.
My mystification was further amplified when I attended the MMI at Birmingham University. Due to the fact that I came from a boarding school with a relatively small student population (around 50 in total), with less than 10 doing A Levels and at that time, only 2 doing the Foundation Medicine programme, it was hardly surprising that I was the only one applying for medicine from my cohort. Because I was underexposed to other students applying for the same course, I was particularly excited to meet them at interviews and in my own quirky way, size them up to see what kind of applicants I was being pitted against. Naturally, I was also curious and would always ask them the same mundane question “Why medicine?” because I wanted to listen to their stories.
I remember during the tour around Birmingham’s med school, when the 3rd year med student asked “Any questions?”, a student piped up, “Yeah, what is the attrition rate like at this school?”.
You should’ve seen my face - of all the questions, this? I don’t even recall the response, I was quite startled not because it was an inappropriate question, but because I guess I was expecting more. I was even more horrified when I found out from the med student that during the 1st year, it is quite common for students to watch live streams of lectures and not even attend them throughout the year. Maybe it’s just me, but honestly, I could not tolerate the very idea. Unless I’m sick and cannot get out of bed, surely I could bring myself to attend all the lectures, I mean, first off that’s why we pay fees and secondly, isn’t this supposed to be a subject that is worthy of every student’s physical presence? My opinions are pretty strong on the importance of being dedicated to a subject, and I guess I had expected the same of every single person I met.
The best response I’ve gotten so far to the ‘why medicine’ question probably is ‘because I don’t know what to do with my life and medicine seems like a pretty safe option’.
Mate, good luck.
I also remember asking a foundation med student who had come to my school for the weekend revision course the same question, to which he answered ‘oh no, I’m actually going to do dentistry’; I asked why, and he replied,‘Well, doctors have to study and then work obscene hours and their pay does not commensurate with their workload. I rather be a dentist because I don’t need to work so hard and all my relatives who are dentists are doing so much better than their medical counterparts. I want to have a life, that’s all.”
Keeping a straight face in times as such requires a great deal of facial muscle control, I’ll give you this much.
Of course, I have thankfully crossed paths with some students who have inspired me to pursue my dream course. One of them is my friend whom I had met during my internship at a hospital back home during the summer of 2017. He is the reason why I applied to study medicine at the University of Aberdeen, because he was at the time a second year med student there and I admired how passionate he is about medical outreach, something that is also close to my heart. Also, he had genuinely positive feedback about the teaching quality and learning environment at Aberdeen so I thought why the heck not and applied.
Another friend whom I met at school was there briefly for the foundation med revision course and she shared her dream of working as a doctor in the British armed forces. She said,“While these people are fighting on the battlefield to protect our country, who protects them?” Instantly, my mind was flooded with images of Dr. Watson returning from Afghanistan. I found her story fascinating, suffice to say because it's not every day you meet someone who wants to become a military doctor. I contemplated my mom's reaction to me declaring my intent of doing the same. Not a pretty picture.
See, I am easily influenced by passionate people, because I start believing in their ideals, especially if theirs resonate with mine, and I’ll say this -without compassion, a sense of purpose, as well as a desire to learn, one can never be a good doctor. Of course, being a doctor = stable earning income and I do understand this practical aspect, but wanting to study medicine for the money is a clear sign that you haven’t done your research properly. Because it is true, in a way, what that materialistic guy had to say about medicine, which is that the pay often does not commensurate with the amount of workload, if compared to other careers which usually have a reasonable 9 to 5 daily schedule. Doctors, especially surgeons work overtime, round the clock, and have the most erratic lives ever, especially if they work in the public sector. Can money compensate for that kind of life? I personally know a doctor who only comes home at 2am on a good day, and has a daughter who definitely hangs out with the dad more often than she does with her mom. Can money compensate for that kind of sacrifice of not being able to spend more time with your family?
Even if the answer is yes, I beg to differ. In Malaysia, unless one works in private set ups, GPs working in the public sector do not get paid a lot, and in the context of the NHS in the UK, I personally think that doctors are generally paid quite well, but then again, I am not privy to the actual income after tax, and I have heard from friends whose parents work in the NHS that they are pretty unsatisfied with their pay, now more than ever.
The exceptions are specialists who by rule of thumb, get paid more because they are more qualified in their fields and handle more complex cases which require more complicated treatments and more expensive equipment. Well, yes, but specialist training only commences after the 5/6 year MBBS/MD and after 2 years of junior doctor placement. To train to become a specialist, you have to set aside another 5 to 7 years of your life. Even if you are not broke beyond your wits by then, it will still take time to establish oneself and slowly start reaping the benefits of this costly investment. My relatives who are mostly medical specialists have echoed this sentiment during my growing up years, and given their age and experience, I believe them when they told me that even after specialising, to be prepared to work my butts off for the next 10 years to finally reach that ‘stable period’.
Medicine is a journey that lasts a lifetime, quite literally. I mean, we talk about friendships that last a lifetime but trust me, medicine lasts longer! If the thought of setting aside 10-20 years of learning + working to become a pro in the medical field does not sound daunting to you, then this is definitely the right path for you; welcome to a life of no life!
Perhaps you can understand why I am so bewildered by people who study medicine for reasons other than wanting to heal the sick, further improve healthcare and refine surgical techniques because what else can your purpose possibly be? I certainly would not want to be treated by a doctor who sees me as no more than an income source, and I certainly would not entrust my life in the hands of someone who does not value my life as much I do. I know that in the process of studying this course students are taught to be ethical and patient-centred in their clinical training but I believe these values are the prerequisites for even studying it in the first place! A person with a medical degree isn’t necessarily a good doctor; what’s in your head does not matter as much as what’s in your heart.
This is the biggest distinction between medicine and other careers.
So, when people ask me why I want to study medicine, I tell them without missing a heartbeat why. It’s not for the glamour; it’s not for the money; it’s for the knowledge, it’s for the ability to heal, it’s for the challenge, and do I enjoy a challenge!
Love,
Jie Fei
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