Want to study Medicine? Read this first

Studying medicine can be an overwhelming task, nevertheless, most of those students that obtain 95% and above in their secondary education opt for medicine. Many of those are either pushed to study medicine by their parents, or are themselves fascinated by this science, or their friends are going to study medicine, or they have read about doctors that saved lives and want to do the same.

Medicine is a serious subject, it encompasses the human body and mind, provides a healthy living through preventing deteriorations in the human body, protects people from diseases, saves body parts and enhances human lives in many other ways. A doctor is a person who is respected in society, not because of his/her financial status but because he can save us, our fathers, mothers and other loved ones.

If we are to start this field we must understand its nature and complications before entering it. Thus, I believe that a major research in the matter is an important aspect.  People that want to embark on this field must undertake few steps to avoid any mishaps in the future, amongst these are the following:

1. Take a Psychometric test to know that you are meant to study medicine and that it is for you
2. Understanding its complications and the different ways its taught around the world
3. Understanding its length, as it can be as long as 15 years of one’s life, and that doesn’t include the annual conference and credits required to renew the license
4. Understanding why we want to specialize in one field instead of another, as each field has its own way, however, the field can also be linked with other fields of medicine, Oncology, for example, can cover the whole body, as cancer can affect any body parts
5. Understanding that research in medicine is as important as studying it and becoming a doctor. There are fields in medicine that are neglected, for example, not all types of cancers are researched, some patients may end up dying due to the neglect of further studies in a type of cancer
6. Understanding that there are certain types of specializations that require two fields of studies, for example, dentistry and medicine are two majors needed to become a maxillofacial doctor, or maybe psychology and medicine to become a psychiatrist ( I am just speculating here as some psychological disorders can be related to psychiatrist problems)

Prior to entering the programme to work in a hospital, clinic, health centre or talk to doctors and understand yourself fully. If you have a relative who is a doctor shadow him, if your mum and dad know someone in large hospital you may go to an operating theatre and watch an operation live. There is nothing better than seeing for yourself the extent of the work you will be doing, if you faint when you see blood, then it’s not a field for you.

I used to think that entering a medical programme has to be the way all Arab/Europe/South East Asia universities do is the best way, the students’ study for 6 years and then get into the medical training, receive the board exam and then specializes in whatever field of medicine there is.  There are around 60-70 specializations in the medical field and doctors have to have worked in the field for a good number of years (say orthopaedic or internal medicine or ) till they are able to know every symptom with ease.

However of late, I have seen many medical problems and malpractices from doctors, some of these medical practices are due to simple communication skills or can be to related to lack of research skills, mathematical skills, computer skills, not knowing how to use some instruments, not knowing how to read an X-ray picture. I have lost a dear friend because a doctor couldn’t see that difference between cancer in the lung and an infection in the lung. So I feel that the North American way of teaching medicine is a very good way to weed away those that do not have the proper skills to become good doctors.

I am proposing here that a doctor has to study certain other subjects besides medicine, for example if a doctor is going to end up having his or her own clinic then they need to know some administration skills, business skills, communication skills, law, accounting, art, creative writing, public speaking, and last but not least research skills.

Don’t forget that you can earn as many as 10 certificates while studying medicine. You can have a diploma, a bachelor, a graduate diploma, a postgraduate diploma, a Masters and a PhD, some of these can be within the same subject or extra subjects that you will choose as electives but if combined can generate a certificate for you. A post-doctorate is also possible while doing your specializations. You will be a better doctor if you spend a year treating the ill in a remote area.

If you also want to be a good doctor, then please remember why you became a doctor in the first instance, to save lives. Money can be great for doctors, however, to earn more you need to save more lives than kill lives.

Please also remember that 95% of your work will be done by Google and other search engines as well as Artificial intelligence, all you need to do is the last 5%, of that patient care, is of utmost importance as well as caring about the relatives of the patient. At times they may need more help than the patient.