Can you be a doctor if you have religious objections against the theory of evolution? There will be a conflict but becoming a good doctor doesn’t rest on your religious beliefs alone. You can separate your religious beliefs from your medical expertise. As some might say, being a good doctor has really nothing to do with your beliefs on how this world came to be, but on how you put value on life.
On your medical profession and belief opposing Darwin’s evolution theory
As a doctor, your main goal is to save people’s lives, whether you believe in God as the creator or in Darwin’s theory of evolution. There’s really no contradicting point in one’s religious inclination and profession when it comes to the theory of creation or evolution. There are actually many men of science who do not really believe in Darwin’s theory. And there are also some who maintain that Darwin’s theory does not really invalidate faith in God.
How to be an excellent doctor
If you are aspiring to be a doctor, you don’t have to drop off your faith and be a proponent of the theory of evolution. You can leave the dilemma about faith and truth to philosophers. To be a good doctor, you have to learn how to respond to medical conditions and provide cure to the sick and those in need of medical assistance. You can believe what you want to believe in, as long as you use your training, knowledge, and skills to perform your medical duty to the best of your abilities. Saving lives is your most important goal as a doctor and as believer of God.
Many aspiring doctors spend too much time on medical textbooks and scientific concepts that they tend to forget one of the most important qualities that every doctor must possess: people skills. Your job as a doctor is not limited to making diagnoses, administering medications, or performing operations. The medical profession expects you to be more than a healer. To do your job better, you also need to assume teaching and counseling duties. Here is why interpersonal skills or people skills are important in the medical profession.
Better doctor-patient relationship
If there is one thing you should gain from your patient, it has to be trust. Your patient’s trust is very important because it will help you do your job better. Patients, in general, prefer having friendly and approachable doctors. They find it easier to explain their situation or forward their questions if their doctors show actual congeniality and genuine sincerity. If you want to get a full scoop of your patient’s feelings and concerns, then be approachable and amicable enough to be entrusted with secrets.
Healthier working environment
Exceptional people skills are also needed to develop and maintain good working relationships with the other staff members of the hospital. Remember that doctors cannot work alone. You need nurses to administer IV fluids, hematologists to perform blood tests, and radiologists to operate X-ray machines. For non-doctor medical practitioners, there are only two kinds of doctors: doctors we love and doctors we love to hate. “Doctors to love to hate” reassign all their work and blame all their mistakes to other people, while “doctors we love” make polite requests and give flattering compliments for every job well done. Treat your colleagues as your equal. The lack of an M.D. after their surnames doesn’t make you any better than them just because you have that title. Learn how to properly interact with the other hospital staff members and be the doctor that everybody loves.
Successfully performing a bypass operation or perfectly stitching a surgical suture is not enough to save a patient’s life. Real saving starts after the critical medical procedure. You need to convince your patient to commit to a healthy lifestyle. The fastest way to recovery, after all, is the patient’s willingness to heal.
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Not all medical graduates pursue a career in medical practice. Turning away from emergency rooms and laboratory testings, however, doesn’t mean that you have to throw away everything that you learned during your four years in medical school. You can still use your medical education in a non-hospital setting. Here are some alternative career options for medical graduates like you.
Genetic counseling
If genetics was your favorite subject in medical school, then you should probably consider a career in genetic counseling. Genetic counseling is a health profession that involves the provision of medical information and emotional support to families with histories of genetic disorders. Your job as a genetic counselor is a mix of doctor duties and social work: you investigate a family’s hereditary background and analyze genetic patterns to help them understand the risks of genetic disorders and implications of birth defects.
Important courses: genetics, biology, psychology, and public health
Medical examiner
Do you enjoy watching CSI more than House, M.D.? If you do, then put your medical education to good use by becoming a medical examiner like Al Robbins. Your job as a medical examiner is like your typical activity in gross anatomy class: you cut up cadavers. The only difference between the two, aside from getting paid lots of money, is that medical examination requires you to determine the person’s cause of death. Your role is very essential in forensic science because it will be the main focus of the investigation.
Important courses: physiology, anatomy, pathology, and biochemistry
People develop dreams of becoming of doctors because they wish to do good in this world by saving other people’s lives. Wearing a scrub suit, however, is not the only way to do that. You can still touch other people’s lives by applying the knowledge you gained in medical school to counsel people and giving expert advice to different organizations and companies. So, if you feel like traditional medical practice is not for you, then don’t worry. You can still save lives.
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Marriage and medical school work are two of the toughest things to manage. Both need your full attention and 100% dedication. So, what happens when you find yourself in a situation where you have to fulfill duties as a student and as a wife and mother? Can you survive medical school and save your marriage at the same time?
Juggling spousal responsibilities and medical school work
If you are a woman, juggling marriage and medical school will be extra hard for you. As a wife, you are expected not only to take care of your husband but also to take care of your household. You have to cook dinner, wash dishes, sweep floors, and buy groceries while studying for pharmacology or neuroanatomy. If you can afford it, then get some household help. It may cost you money, but it will also lessen your chores and increase your sleep hours. By taking your mind off household chores, you are also able to focus more on your studies.
Balancing marriage, medical school work, and parenting
What is more difficult than juggling marriage and medical school? Parenting duties. It takes a lot of willpower to succeed in maintaining your marriage, passing your subjects, and raising your child at the same time. It is difficult, yes, but it is still very possible to excel in both roles. All you need is excellent time management skill. Organize a daily schedule of your activities. During your time off medical school, spend some quality time with your spouse and your child. It doesn’t matter if you visit a park or stay at home, what’s important is that you enjoy your time together.
If you are yet to be parents, then wait until graduation or residency before having children. This is not to say that a baby will ruin your chances of finishing medical school. A baby is always a blessing, but it will also make things more challenging for you. Parenting is a serious obligation that needs 100% attention and commitment. It will be thrice as hard to survive the stress of medical school and overcome the pressure of parenting. Don’t try to be a superhero. Do things one step at a time.
Marriage is not always a disadvantage to medical students. Knowing that somebody at home is waiting for you is enough inspiration to help you do well in your tests and examinations. Besides, a warm and sweet “welcomed home” from your wonderful and supportive partner after a stressful day in medical school is all you need to stay happy.
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After coping with stress in medical school and adapting to the pressure of medical residency, doctors must face yet another tough challenge in their medical career: the selection of medical specializations. Here are some of the most popular medical specializations:
* Plastic surgery
One of the most popular specializations in the world of medical practice is plastic surgery, but what most medical students do not understand is that plastic surgery is one of the toughest medical specializations to excel in. The reconstruction of physical deformities and enhancement of physical assets are not as easy as creating incisions or making stitches on a patient’s body. Plastic surgery is always coupled with a lot of risks, which usually include paralysis and death.
Cause of popularity: Aside from the expensive rates involved in surgical procedures, surgery owes it popularity to people’s undeniable obsession with physical beauty.
* Pediatrics
Because cute little kids are so hard to resist, more and more medical students are making their way toward pediatrics. The job of pediatricians goes beyond asking for deep breaths and checking for possible infections. Pediatricians provide medical care not only for children’s physical health but also for children’s mental condition and social wellness. They also give tips and guidelines on how to avoid chronic diseases and maintain proper nutrition.
Cause of popularity: Aside from having adorable children as patients, pediatrics owes its popularity to the fact that most parents will pay large amounts of money just to ensure their child’s safety.
* Obstetrics and gynecology
Probably the most popular medical specialization among female doctors is obstetrics and gynecology. This medical specialization remains close to every female doctor’s heart because it focuses on parts of the anatomy that are found only in women. Obstetrics and gynecology deals with the provision of medical care for the reproductive health of both pregnant and non-pregnant patients.
Cause of popularity: Aside from the challenge and excitement of administering births, the fact that women get pregnant and give birth every single day assure these medical practitioners of a stable practice.
The cultural popularity, as well as the amount of salary involved, should never be the basis for selecting a medical specialization. Medical practitioners should choose a medical specialization in which they feel most useful in. Those interested in treating skin diseases should pursue dermatology, while those who are interested in treating heart diseases should go for cardiology. The selection of medical specialization must always be based on passion because that is the only way doctors can do their job effectively.
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Student-teacher ratio is the number of teachers with respect to the number of students in a given academic institution. To ensure the effective conveyance of knowledge from teacher to students, the preferred student-teacher ratio is between 10:1 and 15:1. Here are some examples of medical schools with low student-teacher ratio:
Washington University School of Medicine
An example of a medical school having low student-teacher ratio is Washington University School of Medicine. Only a limited number of students are admitted to this St. Louis, Missouri medical school because the administration wishes to preserve the quality of its graduates. Washington University School of Medicine, by limiting its annual enrollees, is able to provide equal opportunities and quality education to each medical student.
Harvard Medical School
With over 10,000 faculty members to educate its medical students, Harvard Medical School has one of the lowest student-teacher ratios in the country. To preserve the school’s academic excellence, the Harvard faculty sees to it that each medical student is given enough attention and education to become a great medical practitioner. Harvard Medical School, aside from having a low student-teacher ratio, is also the current number one medical school in the country according to many experts.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Like Washington University and Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine maintains a low student-teacher ratio to ensure the proper education of its students. Johns Hopkins medical school started the “Hopkins Model” of teaching, which is a combination of basic science education and intensive clinical mentoring.
Top medical schools have low student-teacher ratios
Most medical schools with low student-teacher ratios also do well in overall top medical school rankings. Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Washington University School of Medicine all managed to secure top 5 spots in the 2008 list. One of the main reasons for this is that the teachers find it easier to teach in an intimate setting than a crowded room. Learning, after all, is easier when you share a classroom with ten more students than a lecture hall that can accommodate almost a hundred people.
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Entering into medical school and becoming a doctor can be one of the most fulfilling experiences in one’s life. The path to becoming a doctor is long and oftentimes arduous. Upon becoming a doctor, the tension and work only intensifies. Because of this, it is important to identify and understand the reasons for wanting to become a doctor. Here are five of the worst reasons for wanting to become a doctor.
In it for the money
Perhaps the worst reason for wanting to become a doctor is for the large amount of money that the career can lead to. It is often true that doctors earn a lot of money in their profession, but this should not be one’s driving force for becoming a doctor. There is much more to being a doctor than working long hours and making large sums of money.
Doing it for others
Another common reason for becoming a doctor mentioned in sample medical school personal statements is because of the influence and pressure from others to enter into medicine. Many parents and guardians would love for their children to become doctors, and many students seek to enter into the profession because of this reason. Becoming a doctor should be one’s own aspiration rather than someone else’s.
The promise of admiration and respect from people
Doctors often receive much respect and admiration from others, because of the career path that they choose. Some people want to become doctors for this reason. While gaining the respect and admiration of others is a good thing, it should not be the main inspiration for becoming a doctor.
Loving the subject
Many sample medical school personal statements mention that the writer’s reason for wanting to become a doctor is they enjoy the academic discipline of medicine. The knowledge and intellect that one can gain from medicine is abundant and perhaps even inexhaustible. Still, there is a side of being a doctor that is far detached from the lessons and knowledge that you can gain from the subject. Being a doctor requires interpersonal skills and a sensitivity toward the human being that far exceed those required in other careers.
Anything aside from a vocation
Most people who are happy with and truly love being a doctor cannot explain their reason for wanting to become a doctor. This is because it is often a vocation of theirs, a calling that comes from a longing to better one’s self in order to aid others in need. Perhaps the best reasons to want to become a doctor have something to do with being selfless and centered on an interest toward the human being.
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