dianamendoz Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Can someone explain something to me without being total jerks[emoji849] When and how did you find your love for medicine? I think it's something that I can learn to love..the only thing is that I haven't been exposed to that kind of material. So does anyone have anything they can share as far as how they began to love this field? P. S have a BA in sociology and I didn't take any hard science courses in college but I'm really interested in becoming a PA Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db_pavnp Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I read a 2006 edition of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology by Katzung & Trevor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 An aptitude for science in high school, majoring in a 'hard science' in undergrad, working in healthcare for my first career. Science is my 'thing' and medicine is the only avenue that I find interesting enough to do everyday. Some people love working in research or environmental fields...not my thing. Basically it is what came easy to me my whole life. It wasn't a chore to learn it throughout my life like history class was; I 'nerded out' on the things I was learning and enjoyed the classes I took. Same thing now: I love the stuff I'm learning in PA school (mostly). It's not JUST a means to an end but actually about the material. I would say you have a lot of work to do before deciding if PA is right for you. Shadowing, working in healthcare, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Watching my mom recover from 17 broken bones after a truck smashed her car at 10 years old.. Working as an ER patient transporter and having patients be so helpless and grateful when they can't move their own bodies, having to rely on someone else. There are few professions where people have to depend and trust in others to such an extent. I like being "a rock" for people to trust, confide and count on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted June 11, 2016 Administrator Share Posted June 11, 2016 Saving the life of a drug addict who was in respiratory arrest when we arrived. He was a bit older than my eldest child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Watching Marcus Welby, MD and noting the respect that he received. At same time was infatuated with tv medical specials (before tv dramas or fictitious series) and new municipal EMS (previously provided by funeral homes advertising on board O2!). Final realization was in a HS Talented & Gifted program when it was actually a new idea and we visited a peds facility and I bonded with one of the kids (I was in the TAG program for broadcast journalism and was interning at a radio station in the mid-70's). Didn't know about PA's until a sociology prof in community college mentioned it (~78). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted June 11, 2016 Moderator Share Posted June 11, 2016 An aptitude for science in high school, majoring in a 'hard science' in undergrad, working in healthcare for my first career. Science is my 'thing' and medicine is the only avenue that I find interesting enough to do everyday. Some people love working in research or environmental fields...not my thing. Basically it is what came easy to me my whole life. It wasn't a chore to learn it throughout my life like history class was; I 'nerded out' on the things I was learning and enjoyed the classes I took. Same thing now: I love the stuff I'm learning in PA school (mostly). It's not JUST a means to an end but actually about the material. I would say you have a lot of work to do before deciding if PA is right for you. Shadowing, working in healthcare, etc. This mimics my own experience. It came pretty easy and I was interested. Seemed like a good fit. My very initial interest came from my father being an IM doc in a rural town, watching people admire him. Also watching him doing random acts like giving away 6 months of sample BP meds for people washing his truck, suturing a hand for just 5 dollars because he knew people didn't have insurance, or seeing kids in the middle of the night. My wife says this is where I developed a "knight in shining armor" complex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianamendoz Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 Wow thank you all for sharing your experiences! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuxedosheep Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I realized that medicine was truly for me through working in a hospital and a clinic. It's hard to describe, but experiencing people in their most vulnerable states, or in their greatest joys (like the birth of a child!) is very rewarding and humbling. I'm constantly reminded of how vast, beautiful, and complex life is because I get to listen to a patient recalling sweet memories in the midst of battling debilitating circumstances, or whatever it may be. When a patient grabs your hand, or tells you how thankful they were just to have someone to talk to, or getting to comfort a grieving wife whose husband is going to hospice care. Those are the moments that make me feel the most human. And you feel so grateful when a patient, who is suffering so much, compliments you and encourages you that you're making a difference. I had a patient cry tears of joy just because her toes no longer hurt when putting her shoes on after i had trimmed them for her. That's what life is all about, and you get it in technicolor everyday. I don't know how else to explain it. Medicine is an avenue to genuine, meaningful human connections, because barriers come down when things 'get real'. But that's just me. Hope you find what you're looking for! :) Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fflores98 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I realized it when I served in the Army. I enlisted at 17, right during the 2007 surge in Iraq and wanted to do the cool gun toting/blowing up stuff/combat MOS but my mother had the final word since she had to sign my age waiver, so I went medic. ironically, i was placed in an Infantry unit and deployed to Iraq twice, it was there where i first used my training and thought "wow, this actually works". Aside from that what really intrigued me was doing humanitarian missions where we would treat locals where we didn't have a common language, culture, or mannerisms but the way they looked at you after you helped them, speechless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I realized it when I volunteered in the ER, mopping up blood with ungloved hands (back in the 80s), filling ice bags, and pulling traction on a patient with a fractured pelvis in the CT scanner. Time passed quickly and I lost myself in my activities. Those two traits seem to tell me that I'm where I'm supposed to be. If I find myself living in my head and time is passing slowly, then I'm usually in the wrong place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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