Monday, January 23, 2012

Need an answer

Today, for the first time in my 3rd year clerkship (or at least the first time it mattered) I was asked WHY I want to go into ob/gyn.  Normally they just ask what you're thinking about going into...

I fumbled and felt like nothing I said was sufficient.  It almost seemed as if I was sucking up to the 4th year resident who had asked. 

My old answers:
-I'm passionate about women's reproductive health
-I wrote my undergrad thesis on pregnancy & birth through the lens of medical anthropology which is what brought me to med school
-I want to be an abortion provider
-I like surgery, but would prefer having more continuity of care than gen surg offers 
-The more I learn about embryology the more fascinating I find it
-It was between ob/gyn & peds but it turns out that I like surgery
-I think women are being short changed by a lot of current ob/gyns, and I know that I can offer better

And my new answer:
-?????!

4 comments:

Solitary Diner (Also Known as The Frugalish Physician) said...

What's wrong with the old answer? You may want to rephrase your last one, but they're all perfectly acceptable answers.

physician activist in training said...

Are they? I feel like they're trite or something. As if I should have a succinct answer in my back pocket that qualifies all of the above but also sounds articulate and well educated. That I know I'm not choosing the easiest field but it's still something I'm passionate about... I had the same trouble answering the question "why medical school" when I embarked on those interviews. My answer ended up being something along the lines of not being able to find any other profession that would satisfy me.

Erica said...

Those sound like excellent answers to me, though I can understand how the further you get into it, the less adequate they might feel. But don't overthink. They're still pretty core values. :-)

Sunkist Miss said...

The old answers are awesome. You should go with them.

You asked if they sound trite? I guess maybe if you said "I'm passionate about women's reproductive health" without expounding upon that thought it might come across as trite, but that key piece is really the introduction and then all those other bullet points are supporting pieces, as it were. The combination of those answers actually demonstrates that you are both passionate and knowledgeable about the why. Far from trite, they paint a picture of someone who's thought about this choice with great care, and is likely to remain committed to it! If you're worried, just practice putting those points together into a paragraph, and it'll be golden.