So yea. I'm also trading in my microscope for a stethoscope pretty soon as you guys know. I've never really understood why the "-oscope" suffix is in "stethoscope" since you can't really see through one.
Anyway, I thought I'd take some time to summarize my laboratory experience and this big transition into medicine in the next several posts.
Over the past several years I've worked in labs in big cities all over the US, and I've done genetic engineering, worked in different cancer labs, different neurobiology labs, and even got to work in a lab inside a hospital which was pretty cool.
Research and medicine, while having a very close relationship, couldn't be more different to me when it comes to the day to day life. In biochemical research, everything is micrograms of DNA, cell culture, Western blots, DNA gels, and so on. When do you ever see a patient who is suffering from the disease you're dedicating so much time and energy into learning more about? When will you meet and get to know the name of a patient who will benefit from your research once the construct you've been working on finally clears the FDA's wringer?
I love science, don't get me wrong, but some people love science, and they're the ones who become 100% research scientists. Sometimes during lab meetings I feel a little disappointed because for the whole 1 to 1.5 hours of the meeting, no one ever brings up the word "patients." I know that's what happens a lot in basic research, but I feel like some scientists are more "in love" with figuring out protein interactions and signal transduction than how it'll benefit patients. It could be for a lot of reasons though.
I knew I wouldn't become a scientist because I never felt the electricity of a new Western blot or anything like that, when other people did. I always wanted to do something with people, it's just that lab work is what I've been doing since it's what my entire CV was built around, and you have to pay rent hah. Also out of genuine interest though, and the good experiences I've had in labs in the past.
BUT now I get to start medical school really soon, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm glad I get to leave the realm of petri dishes and enzymatic function assays to finally meet people who are in contact with patients everyday, and one day I'll get to actually help people who are injured or ill.
If you love science but can't decide between medicine or graduate school, definitely take time to figure it out, because you don't want to make a mistake that'll cost you a lot of happiness.
Don't think about the paycheck or anything like that, because, there's no way money will change how you feel about tomorrow or what you do on a daily basis (that's my opinion though).
If you love knowing you'll be doing a new experiment in the lab, and love working on cloning or column chromatography or something, then do science. If you've had clinical experience and have felt electricity when you anxiously await to meet the next patient so you can see what you can do for then, pursue medicine.
No comments:
Post a Comment