Becoming a doctor

[iconoclast56]

I could truly help a lot of people if I were a doctor or psychiatrist. I don't care for convention so I would be an unusual doctor. I have learned a great deal about physio/psychopharmacology through self experimentation with substances so unlike many doctors, I have real hands on experience with the substances I would be prescribing. I've been too sensitive/empathic for my own good ever since I was a kid and the way to stop the harsh emotions I found is to decide to find solutions to the suffering of others. As a kid I was powerless cuz I didn't know how things work but nowadays I can help people. There are plenty of areas in which I can't help at all due to my weaknesses but this isn't one of those areas. Learning about how scientific things work and applying that knowledge to gain results is one of my major strengths so I will excel in medicine and my extreme open mindedness would be of enormous benefit to my patients because I would try things that other doctors would not.

For example, lets say someone came to me with depression. I would not start by prescribing SSRIs because they take weeks/months before the results can be seen. Instead I would first prescribe selegiline and see what it does for the patient. If it cured the patients depression then I would allow the patient to experiment with agonists of the monoamines which selegiline protects. I would start with dexedrine. I would be inclined to test MDMA on the patient but thats a little too unconventional and unfortunately, that kind of thing could easily result in me losing my medical license so I would find other, preferably more selective substances to analyse what enhanced serotonin activity does for the patient. Dexedrine is not that selective so I would test more selective agonists of dopamine and norepinephrine and see how the patient responds. Having the ability to prescribe any pharmaceutical product to patient, I have very little doubt that I would find a solution for them. Drugs might only be a bandage though, I would have the patient adopt an exercise regimen, a healthy diet and ensure that they are getting adequate sunlight and other factors which humans need to function properly. If a patient came to me to help him deal with a severe opioid addiction, I would not put him on methadone or suboxone. I would ensure that he has enough opioids to avoid the extreme withdrawal symptoms then I would give him the option of ibogaine therapy and/or hypnosis. If the patient chose not to take the ibogaine approach, I would setup a taper plan for the patient and use hypnosis (if they accepted it) to give them a positive outlook on the whole thing as well as override the mild withdrawal symptoms that come with tapering. After quitting, I would use hypnosis to override the PAWS and give them the ability to induce opioid like effects with their minds alone. I will share all my knowledge of nootropics, ampakines and superfoods with my patients so they can start improving their own minds and bodies. If a knowledgeable patient walked into my office, rather than condescend them by trying to convince them that I know more than they do because I'm a doctor, I would accept the fact that they probably know as much, if not more than I do about the particular ailment they are experiencing because its their ailment and they have done the research. With that in mind, I ask the patient about potential solutions he/she has in mind then I would facilitate their quest to finding a solution by prescribing any substances that they wouldn't ordinarily be able to obtain easily or legally. So to summarise, I will make a brilliant doctor. I wish I knew a doctor like this.

In a year, I will have a chemistry BSc and with that I can get into a 4 year medical course in a university in my city as long as I get a decent GPA in my degree. I would rip through medical school and become extremely knowledgeable in no time. I already have a lot of medical related knowledge so I'll have a headstart when I start medical school. I was planning on becoming a research chemist though. Would getting into medicine keep me out of scientific research fields for good? Any med students here? If so, what are your life plans? How will your first hand experience with psychoactives influence the type of doctor you become?

 

[Alex007]

No one rips through medical school lol.

 

[ambiguus]

First post!

Stumbled onto this website today.. good reads!

Firstly, the idea of amassing scientific knowledge for the goal of alleviating physical and mental ailment is a commendable goal. However I must point out that one of the key desirable traits in a good doctor is the ability to introspectively look at one's weaknesses and critically appraise ones practise, continually throughout your career. Your post whilst enthusiastic does not appear to give off a sense of humility and does seem a little narcissisitic.

Medical school is not a joke, I always found science courses in school fairly straightforward including organic chem etc but it took a lot of hard work and smart time management to get through first and second years of medical school within the 97.5th percentile. Ripping through medical school means ripping into your sleep, social life and even health and will not be easy.

Secondly I would advise you do not overestimate the fast paced nature of the scientific knowledge in medicine. You mention preferential treatment with Selegiline over SSRI's. Which is not really particularly in itself a great idea.. Why not Maclobemide? MAOI's arent really the most efficacious of antidepressants, neither are SSRI's but lets not get into that. Always keep your knowledge updated, and critically appraise just how throroughly you have done your work.

Also I would not underestimate the number of self-experimenting medical students with experiences in benzos, dissocs, psychedelics, natural herbs etc. I would not be so quick to think you are one of a kind!

Some of the most challenging aspects of medicine are also clinical rather than biochem/pharmacology etc. Do you think you would be able to deal with the nitty gritty, ever had any experience on the wards? I would recommend trying a job as a ward hand. See if you have the commitment, and patience required.

 

[iconoclast56]

Firstly, the idea of amassing scientific knowledge for the goal of alleviating physical and mental ailment is a commendable goal. However I must point out that one of the key desirable traits in a good doctor is the ability to introspectively look at one's weaknesses and critically appraise ones practise, continually throughout your career. Your post whilst enthusiastic does not appear to give off a sense of humility and does seem a little narcissisitic.

Thanks for the reply. I think my thread came across as a bit narcissistic because I was probably conveying my resentment for the suffering I and many others must face as a consequence of the closed mindedness and arrogance of doctors, psychiatrists and pharmacists who are legally assigned the task of controlling our attempts to help ourselves. My granny is suffering every day with severe arthritis pain because the doctors will only prescribe her difene which helps a bit but causes serious side effects, and NSAIDs which don't work for her at all. It pains me to see her suffer like that for no reason. They could prescribe her opioids and she would not have to live the last years of her life in pain. Shes 80 years old so getting addicted to a substance really isn't a problem for her. Cannabis could probably cure her problem altogether but she would be opposed to buying it from drug dealers and she couldn't afford to buy it from them. I would get it for her but I can't afford it either.

Medical school is not a joke, I always found science courses in school fairly straightforward including organic chem etc but it took a lot of hard work and smart time management to get through first and second years of medical school within the 97.5th percentile. Ripping through medical school means ripping into your sleep, social life and even health and will not be easy.

Everyone is different. Classes I find difficult, people in my class find easy and vice versa. I'm a visual thinker so I'm good with concepts that can be visualized but struggle with mathematical concepts. Theres a chromatography class I did last semester which has a 90% failure rate. I did the exam at christmas and could answer every single question well but according to the majority of the people in my class, most people failed it. Conversely, I have to try insanely hard to do well in classes which involve lots of mathematical concepts. I think medical related knowledge is a field I excel in because its a huge, interconnected system which I can gain a profound understanding of. I should point out that I have no social life. My only goal now is to get my degree(s) and become a scientist. I dropped everything else. I spend all my time pursuing this goal. Despite all the time and effort I put in, I still have a hard time doing well in college because I have to translate all my visual understandings into words and linear representations when I'm doing the exams. My poor social skills also give me a serious disadvantage when it comes to interviews so the other students get the jobs instead of me. Its pretty ironic because in the labs, it becomes blatantly obvious that I am far more skilled, knowledgeable and competent than the rest of my class (I'm not being arrogant, they all have social lives and only invest college time into this, I invest all my time into it) but college and interviewers gauge you by your ability to communicate your knowledge, not your ability to apply it. Its a bit depressing because I would like to see my effort pay off from time to time but I shouldn't really care because my goal is a long term one and my abilities will allow me to excel when I'm actually on the job.

Secondly I would advise you do not overestimate the fast paced nature of the scientific knowledge in medicine. You mention preferential treatment with Selegiline over SSRI's. Which is not really particularly in itself a great idea.. Why not Maclobemide? MAOI's arent really the most efficacious of antidepressants, neither are SSRI's but lets not get into that. Always keep your knowledge updated, and critically appraise just how throroughly you have done your work.

What I had in mind is using the MAOI as a screening technique to narrow down the potential neurotransmitters to focus on, not as an actual treatment. First time I hear of moclobemide, thanks.

Also I would not underestimate the number of self-experimenting medical students with experiences in benzos, dissocs, psychedelics, natural herbs etc. I would not be so quick to think you are one of a kind!

Good point. I'm a mature student (I'm 26) so I've been around a little longer than most of the students in my college. One thing I've observed that greatly sets me apart from the people in my class is my lack of fear/concern with regards to getting hurt or killed. This lack of fear extends into self experimentation so I tend to take my self experimentation a little further than the average person. I have experienced more than my fair share of psychotic episodes, opioid/other drug withdrawals, potentially life threatening drug interactions, physical injury, bad psychedelic trips and other experiences as a result of my self experimentation, experiences that most people who care about their future seem to desperately avoid at all costs. These experiences contribute to forming my unique perspective. We are all one of a kind. No two people see the world the same way. My fearlessness often makes me arrogant and egotistical in the sense that I start thinking that I just have more balls than most people but in reality, its just my model of reality that causes me to behave the way I do. My life experiences have shown me that the human body and mind is far more resilient than the consensus would have one believe and that it can survive and recover from all kinds of so called life threatening situations. On top of that, I have no fear of death because I believe that life is just some kind of dream type thing. I get sleep paralysis and lucid dream all the time so I've learned a thing or two about how the brain constructs and maintains what we call reality

 

[ambiguus]

I can understand the resentment you are feeling. Here in the UK we seem to have skirted some of the really unfortunate ends of the poor practise that seems at times endemic over the pond, hopelessly discriminatory and contradictory prescribing of pain meds being one of them. But I can imagine that the pain from having to see your grandmother suffer must be quite rough.

It seems as though this is a strong motivation for you to try and push your own knowledge to see if there is better possible, it is important to keep this to heart when going through training especially at times of burnout. You mention cannabis and especially in relation to management of chronic conditions I agree, cannabis is something that could really do wonders for sufferers of MS, inflammatory conditions, Crohn's and the list goes on.

I dont know about you but I see a lot of ignorance and general naîvete amongst many medical students about these substances and generally the sentiment from many in medical school is one of a somewhat sheltered upbringing so I would be very happy to see more people, like yourself with real life-experiences that have the potential to help you empathize better with your patients becoming doctors. That said, as I mentioned, there are the exceptions.

Your scientific knowledge and lab skills will really help with the first two years of most medical school's curricula particularly biochem, pharmacology etc. In answer to your query I do not think that studying medicine rules out a career in research, it can do quite the opposite if you wish to explore such career options. Fields such as neuropsychopharmacology hold quite a lot of interest for me and I would imagine research in the area currently would be promising.

With respect to social aptitude, maybe trying to keep a healthy balance with socialising and work is something to aim for if not fully realize. Come exam time I'm the same, and recently the tendency for me at uni is to not really get stuck in to the whole social cliques in medicine. But your concerns for interviews are valid, have you had any clinical/hospital based experience at all? For me working as a ward hand just helping with catheters, cleaning/feeding patients, doing vital obs etc was very helpful.

Not sure what the equivalent in the states would be but if you have an interest in psychiatry there is work being done by people like the Beckley Foundation if you're interested.

http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/

Good luck!

 

[wizekrak]

Medical school is no joke, and even the best and brightest (med school is a whole new class of genius) struggle to master all the material. No on rips through it. Most docs develop treatment plans alongside their patients that's how doctors work. Gone are the days of 'Doctor knows best'. There are guidelines to follow, its called 'best practice', and if you deviate from those and something happens to your patient you better have a damn good lawyer. Even prescribing things off-label can get iffy. But prescribing something not recognized as a standard treatment is a good way to lose your license quickly. If you wanna get in to medicine go for it, its a rewarding and interesting career full of challenges. I would start stacking your application early though. It took me 3 shots to get in and pretty much every candidate who gets an interview is qualified. Medicine is not for the faint of heart, its not a job, its a lifestyle. Be prepared to give up the next 6 to 9 years of your life and ask yourself if its really what you want to do. It takes a lot of sacrifice and hard work to become a doc. But in my opinion, aside from rockstar there's no better gig.

 

[ebola?]

For example, lets say someone came to me with depression. I would not start by prescribing SSRIs because they take weeks/months before the results can be seen. Instead I would first prescribe selegiline and see what it does for the patient. If it cured the patients depression then I would allow the patient to experiment with agonists of the monoamines which selegiline protects. I would start with dexedrine.

Your first line treatment is a potentially lethal, contraindicated combination of agents which are not on label for major depression, one of which being a schedule-II substance? If your patient doesn't land in the hospital, you will have your medical license revoked with rapid dispatch. I'm all for exploration of alternative pharmacological avenues (the AMPAkines that you mention are indeed quite promising), and selegiline taken alone is likely more effective than SSRIs (though SSRIs aren't particularly effective). However, when you have another person's health in your hands, you have to look before you leap.

My poor social skills also give me a serious disadvantage when it comes to interviews so the other students get the jobs instead of me.

Unfortunately, once your application is selected, medical schools are heavily interview-dependent. On the bright side, professors at medical schools can be eccentric in a way that benefits the socially jilted (for example, there is an unusually high incidence of MBTI-type INTJs among physicians).
...
Honestly, I respect your ambition, but I think coupling it with additional humility and open-mindedness will help you learn and succeed more.

ebola

 

[double ewe]

Honestly, I respect your ambition, but I think coupling it with additional humility and open-mindedness will help you learn and succeed more.

very clear (and kind) way of putting it. i know a lot of very smart, very successful people who struggled mightily with medical school (not to mention the very smart, very successful people who weren't even admitted).