Medicine and Maps

Sometimes I feel like I should be a doctor. Not because I really want to be one, but because I've been there, and I could know what my patients are going through. Add to that my love of research and I bet I would make a pretty good one. :)

The only problem is that I really don't want to have to memorize the names for the bones and muscles of the body. That was what kept me out of the health field in college too...I was thinking of either becoming a mathematical psychologist or a lawyer and then I heard that nursing students could get full scholarships. I already had most of my psych degree done, so I thought I'd take one semester of nursing courses and see how I liked it before I decided whether or not to apply for the scholarship. Well, one semester was enough. I actually enjoyed the science classes, all but one. Only problem is, that one was required in order to get the nursing degree (or any medical degree) and I really didn't want to spend the time trying to learn it.

There are two things in my life that I've discovered that I have a hard time learning. One is maps. I can read a map if I have it in my hands, but don't give me a blank map and ask me to fill in the areas. I can memorize them enough to fill out questions on a test if I really cram for it, but as soon as the test is over, so is the knowledge. My husband really couldn't understand why I had such a hard time with maps until I asked him one day, quite seriously, if China was in Africa. After that he tells me that he'll teach our children geography. The other thing I have a hard time learning is the bones and muscles, etc. of the body. I can remember the big ones, but once it gets to the smaller ones, it's about like learning a map. With a lot of study I can remember it for a test, but after that it's gone.

I don't know why maps (of people or areas) seem to affect me like that. There really isn't anything else that is that hard to learn (at least that I've found so far). I usually just joke about it, and people who know me just think its another of those things that makes me quirky. :)

But, if I could figure some way to get through the class where you have to learn the map of the body, I might consider going to medical school. They say that people learn psychology who want to understand themselves. So why do most people become doctors? Unfortunately, I'm afraid that most become doctors because they like the money and prestige that comes with it.

Marrying a doctor was not something I ever pictured for myself. I knew too many doctors as friends, and knew about the midnight calls and never really having a day off. So I married an engineer instead...and would you believe they have the same midnight calls and often no real days off (there's always the chance of an emergency call, even when you're on vacation). Maybe I'll encourage my children to either play sports or become musicians. :)

I do wonder though, what would happen if more doctors were people who'd been through it already? I read one time that Obstricians had the highest approval rating of any type of doctor. I wonder if it's because most have children of their own, so they can emphesis with their patients? My first OB was pregnant with her first child while I was pregnant with mine. It was great. We discussed things like which car seat is the best, along with all the usual questions you ask during a pregnancy. Because she knew exactly what I was going through, no question sounded silly, and answers were always forthcoming, unless she didn't know, and she'd tell me that too. I had absolutely no doubts about the doctor I'd chosen.

So I wonder, as someone who suffers with chronic pain and is now also dealing with nerve problems, if maybe I shouldn't go back to school and get my medical degree. Even if it does mean trying to learn another map. I wonder if I'd have something to offer to patients that is sadly lacking in most of todays medical arenas.