Would you advise anyone to become a doctor?

doi:10.1136/bmj.a2739

Published 25 November 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2739
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2739

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Live from Liverpool

Would you advise anyone to become a doctor?

Deborah Cohen, features editor, BMJ

dcohen@bmj.com

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

"This is my granddaughter—she’s a doctor," my grandfathertold his mates in the pub. I didn’t have the heart tocorrect him and tell them that I was no longer a real doctorworking on the frontline and making crucial decisions. He stillrefuses to admit that as a journalist I’ve slipped fromnear godliness to somewhere beneath estate agents (with whomhe has newfound sympathy), lawyers, and now bankers on the socialscale. Needless to say, he’s not a doctor, and to himmedicine is still the ultimate profession.

The next week—again in the pub—a group of doctorfriends spent half the evening trying to dissuade a banker fromquitting his unstable job and going to medical school to ensurea far brighter future. "I want to give something back," he wailed,a mission statement that probably won’t wash with manyinterview panels any longer. Apart from derisive guffaws, . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Medicine: you get to make a difference: David A King
bmj.com, 26 Nov 2008 [Full text]
a Career You Will Not Regret: Antoine Kass-Iliyya
bmj.com, 27 Nov 2008 [Full text]
Yes, I Would Advise Medicine as a Career!: William Notcutt
bmj.com, 6 Dec 2008 [Full text]
Ask to your self if you want to do it: Hammad Akram
bmj.com, 7 Dec 2008 [Full text]