why do people act like this?

[anon1234]

have you guys ever met people who you met and thought "WHY are you applying to go into a healthcare profession"? the type of people i'm talking about are the ones who are rude for no reason, pick fights over little things, don't give other people a chance to explain anything but just assume whatever they want and respond rudely to others.

i have met quite a few people like this and after getting to see their attitude i'm shocked that such people are applying to nursing/medicine and other healthcare professions. i cannot comprehend how these people expect to survive in these professions when they do not have a morsel of patience for others...........for instance a couple of times in group projects and stuff, i meet people who will still complain and try to pick fights even if i'm doing 99% of the work. if you cannot work on a simply project in peace, how will you be able to function later on?

do people like this actually make it through the interview process? is it mostly people like this who say they have 4.0s and don't get in, basically becuse it is apparent that they are idiots? or are they able to con the interviewers and get past such situations and make it to med school?

it makes me shudder to think that such people could be doctors and nurses some day. not that i have a personal vendetta against someone, but i seriously believe that everyone should first work on being PATIENT before considering a career in healthcare.

i guess my question is: how effective is the interview process at weeding out people like this and recognizing the genuinely good/nice people?

comments? stories to share about people like this?

[NewfieMike]

some people will say that they will be weeded out, but who the hell are we kidding?

You can fake ANYTHING in an interview.

[rmorelan]

All I can say is that in our class it seemed to work - everyone still is coming across as a genuine nice person

Been my experience that most truly rude people don't even realize how they are coming off because they actually do not care to worry about such things. Heck, even learning to "fake it" requires a level of attention to the responses of others that they have no practise doing because it is irrelevant to them.

Still no system is perfect - I am sure some not so nice people manage to get in!

[moo]

Welcome to medicine. There are plenty of jerks in medicine (nursing too). It's not hard to be fake during an interview. You WILL come across jerks in your career in medicine, guaranteed. Better get used to it.

Besides, it's the prestige that pushes people to go into medicine not necessarily the touchy feely stuff.

[future_doc]

Unfortunately jerks abound everywhere. As moo says, we better get used to it. And rmorelan is blessed with such a class. Hopefully, the jerks who get in are in the minority. Yes, the present admission system is flawed, but most things in life are flawed.

[ToHellInAHandbasket]

The unfortunate reality is that you can't weed out everyone. The good thing is that Medicine tries hard to reduce those who are perhaps not the best fit to be healthcare providers or have little regard for their future patients. To get into Medicine, you have to make some effort to prove your choice of "why medicine" (MCAT, interviews, volunteering, research, shadowing, pre-reqs, high GPA, etc.). If I wanted to get into nursing for a quick and easy buck for example, most people would agree that the screening process is not that vigorous (although that's not to say that nursing is not competitive).

Generally speaking, the vast majority of those who give up years of their life for med school want it for reasons more than "prestige" and other less noble causes. If I wanted to only make money and a name for myself, I'd be going for an MBA.

In all likelihood, while you will encounter a broad range of personality types in healthcare, I would think that *most* of those people you describe will be weeded out before they get too far.

And if not, those who have no desire to work in healthcare other than money tend to not last very long (I know this is true in nursing as I know a few nurses). That's when you get the MD who decides to work for the pharmaceutical companies, etc.

While I certainly understand where you are coming from, sit back and let nature take its course.

P.S. In a way, it takes a certain amount of "arrogance" to be a doc. You have to tell people what's wrong with them and what to do about it. While not all pre-med/med students/MDs are Type A personalities, I get the feeling that a lot seem to be. It's a double edged sword, I suppose.

[future_doc]

Well said.

And worse than the jerks who get through are those few incompetents who can do serious harm, including causing death, by neglect and even worse, nobody, including the physician, are aware of the incompetence. So, we need to take jerks in perspective.

[Jochi1543]

Some people are weeded out, but most definitely not all.

[Cnussey]

It's not only medicine, they are everywhere. Often, they are very intelligent and can get quite far in life regardless of their attitude (and regardless of their ability to "fake" it).

[future_doc]

So long as they remain in the minority.