My future career

[quadfive]

Hey guys,

This might be kinda weird but I want honest answers for this question. First some history about me... 3 years ago I had just graduated high school & was about a week away from college & a division 2 basketball scholarship when my life was flipped upside down. I was going swimming on a beautiful sunny day & dove off a dock into shallow water, breaking my neck & paralyzing me. I still have partial use of my hands & my arms are pretty strong but to make the story short, I cruise my college campus in a 30k $$ power wheelchair.

I've decided to take the medical school entrance exams in June, (MCAT) and will hopefully be in a med school by the fall of 2010. I have a journal website my family has uupdated since my injury & you can PM for the address if your interested. BUT ANYWAYS my question is, if you walk into a doctors office for advice & your doctor is in a wheelchair, do you hold his opinion just as high as a able body Dr.? I'm deciding if I want to specialize in an area without patient conversation, like radiology or something.

[loltrickedu]

you should just post the address, and that is a super interesting question that i want to think about before i give a response.

[given1982]

With impairment to your hands, that obviously restricts your ability to be a surgeon. But I don't see why quadraplegia would otherwise limit you within the medical profession. I can't fathom any reason someone would trust the medical advice of someone in a wheelchair less than someone with full use of his extremities.

[quadfive]

well it may be hard to believe but in this day & age there are a lot of ignorant people in our world & i'm not writing in here to bitch and moan because I honestly feel lucky with my situation. But i can be treated shitty at times just like an african american in our culture, racism and descrimination is still around.

some people may actually associate a wheelchair with a mental deficiency & take me as a poor source of advice & that is an understandable, yet sad reason, but it happens.

Haha at the surgery comment ;-p I was thinking brain surgery may be off the list as well lol.

But my idea is something in a field like using computer & diagnosing X rays that type of thing.
I also enjoyd my time when I was in therapy for my own injury and i wouldn't mind that aspect of medicine too.

[quadfive]

the website updates on my blog have slowed, but you can look back & see how far I've come... a "grind" in the truest form.

go to

CaringBridge. Free Websites That Support And Connect Loved Ones During Critical Illness.

where it says visit a page, type

petergrahn

[dansiek]

Firstly its very sad to here ur story,
But if i'm honest, seeing my doctor in a wheelchair kinda makes u feel like they can relate to ur problems better and they know what u r going thru.

It wud not enter my mind that they are more mentally deficient.

[given1982]

Originally Posted by quadfive

well it may be hard to believe but in this day & age there are a lot of ignorant people in our world & i'm not writing in here to bitch and moan because I honestly feel lucky with my situation. But i can be treated shitty at times just like an african american in our culture, racism and descrimination is still around.

some people may actually associate a wheelchair with a mental deficiency & take me as a poor source of advice & that is an understandable, yet sad reason, but it happens.

Haha at the surgery comment ;-p I was thinking brain surgery may be off the list as well lol.

But my idea is something in a field like using computer & diagnosing X rays that type of thing.
I also enjoyd my time when I was in therapy for my own injury and i wouldn't mind that aspect of medicine too.

I have a buddy that became a quadraplegic almost the exact same way that you did--diving into Lake Travis when it was too shallow. There is definitely discrimination against people with disabilities. If you have some kind of speech impediment, then I would be more worried about people thinking that you also have a mental disability. But I think that people who haven't had bad experiences with them tend to inherently trust doctors.

[jarmop]

BUT ANYWAYS my question is, if you walk into a doctors office for advice & your doctor is in a wheelchair, do you hold his opinion just as high as a able body Dr.?

Yes.

I don't go to a doctor for his/hers appearance.

[chinz]

It doesn't really make a difference, as given1982 said:

Originally Posted by given1982

With impairment to your hands, that obviously restricts your ability to be a surgeon. But I don't see why quadraplegia would otherwise limit you within the medical profession. I can't fathom any reason someone would trust the medical advice of someone in a wheelchair less than someone with full use of his extremities.

[talon]

Most of us end up in careers that we don't love. Don't let this happen to you. You are young enough to begin a career in something you have a passion for. Do it. You'll be much happier now and especially 30 yrs from now.

The wheel chair would not matter at all in evaluating my doctor.