This 18 year old was a 6th year student. She had been a straight ‘A’ student all through school. While that was wonderful on an academic level, it presented a challenge on the career level. Her Mum explained her position very clearly:
“She is so good in school and works so hard, but she hasn’t a clue what she wants to do. There are so many things she can do that she feels totally paralyzed when it comes to making a career decision.”
This is a very typical and normal dilemma of the talented student. Because of their intelligence, this student can fit in almost anywhere. The real question the counsellor will want to ask in career guidance sessions will be:
“So it is clear your head can do any number of things very well, but what does your heart want to do? Which of these things will make YOU happy?”
A common trap for the talented student is to think:
“I am going to get close to 600 points so I had better “use” them.”
So when this student said that she was thinking of doing Medicine, the Counsellor immediately tried to ascertain whether this choice was motivated by points or by something deeper.
Many students do not understand that Medicine is a scientific discipline. Many say that they want to do Medicine because they “want to help people”. However, the first few years of Medical study are devoted primarily to the study of physical science and not to human behaviour.
The counsellor therefore tried to ascertain whether this student actually liked Science. She was taking Biology and Chemistry and really liked both. She said that she liked Physics less and was not taking it in her Leaving Certificate. When it was explained to her that this subject would also have to be studied as part of her Medical studies, she said that she would be quite willing to take grinds in it.
The other aspect of this career is that it can be very emotionally challenging. The counsellor presented many difficult situations to the student – such as the death of a child patient – how would she cope with this? After a long discussion, the student said that, even though she would find this situation very challenging, she considered that with the help of her team she would eventually learn the skills to cope with such events.
The aspect of work/life balance was also discussed. The student was made to understand that Medicine was clearly not a 9.00 – 5.00 profession. On many occasions she may have to leave family events to attend to a patient or she may be called out in the middle of the night on an emergency case. The student said that she was well aware that the normal routine of family life may not apply if she were to enter medicine. However she was from a Medical background – she had seen her parents cope successfully so she hoped she could do likewise.
Having assessed this student using personality profiles and interest inventories, this student proved that she was not merely choosing Medicine merely on a whim; this was a serious vocational choice for her. She went on to do Medicine and is now not only involved in a successful medical practice, but has a very young family too.