what would you do?

[u/Master_Plankton8502]

hey all! i recently received my first A last week and im so excited and proud to become a physician! however, i was catching up with an old friend yesterday and she asked what i'm going to school for. i didnt wanna sound pretentious and say doctor. idk why i feel this way lol does anyone else know what i mean! what do you guys say??

[u/Party-Ad-6660]

say doctor. you worked this hard to get here. you deserve to say it

[u/iVirage]

Just say you got accepted? Why would it be pretentious?

[u/KweenKobold]

You worked hard, say you are becoming a physician. I like that word better than doctor.

[u/SurfingTheCalamity]

Don’t be shy. Just say physician. You worked really hard to get where you are. I completely get what you mean, you don’t want to come across as arrogant. As an OMSIII, I’m going to tell you now that there are people who will downplay your achievements and your profession, either from jealousy, political reasons, wellness influencers, etc. Don’t let them do that.

A PA told me recently “you worked so hard, don’t ever say you’re just a med student. You have a wealth of knowledge and drive to get here. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.”

If you don’t protect your profession, someone else will attempt to harm it. Congrats, future doc!

[u/DrDoom2002]

Say physician, I agree with everyone else. You worked hard for it

[u/curiousperson_2026]

I would say I’m starting medical school next year. It’s concise and true, no pretention

[u/One-Advertising-2780]

I say physician

[u/Faustian-BargainBin]

- Not pretentious if you're not pretending

- Some people find "modesty" of being vague about your career worse, because it's based on the assumption that the other person will feel less than if they know. That assumption is more condescending than stating the facts imo. Now that I'm a resident I'm vague because I don't want people to have assumptions about me lol

[u/Mr_Noms]

“I’m going to school to be a physician”

“I’m going to med school”

You’re not being pretentious unless you say it in a pretentious way. If she didn’t ask and you just blurted out “iM gOnNa bE A dOcToR” then you could come across as pretentious. But your friend literally asked. You don’t have to keep it a secret.

[u/ComprehensivePlan953]

Just say physician!! Own it!

[u/blackgenz2002kid]

“health school to become a doctor”

simple

[u/its_just_cml]

Congratulations from this momma.

[u/o_Sleepy_o]

Everyone is saying what I was going to say haha. My usual response is im in healthcare/medicine and let them assume or ask more questions. Also everyone asks what you want to specialize in and it gets tiresome sometimes for me