Becoming a doctor?

[Flowerz]

This isn't really relevant to this section, but I'm wondering if anyone here is a doctor and can give me some advice. I like medical information, but have no intention of ever going to school for, or becoming an actual doctor. However, I would like to learn the bulk of everything a GP would generally learn in my own time, as a hobby. Is this actually feasible? Obviously I would never learn the same quality of information from the internet as I would attending an actual medical school, but are there resources available online to gather an in-depth medical knowledge for free (or relatively cheap)? 

Please don't cite webMD anyone. I'm looking for an actual course overview of a sort. Essentially what I want is an organized index of pirateable medical books, instructing me in which order to read them, as so I am introduced to basic concepts at first, but then read more advanced, but relevant and understandable material, in addition to any bridge work material that might be missing in between transitioning between books. I've been to university, I know how the general layout of a degree goes. Is it possible to gather ample accurate medical information online? I know there are a shit load of medical books online, but I don't really know where to start, in terms of gathering an all encompassing view of modern medicine as a whole. I suppose basic human biology and kinesiology are some good stepping stones but I don't really know where to go from there (in terms of what the most logical systems to learn next are). Any advice or resources would be appreciated.

[fanglekai]

Try to find a med school's curriculum and read the same books. Not sure where that info is available but that's what you'd do. Follow the same books.

[Flowerz]

Try to find a med school's curriculum and read the same books. Not sure where that info is available but that's what you'd do. Follow the same books.

Schools normally use books in the curriculum that were written by the profs (as they choose the books one needs to read). They are normally not available to pirate online. Its a complete racket. Each prof makes the book they wrote mandatory reading for the course, and the only people who read those books are the people taking their course. Since its a tiny (albeit, incredibly profitable due to ass rape overcharging) demand, the books rarely make their way to being pirated online. Essentially all profs from all school do this. And they release a new copy of the books with slightly different information every few years. That is why students, even in modern times, are forced to either buy or share a textbook for every course, instead of just pirating it.

I don't know for a fact that medical schools work this way, but I can assume they do, at least to some capacity. Most other courses work like this.

[equanimity]

Start with human anatomy and physiology.  Try to find this maybe, if you can (it's good): http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-amp-Physiology-Function-Connect/dp/1259162850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414732181&sr=8-1&keywords=9781259162855

You don't need a big pile of e-books.  Study this first; it's harder than it seems.  Once you finish, then you move on.  Expect this to take several months, though.

[Flowerz]

Start with human anatomy and physiology.  Try to find this maybe, if you can (it's good): http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-amp-Physiology-Function-Connect/dp/1259162850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414732181&sr=8-1&keywords=9781259162855

You don't need a big pile of e-books.  Study this first; it's harder than it seems.  Once you finish, then you move on.  Expect this to take several months, though.

Thanks, I found the 5th and 6th edition on kat.

[reggie_love]

I would recommend getting copies of the following books:
• DeGowin & DeGowin diagnostic examination (shows you how to do many diagnostic tests and their findings as well as a list/glossary of pathologies and diseases). This is an excellent book for getting GP-style knowledge. They've been writing these since the 60s so if you can't pirate one you don't need to blow a bunch of money on a new edition, though I'd at least try and get one that's been published after AIDS was discovered.
• Physicians Desk Reference (comprehensive encyclopedia of just about every medication, down to what the actual pills and ampules look like), very useful even for the layperson, and almost certainly available for online piracy (it's big with drug users).
• Some sort of anatomy book as previously mentioned. You can almost certainly find an old Gray's Anatomy for cheap somewhere, and it's got a lot of helpful annotations, but there might be others you like better; I think the illustrations in Gray's are a little old-timey and harder to read. I have one I really like, but unfortunately I left it at my parents' house and can't recall the author. Shop around.
• Read through issues of the New England Journal of Medicine. I have no idea what it's like torrenting these, but if you can't find them online, university libraries usually have archives. These have the latest findings in medical research, interesting clinical case reports, and all kinds of miscellaneous articles. I think some of them have quizzes for continuing medical education, but that might just be for subscribers. You can learn a lot with an issue of NEJM in one hand and a laptop in the other, looking up terms you don't know as you go.

I can't tell you enough to remember to make use of your local library! Just because you can't torrent a book doesn't mean you can't find it for free.

You also might find it enlightening to take an emergency medicine course of some kind. In addition to getting certified and having lifesaving skills, you learn quite a bit about the body and various injuries and ailments. A Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course takes about a week and costs $800-1000 and will give you a lot of practical knowledge, or you can really immerse yourself (and get an EMT-B certification) by taking an EMT class which takes a month and costs about the same (or can be up to $2000, depending on who's offering it). Not only will these give you lifesaving skills that may be useful in an emergency, they're also pretty fun and can give you a sense for the thought process of triage and medical problem-solving.