Becoming a doctor is a deeply personal decision and this post is for those considering the field and why they should pursue it. For those of you already committed to the pathway please feel free to drop down anything you think would be helpful for our younger counterparts. Before I get started I would like to mention a line from Jeff Bezos that in my opinion is very related to becoming a physician. In one of his interviews, he says that people have jobs, they have dreams, and they have callings. He goes on to say that a calling is the most important thing that a person can follow if they can find it 1. And I agree with this, especially for medicine as it is a huge commitment.
This career is a big step in one’s life as it is a long and hard journey. But with a clear picture of the goal in mind, the journey is enjoyable. We all start with a dream but making it a reality is something that takes time, and sadly a lot of people drop out of medicine due to hardships. But do keep in mind that becoming a physician is one of the most rewarding careers. Yes, I personally am not one yet, but from shadowing multiple physicians and talking to many it is very prominent that doctors do what they do because they love what they do. I mean who would willingly go to school for a greater part of a decade if they did not have that true passion for medicine. And that true passion includes a variety of different positives the physicians provide to the world.
Physicians are able to provide their services to a multitude of different people. They have the ability to not just one or two people, but tons of patients a day! Primary care physicians average serving around 2,000 patients per year. Just imagine that! You’re able to affect so many people’s lives in such a positive way, something that would be hard to do otherwise.
By serving others out of their free will, physicians are sacrificing their life for serving humanity, for doing the greater good. I mean how much nobler can a profession get? Physicians spend a greater part of the decade in school and training after college just so they can go out in the world and implement a change upon their fellow humans. The only way to go through all that school is with a very strong desire to serve. That is why those who make it out are the best of the best. Just imagine yourself going through all the hard work and serving those of your community or other communities. Imagine the happiness you’d feel from knowing you did your best to help improve someone’s life for the better. You could be a surgeon bringing back someone from their deathbed, or a pediatrician who is helping a child recover from the common cold. It doesn’t matter at the end of the day YOU are the one improving others’ lives!
This brings me to my other point which is that within the field of medicine there is so much flexibility as to what you can do. There are so many specialties or subspecialties that one can find a passion for. Let’s say you have always been intrigued by how the heart works and functions, you can become an expert at it while helping serve those who need YOUR expertise. How great would that feel? There is just so much versatility in medicine, for example, you could work in a 9-5 office relaxed and helping patients in a calm manner, or feel the adrenaline of working in the hospital with a different case of patient rushing in every so often.
On top of being an expert, there is no end to the continuous knowledge that is being poured into the medical field day by day. This makes the medical field so interesting, as it is a never-ending journey of curiosity and knowledge that can be used to do good in humanity. Sure physicians may have to take boards every so often to keep practicing medicine, but if you have a passion for a specific specialty I presume it would be easy to learn about something you love.
Another thing about becoming a physician is that the older you become as a physician the more experienced and respected you are. This is because the more patients you see the more experience you gain on how to treat them and what works best. This means that you do not have to worry about finding a new job, getting laid off for new physicians to enter, and most importantly you can keep doing what you dreamed of! On top of this if you stick with the same practice you can build long-term relationships with your patients and see them grow as you help them stay healthy throughout the years. These bonds formed will be like nothing else! You will get to see the service you provide first hand and see a patient heal or improve.
Quick Facts
Some quick facts about the career are that it has some of the best satisfaction ratings in comparison with other careers 2. This is due to the fact that these selfless people are helping other people which as mentioned above can be one of the most rewarding things. Another fact about physicians is that they have some of the lowest divorce rates which could be due to the exercising of trusting and communicating abilities that physicians have to do all the time when they are treating patients 3. This may be a random fact, but hey a positive is a positive.
Now I know money should not be the motivating factor for becoming a physician, but it sure is a good extrinsic factor. The average physician makes a good $294,000 in America 4. Furthermore, doctors can have a lot of versatility in how they work, for example, internists in suburban areas can work one week on and one week off and still make almost the average salary for physicians.
As with all things in life, there are pros and cons. And it would be unfair for me to list only the positives without touching on the negatives of being a physician. Doctors on average work around 1.5 times more per week compared to the average 9-5 American job 5. This overworking leads to burnout to occur within physicians. In 2020. 42% of physicians reported burnout due to overworking 6. Now, these numbers may be heavily inflated due to the stress that was imposed upon doctors when the pandemic arose. But at the same time, these physicians were the ones saving people in the battle with this novel virus, which is one amazing sacrifice these people made!
At the end of the day, the decision is yours. Take some time to consider all things before deciding one way or the other. But I would like to emphasize if you believe your calling is serving humanity, becoming a physician is one of the best ways to fulfill that! Good luck to you all in whatever you choose but we hope we can help you on your Doctor Journey!
by Kartik Goswami