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The Best and Worst Reasons to Become

A Doctor

© 2015 Glen Item, MD

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Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, the author disclaims any liability from the direct or indirect use of this material. The contents of this report are for informational purposes only that is based on the knowledge, opinions and experience of the author. He does not represent the views and statements of any organization, association, or educational institution. Please seek the advice of a professional career coach or advisor for more details.

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Still on Soul-Searching Stage?

If you are still doing a lot of thinking on whether you should pursue a career in Medicine, I understand how you feel. In fact, believe it or not, at this point I already congratulate for at least taking the time to think hard and research about it. There are just too many students who hurriedly enroll in medical schools. And along the way, most of them quit just because it was not what they expected. Hopefully, this guide will be able to help you decide. On the other hand, you are reading this right now even if you are already in the medical school. Or maybe you are already a licensed physician. It is still a great idea to look back and ask yourself, “Did I really want it with my best intentions?” This report is entitled, "The Best and Worst Reasons to Become A Doctor". However, we should start with the bad ones first, because we all love happy endings, right?

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The WORST Reasons

I. Your parents or relatives wanted you to become a doctor There was a young man who asked for advice in the forums about his parents who wanted him to become a doctor. According to him, his parents threatened not to support him financially if he does not take up a premedical course. Then the advice he received was quite simple enough: choose a premedical course that he is most interested in, then fail the Medical Aptitude Test repeatedly until his parents give up. Now that was awesome advice! Just kidding! You may have already heard this advice before like an old broken record. But the reason that your parents are forcing you to become a doctor is most likely because they believe it is the best career for you. And of course, there are other reasons like the bragging rights. Unfortunately, choosing and working on a profession that you do not like will only hurt you deeply in the end. This is especially true in the Medical career. With all the bad things happening to the Medical profession lately, it is not a career that you will just have to learn to love eventually. There are two ways to solve this dilemma. One is to tell them upfront that you do not want to become a doctor and want to do something else. For example, if you are interested in a career in computers and technology, convince them why you are truly passionate about it.

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Research about it and show to them that it is something you can work on for the rest of your life. Then tell them that you will support yourself by applying for scholarship and/or become a working student. Sure, you had to sacrifice some things like your social life and a romantic relationship, but if you just focus on what you truly wanted, you will achieve it. The other option is look for opportunities where you can volunteer in the clinical and hospital settings for at least a year. Learn from the other doctors as much as you can. Observe their lifestyle and their work schedules. Take note on how they were able to deal with the stress and demands of being a doctor Who knows? Maybe from there you will eventually consider having a career on it. If you are looking for a way to learn to love Medicine eventually, this is the best way.

II. You want to become rich

Perhaps you have already heard about the dismal monetary rewards of being a doctor. But then you are still determined to become "big time" like the other established physicians because you believe you are hardworking enough. Perhaps you are even a firm believer of "there is no glory without sacrifice." There is nothing really with dreaming to become rich, no matter how it sounds “evil” to most people. As long as you have deeper reasons than just wanting to be become rich. But studying to become a doctor just to become rich is simply foolish. What are the two things that Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Oprah Winfrey have in common?

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First, they are all very rich, obviously. Second, none of them graduated from College. Each of them became rich because they were entrepreneurs. Each of them made valuable contributions to mankind. They still work hard, but they were not working on high-paying but more stressful professions like Medicine. Of course, this does not mean school is not important. It only means that to become rich you are willing to learn some things not taught in schools, including medical schools. There are ways that you can actually achieve riches at a relatively faster rate than going to the medical school. The internet itself provides a lot of free and readily available information. Do not be misled by some physicians who are driving luxurious cars or living in mansions. Some of them may have already incurred a lot of debt and may not be able to retire even if they are in the 80s of age.

III. You want to become a (insert medical specialty here) I can only shake my head in disbelief every time I hear a young person, including someone who is still in high school, seek advice about what it takes to become a (insert specialty here) instead of becoming a physician. This is just a personal observation, but this is more common on wanting to specialize in a “lifestyle” medical specialty. In case you do not know what a "lifestyle" specialty, it is a medical specialization where your working hours are flexible, yet the monetary rewards are still at least decent. The lifestyle specialties include Emergency Medicine, Radiology, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, and Dermatology (E-ROAD).

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First of all, the concept of "lifestyle" is subjective. Having great "lifestyle" truly depends on the doctor himself, not on the specialization that he has. I personally know some surgeons who still find time to spend with their respective families. Second, before you even reach the part where you decide to take up residency training in one of the E-ROAD specialties, you have to survive the medical school first. That includes from taking the aptitude test to passing the licensure board exams. Then along the way, your preferences will change. This usually happens during internship. For example, you eventually became interested in Obstetrics or in Internal Medicine. Or maybe you even wanted to stick with primary care. Then even after you already passed the boards and you are already considering one of the E-ROAD specialties, you realized that they are very hard to get into because of the stiff competition. Then you also realized that even these specializations have their own set of disadvantages. For example, based on personal experience, I still do not understand why Anesthesiology is considered a lifestyle specialty. You have to get up early almost every day, you get frustrated when your surgeon shows up late, and you basically have no control of your time. Work first on becoming a physician before even thinking of what specialization to take, because the road ahead is already hard enough.

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IV. You want to help people. Surprised? Of course, at first glance it is a great reason. Each one of us wants to help someone regardless of our personal background. Just do not use this reasoning during admission interviews because most of the interviewers are already sick and tired of hearing this. They have even the records to show that the medical students who gave this reason did not actually finish the medical school. Yet this is still one of the common answers given by medical school applicants in admission interviews. Maybe it has something with our parents telling us since childhood that we should do good unto others. Or maybe it has something to dreaming to become a superhero, even in a more realistic way. But then there are many other ways to help sick people. Nurses help sick people. Physical therapists help sick people. Priests help sick people. There are even other more "subtle" ways to help them, like giving donations to charity hospitals. You can also volunteer for Red Cross and other health organizations. In fact, there are even some patients that have other problems than just being sick. And most of these problems are already beyond your control. So you need to have a bigger reason that just wanting to help sick people.

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The BEST Reasons

I. You have a mentor who continues to inspire and give you guidance. Attending physicians sleeping with residents. Residents sleeping with interns. Interns sleeping with nurses. Even the patients are taking part of the action. Sounds familiar? If there is one bad source of inspiration for becoming a great physician, it is Medical-related TV shows. Now I am not saying that such relationships do not happen in the real medical world. It is just that too much sex scenes and other drama not related at all to Medicine can distract you from seeing the reality of the life in the Medical career. If you are searching for a role model and/or great mentor, go out there in the real world of Medicine. Learn from the other more experienced physicians who had been there and done that. This is where having parents as doctors can be an advantage, IF you actually wanted to become a doctor instead of being forced by them. As I previously mentioned, a good way to know if a career in Medicine is right for you is to take opportunities for volunteering and shadowing for a physician as much as you can. But if you have already decided to get into medical school, you may still need mentors who will least provide valuable advice and encouragement. Do not just be inspired by seeing the fruits of their labor. Learn how they were able to overcome the difficulties that they encounter in their career, and yet still maintain an optimistic attitude.

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II. You love to learn the Science of Medicine for a lifetime. Medicine is not like most other professions. After you passed the licensure boards, you still have to keep yourself updated. You have to attend medical conferences and seminars as much as you can. When you finish your chosen residency training and passed the diplomate written and oral exams, you still have to take up recertication exams. They are given every five to ten years depending on your specialization. Medicine as a science evolves relatively fast, and there are new discoveries and treatment guidelines every year. And you have to keep updated, so that you will not be left behind. Honestly, this was my initial purpose for studying Medicine. Even as a child, I already read children’s books related to Medicine as I was already fascinated by the structures and functions. But looking back now, I realized that the “interest” I had in Medicine had its highs and lows. But I have to continue studying, no matter what. And having the childhood interest is not enough, you need to have the passion, too. We will talk about passion in the later part of this book.

III. You love to emphatize and give comfort to people. When I was on my fourth year of medical school, I served in a rural area as part of our curriculum in Community Medicine. One of the patients I encountered in the outpatient clinic was a lady in her 50s who came in with a complaint of dizziness. Her past medical history revealed that she was already hypertensive for almost a year. Yet she admits she was not diligent in taking her anti hypertensive medications.

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So when I asked her the reason for her irregular medication. She simply replied, "It is about my son." Then she just broke down and cried. I was worried that her emotional state would aggravate her hypertension, but I managed to ask her, "Would you like to talk about it?" Then she started to talk about her son's disinterest in going to college and his stubbornness. She also said that there seem to be no use in taking her medication when she is upset all the time. I listened without interrupting as she vent out her frustrations and resentment. Then I said to her, "I understand how you feel. Not that I am justifying your son's actions, but maybe you can hear his side of the story? Maybe he just needs more time. However, if you get sick by not taking your medication, your son would surely be miserable. You have to do it not just for yourself but for him too." Later, when she was about to leave she told me, "Thanks Doc for listening, it really means so much for me." Previously I just mentioned that becoming a doctor with just the reason of wanting to help people is not enough. One reason is because there is a deeper level than just helping people, and that is giving empathy and comfort. There is just no other profession that will enable you to "cure sometimes, treat often and comfort always" like a physician. There is more to than just having a Doctor House-like brilliance to making the correct diagnosis of the rarest of the diseases that you may not even encounter in your lifetime. Sometimes patients seek more than just being cured for their illnesses. They also seek compassion from their doctors.

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Looking back now, I was wondering if whether I will still have the time and the energy to give her that kind of advice if I met her in the hospital setting. Wherein there are more patients to see, more paperwork to deal with, more grumpy seniors to answer to, and more policies and politics on health care to worry about. Honestly, I do not know. It is not easy to empathize and give comfort as a doctor these days. Yes, I have also encountered patients that are rude and ungrateful. But I am still trying my best, even if I am in a specialty that has even more limited patient interaction. If you still love to give comfort in any way possible besides just the curing, you will be able to practice in any field of Medicine.

IV. You have the passion for a Career in Medicine

How do we define passion? Wikipedia defines passion as something that you have a feeling of intense emotion into something or someone. That emotion should not be necessarily be feelings of joy or love. Even if you are tired of doing it, you are still doing it because of passion. You do not even need the initial interest in the science of Medicine to have the passion. You do not need to have graduated from the most recommended premed course of the most prestigious school to have passion. I have personally witnessed those who graduated from non-health related college courses taking up Medicine.

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Sure, they have to take up the additional required units, but that did not stop them. And now they are some of the successful practicing physicians I know. Why is passion important in a career in Medicine? Because "falling in love" with it is not enough. When you get accepted into a medical school, there will usually be feelings of euphoria and delight. In other words, it was like falling in love. Seriously. You get excited as you wear your white blazers and open the newly bought books by Snell and Guyton. Then you get to meet your classmates who have the same feelings that you have. Then as days went on you became busier with life in the medical school. But it is alright. You already expected this, right? That was until you heard stories of doctors who left their profession and went abroad as nurses or caregivers. Then you also heard stories of other doctors who do unethical practices just to stay above the competition of the private practice. Then to make matters worse, you saw your classmate in high school who posted pictures of his Lamborghini or his five story mansion on Facebook. You wanted to be happy for him, but instead you felt envious. It is because this classmate actually dropped out of high school!h Then you saw this on your own timeline after you slept at 2 am last night for studying all the origins and insertions of the muscles in Snell. You started to think that life is so unfair. Then you cannot take it anymore. You decided to quit and leave the medical school, because you just lost interest in becoming a doctor. You just had an infatuation with Medicine. So how do you know if you truly have the passion in becoming a doctor?

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There are so many books written about how to discover your passion. There are also books written on how to align your passion with your purpose in life. But in the end, it is something that only you can answer. However, you can start searching for that passion to become a doctor while volunteering for clinical work or shadowing some physicians. You may be able to find that passion if you are in a premed course that has more direct contact with people, like nursing or physical therapy. If you found your passion for Medicine in just dreaming about it since childhood, it might not be enough. You have to rekindle that burning desire that may have diminished as you grew older.

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About the Author

Dr. Glen R. Item finished his studies in Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health in Ateneo de Zamboanga University School of Medicine in Zamboanga City, Philippines. He completed his post graduate internship in Zamboanga City Medical Center and is currently a resident physician of the Department of Anesthesiology of the same hospital. To receive the latest updates from Dr. Item, subscribe to DoctorLevelUp.com. You can also visit his main website at GlenMD.com