Why do I want to be a doctor?

While this may be fairly obvious, before you make the substantial investment into medical school (of time, money, and energy), it is important to make sure that you actually want to be a doctor. It is not uncommon for students to become attracted to the perceived financial rewards, social status, and humanitarian nature of a medical profession without fully considering the equal amount of disadvantages associated with such a career.

Med school is a long, long process. For me, I will have to complete a two year post baccalaureate, pre-medical education program in order to catch up on all the science requirements that I didn't take in college; a four year medical education (assuming I do not take a year off somewhere, which is not uncommon); a two to five year residency; and possibly a one to two year fellowship...all in hopes that I will pass my boards and can begin practicing soon after graduation. In all, this is roughly a decade of education with which comes a decade's worth of cost. Not only do tuition, books, and miscellaneous fees leave a large hole one's pocket, but the costs of living for 10 years with little to no income only worsen the financial outlook (check aamc's website for some financial advice). So why bother?

I believe that my skill set, career goals, and the current challenges/opportunities of health care make medicine the correct path for me.

Specifically, I believe that I am a good decision maker. I like combining my educational and work experiences as well as carefully considering the opinions of those around me to make important decisions. Even more challenging and exciting is having to make quick decisions while under stress. I also believe that I am a level-headed, mature individual who can engage in all kinds of conversations from a discussion of sports to a highly personal health-related issue. Further, I am interested in and feel that I will succeed at managing teams, which is an increasingly important skill for physicians, particularly in the hospital environment.

In terms of my career goals, medicine is in line with my desire to do something I can get excited about every day of my life. While every profession has its place and is important to our society and economy, I feel that medicine will particularly drive me to excel at my job and will, well, get me out of bed in the morning! Moreover, I enjoy working hard and keeping busy and am not opposed to being rewarded at the end of the day.

The reason I ultimately decided to pursue medicine was because of my interest in the current state of health care. Each day, this industry changes due to new regulations, discoveries, cost concerns, etc. Such an environment creates both challenges and opportunities. While all health providers are forced to respond and react to changing policies or practices, there lies the potential for leaders to emerge and discover new ways to provide the best care to patients will decreasing costs and inefficiency; this is something I want to be a part of.

There you have it. Do you think these are good reasons? I would be interested in hearing others' rationals for a career in medicine (or anything else for that matter). Feel free to email me if you would like to share.