I have written about this topic many times over the past 6 years. More searches find this blog because of this topic. Today is our school’s annual White Coat ceremony. Our new 1st year students receive their first white coat in a ceremony attended by family and friends. This ceremony represents their first formal step to joining our wonderful profession.
Who should become a physician?
You must have a combination of scientific aptitude and concern for people. You should become a physician if you want to make a difference in people’s lives. You should become a physician if you want to solve puzzles that really matter.
How can you know that you will love medicine? Perhaps you can learn about medicine through shadowing physicians. Perhaps you can learn about medicine by doing volunteer work in a hospital. But you really cannot tell until you walk into the room with a patient and feel the responsibility and the opportunity.
As readers know, I love medicine. For me medicine is both a vocation and an avocation. Now I have other avocations, but many days, medicine does not feel like work. I enjoy caring for patients. I wake up and look in the mirror, and I know that my day’s goal is to help patients. Now I also have a goal of helping students and residents become excellent physicians.
I am fortunate. I make a more than reasonable income, and my school debt was minimal. But I have eschewed the option of practicing medicine just to make money.
Who should not become a physician?
If money is you main object, avoid medicine. We make decent money, but we invest so much time getting there, that from a pure financial calculation, medicine is not your best choice.
If you do not like people, and here I mean all types of people, all social classes of people, then you should avoid medicine. If you cannot accept uncertainty, then you should avoid medicine. If you cannot accept that eventually you will make a mistake (or several) that will negatively impact a patient, then you should avoid medicine.
Many physicians love medicine, and some do not. I suspect that a higher percentage of physicians love their profession than other professions.
Why become a physician? Because it is the most enjoyable, meaningful and noble profession. I am proud and happy to be a physician.
