Being a Medical Doctor

Bioethics Humanity Medicolegal Professionalism Devision Medical Education Unit Medical Faculty of North Sumatera University 2012

Perseverance. Expense. Time. Family. Weigh the factors that go into your decision to become a doctor

Many factors must be considered when making the decision. Do you have the right personality to be a doctor? Do you have the perseverance to complete the training? Do you have the ability to get good grades? Are you a good test taker? Are you willing to make the necessary sacrifices to get through medical school and residency? And finally, do you have a strong desire to help people?
(All kinds of people - from lawyers to indigents, grandparents to babies.)
Valerie M. Harrison

According to Carl Bianco, MD, there are three cornerstones of a successful career in medicine: A love for learning in general
A true intellectual curiosity about medicine in particular A strong desire to help others.

As a physician you have an opportunity to help others.

(Wanting to help others and enjoying helping others are necessary attributes of a
good physician)

This is something that cannot be taught.

If helping others is important to you, but being a doctor is not the right fit, there are many other physician career options you can consider.
(And keep in mind that politicians, religious leaders, and social workers all have the opportunity to help others, perhaps in larger numbers)

Medicine is a career filled with choices. In what other career can you choose between delivering babies, taking care of children, handling emergencies, removing someone's cancer, or talking to someone who needs psychiatric help? Better yet, you can teach others your medical specialty, while still practicing your profession. Alternately, you can do research in whatever specialty you choose, with the potential to make a real breakthrough in preventing or treating illness. In addition, being a physician is honorable and is held in high esteem. It allows you to live just about anywhere, and provides job security (unfortunately, illness is something that will be around for the foreseeable future).

However, all of this comes at a price.

The many years of preparation, the discipline, the awesome responsibility, the worry about malpractice and the long hours can take their toll.
Medicine is a unique field and it demands a unique person. (Bianco)

For centuries, the physician has been one of the most respected members of society. Shamans of indigenous tribes were revered for their knowledge of the healing arts. The family doctor often treated patients for their entire lives and was called upon not only to assist in births and deaths, but for advice and guidance as well. That seems to be changing somewhat in the litigious society of today.

The Cons of Being a Doctor: Malpractice insurance has skyrocketed in the wake of many lawsuits aimed at specific physicians, hospitals, and the field of medicine in general. Distraught families no longer blame God or fate for the death or disability of loved ones, they blame the doctors who treat them. As in any profession, there are certainly some who deserve such blame. However, careful, caring physicians are more and more often finding themselves fighting legal battles for their right to continue practicing. In what other profession can a simple mistake cost a life? Doctors are not heartless, their failures weigh heavily on them. Yet neither are they perfect, and often we expect too much from them.

Today you may find an Ophthalmologist selling cars, or a Neurologist writing textbooks. Hardest hit may be the specialty of OB/GYN, whose malpractice insurance can be upwards of $200,000 per year ( US )

Many good doctors are leaving the profession, citing rising malpractice costs and a lack of respect from their patients. Pressure from powerful HMO's and the public to keep costs to a minimum is greatly decreasing the earning potential of solo practitioners.
Consequently they must work longer hours and see more patients to make ends meet. One Family Practice physician recently complained that her net take-home pay after all expenses (including malpractice and student loans) is approximately less than her husband's salary as a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. You find many doctors leaving their practices for jobs with pharmaceutical companies, hospital administration, and research. Positions with high salaries, better work hours, and less stress.

While physicians' incomes in Asia vary based on their specialty and on their location, they still averaged incomes/salaries remain among the highest of all professions.
However, if you are only interested in the money, you should look for another field. Lawyer or MBA's have a higher entry level salary and obtain their credentials much more easily. If money is your motivating factor, you probably won't get past the med school test, and if you do, residency will probably wash you out.

As a physician you will enjoy not only monetary rewards, but humanistic rewards which are priceless. We can all imagine how painful it must be to tell a family that their loved one has just died, but can you imagine how amazing it must feel to repair the defective heart of a tiny baby? Or to remove a malignant tumor from the brain of a young mother? Or to help an injured man to walk again, thereby giving him the gift of dignity, the ability to support his family, and the freedom to play catch with his son.

Many people think of medicine as a "calling" much like priesthood. To some extent this may certainly be true.
You must have a great desire to become a physician. A driving passion to help people, to be challenged, and to learn throughout your life. You will sacrifice your time and energy for the care of your patients, often forsaking your family and yourself. Most doctors will tell you they can't imagine doing anything else. Being a doctor is simply who they are, not just what they do. The desire to help others a need within them, like breathing, or hunger.

Once you have made the decision to become a doctor, you must pursue it whole-heartedly. Demystifying the process and the profession is only the first step. The rest is up to you.

"It concerns us to know the purposes we seek in life, for then, like archers aiming at a definite mark, we shall be more likely to attain what we desire." -- Aristotle