What inspired you to become a doctor?

[undecided1601]

Hello! I am currently in 10th Grade and I want to know what inspired doctors to help them get through medical school. Thank You!


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[OrthoTraumaMD]

Parents were physicians


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[EmilKraepelin55]

There are a few people on here that would disagree with me, but I personally need my chosen profession to parallel my personal ideals and also be congruent with a purpose that I find fulfilling. It's a calling that led me to choose medicine, a desire to mediate the process of health recorrection as a leader using a combination of complex scientific knowledge, art, and interpersonal connection. Yes, money and status will come. But, if a person wants to become a physician solely because of these things, then be prepared to be disappointed. Those things are not enough to be okay with the vast amount of hard work and schooling it takes to even become a full-salaried attending physician, which can take anything from 12 to 17 years to accomplish after high school. Really take the time to self-reflect on this path, get experience in health care, and figure out what possible future makes sense with who you are becoming as a person. (This is coming from a person who was just accepted to medical school though, so my perspective may differ from full-fledged doctors.)

 

[hamstergang]

I found the subject matter interesting, and I tend to work hard at finishing anything I start. It's not necessarily something profound for everyone.

 

[PaceMaker120]

I'm not a doctor, but I am a very motivated pre-med student. I returned to the prospect of being a physician earlier this semester. Interestingly enough, my professor assigned a dream journal. One dream I recorded put me into deep thinking about where I belong in the world. Patient care and research are now where I see myself. It seems my personality fits the description, too. Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about my case.

 

[Medic741]

Military medicine being a secure job.

 

[gyngyn]

My community needed me.

 

[mcworbust]

Did it originally cuz I wanted to: (not really inspirations, but just reasons why, ranked by importance)
1) apply science knowledge/understanding
2) help people
3) be the expert/leader
4) opportunity for lifelong learning
5) have a calling, greater than just a job
6) parents instilled in me that they expected me to make a difference in what I do in life (not "we just want you to be happy"), which leads to happiness

Now, as med school is coming to an end, it's more:
1) be the expert
2) help people
3a) make and/or apply the next scientific discoveries to push my field of interest forward
3b) stable career/income to get a nice home for my growing family
4) pay off loans
5) don't let down those ppl relying on me/who've supporting me
6) being a physician is now part of my "identity"/ego? It is who I am to everyone I know and to myself

Notice that income/stability comes AFTER 200k loans have been taken out and my youthful ignorance of needing money has worn off...but still only the 4th most important at this point, and not a consideration before applying to med school.

To piss off stuck up high school/college classmates who couldn't.

^ I could never do this, cuz all my high school/college friends are also med students or residents/investment bankers/MIT graduate-types/actuaries/lawyers/successful small business owners/Oxford postdocs, etc

 

[ArteryStudyPainting]

I wanted to throw myself into here.

I lost a friend in high school, and thought about how her doctors and medical team were able to give her hope and give her the best chance at a "normal" life.

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