A little about me
Hi, I am Dr. Costa, and I have been practicing medicine for 12 years. I have seen many people come to the medical profession and be successful. But on the other hand, many medical students got dropped off from their medical schools. A few students thought getting admitted into medical school was their biggest mistake. A tiny minority were so depressed that they committed suicide. Therefore, before getting admitted to a medical school one must know what is his expectation and what would be the reality.
Can I be a successful doctor?
The meaning of success varies from person to person. For some people being a medical graduate can be a great success. But for others, being a legendary iconic physician can only bring success. Moreover, different people have different philosophy about their lives and they have different obstacles to overcome. So, it’s impossible for me to tell how successful you would be. But from my experience I can tell about some of the facts you must face to be a great doctor. I recommend you to read the full article to fully understand what would be the reality once you get admitted to a medical school.
1. You have to be passionate
Studying medical science is a lifetime journey. You would be learning new things till your retirement. The medical school itself would take at least 6 to 9 years of your life to give you a primary medical education. After that, you would be a junior doctor. You would probably have to pay your debts or have a mediocre income for quite some time! There would be a lot of sleepless nights for you. The whole city will sleep but you would be awake doing your studies or caring for the patients. You would miss all the funs that your non-medical friends are having. You would miss a lot of social get-together events. Don’t be astonished if a few people starts to call you unsocial. This is the reality of a junior doctor’s life. You have to be highly motivated and passionate to go through this period of your life.
2. You have to be fit
A certain level of physical and mental fitness would be required to be a great doctor. It’s not uncommon for doctors to work for more than 60 hours per week at some point in their lives. And their jobs are not the most comfortable jobs. There would be 3 hours long hospital ward rounds, several hours-long operations. You must have some level of physical fitness to deal with this hectic job.
To make things worse, you must study regularly while doing this job. Otherwise, you cannot be a specialist doctor or a consultant. You may not pass all the exams in the first instance, but you must not be demotivated if you fail. At the same time, you have to keep your seniors happy to learn from them. All these things can make oneself anxious or depressed. Therefore, you must be mentally fit to do great in this profession. Your quality of life would be better than the average but you would never be a billionaire unless you do a business or invest.
3. You would not be a billionnaire
At the end of the day, being a doctor would make you a service holder. And, nobody can be a billionaire by doing a job. If you want to be a billionaire then the medical profession is not for you. You may consider becoming an entrepreneur or starting a business.
You would probably have an upper-middle-class status in your society when you would be a senior doctor. You would live in a good house, send your kids to private schools, own a nice car (but not anything like a gold-plated Lamborghini), and enjoy a few family vacations. But you would never lead a life of a billionaire (or perhaps a millionaire) if you don’t invest or do a successful business.
4. You would get some respect
There was a time (perhaps 50 years ago) when people used to respect doctors a lot. People still respect this profession but the level of respect has decreased a lot. Nonetheless, you would get some respect from your relatives and friends. But the real respect nowadays goes towards the people who have great assets, power, and position. As a doctor, you would not be the richest and most powerful figure in society.
5. You have to be a responsible person
There would be patients admitted under your supervision and some of them will be very sick. Someone’s life will always depend on your decision and activities. This is a huge responsibility and you will never be able to overlook it. The slightest bit of lousiness can cost human life and bring a lot of legal troubles for you. You have to be a very proactive, honest, and responsible person to be a great doctor.
6. You have to have a high mental capacity
- You must have enough intelligence to finish the syllabus in medical school.
- You must be mentally prepared to do a lot of teamwork.
- You should have good communication skills to effectively communicate with the patients and your team members.
- You have to be humble.
EndNote
I have talked about a lot of negative things in this article. The idea was to make you aware of the reality rather than discourage you to join a medical school. If you are selfless, humble, and want to do good for humanity then the medical profession will be perfect for you.
