Four Reasons Why People Become Doctors and How it Relates to Stress

I have been around all types of physicians since I was born into a medical family and I work with physicians every day as The Healer to the Doctors™. What I have realized is that there are many reasons why people become a doctor in the first place, however, there are four major reasons (what I refer to as “doctor categories") why most people choose to become a doctor. It’s important to look at this information in order to help doctors to manage stress, prevent burnout and create more happiness and success in their life and medical practice.

Each of these 4 reasons comes with its own unique set of problems and stress. Also each of the four doctor categories, are different from the other ones, but within their own category they share similarities with everyone in that category. They have similar personalities, belief systems, upper limit barriers, values and priorities. They also are similar in the way they react to situations, run their business and work with their patients. These are all based on their original reason for why they became a doctor in the first place. When I work with any of my doctor coaching clients, I always identify which category they are in so it’s easier to help them to be happy, healthy, wealthy and successful.

That being said, here are the four reasons (categories) why people become a physician:

1. They became a physician because they have a personal mission, purpose or driving force to heal people, be of service and/or save the world. They are all about the purpose and don’t necessarily care about money. For example, doctors who join “Doctors Without Borders” and volunteer their time all over the world without a paycheck.
2. They became a physician because they want to heal people and be of service, but there is equal emphasis on having a lucrative career where they can earn a healthy income.
3. They became a physician because they are success driven, have heard that being a physician is a high paying profession and they are mostly focused on the career and income making potential. (Hollywood plastic surgeons come into to mind.)
4. They became a physician because one or both parents or grandparents were physicians and their family expected them to become a physician. Maybe they were doing their family duty. Their family may have encouraged them and persuaded them over the years that this was the most important thing in life. In some cases their parents were not doctors, but pushed their children into becoming doctors so they can live vicariously through them. (Believe it or not, I have met many doctors in this situation)

If you are a physician and you are reading this, please be honest with yourself about which one of these reasons or types you fit into. It’s really important to know this, because as I mentioned above, you will relate differently to everything in your life and medical practice than physicians in the other categories and you will need help with hurdles that are specific to the doctor type. The most important thing to understand here, is that all physicians are human beings and have the same problems in life that everyone else has. In addition to the usual problems that we all have, physicians have a whole other level of stress that comes with being a doctor. The purpose of this article is to help doctors to learn some new information that will help them to have a happier, healthier life and medical career. If you are asking, what these doctor categories have to do with stress and burnout, here is what I have discovered:

• People who are in the 1st category want to save the world, are very happy because they are living their purpose and doing what they love, however they will burn out faster than everyone else, because they are giving away all of their energy with little in return. Happiness is very important in all careers, however you need to receive something of equal value in return for energy you are giving away. Because these physicians are caregivers and work tirelessly to help mankind, they tend to focus on taking care of everyone else except themselves and put themselves last. They also tend to get sick more often, feel tired and run down and possibly have adrenal problems. These physicians also risk bankruptcy and living a life of poverty. It’s a noble cause but there is no balance.

• Physicians who are in category 2, have a healthy work/money balance, may or may not be happy with their life, career and relationships, but they still have all of the same stress that every physician experiences. Because they are working hard at what they love to do and also want to make more money and be successful, their biggest need is creating more time, profit and freedom. They also have to learn how to manage stress and prevent burnout. Some of these physicians get anxious, worried or depressed if they are not making the money they expected to make and/or they are not as successful as they would like to be.

• Since the 3rd category of physicians have a focus on making money and are already very successful, they do not need any help with money or success. However, I have found: they have the highest rate of divorce and relationship problems; some have addictions; many are unhappy or feel empty inside; they still have the same stress as all the other doctors; they tend to burn out from working too many hours (some people may say they are married to their career), they need help with their priorities; they need help managing time; some don’t take care of themselves; they get overwhelmed and they need to learn how to have a healthy work-life balance. Some of them have to claim bankruptcy because of multiple divorces. I actually have met several of those divorced doctors.

• Physicians that are in category 4 are the unhappiest and most unfulfilled of all physicians, because they are not doing what they want to do, instead they are living their life for someone else. These doctors quit their job sooner than any other type of doctor and have wasted many years in medical school for nothing. They get into this predicament because of either low self-esteem, duty to family, not able to speak their feelings and truth, not knowing who they are and what they want, or not having the self-power to stand up to the bullies in their lives. If you are one of these doctors, the first thing to do is work on your empowerment, self-esteem and speaking your truth. Next, make a decision if you really want to be a doctor or not and stay in your career. If the answer is yes, then that’s great. You will still need to learn skills for stress management and burnout prevention because being a doctor is very stressful. However, if you do not want to be a doctor, you need to start researching and figuring out what you would love to do, what your purpose on earth is and what will make you happy. Then you need to transition into what you want to do. There are many people who can help you with that. If you continue on in a career that you don’t want to be in, you will always be unhappy and miserable.

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