Before you enroll into a long road of interviews, personal statements, recommendation letters, clinical rounds, days and days of studying you should know what you are signing up for. Choosing your career is one of the most important decisions you might ever make. “Making a difference by helping people, leaving a good impact, making money” all sounds great motives; but not just for medicine. I found out that I can impact people’s lives in every field. You don’t have to be a doctor to help others. You can do it if you just think you can. It doesn’t require a particular certificate; however being a doctor requires more than that. So before you decide whether you are dedicating your life for this job you have the right to know what it needs to be a doctor: A career in medicine requires · Empathy: every patient needs that, when we have a disease, we need the one who can relieve our pain with total consideration of our feelings. · Finding joy in helping others: your brain feed on that, you are always on call even if it is your vacation; there is always a patient who needs your help; your family, friends, stranger who had an accident next to you. · Flexibility: you deal with a very wide range of personalities; you need a high level of communication skills to be able to understand your patient’s needs however different they are. · Self confidence: saving lives is not an easy task; with great opportunities comes huge responsibilities. · Passion for learning: medical field is continuously changing; to cope up with this you need a constant update for your information. · Resilience skills: “rubber ball factor” it’s the ability to cope with set-backs, problems that you face every day. So how do you know if medicine is right for you? · Self awareness: it means that you have an honest perception of your true self; what makes you happy, your beliefs, points of strength and weakness, thoughts, values. Knowing yourself makes it easier to decide whether this job fits you or not. · Do your research: know what it looks like to be a doctor through shadowing; not everything we hear is true; you need to decide by yourself. Being a doctor is a unique profession that brings a demanding life style and too much stress. · After collecting these data, arrange a meeting with yourself whenever you feel comfortable and ask yourself these questions and be honest: Ø Do I have what it takes to get through this? Ø Why do I want to become a doctor? Ø Am I applying for the right reasons? Ø Can I afford it? Ø To me doctors’ life style; interesting or boring? Ø Can I accept people who are too different from me? Ø Am I passionate about any other career? Finally, if you could answer these questions clearly, you have all what you need to decide.
