Healthcare

Deciding on a Career in Medicine

Doctors are among the most respected professionals in the world, but that fact alone shouldn’t...

Doctors are among the most respected professionals in the world, but that fact alone shouldn’t be the reason why one decides to be a medical student.

The fact that medical schools are increasingly hard to get into is already enough to select potential students. A recent Forbes article showed that the average GPA score for all medical schools in the United States was 3.79 in the years 2018 and 2019. That’s where unsure students give up trying to become doctors and move on to different careers, and that’s where the aspiring doctors fight through.

A career in medicine is undoubtedly prestigious and profitable. Still, there are a few important things you must consider before you decide that medicine is the right career option for you.

If you study for the sake of grades, forget it

Choosing a medical career means being prepared to study for the rest of your life. You won’t remember everything you’ve read and studied in high school and college after ten years of practice, which means the commitment is daily and lifelong.

It’s not possible to fully understand important subjects (such as anatomy and physiology) without studying beyond lecture material. And guess what? One of the easiest ways to learn and memorize subjects is by being devoted eager to learn. So if you’re not willing to study for life instead of finals, you’ll have a hard time in the medical field.

You can’t be a great doctor without great virtues

Following this career path requires good communication skills, as well as practicing important virtues. Great communication isn’t only necessary for those who will be presenting in the classroom or at conferences–it’s also essential to an empathetic and complete doctor-patient interaction.

The best time to hone personal skills is during postgraduate training in which you’ll be given on-the-job duties. The sooner you learn it, the better: doctors aren’t just working to get a paycheck. Their job is to help patients in a respectful, selfless manner, whatever their specialty is.

Above all, medical specialties have to do with personality

If you’re deciding your specialty based on which of them make the most, you’re doing it wrong.

Selecting a specialty is a big decision, even bigger than choosing to go to med school. How can you possibly decide between being a psychiatrist or a family physician if you see yourself in both?

Truth is, you’ll dream a lot in your first years. You’ll think one specialty is ideal until you change your mind, and that’s fine. No life-changing decision should be made impulsively, much less during your first years of school.

Know that medical technologies are in constant evolution

Again, doctors can’t just freeze in time. The more they know about current technologies in the healthcare industry, the better.

As an example, medical students will get acquainted with the environment of medical clean rooms that meet specific quality regulations (one great representative being this corporation of clean room construction in Franklin, OH). As a medical professional, however, the fact that nowadays there are portable clean rooms that fit all kinds of surgical demands is valuable information.

New technologies are discovered every year, and they can save lives. You’ll have to set some time aside to learn about them, too.