It takes time and sacrifice to become a doctor.
Only you can decide if you want to go through it, says our elder.
Dear EWC
Being a doctor has been my ambition since a while as it is the thing I am looking to study in university after couple of months. And as I shared my thoughts with family members, relatives and friends, I received quite few disapprovals of my decision and thought as they said that studying medicine is tiring and takes much more years than other specialties in university such as engineering in all its types and even dentistry. As I am thinking about being a neurosurgeon that as far as I know it needs at least 12 years to become fully capable to practice medicine, and that would only happen by the time I become 30. So I am really seeking advice from doctors or any other person that has enough knowledge in the medical field to help me decide whether it’s really worth it or no.
Salvador replies
It is up to you whether “it’s really worth it or not.”
You have to decide whether it is worth spending all that time and all the sacrifices to become a doctor. You have priorities and a timeline with goals in your life, correct? What I suggest is for you to go and talk to doctors. Ask them how much time and sacrifice it took them for them to reach that goal.
Some people cannot deal with that, others can. Go online and see what are the requirements to become a doctor. What courses must you take to qualify? Take a sample of an entrance examination test to a medical school. I presume that it is a very competitive field when you try to enter a medical school. If you become a doctor, your education will not stop. You will have to attend seminars, take courses, learn new medical advances, treatments, etc. for the rest of your life as a doctor.
Why not volunteer at a hospital so you can a have a closer look at the environment doctors perform under? Are you the type that is willing to work long hours and experience shift changes? How about having to deal with immediate emergencies?
Also, how are your grades? Are you the type that likes to study or study because you have to? Those are the things you have to look at closely.
I am not a doctor, but I know that to be a doctor takes a lot of sacrifice for a few years. You have to be the type that has need to care for other people. You have to put others’ well being ahead of yours. Find out how being a doctor may put a strain on a family. What are the types of demands the profession put on a family? I say this in case you plan to have a family later in life.
As I stated, you have to decide whether you want to go through it or not. If you go through it, yes, you will have sacrificed a lot, but the rewards are there in the form of satisfaction of saving lives, and helping people get well after they are sick.
I hope this reply helped. Remember, do your thorough research before you make a decision. You can change your mind later and change into a medical field related career.
Article #: 471980
Category: Career