Signs You Should Be A Doctor

Find yourself looking for the finer details in things and wondering if all is in order? That’s the natural observer in you. It’s also a quality that can make you very effective in medicine given that so much of it is about seeing what’s in front of you.

30 Signs You Should Be a Doctor (Read This Before Med School)

Trying to figure out if medicine is right for you? I know I spent a huge amount of time doing that.

Lists like this though, signs that I feel could help show you this might be for you, could prove useful.

My only wish is that I had something like this before I finally bit the bullet!

The following 30 things are good indications…

1. Adaptable

The more adaptable you consider yourself the better you’ll suit med. If you’re the type of person who has no problem abandoning one plan in light of another, particularly when it comes to studying, med school could be for you.

The same goes for working as a doctor; where having to stay late, get up early and tackle emergencies are all part of the job.

2. Relentless

If you’re the type of person who can easily commit and see things through, in spite of setbacks, failures and the rest of it, then that’s a great sign you can make it in med. A lot of the time? Success in the field is all about showing up.

As well as resisting the urge to quit.

3. Resilient

Can you embrace failure like a friend? Or look at it like a necessary step for progression? If you can that’s a good thing.

Becoming a doctor is going to throw down a lot of challenges. You’ll have to bounce back quickly from bad exams and learn to take anxiety and doubt in your stride. The better placed you are now to do that, the bigger the sign.

4. Endurance

How geared up are you to park your behind and get on the study or work grind? All those exams involved in becoming a doctor take some serious work. This isn’t a career pursuit for the go-hard or go-home sprinter. It’s a delicate marathon.

Can you tolerate endless hours, weekends and holidays filled with clinical rotations or library-based study? What about the same process again when you’re out the other side and finally in residency?

It’s a road that doesn’t stop.

5. Long Term Thinker

How willing are you to forego short term gratification in focus of larger goals? That’s what it’s going to take when you wake up bleary eyed with a mountain of work in front of you. If you can resist the urge to sleep in, slack off and stay off the midnight sauce then you’ll have a lot of what you need to make it in med.

6. Curious

Simple memorization isn’t enough? Have to go deep on whatever it is you’re learning? Great. That’ll serve you exceptionally well.

Your ability to stay curious and link everything together is a huge asset. Something that can help you picture complicated diagnostic signs together and rise the ranks of a hospital fast.

7. Science Lover

Although you don’t have to be great at science to shine in med school an enthusiasm to learn certainly helps.

Every med school curriculum has hard science at its base. Don’t even think about going down that road if the thought of learning biology, physics or chemistry makes you fall asleep. You can be nervous or intimidated sure, but no way will you survive if you simply have no interest in knowing more about such subjects.

8. Not Afraid to Ask For Help

If you can put your ego aside, swallow your pride and put your hand up for help then you’ve another tick in the box. The road to becoming a doctor is littered with things you’re yet to learn or know. The ability to admit you don’t know something (and ask for the right way to do it) is critical.

9. Keen Listener

Without the ability to want to listen you’re likely to run into hard times. From patients telling you their concerns and complaints, to doctors instructing you to take action, you’re going to need to take in what others say.

And if you already enjoy hearing random strangers talk about their problems? Congratulations! You’re halfway to becoming a doctor already.

10. Watchful Observer

11. Problem Solver

Clinical cases are a lot like detective work. You need a foundation of knowledge and then you apply that knowledge, bringing all the differentials into account. Eventually you arise at a solution to the problem; placing a diagnosis or establishing a treatment plan.

If you like solving puzzles and working towards solutions then this is the path for you.

12. Socially Comfortable

You don’t have to be the most extroverted person in the world but it helps to at least be able to talk to people. People in medicine come from all walks of life. Finding things in common with them shouldn’t be too much of a chore.

Most specialties involve spending a lot of time with others.

13. Teamworker

There’s no effective medical treatment without a hardworking team in place. If you’re the sort of person who doesn’t mind getting their hands dirty, working alongside others and pulling together for the greater good then you’re golden. Remember that others need help too.

14. Occasional Leader

You don’t have to be a natural born leader but you shouldn’t be totally averse to the prospect of having to stand up and take charge once in a while. Due to the way staffing works in healthcare and tasks get done in med school? Occasionally it might fall to you to get the job done.

Don’t be frightened of your own shadow.

15. Responsible

Yes it’s a rather obvious one but you can’t just let your emotions or ego run wild if you’re thinking this might be the job for you. Responsibility is needed at every level. Nobody else can force you to do all the studying, take all the exams and show up and work when called upon.

If you’re the type of person who’s already proven that they can make it out on their own? That’s another crucial sign.

16. Respectful

Without having respect for yourself and your fellow man you’ll get found out very quickly embarking down this road. Colleagues won’t want to work with you, patients will complain about you, it will just end in a mess. You can’t go into this type of career with any prejudice and expect to be a success.

17. Emotionally Intelligent

Sometimes it’s the things that go unsaid that matter the most. In healthcare this is an important point. Especially with patients too embarrassed or too ashamed to open up.

If you’ve got a natural way of reading between the lines and assessing a situation, not just when it comes to patients but also professors and classmates too, then you’ll for sure be a welcome asset.

18. Able to Detach

At the same time you’ll need to be able to remove emotion from the equation when it gets too much. Failing to do will only lead to burnout and a resentment of the craft. So make sure you can leave things firmly at school and work before you contemplate life as a doctor.

19. Compassionate

Without the capacity to want to help people you’ll quickly get tired of the journey. The days, weeks and years add up and you’ll wonder what it’s all for. If you don’t have a solid bottom line; or the line doesn’t involve some aspect of helping others, then that’s a good sign you should look at doing something else.

20. Confident

The best way to instil optimism and hope in the people’s lives you’ll touch through med school (and your career) is to show confidence and competency in what you’re doing.

You don’t have to be super confident by any means going in. But you should at least have a quiet belief that you’re capable. It’s a sign that ties in nicely with that of resilience, persistence and endurance.

21. Humble

Confidence can pretty quickly get displaced as arrogance among med students who aren’t careful. That’s why it’s also important to be humble. It’ll be something that grounds you and ingratiates you to others, making people easier to work with in the long run.

22. Strong Work Ethic

To survive some of what I’ve already mentioned you can’t be work shy. The act of cheating in med school, or taking shortcuts once a doctor, can have severe consequences. There’s no way around getting to the end goal without putting in plenty of hard work.

23. Discipline

Nobody’s going to crack the whip for you unless it’s yourself. Your teachers? Aren’t there to motivate you. The only person who has the potential to make med happen is you.

If habit is already a part of your daily routine and straying from it leaves you feeling sick, then that’s again very good news.

24. Detail Orientated

You don’t have to be overly OCD to blitz through a MBBS on your way to working as a physician. But you can’t be totally absent-minded either. Being somewhere in the middle is a good sign. Organised enough not to miss deadlines but not so much that you’re no longer adaptable.

The changing face of the environment has no place for such rigidity.

25. Organization

Do you track things in a calendar or prioritize your work and goals? If you do then you’ll find it a big advantage on the route to becoming a doctor.

26. Not Money Motivated

Contrary to popular belief, it’s going to take you a while to earn decent money in medicine. Several years at least.

It’s important that’s not a huge priority for you going in. Otherwise you’ll only be on the fast-track to disappointment. Especially when you see your non-med friends pulling in more than you.

27. Unafraid of Sacrifice

Becoming a doctor takes years. In that time you’re going to miss out on a lot of things. Even more so if you’re a mature med (like me) who’s giving up family time, marriage and a whole bunch of other things to pursue a dream.

If you’re not willing to do that then walk away now.

28. Patient

Are you the type of person who wants it all now? Do yourself a favor. Give up now.

Becoming a physician takes the best part of a decade. The journey is repetitive and the days bleed into one. Just as much as endurance, patience is key.

Without it you’ll soon be going mad.

29. Demand Respect

Have the desire to be respected and praised for your work? Although it doesn’t promise it, medicine offers more chances than most.

If it’s important to you to be valued by society in that way, then take it as another surefire sign that this might be for you.

30. Creative

Lastly, you’re going to need to be at least a little creative to deal with all the problems that a journey like medicine throws up. Especially when it comes to making what can be a boring dirge (the endless onslaught of exams, rotations and patient rounds etc), seem a bit more exciting.

Summary

Not all these signs will point in your favor when thinking about whether you should be a doctor. That’s only natural. Nobody can tick every single one of these off.

At the very least though they’ll give you something to consider. A little insight into what I see, at least, as things that can help center you on the decision.

10 Signs You’re a Future MD

Maybe you’ve always preferred a few episodes of Life in the ER over the persistent drama of Gossip Girl, or you sat in bio lab itching to use the microscope instead of picking up your copy of Othello. Whatever made you choose pre-med out of the mile-long major list, you could be questioning if the MD life is really for you. Check out 10 signs that you’re ready for a set of scrubs.

RECOMMENDED: Waitlist Letter

Consider yourself a future MD? Let’s see if you’re up for the challenge.

1. You’ve got a thing for long term goals

If you’re aching for a degree to get your career rolling ASAP, pre-med isn’t for you. “To jump through all the hoops that medical schools throw at you just to get in [means that] you just really need to be able to see the long term picture,” said Florida State junior Nick Arias. After an undergrad degree, medical school and a residency you’ll be around peers that have been settled in careers for almost a decade. Pre-med students don’t let the late payoff lessen their enthusiasm.

2. You don’t see dollar signs

Let’s be real: We get degrees to fill our bank accounts. A doctor’s salary may get you that L.A. beach house, but that’s no reason to go through the grueling studies. Becoming a doctor for the money is like dating someone just because his puppy is cute; it’s not going to last. “Regardless of specialty, doctors make a great living, but there are many ways to make as much money as a doctor for much less than $200,000 in debt and four years of med school,” said Arias. If “get rich or die trying” is your motto, you might need to stick to lotto tickets.

3. You’ve got top-notch people skills

If you think a career in medicine gets you a free pass out of customer service, you couldn’t be more wrong. Whether you’re a dermatologist or a surgeon, your job is the human body. How many of us have cursed at a cranky ophthalmologist under our breath, or felt like our surgeon barely saw us as human? Feeling salty about our doctor results in an exhausting office visit.

4. You think beneath the surface

“Being alive just kind of blows my mind. You pretty much do all this stuff automatically, so I just want to understand it. What’s cooler than knowing who you are and how that works?” said Tanner Weaver, a Florida State junior studying exercise science. Most of us just look around and see a cashier at Walmart or 200 other sleepy students in our lecture. Pre-med students see organs, muscle and bone with a curiosity on how it all operates.

5. You’re not afraid to ask for help

Get ready for office hours instead of happy hour. A close relationship with your professor -and a tutor on speed dial are prime ways to keep your GPA afloat each semester. Even with perfect attendance, textbooks and flawless notes, many pre-meds have to suck up their pride and ask for more help. Lucky for them, professors understand, and extra tutoring is usually only a phone call away.

6. You need to know the unknown

A crucial power doctors have is discovering new cures and medicines. “I think that the human body is really interesting and there’s still a lot we don’t know. We don’t even have a cure for the common cold, we’re not even close to figuring out everything,” said Weaver. The world of healthcare is a constant cycle with persistent upkeep. The more diseases we stumble upon, the more vaccines and treatments need to be discovered along the way. Pre-med students contemplate the what, the how and the why every second of the day.

7. You find a “B” unacceptable

Getting a “B” in chemistry should have you skipping down the hallway preparing to celebrate with a beer as soon as you get home. Kids looking at med school know that less than perfect GPAs are a death sentence, so “B’s” are the new “D’s.” “The kids that are pre-med are the ones that are in the library all night two weeks before a final or making over 150 flashcards for a quiz,” said Weaver. Most college students slack on their easiest final or sleep through a quiz without a second thought. Med schools put on the pressure by only giving elite GPA’s the time of day.

8. You can detach at the drop of a hat

Doctors’ lives are basically one huge awkward moment. Their daily discussions consist of bowel movements, sexual activity and pimples. When it’s time to get up close and personal, the pros see it as a job to be done. Docs have a precise balance between compassion toward the person and total professionalism. Most of us end up blushing from telling our doctor about our last weird poop, while they keep a completely straight face. Pre-meds can sit through the uncomfortable convos and exams like they’re discussing the weather.

9. You have a stomach of steel

Students looking to stay away from medicine probably can’t stomach things like a broken bone peeking out of a limb (cue cringing). Pre-med students dream of popping pimples for a living or cutting open a bleeding organ. A lot of things that are generally labeled as repulsive are seen as a cool new experiment or a fun story to tell at dinner. It may not be the most popular topic, but that strong stomach will come in handy down the line.

10. You’ve seen things in action

“Right now I am shadowing [my pediatrician] and seeing how much fun she has talking with her parents and patients. [I’m] seeing the impact she has had on their lives [and it] really motivates me,” said Arias. Shadowing can make or break your dream. If the bio labs don’t send you running in the other direction, dealing with crying kids with ear infections could. Appreciating the recovering and thankful patients makes med school seem a worthy aspiration.

About Mackenzie Raetz

Senior at Florida State University. Editing, writing, and media. Passionate sleeper and coffee drinker. Go Noles!

30 Signs You Should Be a Doctor (Read This Before Med School)