“The
Ph.D. is the highest degree in the land, but the M.D. degree is the most
powerful.”
--unknown
Is a
career in medicine right for you?
First
ask yourself what kind of future appeals to you. Do you want challenges,
opportunities, a chance to make a difference? Many bright and motivated college
students describe a "dream career" with the following
characteristics:
Opportunity to serve: Allows you to help people.
Action: Doesn't tie you to a desk all the time.
Respect: You are an important part of your community.
Security: Allows you a good living with a secure future.
Excitement: Changes daily, so it's hardly ever boring.
Mobility: You're in demand wherever you choose to live.
Flexibility: Gives you lots of career options from the same education base.
Few
occupations meet all of these standards. None meets them better than a career
in medicine.
Few
fields offer a wider variety of opportunities. Most doctors' professional lives
are filled with caring for people and continuously learning more about the
human body. Every day in communities around the country, doctors work in
neighborhood clinics, hospitals, offices, even homeless shelters and schools to
care for people in need.
But
physicians also do many other things. Physician researchers are at work today
developing exciting new treatments for cancer, genetic disorders, and
infectious diseases like AIDS. Academic physicians share their skills and
wisdom by teaching medical students and residents. Others work with health
maintenance organizations, pharmaceutical companies, medical device
manufacturers, health insurance companies, or in corporations directing health
and safety programs. People with medical skills are in demand everywhere.
Medicine
has many rewards—personally, intellectually, and financially. On average,
doctors make about $160,000 a year, but this amount can vary depending on where
physicians live and what type of medical specialty they practice. As the
American health care system changes, fewer doctors are working for themselves
and more are joining health care systems, often as salaried employees. In these
organizations, physicians often can command salaries comparable to executives
in other occupations.
About
one-third of the nation's physicians are generalists—"primary care"
doctors who provide lifelong medical services for you and all the members of
your family. General internists, family physicians, and general pediatricians
are all considered generalist doctors. They are the first doctors you consult
for medical care. And they are trained to provide the wide range of services
children and adults need. When patients' specific health needs require further
treatment, generalist physicians send them to see a specialist physician.
Specialist
physicians differ from generalists in that they focus on treating a particular
system or part of the body. Neurologists who study the brain, cardiologists who
study the heart, ophthalmologists who study the eye, and hematologists who
study the blood are just a few examples of specialists. They work together with
generalist physicians to ensure that patients receive treatment for specific
medical problems as well as complete and comprehensive care throughout life. ---Information courtesy of aamc.org