So I can’t tell you what the “good” reasons are for you to become a physician - these are very much particular to the individual although there are probably some common themes. Notice I didn’t say reasons to go into medicine, as physicians aren’t the only ones who practice medicine or healthcare – NPs do, PAs do; Dentists, Pharmacists, Optometrists, Nurses, CRNAs, Physical Therapists, etc. are all in healthcare as well. although there are differences which you can tease out in terms of scope of practice.
Here are the ones that I personally think are bad reasons, or at least not great reasons, to become a physician and particularly UMKC’s BA/MD program. I apologize in advance as @blugrn6 and @dogopril mentioned some really good ones which I’ll probably repeat.[ul]
[li]You want to practice solely as an individual– this is something that is changing at least very recently. Much of healthcare is now done as a team, vs. as an individual - i.e. a private practice physicians. A lot of private practices are being bought by major hospitals and thus physicians become employees of the hospital, and don’t get to necessarily call the shots. Also many specialties tend to be more team-based, in which you work with other physicians and midlevels to get things done, although there are exceptions.[/li][li]You want to be the one to call the shots – again, see above. A lot of medicine and healthcare in terms of calling the shots tend to be those who are business types — MBA, hospital administrators, insurance company payers, etc. Even doctors employed by hospitals have bosses over them, since they are employees of that particular hospital, so you’re limited in terms of how much you get to participate in administrative decisions that affect how you practice.[/li][li]You’ll only be happy in medicine if you get to do a certain specific specialty, which happens to be competitive – Part of the risk you have to be ok with taking, especially in entering UMKC’s 6 year BA/MD program is that you’ll be ok with the possibility of matching into a residency like Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, or Pediatrics (the latter 2 residencies which you can try to subspecialize). If you’re more aiming for fields like Radiation Oncology, Dermatology, Otolaryngology (ENT - Ear, Nose & Throat), Urology, etc. that are very specialized in nature, then you’ll have more hoops to jump thru coming from UMKC’s 6 year program. Doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible, as a select few have done it, but your journey will be more difficult in terms of what research, networking, connections opportunities are available to you here at UMKC.[/li][li]Doing it for adulation from family, relatives, family friends, or friends - main reason being it’s not a sustainable mental motivator. That temporary self-esteem boost is very sporadic and short-lived and long after that, you’ll be the one having to come to work/hospital early seeing patients, you’ll be the one being on call alone after hours at the hospital, you’ll be the one taking on any malpractice for your medical decisions, etc. It’s a career with huge sacrifices in many ways that impact your life on so many levels.[/li][li]Doing it for inherent cultural obligations or reasons - yes, there are some students who do it for cultural reasons, for example, medicine is very revered in their family, or in their parent’s home country, etc. Just from what I’ve noticed is that they tend to not be as happy, as again, it’s not a sustainable motivator, when you’re the one who has to come into work early, be on call, etc. during med school, residency, and even as an attending depending on your practice setup.[/li][li]Doing it for the money – yes, physicians make 6 figure salaries but realize that you sort of need that because the level of debt + interest will also be in the six figures, not to mention the years of education, residency/fellowship training, and putting off certain milestones that many of your friends not in medicine have already accomplished. When you add up sizable debt + interest, age, opportunity cost, etc. physicians don’t make as lavish a living, as the general public tends to believe, they end up about even, if not a little bit above even and tend to do so much later in life. There are outliers of course, but realize as you go up in education, most of us are rarely the extreme exceptions. Not to mention, to earn that salary, you have to work the much higher number of hours and/or tolerate the life disruptions that come with it to justify that salary, except for the very few specialties and subspecialties that are more on an outpatient, no emergencies after work, basis. That doesn’t matter much at 18 years, but it will matter when you get married, buy a house, start a family, etc. those life disruptions and the effect on your personal and/or family life will start to matter even with the best of paychecks.[/li][li]Layman Prestige – again, not a sustainable motivator as most patients these days don’t have the high reverence for physicians that may have been present a few decades ago or that is present in other countries, especially when it comes to listening and following doctor’s recommendations. Many patients don’t necessarily know all the healthcare people that work in a hospital to begin with, and many patients see the doctor-patient relationship as more paying for a service – i.e. a plumber, a car mechanic, etc.[/ul][/li]I think we’ve already discussed previously that doing UMKC’s 6 year program solely for the 6 year aspect and skipping the MCAT isn’t a good idea depending on what specialty you’re focused on aiming for, although can be a side benefit when you’re graduating.