Should I become a doctor?

philescere
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:19:00 +0000

I’m not sure whether I should become a doctor. I know I definitely want to go into a career in the sciences, and my parents are constantly pressuring me to be a doctor. It’s not a bad sort of pressure, per se. They just honestly believe that being a doctor is the best career choice for me. But they won’t force me into the career if I tell them I genuinely can’t stand it, and they will support me no matter what career I choose to pursue in the end (well, you know, as long as it’s not something stupid like I want to become the store manager of a McDonald’s or something).

I can see myself as a doctor. I love helping people out, and definitely being a doctor is one of the best ways to do that. But I don’t have the all-consuming passion to, like, be a doctor that people say you have to have in order to get through med school and not resent all the hard work. At the same time though, I can’t imagine myself as anything else except for a doctor. I can’t say I’m in love with the idea of being a doctor, but if I don’t become one, I really don’t know what else I’d like to do.

Either way, do I have a chance of getting accepted into a good med school? I’m a sophomore in high school, so I haven’t really had the chance to take any AP classes, but here’s my transcript anyways. (Our school doesn’t offer Honors Spanish classes until you reach Spanish 4, and the only advanced science course our school offers is “Honors Integrated Science” (until you reach junior year. Then you have more freedom.) Also, in our school system, the only way to get an A+ is if you have a 99% average in the class or higher.)

FRESHMAN YEAR
Honors English - A+
Honors World History - A
Spanish 1 - A
Geometry - A
Honors Integrated Science 1 - A+
Creative Drama - A

SOPHOMORE YEAR
Honors English - A
Honors US History - A
Spanish 2 - A+
Honors Algebra 2 - A
Honors Integrated Science 2 - A
Intermediate Drama - A
Technical Theater - A

Next year my adviser recommended I take either AP or Honors English, Spanish 3, Honors Pre-Calculus, either AP Chem or AP Bio, AP or Honors European History, and Advanced Drama. During the summer years, I plan to take a psychology course at our local community college, and maybe an anatomy or physics course next summer (also at the local community college). I also have about 50 hours of volunteer service at a local hospital. I haven’t taken the SAT yet, but I got a 215 the first time I took the PSAT and a 221 the second time, so I hope I’ll do well on the SAT!

But just… the final question is, should I really become a doctor if I don’t love it? I know it’s fourteen years of my life I’ll never get back, but at the same time I don’t see myself as anything but a doctor. And should I choose to become a doctor, if I continue at school the way I am now, will I get into a good med school? Will I be able to handle the workload?

Meh.