Is Medicine for Me? 5 Tips on How To Make the Big Decision

Trying to decide whether medicine is for you? Personally, it took me months, along with lots of research and thought, to finally make that decision. Compared to most Bachelor’s degrees, which are usually three years in duration, courses in medicine take much longer – about five years to complete. Then there is postgraduate study and specialist training. You could be looking at many years before you are a fully fledged doctor. In addition, medicine is a course that is very competitive to get into. So, given these factors, how can one make that important decision about whether medicine is the right choice? Here are a few of the ways I went about deciding whether medicine was right for me:

I was lucky to be given the phone numbers of friends of friends and colleagues of relatives who had recently completed medical school and were now doctors. Listening to their first-hand experiences, and being able to ask questions about medical school and life in medicine and receive honest answers, really helped in my decision-making. If at all possible, talk to as many medical students and doctors as you can to hear first-hand about the course and career.

Make sure to look in depth at the medicine course content for the universities that you are interested in applying to. This information is available on the respective university websites, even though it can be difficult to find. However, it’s really important that you have a general idea of what you’re setting yourself up for when studying medicine. Also, try to get some work experience or volunteer in a health-related setting so you gain an understanding of what life in medicine really involves. This will give you a good idea of whether medicine is the right career for you.

Some of you may have excellent career guidance facilities in school that you should definitely avail of. If not, there are a great many independent career guidance counsellors out there with whom you can arrange one-to-one meetings. It’s really important that you talk to someone neutral who, instead of pushing you in one direction or another, guides you. They can discuss the different options available and help you to make your own decision and choose the right direction for you.

It’s important, when it comes to university courses, that you make the right choice for yourself. Don’t allow other factors to unduly affect your decision – for example, what others think you should or shouldn’t do, or what family members or friends are planning to do. At the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone else and you know what career you are best suited to.

Studying medicine is a big decision, but there are many wonderful rewards to a career as a doctor. All the best with your decision!