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  • Here at Med School Insiders, we often talk about the most challenging part of being a doctor so that we can help prepare

  • you for the inevitable obstacles.

  • But it's important to not lose sight of the end goal, the reason you go through the

  • arduous process of becoming a doctor in the first place.

  • Here are the most rewarding parts of being a doctor.

  • What's going on guys, Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.

  • In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes thatthree things - autonomy, complexity, and

  • a connection between effort and reward - are, most people agree, the three qualities that

  • work has to have if it is to be satisfying.

  • It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five.

  • It's whether our work fulfills us."

  • The noble profession of being a physician hits all three, and then some.

  • Of course, one of the most frequently stated

  • rewarding aspects of being a physician is making a deep impactful difference in someone

  • else's life.

  • You have the ability to significantly improve the quality of life of your patients, and

  • this can be a tremendously satisfying experience.

  • In the process of doing so, you feel that you're making the world a better place.

  • That's something that money can't buy - purpose.

  • Purpose is not only important for motivation, as described in Daniel Pink's book, Drive,

  • but it also provides an extremely valuable tool in resilience.

  • If you feel that you're working for a larger purpose - something bigger than yourself - then

  • you're not only more likely to enjoy your work, but also bounce back from setbacks and

  • endure the challenging times with greater ease.

  • So in short, helping others helps you enjoy the day to day more, helps you bounce back

  • from the hard times, and well, helps others - talk about a good deal.

  • Closely tying with the first, the personal

  • connection with patients is hard to match in any other profession.

  • It's truly an honor to be trusted with another human being's health and wellbeing, requiring

  • a deep level of trust.

  • Remember that as a physician, you are there for patients in their most trying times.

  • This deep personal and emotional connection with another person is often challenging,

  • but is also tremendously rewarding.

  • I recall some of my own conversations with patients when their family members were terminally

  • ill, or when a patient needed a procedure that we all wish they didn't need.

  • While it was not fun in the traditional sense, I felt honored to be able to help them in

  • such a moment of vulnerability, and to help them navigate such a frightening ordeal.

  • Their demonstrations of gratitude were tremendously powerful and left an impact on me.

  • Third, the Intellectual Challenge. Think back to the most epic moments of life

  • - things you were proud of.

  • Chances are, you had a strong feeling of elation after overcoming a significant challenge.

  • That's one of the reasons so many of us love being doctors.

  • The body of medical knowledge is rapidly expanding, with an exponential rise in published research

  • articles each year.

  • It's impossible to keep up, and that's ok.

  • Medicine forces you to continue to learn for the rest of your careerhopefully at that

  • point, you're studying the subject matter you actually enjoy.

  • The intellectual challenge applies to solving difficult medical cases as well.

  • I've never watched the TV show House (I was more of a Scrubs guy), but I hear this

  • would be a good demonstration of this intellectual challenge in managing obscure conditions.

  • The satisfaction from finally solving a challenging medical case with a diagnosis and watching

  • the treatment work effectively is hard to replicate.

  • Even right now, my inner nerd is getting excited thinking about the challenging inpatient cases

  • we worked on as a team during my internal medicine rotations.

  • Tying in and building off of the intellectual

  • challenge is autonomy.

  • Doctors are the highest in command in the medical treatment team.

  • They are analyzing the objective data, the patient's concerns and presentation, and

  • making treatment decisions.

  • Having this challenge and seeing your efforts result in improvement to the patient's condition

  • is rewarding.

  • Unfortunately, modern healthcare rules and regulations in the United States are encroaching

  • into physician's autonomy.

  • The legal liability, and increasing charting and administrative work slowly erode the autonomy

  • that is so valuable.

  • This is one element of the multifactorial rise in burn out amongst physicians.

  • However, that discussion is for another video.

  • Lastly, medicine is just a straight awesomely

  • fascinating profession.

  • The way the human body works, the complexities and nuancesthere's just so much cool

  • science to uncover.

  • Every medical student gravitates to various aspects that interest them.

  • For me, plastic surgery felt like science fiction.

  • I go over the first case I ever saw, where we created a makeshift bicep out of the latissimus

  • dorsi back muscle on a patient.

  • Link in the description.

  • Plastics also does hand transplants, face transplants, microsurgery for cancer or trauma

  • reconstruction, and so much more.

  • Regardless of your chosen specialty, there's something amazing about the science therefrom psychiatry

  • to plastic surgery and everything between.

  • Note that I didn't mention the paycheck.

  • That's intentional.

  • While being a doctor is one of the highest paid professions, it's not nearly as lucrative

  • as most people think.

  • That boils down to two factors: the opportunity cost of delaying your paycheck for an extra

  • 7 to 11 years, and the cost of medical training.

  • In short, don't go in it for the money.

  • While being a doctor is one of the most challenging and arduous careers to enter, it's truly

  • a privilege and a tremendously rewarding profession.

  • If there are other rewarding aspects of being a doctor that I didn't cover here, let me

  • know down in the comments below.

  • What part are you looking forward to the most?

  • For those of you who are interviewing for medical school right now, take a look at our

  • all-new interview courses. They are the most comprehensive

  • and high yield guide you'll find anywhere.

  • Thank you to everyone for watching.

  • If you liked the video, make sure you press that like button.

  • Hit subscribe and the notification bell so you don't miss any new uploads.

  • And I will see you guys in that next one.

Here at Med School Insiders, we often talk about the most challenging part of being a doctor so that we can help prepare

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