One of the most important decisions that you will ever make is your career choice. Although many students enter college wanting to become physicians, most students have little or no knowledge of what is involved in the practice of medicine.

When asked why they want to pursue medicine, most student answer that “they want to make a difference, impact lives and help people.”  While these are important motivations for pursuing a medical career, there are other factors to be aware of when analyzing your career choices.

Consider the characteristics of a rewarding career:

• Service: allows you to help people
• Knowledge: the ever expanding need for learning new skills and information
• Action: allows you to be around others, make decisions and make things happen
• Respect: your work and contributions are important to individuals and the community
• Security: enables you to earn a good living and provides for a consistent and secure future
• Mobility: your skills and knowledge are in demand
• Flexibility: offers you lots of career options from the same base of knowledge

Also take into account your personality type, value system and interests as you begin to plan your future. Here are some career inventories that will help you in your career choice:

• Myers Briggs Personality Inventory
• Rokeach Values Survey
• Strong Interest Inventory

There are many careers that afford you the opportunity to help people and make a difference. Your challenge will be finding the career that is right for you.

Be realistic about the challenges and rewards of a career in medicine. Competition for admission to medical school is very intense and the coursework that follows requires an individual to think critically as well as employ discipline as a value. The profession of medicine also requires a unique commitment to put service to others first, effectively communicate and listen to patients, develop relationships, and engage in complex problem solving and life-long learning. Though the career path to a career in medicine is a long one, it is a profession that that is intellectually challenging, financially secure and personally rewarding.