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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
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you for the inevitable obstacles.
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But it's important to not lose sight of the end goal, the reason you go through the
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arduous process of becoming a doctor in the first place.
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Here are the most rewarding parts of being a doctor.
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What's going on guys, Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.
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In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes that “three things - autonomy, complexity, and
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a connection between effort and reward - are, most people agree, the three qualities that
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work has to have if it is to be satisfying.
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It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five.
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It's whether our work fulfills us."
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The noble profession of being a physician hits all three, and then some.
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Of course, one of the most frequently stated
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rewarding aspects of being a physician is making a deep impactful difference in someone
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else's life.
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You have the ability to significantly improve the quality of life of your patients, and
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this can be a tremendously satisfying experience.
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In the process of doing so, you feel that you're making the world a better place.
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That's something that money can't buy - purpose.
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Purpose is not only important for motivation, as described in Daniel Pink's book, Drive,
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but it also provides an extremely valuable tool in resilience.
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If you feel that you're working for a larger purpose - something bigger than yourself - then
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you're not only more likely to enjoy your work, but also bounce back from setbacks and
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endure the challenging times with greater ease.
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So in short, helping others helps you enjoy the day to day more, helps you bounce back
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from the hard times, and well, helps others - talk about a good deal.
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Closely tying with the first, the personal
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connection with patients is hard to match in any other profession.
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It's truly an honor to be trusted with another human being's health and wellbeing, requiring
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a deep level of trust.
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Remember that as a physician, you are there for patients in their most trying times.
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This deep personal and emotional connection with another person is often challenging,
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but is also tremendously rewarding.
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I recall some of my own conversations with patients when their family members were terminally
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ill, or when a patient needed a procedure that we all wish they didn't need.
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While it was not fun in the traditional sense, I felt honored to be able to help them in
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such a moment of vulnerability, and to help them navigate such a frightening ordeal.
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Their demonstrations of gratitude were tremendously powerful and left an impact on me.
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Third, the Intellectual Challenge. Think back to the most epic moments of life
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- things you were proud of.
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Chances are, you had a strong feeling of elation after overcoming a significant challenge.
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That's one of the reasons so many of us love being doctors.
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The body of medical knowledge is rapidly expanding, with an exponential rise in published research
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articles each year.
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It's impossible to keep up, and that's ok.
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Medicine forces you to continue to learn for the rest of your career – hopefully at that
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point, you're studying the subject matter you actually enjoy.
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The intellectual challenge applies to solving difficult medical cases as well.
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I've never watched the TV show House (I was more of a Scrubs guy), but I hear this
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would be a good demonstration of this intellectual challenge in managing obscure conditions.
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The satisfaction from finally solving a challenging medical case with a diagnosis and watching
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the treatment work effectively is hard to replicate.
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Even right now, my inner nerd is getting excited thinking about the challenging inpatient cases
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we worked on as a team during my internal medicine rotations.
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Tying in and building off of the intellectual
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challenge is autonomy.
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Doctors are the highest in command in the medical treatment team.
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They are analyzing the objective data, the patient's concerns and presentation, and
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making treatment decisions.
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Having this challenge and seeing your efforts result in improvement to the patient's condition
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is rewarding.
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Unfortunately, modern healthcare rules and regulations in the United States are encroaching
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into physician's autonomy.
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The legal liability, and increasing charting and administrative work slowly erode the autonomy
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that is so valuable.
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This is one element of the multifactorial rise in burn out amongst physicians.
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However, that discussion is for another video.
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Lastly, medicine is just a straight awesomely
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fascinating profession.
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The way the human body works, the complexities and nuances – there's just so much cool
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science to uncover.
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Every medical student gravitates to various aspects that interest them.
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For me, plastic surgery felt like science fiction.
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I go over the first case I ever saw, where we created a makeshift bicep out of the latissimus
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dorsi back muscle on a patient.
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Link in the description.
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Plastics also does hand transplants, face transplants, microsurgery for cancer or trauma
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reconstruction, and so much more.
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Regardless of your chosen specialty, there's something amazing about the science there – from psychiatry
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to plastic surgery and everything between.
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Note that I didn't mention the paycheck.
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That's intentional.
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While being a doctor is one of the highest paid professions, it's not nearly as lucrative
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as most people think.
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That boils down to two factors: the opportunity cost of delaying your paycheck for an extra
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7 to 11 years, and the cost of medical training.
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In short, don't go in it for the money.
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While being a doctor is one of the most challenging and arduous careers to enter, it's truly
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a privilege and a tremendously rewarding profession.
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If there are other rewarding aspects of being a doctor that I didn't cover here, let me
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know down in the comments below.
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What part are you looking forward to the most?
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For those of you who are interviewing for medical school right now, take a look at our
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all-new interview courses. They are the most comprehensive
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and high yield guide you'll find anywhere.
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Thank you to everyone for watching.
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Hit subscribe and the notification bell so you don't miss any new uploads.
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And I will see you guys in that next one.