my future profession is doctor essay

“Why Medicine” and “Why Do I Want To Be A Doctor?” Give Unique Answers

• Cracking Med School Admissions Team
• Section 1: How NOT to answer “Why Medicine” and “Why do I want to be a doctor”
• Section 2: How to answer Why Medicine in your medical school essays
• Section 3: How to answer Why do you want to be a doctor in your medical school interviews
• Section 4: Why Medicine  examples

Reasons to Avoid when stating your "Why Medicine" Response

• I want to help people
• I want to practice culturally-competent care
• I want to make a connection with people
• I want to improve people’s lives
• I want to help the underserved
• I find the human body fascinating

Let’s go through common, generic reasons we read in our medical school personal statement edits and why these “why do you want to be a doctor” reasons do not convince us.

Note: we have updated these reasons based on essays we’ve read in the most recent medical school application cycle.

Stay away from these vague “Why Medicine” responses in your personal statement and secondary essays

Reason #1: i want to help people..

• Why we don’t love this response:  You can help people in literally any profession. This response is not specific enough to healthcare, let alone clinical medicine.

Reason #2: I will be a great doctor who practices culturally-competent care.

• Why we don’t love this response:  We are big fans of being cognizant of your patient’s cultural and how it may affect his or her health. However, “culturally competent” care is not becoming a buzz word. Oftentimes, when we students write about this in their medical school essays, they write, “As a physician, I want to provide culturally competent care” without giving any substance to that statement.  IF this idea is important to you and you want to include it in your personal statement, then you have to make sure to give a clear example of what culturally-competent care means to you. Finally, remember that you can provide culturally competent care as a Nurse and as a Physician Assistant. So, you still have to a discuss reasons why you want to be a doctor, and not another health care provider.

Reason #3: I want to make a connection with people.

• Why we don’t love this response:  We think this reason is very vague and you can make a connection with people in any other service-oriented industry. You do not have to go into medicine or healthcare in order to make a connection with people. 

Reason #4: I want to improve people’s lives.

• Why we don’t love this response:  Similar to “I want to help people,” you can improve people’s lives in a variety of fields. 

Reason #5: I want to help the underserved.

• Why we don’t love this response:  The phrase “helping the underserved” is too common these days. In fact, through the hundreds of personal statements we have read in the past 2 application cycles, we’ve read “helping the underserved” in 70-80% of medical school applicants. Talk about not standing out! If you want to help underserved communities, we fully support you. But, our Cracking Med School Admissions team wants you to be more specific in  HOW you want to help the underserved or if there are specific populations you want to serve. Ideally, you will include personal experiences with underserved communities. For example, our students who have matriculated into medical school have written about helping refugee populations. Other have discussed that they want to do health policy research on how socioeconomic factors affect access to healthcare. See how these levels of specificity will provide the reader with more insight into your specific interests in improving healthcare.

Reason #6: I find the human body fascinating.

• Why we don’t love this response:  While this reason is geared towards the medical profession, we also read this fascination with the human body among PhD candidates. If research and the pathophysiology behind our human bodies is what excite you about the practice of medicine, you have to also say why you want to work with patients rather than focus completely on biological research. 

Reason #7: I enjoy learning about science.

• Why we don’t love this response:  Using “I enjoy science” is a worse reason than “I find the human body fascinating. There are many career paths outside of patient care where you can follow your zeal for science. For example, an individual can work in drug discovery with a biotech or pharmaceutical company. There are other careers in the healthcare industry like medical billing that do not require a medical degree. Furthermore, you can be a scientific researcher, including in non-healthcare fields like botany, veterinary science, food science, and geology. Basically, saying that you like science is too generalized for another individual to believe you want to go into medicine. You have to say more specifically why are you pursuing a career in medicine. 

How to Answer Why Medicine in your Medical School Essays

The first place you should explain why you want to pursue medicine is in your medical school personal statement. Most premed students apply to medical school through the AMCAS.

The AMCAS personal statement prompt is the following: ““Use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school.”

Your personal statement should really reflect why you want to go into medicine. Additionally, your AMCAS work & activities descriptions as well as your medical school secondary essays should support your med school personal statement’s rationale.

A winning framework to responding to the “Why Medicine” and “Why do you want to be a doctor” questions consists of the following:

Step #1: provide context and your initial interest in pursuing medicine.

• Questions to answer: Do you have any role models who are medical doctors? Did you have any early experiences with medicine that greatly affected you? Were you a patient as a child? Did you have to take care of any family members? Did you consider other careers before deciding on a career in medicine?
• Why this is important: Providing initial context from your life experiences can help your interviewer to understand some of your initial environment and how you may have arrived at the decision to pursue medicine.

Step #2: Highlight reasons for wanting to pursue medicine

• Questions to answer: Why are you passionate about health? Did you study science in school? If you did not study science, how will what you studied help you in becoming a great doctor? How did you cultivate your interests in healthcare and did you pursue any activities or research to do so?
• Why this is important: By describing how your interests in healthcare have developed, your interviewer can gain a more nuanced understanding of your scientific curiosity and affinity. This is often the metric they use to determine if you will remain inquisitive, enterprising, and capable of absorbing and driving scientific knowledge forwards in medical school and beyond.

Step #3. Give examples of your experience and activities

• Questions to answer:  Are you passionate about health? Did you study science in school? If you did not study science, how will what you studied help you in becoming a great doctor? How did you cultivate your interests in healthcare and did you pursue any activities or research to do so?
• Why this is important:  When you are asked these open-ended, common medical school interview questions, you want to give evidence of how you have already tried to make an impact in medicine and healthcare. We strongly encourage students to bring in stories and personal experiences. For example, let’s say you are interested in improving patient care for individuals with disabilities. If you give example of how you worked with a child with autism or did research around improving outcomes for individuals with disabilities, these personal experiences will show the interviewer your passion and experiences. 

Step #4: Describe your desire to use your passion to make a positive and direct impact

• Questions to answer: Have you engaged in community service work to help others? How does it make you feel and why is it important to you? Why do you want to pursue a career based around service?
• Why this is important: This section provides a basis for why you are interested in dedicating yourself to a career of serving others. It is also crucial to help you describe why medicine, in particular, is the kind of service that you are interested in doing and why you seek to be a physician and not serve others in a different capacity. Excellent answers will incorporate one’s scholarly endeavors and extracurricular activities. They will link their activities with their career goals.

Step #5: Describe any other reasons and what you hope to accomplish in medicine

• Questions to answer:  Why do you want to go to medical school – specifically, wre there any unique reasons that are not covered in the other steps for why you are interested in medical school? How do you plan to use your scientific curiosity and desire to help others as a physician? Do you want to advance medical technology? Do you want to advance medical research? Is there a specific field of medicine you are already interested in pursuing?
• Why this is important: By connecting your current passions with the future impact that you hope to produce, an interviewer begins to get a window into what kind of physician you hope to become and how you could greatly benefit from attending their medical school.

We want to stress that there is not one correct answer to “why do I want to be a doctor” in your medical school application. In fact, you may have multiple reasons why you want to become a physician. What is important is that you show your interests in clinical practice and highlight the unique a position a physician is in to manage somebody’s health. 

We Get Into The Tiny Details Of Your Essays, With Each Draft, So Your Application Will Stand Out

Rishi Mediratta, M.D., M.Sc., M.A.

Undergraduate Johns Hopkins

Residency Stanford, Pediatrics

How to Answer "Why Do You Want to be a Doctor?" in your Medical School Interviews

In medical school interviews, “Why Medicine” or “Why do you want to be a doctor” is one of the common intervioew questions asked. So, you should be prepared.

However, we want to stress this: The BEST med school interviewees will convey why they are pursuing a career in medicine in their “ Tell me about yourself ” response, which is usually the first question asked.

Therefore, our first piece of advice is to make sure you include why you want to be a doctor in your “Tell me about yourself” response.

Now, med school interviewees may receive additional questions about why they want to pursue medicine. The questions are usually asked like this:

• Why are you interested in medicine?
• Why are you pursuing a career in medicine?
• Why do you want to be a doctor? 
• Why do you want to be a physician?
• Why do you want to go to medical school?

There are other ways medical school interviewers can gauge your interest and dedication to medicine:

• Why do you want to be a physician and not a nurse/PA/nutritionist/physical therapist/occupational therapist/other health professional?
• Why do you want to get an MD and not an MPH or MPP?
• Where do you see yourself 20 years from now?

Medical School Interview Tip

The best “ Tell me about yourself ” responses – the first question typically asked in medical school interviews – includes your reasons for pursuing medicine. Students are typically not asked BOTH tell me about yourself and why medicine.

How to answer Why Do You Want to Be a Doctor in your interviews

Discussing why you want to be a doctor during interviews is similar to the steps taken above when answering why medicine in your medical school application essays.

The one big difference between discussing medicine in your essays versus your interviews is brevity. You will not have 250 words or entire paragraphs to highlight your interests in medicine.

Take a look at our Why Medicine Answer Examples section below to see examples of what you can say.

Additionally, you can discuss clinical experiences throughout your medical school interview. Discuss various physicians you’ve shadowed or different clinical experiences you’ve been involved with. Our Cracking Med School Admissions interview team advises students to include 1-2 patient stories during each interview. The important point to remember is to discuss that you want to help patients through a clinical setting.

If you striving to stand out in your medical school interview, schedule a mock interview with our Cracking Med School Admissions team!

Get 50 More Common Med School Questions & Interview Tips

If you are prepared, the Cracking Med School Admissions interview gives you the perfect opportunity to standout and shine by sharing with people what you are passionate about.

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Why Medicine Examples

Why medicine and why do i want to be a doctor example answers:.

Again, we want to stress that there is not one correct answer to “why do I want to be a doctor” in your medical school interviews. In fact, you may have multiple reasons why you want to become a physician. What is important is that you show your interests in clinical medicine and highlight the unique a position a physician is in to manage somebody’s health.

Here are examples of how you can convey want you want to pursue a medical career:

Personal experiences + context.

• Initially, I was not that interested in medicine and instead was passionate about space exploration and aerospace engineering. Because of many personal circumstances, I became more drawn to medicine. First, when my grandfather fell ill with pneumonia, I felt helpless to help him when I visited the hospital all while the medical staff remained attentive to small changes in his condition. Seeing how they listened to our and his questions, tailored their treatment to his needs, and reassured us at every step of the way, encouraged me to consider what role I wanted to play in helping others in the future. Second, after a bad ankle fracture while playing soccer, my doctors were just as attentive and they empowered me to come back stronger and more improved than ever before, solidifying my desire to pursue medicine.

Scientific Background

• In college, I was a Psychology major. I was able to learn more about cognition and human perception works and how they can be affected by the underlying biochemical processes happening in the brain and rest of the body. I was also able to explore my interest in neuroscience by working at the Department of Neurology, studying the cognition of split-brain patients and trying to understand novel therapeutic options. Studying this has encouraged me to continue neurology research as a medical student. I aspire to alleviate patients suffering from debilitating chronic conditions.

Helping Patients with their Health

• Throughout my undergraduate years, I’ve been very interested in oncology. I’ve found it to be very rewarding to comfort patients when they receive a very scary diagnosis, and I enjoy helping describe various treatment options. At the Children’s Hospital, I volunteered at the Pediatrics Oncology Department. I helped develop a program where we spoke with parents’ families describing what to expect with chemotherapy. Additionally, I want to translate my patient experiences to the lab when I can develop new targeted cancer therapies.

Ability to Change Healthcare More Broadly

• As a primary care physician, I will be able to help patients navigate through the healthcare system. This will give me insights into what barriers there are to accessing healthcare. I will use those insights to a) advocate to policymakers for better health policies in our state and b) advise start-up companies and non-profits who want to improve access to healthcare services.

Goals in Medicine

• I am specifically interested in removing healthcare misinformation and disinformation among Black and Brown communities. As a medical student at ____ school, I want to teach health topics at after school programs in nearby low-income communities. As a physician, I will continue my scientific problem solving and combine this with my humanistic work serving others, my teaching work, and my desire to advocate for those who have traditionally been underserved by medicine.

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Healing with Heart: Essay About My Plans to Becoming a Doctor

Becoming a doctor has been my lifelong dream. Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the medical field and inspired by stories of doctors saving lives and helping people in need. As I have grown up, my passion for medicine has only increased. Helping others is an integral part of who I am, and becoming a doctor would enable me to do just that on a daily basis. Here are the reasons why becoming a doctor is my ultimate goal and why I am writing this essay published on custom essay paper writing service Edusson.

Why I Want to Be a Doctor Essay 

Becoming a doctor requires dedication and hard work, but it is also immensely rewarding. Helping people in need brings me joy, and being able to make an impact on someone’s life is something that cannot be put into words. 

By the way, a career in medicine also will give me the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing people in the world — doctors. Working alongside dedicated professionals will give me the chance to learn from their experiences and gain valuable insight into this field. And lastly, medicine will allow me to use both my scientific knowledge and creative problem-solving skills every day. 

My Desire to Help Others 

Every day, there are countless opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives – from donating money to local charities, volunteering at homeless shelters, or simply offering words of encouragement when someone is feeling down. To me, it’s more than just an opportunity; it’s an obligation. 

When I become a doctor, I will be able to take that sense of responsibility even further by being at the forefront of healthcare and providing direct help to those in need. It’s not just about treating patients; it’s about truly understanding what they are going through and offering comfort as well as physical healing. 

My Love for Medicine 

My interest in medicine goes beyond my desire to help others; I also genuinely enjoy learning about the human body and its various functions. In high school, biology was one of my favorite subjects because it opened up so many intriguing possibilities for exploration. Now that I am studying pre-med courses in college, my fascination with medicine continues to grow as I learn more about how the body works on both microscopic and macroscopic levels. From anatomy and physiology to biochemistry and pharmacology, each course provides a fascinating insight into the world of medicine that reinforces my passion for this field. 

What Skills a Good Doctor Should Have

I think it’s important to have good communication skills, especially when it comes to dealing with patients. The patients need someone who is able to understand their needs and feelings and then explain to them clearly what they should do next. 

The most important part of being a doctor is also patience because you need to be patient with your patients if they don’t understand something or if they are having trouble with something simple like taking their medication correctly or following your instructions on how to take care of themselves better.

What Role a Doctor Plays in Society

Furthermore, doctors are very important people who save lives every day around the world – they help us live longer and healthier lives! When we go to see our doctors, we trust that they know exactly what is wrong with us or how we can get better again. This trust comes from knowing that doctors are highly educated professionals who study hard for many years before becoming certified as physicians!

The Challenges Ahead 

Nevertheless, becoming a doctor involves many years of hard work – including undergraduate studies, medical school applications, licensing exams, residency programs, and internships. Each step presents unique challenges but also incredible rewards, such as gaining knowledge that can be applied directly into practice or building relationships with patients that can last a lifetime. With each challenge comes growth both personally and professionally, which makes me even more eager to pursue this path despite its complexity.  

I want to be a doctor because it offers me the opportunity to make an impact on people’s lives while doing something meaningful with my life — something that will give me personal fulfillment now and for years down the road. It requires hard work but comes with a tremendous reward, and ultimately fulfills my dream of helping others through medicine. For these reasons, becoming a doctor remains my ultimate goal in life!

Becoming a doctor is a lifelong aspiration for many people, and the reasons why someone might choose to pursue a career in medicine are as varied as they are compelling. In the following table, we’ve outlined some of the most common reasons why individuals might want to become a doctor, along with a brief description of each reason.

Note: The reasons listed in the table are not exhaustive, and there are certainly other factors that might motivate someone to become a doctor. These are simply some of the most common and compelling reasons.

Crafting an Essay on Why You Want to Be a Doctor – Tips and Tricks 

Are you looking for tips on writing an essay on why you want to become a doctor? Writing personal statement format essays can be a daunting task, but with the right advice, it doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips that will provide you with all the information you need to write an effective and compelling essay. Read on to learn more. 

Understand Your Audience 

Before you even begin writing, it’s important to understand who your audience is. Understanding its perspective will help shape the content of your essay. 

Write From Personal Experience 

Your essay should be written from personal experience and not from research or facts that you have gathered from other sources. It should focus on why you personally want to become a doctor and how this profession will enable you to make positive changes in the world or in people’s lives. Using real-life examples of experiences that have shaped your interest in medicine can help make your essay more powerful and memorable. 

Add Specific Details That Showcase Your Understanding of Medicine 

In order to make sure that your essay stands out from the rest, it is important to include specific details related to medicine that show off your knowledge of the field. These details can help demonstrate that you understand what is required of someone who wishes to pursue a career in this field, and why it appeals so strongly to you as an individual.

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A Doctor Essay | Essay on A Doctor for Students and Children in English

February 7, 2024 by Prasanna

A Doctor Essay  – Given below is a Long and Short Essay on A Doctor for aspirants of competitive exams, kids and students belonging to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. A Doctor essay 100, 150, 200, 250 words in English helps the students with their class assignments, comprehension tasks, and even for competitive examinations.

You can also find more Essay Writing articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long Essay On A Doctor 500 words for kids and students in English

This proverb still holds true to the hilt. One may have all the comforts and luxuries of life but it may all seem purposeless if one does not have sound health to enjoy them. One must be healthy physically and mentally. We undergo many health problems time and again. We need to cure these health problems at the earliest to restore back to health; and only a doctor can help us to restore back to health. Doctor, who cures ailing and distress with utmost devotion, care and love, is a saviour and God to millions. We need doctor’s help in health problems like cold, cough, fever, flue, depression, etc. or any natural deformities like bad positioning of teeth, deafness, dumbness, blindness, ill-shaped limb, etc. or in case of accidents.

“Health is wealth”

A doctor is a healer who extends his true services to all his patients regardless of any bias, selfishness or apprehension about himself catching up the infections. To a doctor, his patients are very important and treating and curing them is always his priority. There are various branches of medicine like Allopathy, Homeopathy, Unani, Ayurvedic. There are various specialisations of doctors, in addition to general physician, like cardiologist, dentist, surgeon, psychatrist, gyneocologist, neurologist, orthologist, etc.

I am prone to allergies, so I need help of a doctor very often. Though I am afraid of injections and bitter medicines but I never delay my visit to doctor because I know only my doctor can help me restore back to good health at the earliest.

Dr. Edward Smith, a general physician, is our family doctor. He is associated with my family since last 20 years even when I was not born. He is a man in his late 50’s and looks smart in his white lab coat and always wears a stethoscope and pleasing smile. I call him ‘Uncle doc’ and take his advice for any major dietary change. Dr. Smith is a very dedicated man, he attends to his patients at his clinic, at his residence and in the evening renders his services for free to a charitable hospital. He never declines to attend to emergency needs of any patients even during his rest hours or odd hours. He is co-operative enough to personally visit our house in case of some grave emergency. He is a very jovial person who often jokes around with his patients to keep them cheerful even when they are in grave pain or distress.

Dr. Smith always wants his patient to be hale and hearty and so he often tells them in detail about the precautions, causes and cures of various diseases and prescribes them the best medicine available.

Doctor is an important part of the society because as long as we are alive we will have minor or major health problems and we need a doctor to cure them and let health and happiness prevail. A doctor is a saviour for society.

FAQs on A Doctor

Q1. What is the ambition of your life?

Ans: Everybody has an ambition in his life to do something in better and different manner. Ambition mean a strong desire to do or achieve something in the life. Ambition gives us aims, objects, goals and targets of life. It gives us a sense of direction and motivation towards our goals in the life.

Q2. What is the aim of a doctor?

Ans: Everyone has an aim in life, Aim or Ambition is what we want to be in future and chose a career after studies. My aim in life is to become a doctor, the life of a doctor is a noble life. The doctor is a saver of life and they can help the peoples who need them when they feel sick.

Q3. How do you achieve your goals as a doctor?

• Step 1: Earn a Bachelor’s Degree. A bachelor’s degree is required to get into medical school. …
• Step 2: Take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) …
• Step 3: Earn a Medical Degree. …
• Step 4: Complete a Residency Program. …
• Step 5: Obtain Licensure. …
• Step 6: Get Certified to Advance Career.

Q4. What is the aim of the life?

Ans: Ambition drives them to advance and accomplish their goals. Well-aimed and supported by values, ambition reflects a healthy self-esteem and higher power of abstraction and visualization of the future. Ambitious people have a gleam in their eyes as they approach their goals.

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Why Do You Want To Be A Doctor? [How to Answer + Sample Responses]

Table of contents.

So You Want to Be a Doctor… What’s Your “Why?”

I remember reading that “ medicine is a calling, not a profession .” You have to be sure that this is what you want in life. While a blog article can’t dictate that for you, I hope that it’ll point you in the right direction.

Is Medicine Right for Me?

Many students ask themselves this even when they’re already in medical school. Honestly, there will be days when you will doubt your decision. It’ll get tough, and you’ll ask yourself whether this is right for you. So, ask yourself a few things:

“Did I think this through enough?”

“Did I weigh the pros and cons?” “Did I consider the sacrifices that I and the people around me will have to make?” Some people spend years asking themselves this, and that’s fine. The more sure you are, the more likely you will persevere even on the worst days of medical school.

“Do I have the resources to pursue this profession?”

It’s expensive, but you won’t just need funds. You’ll need emotional support and the mental readiness to push toward your goals. Medical school requires you to be patient with yourself and suck up a lot of pride. You’ll need resources beyond tangible ones like money.

“Is this my passion?”

Many people find fulfillment in helping others but not making a living from it. Think about what you want. Is it fulfillment? Money? Excitement? I promise that other jobs can give you these without the problems you’ll have in medical school. While these alternatives have their own challenges, they might be a better fit. Try to consider these or exhaust all your options before deciding that you want to become a doctor.

Common Reasons Why People Enter Medical School

During medical school interviews, students are commonly asked , Why do you want to become a doctor? There are many reasons to pursue medicine. They’re all valid, and they are sometimes enough to drive a person through medical school. However, ask yourself if what you want can be best achieved through becoming a doctor.

“I want to save lives/empower patients/make a difference”

Many students give similar answers to this when asked about their motivations. These students want jobs involving compassion, trust, and service. However, this is not exclusive to doctors. Do you want compassion? Become a nurse or any healthcare worker job instead. In my experience, many nurses I know are the most compassionate and selfless people I’ve ever met. They even have better schedules than doctors. Do you want to make a difference for patients? Volunteer for charity events or become a politician.

“I want to be rich”

Medicine promises a lot of financial stability because there will always be a need for more doctors. This is not a good reason because it’s not even that true . Medical school is expensive . If you want to become rich, get a degree in business. One of the reasons why doctors are poor is because they have bad business sense . I could have been rich if I had gone to a corporate job straight out of graduation instead of medical school. Don’t go to medical school for money .

“It’s my childhood dream”

This used to be my reason, and it did not work. If I had followed my real childhood dream, I would have become a swashbuckling pirate. That’s illegal. Many people think that following their childhood dream means following their passion. It’s not . You’d be following the whims of a child. Even worse, these ideas could be dictated by what your parents wanted. Your career as an adult should be something that makes you happy with a hint of reality.

“It carries influence and prestige”

Although this is true , it’s also a harmful idea to have. Don’t become a doctor for the clout. In my experience, most people who give the profession so much prestige are outside of medicine. That MD at the end of your name may gain some admiration because of the nature of the job. However, that won’t stop patients and co-workers alike from being rude. Do you want respect and praise? Reconsider a career in healthcare . Moreover, you’re not supposed to determine your career based on the opinions of others. They won’t be the ones reading all those books, crying over exams, and dealing with patients.

“I love science and I want to further my knowledge”

Doctors are nerds, and I mean that in the best way possible. They’re people with a passion for science. They wouldn’t have survived the grueling trials of medical school if they didn’t like it. However, medicine isn’t the only postgraduate course out there. There are many master’s and doctorate programs that can suit science lovers just as well — or maybe even better — than medicine can. They’re even more specialized, so you won’t have to study the subjects in medicine you dislike.

If these are any of your reasons, and they’re enough to get you through medical school, then good for you. However, if you want to become a doctor for only one of these reasons, you’ll end up broke and disappointed. Medicine is only one path of many to achieve the things you want. Do not simply say, I want to become a doctor . Think about why it has to be medicine and nothing else.

How to find your motivation and stay motivated

“Always remember your Why .” This is a quote commonly told to us in medical school. It means that whenever things get tough, remember why you started in the first place — your Why . Why did you choose to be a doctor? However, even with a great reason, you can still lose sight of your goals. That’s understandable, given how hard medical school can be before, during, and after.

#1: Shadow a doctor or do volunteer work

There are opportunities everywhere to volunteer for healthcare-related causes. You can check your local hospital or travel abroad. As much as possible, volunteer in places that need help the most. These can be poverty-stricken areas or third-world countries. What’s important is that you get to see what healthcare looks like from different perspectives. Not everyone has access to healthcare. Some patients’ experiences will be worse than others. At some point, you’ll find something you’ll want to change in the healthcare system or do as a doctor.

#2: Set short-term goals

Obstacles will always arise when you undertake anything . In medical school, the studies will get overwhelming. So when things are tough, you can make your work more digestible by setting short-term goals. Why? Because if your goal in medical school is to become a doctor or change the healthcare system, that’ll take years . You won’t feel any sort of reward, and naturally, you’ll feel demotivated. Goals like “get a higher grade on the next exam” are great. However, it’s important to also make goals such as “exercise every day” or “start a new hobby”. ¡Self-care is even more important than academic achievements. So, always make time for yourself!

#3: Make friends

Friends are a good source of support. They’re even fun to study with! Many people enter medical school not planning to make friends; but having social support helps you stay resilient . I learned in medical school that I wouldn’t have gotten by without supportive friends.

#4: Find a subject you enjoy; be ready for those you don’t

There’s a little something for everyone in medicine. I know people who went through medical school because they wanted to become a surgeon or an internist. However, they felt demotivated when studying subjects they didn’t enjoy. During those times, they reminded themselves that once they entered their dream specialization, the fields they disliked would be someone else’s problem.

My “Why:” By Bianca Villanueva

“Going to medical school wasn’t an easy choice for me. Honestly, I wasn’t confident enough to believe that I could become a doctor — I thought that it was for people who were gifted in some way. I was none of those things. In fact, my grandmother discouraged me from pursuing medicine. I was told that it wasn’t for someone like me. Taking the entrance exam was just my way of proving her wrong. I eventually stopped caring about what my grandmother thought about me. Then, I realized proving her wrong was a terrible reason to become a doctor.

I felt demotivated. I didn’t know what I was doing in medical school. I was totally out of my league, and the classes were getting progressively more difficult each day. That is, until I started interacting with patients more often. Step by step, I learned how to take a patient’s history, do a physical exam, diagnose, then treat. I loved it.

Some of you may have expected a more altruistic reason why I stayed in medical school. You might think I’m someone who wants to further the field, provide a better quality of life for my patients, or change the healthcare system in my third-world country. All these are noble goals, and a part of me does want to make a difference. But I mostly stayed because I just loved doing what doctors do. Compared with my jobs in counseling, human resources, and psychometrics, I had never felt this fulfilled.

In those previous jobs, I would stare at the clock until it was time to go home. But when I worked in my favorite rotations, I didn’t care what time it was. My advice? Altruistic goals only get you so far. You must be in this profession for both yourself and others.

Why? Because according to Frederick Buechner, “your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need”. You may want to help others, but does this work make you happy? You might enjoy the perks of being a doctor, but can you do a service job for the rest of your life? Being a doctor has its pros and cons, like any job. Honestly, it had more cons than I thought it would. But sometimes I look back at the patients who genuinely thanked me for my help and got to go home to be with their families. I live for those moments. That’s how I know I’m exactly where I need to be.” – Bianca Villanueva

How to Answer “Why Do You Want to Be a Doctor” in Med School Interviews

Many students fall into the trap of providing a vague answer about enjoying science, wanting to help people, or always wanting to be a doctor. What they don’t realize is that most (if not all) applicants to medical school share these characteristics!

What differentiates you in answering the question is unique to your situation, so you’ll want to incorporate memorable specifics into your answer to help paint a better picture of you as an applicant. Answering this question provides you with a unique opportunity to put your journey to applying to med school into a coherent narrative. With a little thought, tailoring your answer can be a great way to highlight the strengths in your application or to shore up weaknesses. Here are a couple of thoughts on how to answer the question, and some pitfalls to avoid: 

The Best Response Refers to Your Resume But Does Not Just Rehash It

Use your answer to highlight not only your interest in medicine but how you came to develop that interest. Applicants often highlight the origins of their desire to be a doctor but are short on details as to how their resume relates to the journey to applying to med school. It’s not enough to say you “always wanted” to be a doctor; show through stories what you did along the way to understand more about yourself and that desire.

Vague answer

“I always knew I wanted to be a doctor ever since I was a kid. I did some shadowing in high school and I volunteered in college at a hospital too, so I basically felt like I understood what doctors did every day and knew I wanted to be one.” 

This answer doesn’t provide much information about the applicant beyond what could already be found on their resume. Your interviewers will want to hear more about you as a person that they couldn’t find out by reading the rest of your application. 

Better answer

“I didn’t come from a family of doctors, but my parents say it was always something I was interested in. After one of my friends told me about how their dad, who is a doctor, used to be on call all the time and would sometimes miss holidays or birthdays from getting called to the hospital, I decided it would be a good idea to try to get a better sense of what it was actually like being a doctor. I asked to shadow him in high school, and it really opened my eyes to the fact that if I was going to do this, I needed to be really sure I was ready to handle the demands of the job. I started volunteering at our local emergency department in college to try to prepare myself even more. I learned a lot from being in the ED – not just about being a doctor, but about all the other roles it takes to successfully care for a patient. Now that I’m better informed, I want to be a doctor because there’s no other job where the sacrifice seems so worth it – you can make an immediate, life-changing difference for people, as I saw time and again when patients came in with strokes, heart attacks, and injuries.” 

This answer adds detail that might not be evident elsewhere in the application. It shows that the applicant understands some of the demands of being a doctor (missing holidays and birthdays, acknowledging  personal sacrifice) as well as highlighting an attempt to grow personally and gain clinical skills as a motivation for volunteering (rather than “checking a box” to show they volunteered). It also opens the possibility of the interviewer asking follow-up questions about what they saw in the emergency department that they liked or disliked, or what they learned from that experience. 

Specify Why Medicine Is Your Choice Over Any Career In The Sciences

There are many jobs where you can use science to help people other than being a doctor, and there seem to be more every day. This might have been your initial motivation for exploring becoming a doctor, but interviewers will want to know how you built on that motivation and decided on medicine specifically. Liking science and wanting to help people are great initial motivations, but interviewers will want to see more than that in an application. Be sure to use your answer to expand on why medicine specifically, versus another career in the sciences.

“I really enjoyed science in high school, and I knew I wanted to help people, so I decided to major in biology in college. I wasn’t really sure whether or not to apply to med school right away, so I took a gap year after college and worked as a scribe.” 

This answer doesn’t sound as if the interviewee has put much thought into addressing the question. It might also invite some unwelcome questions about why the interviewee took a “gap year,” and prompt the interviewer to ask whether they’ve applied to medical school before and failed to get in, or about their academic record, which could present a problem if it is not stellar.

“As a high school student, I was fascinated with my science classes. Someone suggested I consider biology as a major in college, so I gave it a shot. Even though I loved my classes and the research lab that I worked in, I wasn’t completely satisfied with how I was applying what I knew. Rather than trying to apply to med school right away, I decided to spend a year working with patients to see if it was right for me. I took a job as a medical scribe, and it really confirmed my suspicion that medicine was a better fit for me than benchwork would have been. Seeing the way the doctors in our clinic utilized their knowledge to help people every day in a tangible way showed me  that medicine was the way I wanted to apply my skills. Having some patient contact scratched that itch of what I needed that I wasn’t getting from my benchwork: the chance to directly apply scientific principles to a person to help them in real time.” 

This answer is actually from the same student, with more detail. It sounds more confident, explains the gap year coherently, and illustrates personal growth. An interviewer would be much more likely to follow up with a question about the applicant’s research background or clinic experience next, rather than trying to get more details about a gap year. 

Consider Why You Want To Be a Physician

For some interviewers, it’s not good enough to say you want to go into medicine alone. Interviewers will want to know why you want to be a doctor specifically versus a nurse, physician assistant, physical therapist, or any other number of healthcare professionals who care directly for patients. Your answer should explain that you’ve been exposed to these possibilities and have a specific reason for choosing to pursue one over another. 

“I spent a lot of my career as an operating room nurse, but after a while, I really wanted to prescribe medicines, call the shots, and make more money. That’s when I decided to apply to med school.” 

Although this answer is somewhat exaggerated, it isn’t far off from real answers given by less-than-savvy applicants. This answer shows a lack of understanding of the roles of various health professions. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can often prescribe medications, and in an increasingly team-based world, doctors aren’t the sole decision-makers when it comes to patient care. If autonomy were a big motivator for this applicant, there are better ways to express this. 

“As an operating room nurse, I loved the patient care contact, and I found myself fascinated by what surgeons did on a daily basis. As time went on, I realized I wasn’t going to be satisfied in my career unless I was able to actually perform surgery independently on a patient. While some of my colleagues went on to become nurse practitioners or physician assistants, I wanted to go the physician route because I knew I wanted to be performing surgery in the OR independently. I want to be a doctor because I want to be a surgeon, and there isn’t another way for me to achieve that dream.”

This answer shows a better understanding of team roles and scope of practice than the previous one. It still gets at the idea of autonomy, while showing an understanding of team roles. A followup question might include a discussion of the applicant’s nursing experience or desire to be a surgeon specifically. 

Related videos

In summary….

There are as many ways to answer the “why do you want to be a doctor” question as there are applicants to medical school, so it pays to prepare an answer ahead of time. Use the fact that the question is virtually guaranteed to your advantage, and highlight elements of your application that aren’t immediately obvious on review of your resume. With some careful planning, your answer can set you up for success in the rest of your medical school interview!

Dr. Brennan Kruszewski is a practicing internist and primary care physician in Beachwood, Ohio. He graduated from Emory University School of Medicine in 2018, and recently completed his residency in Internal Medicine at University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He enjoys writing about a variety of medical topics, including his time in academic medicine and how to succeed as a young physician. In his spare time, he is an avid cyclist, lover of classical literature, and choral singer.

Further Reading

What to Bring to a Medical School Interview–And What to Expect

Preparing for Medical School

How to Get Into Medical School: Preparing a Strong Application

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My Dream Job: Aspiring to Become a Doctor

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