Introduction

Pursuing professional medicine is arguably one of the most prestigious and well-paying occupations out there. However, if your motivation for pursuing a career in medicine is dictated by money, you should re-evaluate your decision. The path to becoming an official health practitioner demands a lot of determination, passion, and the right heart to achieve. The journey is by no means an easy feat. For instance, you’ll need to attend a medicine school singapore.
Surprisingly, however, as much as the medical profession is talked about, not many people actually know the first steps to enter this field. With that being said, here are several points for consideration before beginning your medical journey.

1. Doctors are society’s unsung heroes

It comes as no surprise that doctors’ primary role is to treat health ailments as best as they can – be it providing temporary relief or to eradicate a person’s pain completely and give them a better quality of life. As both the consistent backbone of society and front lines during times of duress, society would cease to function without the help of doctors saving lives every day. 
Doctors are the noble individuals who willingly choose to prioritize humanity over themselves. Just reflect for a second, how often do you remember your doctor’s name, let alone thank them for their service? Be it your local clinic’s general practitioner or hospital surgeons, each doctor places their patient’s interests before theirs for the sake of the collective good.

2. The application of science in medicine

Medical science has progressed tremendously in the past century to achieve the level of advancement we currently get to enjoy as a species. Medicinal discovery is a constant process of theorized trial and error based on past medical histories and countless physical examinations. Without scientific thinking, it’d be impossible to critically analyze and surmise relevant deductions or conclusions to better treat a patient’s condition. There have been many medical breakthroughs within the field and yet, there are many still left to solve. Essentially, dealing with medical science is like working to solve a puzzle every day. 

3. Medicine comprises multiple strands of science

Virtually all disciplines of science are involved in medicine, one way or another. They continually intertwine and overlap to influence and inform one another’s findings. Contrary to popular belief in specializing in a specific branch of science early on, students should instead be bold and learn about all the sciences as much as possible. Even when you finally enter the medical field, you should seek the opportunity to expand your horizon into more STEM disciplines. 
Do not limit yourself to one discipline. The medical field can be dealt with in a multitude of ways – from applying practical medical knowledge as a doctor to designing new health equipment to even encoding personalized health apps – the options are limitless when it comes to science. 

4. Career branches

Have you ever encountered a fork in a road and been forced to decide which road to endeavor on? Well, medicine is similar to that, except instead of a singular fork, it’s an incredibly complex web of career paths to choose from. By now, it should come as little shock over how many specialties in medicine and surgery given how many different roles there are to fulfill.
You could be a radiologist, helping patients locate invasive tumors on a daily. Or perhaps, you could go into aerospace medicine and monitor the wellbeing of astronauts. Medicine is a universal key that can unlock doors to almost any career option.

5. Expanding beyond science itself

Now enough about science, medicine can most definitely extend beyond that scope too. While science is still relatively fundamental to medicine, it doesn’t necessarily have to comprise your entire discipline. Instead, medicine can be combined with many other scopes of professional fields like journalism, media entertainment, or even politics. Regardless of profession, there’s bound to be a role relevant for medical professionals to offer their assistance or advice. 

6. A hands-on experience

Although studying medicine involves endless hours of studying and memorization, it also demands a significant level of practical skills as does textbook knowledge. Having sufficient medical knowledge can only take you so far if you’re unable to actually perform it. Therefore, the conversion of knowledge into practical expertise is often a huge learning gap that many doctors and surgeons struggle to overcome. Sitting in a lecture hall versus being in an operating theatre are definitely very different. Therefore, training one’s practical expertise is equally important as training their mental muscle. Both are essential to becoming a well-practiced physician or surgeon.

7. Passing on knowledge to the next generation

I’m sure that many of us can agree that the best way to learning and mastering something is to have a decent mentor. Nothing beats the advice and guidance of a seasoned professional of any given field. Likewise, it’s important that doctors strive to be good teachers as they are physicians in order to impart their acquired wisdom and experience to the next generations of doctors. Wisdom and experience cannot be learned through a textbook, but can only be taught or guided by a mentor. Therefore, shadowing in the medical field is an extremely valuable experience to undergo.

8. Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Other than the extreme depth involved in becoming a licensed doctor, there’s also considerable breadth in terms of the range of professions that work together to support the entire medical sector. Other hospital staff members like nurses and pharmacists are often underrated in their contribution to the medical sector; just imagine these medical staff members as individual cogs necessary for the entire gear system to operate smoothly. Without the different perspectives and skillsets offered by them too, working in medicine would undoubtedly be less vibrant and interesting. 

9. Conferences after conferences

At any point in time, there are always new discoveries being brought forth and theories being contested. As a result, conferences are frequently ongoing where the brightest minds congregate to discuss and share their findings with one another. In medical school, you’ll most likely be given many opportunities to attend conferences, so take full advantage of them.  

10. Society needs you

While having a profession in medicine might seem prolific or privileged, it also comes with many vulnerabilities. At its core, the bond between a doctor and patient is extremely valuable and precious. Patients come to doctors in their times of need while doctors have the responsibility to uphold and protect their patients with the utmost care. However, sometimes illnesses are incurable and for those, a certain level of mental tenacity and emotional strength is needed. 
Not everyone can be a doctor through sheer intellect alone. In fact, ensuring a patient’s emotional wellbeing is equally important, if not more. Hence, as doctors, establishing the human connection should come first. 

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