Dear Nora: Doctors Are Overrated (Well, Not Really) by Nora

Dear Nora: Doctors Are Overrated (Well, Not Really) by Nora - July 2025 Scholarship Essay

My advice to my younger self would be that being a doctor is not the only important or respected career out there. As someone born to African parents, becoming a doctor in that culture is seen as something everyone should aspire to be, due how revered they are. Although my own parents never forced me to pursue medicine, it was still something I had the drive to do. But later on, I learned that the profession is only one of MANY important ones out there, and that I shouldn’t feel bad if I am not able to be an MD.
Since I was a little girl, I had always dreamed of becoming a doctor, for a couple reasons. Firstly, I was always fascinated by the tasks that my doctors did whenever I went to the hospital for a checkup. Seeing them use all the fancy medical equipment made me imagine using them myself on my own patients. The second reason is the amount of money and prestige that being an MD has. They can make $100,000 or more in a year, which, especially in the economy nowadays, can go a long way when trying to make ends meet. Plus, they will still have money left over for luxuries. I, like most everyone else, want to have a job that pays really well, so that I’ll never have to worry about going into debt or poverty. I want to be able to pay for my bills and necessities but also have money left over to afford things I want. Another aspect is the amount of respect doctors get. When someone tells others that they are a physician, that person is met with admiration and honor. That is due to how difficult it is to become that and how they pride themselves on helping to heal the sick. I love receiving admiration, so I figured that becoming an MD would earn me that every day. Lastly (and most importantly), I just love to help people feel better. It’s pretty obvious that people who choose to have a career in healthcare have that quality, and for me, it’s no different. Being able to put a smile on people’s faces and have a positive impact on their lives is something that brings me much joy. For years, I strongly believed that my goal of being a physician would prevail until the end. But later on, things would go differently than I expected.
When I started college, my mind was still set on pursuing medicine. During my freshman and half of my sophomore years, I took the required classes needed to be able to attend medical school. There were classes that I hated, such as math and chemistry, but I chose to suck it up. But during the spring semester of sophomore year, everything changed. That was when I made the difficult decision to drop medicine and go for something else. That semester, I found myself taking seven classes, with two of them being Pre-Calculus II and General Chemistry II (lecture & lab). The latter alone gave me so much stress that I had to drop it, in order to preserve my mental and physical health. I then realized that being a doctor wouldn’t be right for me. If I was that stressed in undergraduate to the point of burnout, then medical school would be a nightmare for me, since it’s 100x harder. So, at that point, I made the tough decision to drop my MD dreams and instead either become a nurse or an art therapist.
For a couple months after, I had so much regret for deciding to leave the medicine route. I felt like I was throwing a lifelong dream away just because of a couple of hard classes, and therefore I labeled myself a ‘quitter’. I had always valued never giving up, but when I had to, it made me feel terrible. To add insult to injury, my whole family (including extended family) were so excited to finally have their first doctor. They had been supporting me throughout the journey, so for me to suddenly drop it made me feel like I was letting everyone down. It was a very difficult few months.
But later on, I learned to accept that not everyone can become a physician, since it’s a career that only the strongest and will-powered individuals can achieve. There is also nothing wrong with going for nursing or art therapy. Given that they are still within the healthcare sector, they hold just as much importance as doctors. I will still engage in my love of helping patients feel better, just in a different way, and that is totally okay.
All in all, if I had a time machine, I would go back and tell my past self that although becoming a physician is a great goal to have, it’s not the only valuable career out there. So, if I were to quit along the way, and pursue something else, then that is totally fine. I would also say that deciding to quit medicine if the road got too stressful for me would not make me a ‘quitter’ or ‘loser.’ In fact, I would be strong for recognizing my limitations and choosing to put my health and wellness above a career.