Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Rekindling a medical student’s passion for medicine

Marc N. Katz, MD
Education
July 2, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share

As I walked home last night I glanced up at the evening sky of Dominica. Twinkling down at me was what seemed like a surprisingly bright star compared to all the rest. It couldn’t be a plane because planes very rarely fly over this Caribbean island. It seemed to be stationary so it couldn’t be a meteor. Confused, I pulled out the sky map on my iPhone and discovered it was not a star at all but instead turned out to be the planet named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty: Venus.

Earlier the same day I sat in my last lecture of my first two years of medical school and it felt strange. There was a buzz in the air. My entire class was about to be done learning new material. From then on out, we were to learn everything we already knew but in more depth and with greater stress on integrating each subject in preparation for the step. Except nothing seemed to change. I went to the same place for lunch that I normally do, went and got coffee like any other day, and procrastinated as always.

It took me until later that evening, looking up at the night sky, to register the significance of this transition. In that moment, staring up at the night sky alone with my thoughts, a smile snuck onto my face. It’s a smile that my close friends know quite well. It’s the same exuberant smile from the moment I first tried to place an IV port in my friend’s vein. It’s the same smile from the galvanizing moment when I successfully found my other friend’s uterus using an ultrasound. It became a smile from the moment that clarified how utterly happy I was to be on my journey in pursuit of medicine.

As corny and ironic as it sounds, I had to literally stare at the planet named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty to be reminded of how much I love learning about the human body. Ever since I was a little kid I’ve always wanted to know how the silent orchestra of salient biochemical processes worked so well in perfect harmony. For me, its breathtaking to realize that I have learned most of the important processes that were once such a mystery to me and that I will one day be able to expand upon the zeitgeist of medicine.

It’s important to remind ourselves of our goals and our original reasons for why we wanted to pursue medicine: To remind ourselves that the sleep, sanity, and social life that we sacrifice are worth it. To remember why we spend our days in the library instead of on the beach.

I got lucky in that I’ve always wanted to learn about medicine and that I am happy to be doing so right now. I got even luckier in that I stumbled upon a strangely bright “star” that reminded me of my passion which has given me motivation to complete my remaining exams with the utmost ferocity and determination. My passion and curiosity to understand the human body was a small part of my original reason for wanting to enter medicine but has become an integral engine that drives me to learn everyday. It is what will power me through the next few months leading up the step exam and beyond it as well.

Ultimately, I could try and answer the age-old interview question of “Why did I choose medicine?” except I don’t think it’s the most important question for us anymore. Instead, ask yourself, “Why do you still choose medicine?”

Marc N. Katz is a medical student who blogs at MyKatz, where this article originally appeared.

Prev

Medical educators: A subtle difference in wording makes a difference

July 1, 2014 Kevin 7
…
Next

Blank pages are emblematic of health care waste

July 2, 2014 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Medical school

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Medical educators: A subtle difference in wording makes a difference
Next Post >
Blank pages are emblematic of health care waste

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Marc N. Katz, MD

  • No matter where you are, you’re still a doctor

    Marc N. Katz, MD
  • Why are you in medicine?

    Marc N. Katz, MD
  • The worst thing about being an internal medicine intern

    Marc N. Katz, MD

More in Education

  • How listening makes you a better doctor before your first prescription

    Kelly Dórea França
  • What it means to be a woman in medicine today

    Annie M. Trumbull
  • How Japan and the U.S. can collaborate for better health care

    Vikram Madireddy, MD, Masashi Hamada, MD, PhD, and Hibiki Yamazaki
  • The case for a standard pre-med major in U.S. universities

    Devin Behjatnia
  • From rejection to resilience: a doctor’s rise through the Caribbean route

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • The hidden cost of professionalism in medical training

    Hannah Wulk
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • How federal actions threaten vaccine policy and trust

      American College of Physicians | Conditions
    • Are we repeating the statin playbook with lipoprotein(a)?

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is essential to saving lives

      J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD | Policy
    • Medicaid lags behind on Alzheimer’s blood test coverage

      Amanda Matter | Conditions
    • The unspoken contract between doctors and patients explained

      Matthew G. Checketts, DO | Physician
    • AI isn’t hallucinating, it’s fabricating—and that’s a problem [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Brooklyn hepatitis C cluster reveals hidden dangers in outpatient clinics

      Don Weiss, MD, MPH | Policy
    • The truth in medicine: Why connection matters most

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • How federal actions threaten vaccine policy and trust

      American College of Physicians | Conditions
    • Are we repeating the statin playbook with lipoprotein(a)?

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is essential to saving lives

      J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD | Policy
    • Medicaid lags behind on Alzheimer’s blood test coverage

      Amanda Matter | Conditions
    • The unspoken contract between doctors and patients explained

      Matthew G. Checketts, DO | Physician
    • AI isn’t hallucinating, it’s fabricating—and that’s a problem [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Brooklyn hepatitis C cluster reveals hidden dangers in outpatient clinics

      Don Weiss, MD, MPH | Policy
    • The truth in medicine: Why connection matters most

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...