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

Physicians are born to do what they do

David O. Barbe, MD
Physician
March 30, 2017
577 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

I am always fascinated by my colleagues’ stories about why they became physicians and when they knew medicine was the path for them. Some describe a longing to heal, some a love of science, and others a desire for respect. For me, medicine was a calling that revealed itself in my sophomore year of undergraduate studies and was the perfect culmination of my personal passions for teaching, service, and community involvement.

I grew up in Mountain Grove, Missouri, which has a population of about 5,000 people. I graduated from the local high school and went off to college with the expectation of becoming a math teacher. But I did better than I expected academically and realized that medicine, not math, may be my greatest teaching opportunity. After all, if I could teach people about their health and help them lead longer, more active and happier lives, wouldn’t that be the best calling of all?

I became a family physician and moved with my wife, an obstetrics nurse, back to Mountain Grove to open my own practice. We saw a real opportunity to improve health care in our rural community, and we have been rewarded with very rich experiences, such as watching children we delivered grow up and have children of their own.

I was born to do what I do, and I am not alone physician to feel that way. Tens of thousands of physicians in the United States feel exactly the same innate calling, though their individual passions, motivations and inspirations are uniquely their own. The American Medical Association (AMA), of which I am proud to be president-elect, recently conducted a survey of 1,200 medical students, residents and physicians to better understand what brings people to the medical profession, what fuels them in the advancement of their careers, and what challenges that might prevent them from truly enjoying their work.

The survey found that nine out of 10 physicians, residents, and medical students are satisfied with their career choices, and the majority (78 percent of medical students and 62 percent of residents and physicians) consider the practice to be a calling. In fact, a quarter of survey respondents knew they wanted to be doctors before they were teenagers, many citing as motivation personal experiences with a family member’s illness or their parents’ medical careers. Seventy-five percent of all respondents indicated that the desire to help people was a top motivator in selecting the profession.

However, the AMA survey also revealed the challenges physicians face in the current health care environment. More than 60 percent of both residents and physicians ranked administrative burden as one of the top three challenges they face, and nearly half ranked stress. Fifty-two percent of residents cited long hours and their on-call schedules as challenging.

I can certainly relate to these challenges, given my dual roles as family physician and physician executive in a large integrated group. That is why I am passionate about finding ways to restore and maintain the unique joy to the practice of medicine. This has been a major driver in my involvement with the AMA, which works on behalf of all physicians in America and helps them shape their medical lives even as we work to enhance the changing health care environment to make it better for patients and physicians.

Physicians have told us that focusing on their patients and prioritizing patient care are their top priorities at every phase of their careers.  Their priority is the AMA’s priority. The AMA provides essential resources to empower physicians and help them reclaim their time throughout their medical lives.

Of all the survey results, a finding that struck particularly close to home was that the majority of respondents would encourage others to pursue a career in medicine. This year, my son graduates from medical school. He matched in family medicine and eventually plans to move home to Mountain Grove to join my family practice. It means the world to me that he sees the value of my life’s work and has the desire to carry it forward.

When I speak at his upcoming commencement, I will be full of pride and hope for him, his classmates and medical school graduates across the nation. I will tell them medicine is the most fulfilling profession in the world, and that I’m grateful for the next generation of physicians, the teachers, and the healers who were born to do this. I will invite them to stand with me as part of a community of hundreds of thousands of physicians, and to be a strong and united voice for our patients and our profession.

David O. Barbe is president-elect, American Medical Association.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The need to marry socioeconomics, public health, and medical care is long overdue

March 30, 2017 Kevin 2
…
Next

What patients want to know about their prognosis

March 30, 2017 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The need to marry socioeconomics, public health, and medical care is long overdue
Next Post >
What patients want to know about their prognosis

More by David O. Barbe, MD

  • Last call for MIPS reporting: 6 steps to be prepared

    David O. Barbe, MD

Related Posts

  • Turn physicians into powerful health care influencers

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • The risk physicians take when going on social media

    Anonymous
  • Beware of pseudoscience: The desperate need for physicians on social media

    Valerie A. Jones, MD
  • When physicians are cyberbullied: an interview with ZDoggMD

    Monique Tello, MD
  • Surprising and unlikely rewards of social media engagement by physicians

    Lisa Chan, MD

More in Physician

  • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

    Randall S. Fong, MD
  • The shifting landscape of gastroenterology manpower and compensation

    Brian Hudes, MD
  • Surgical procedures for inpatients: Addressing socioeconomic urgencies

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

    Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD
  • A message of hope for physicians

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

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

View 1 Comments >

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

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Did Gabapentin Improve Post-COVID Olfaction?
  • Fentanyl Death Trends; Food Additives and Heart Disease
  • What If the Doctor Is Out?
  • Reduced Mortality Seen in Cancer Survivors Who Meet Exercise Guidelines
  • CDC Advisors Endorse Maternal RSV Vax to Protect Newborns

Meeting Coverage

  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

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

Physicians are born to do what they do
1 comments

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

Loading Comments...