A Career As A Pediatrician

My ideal job is being a pediatrician. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “General pediatricians provide care for infants, children, teenagers, and young adults. They specialize in diagnosing and treating problems specific to younger people. Most pediatricians treat common illnesses, minor injuries, and infectious diseases, and administer vaccinations. Some pediatricians specialize in pediatric surgery or serious medical conditions that commonly affect younger patients, such as autoimmune disorders or chronic ailments”. All my life, I have always dreamed of becoming a doctor. I decided to major in the medical field when I was in 5th grade; at first I wanted to be a pediatrician, but now I want to have a degree in tropical medicine
too. My parents used to take us, me and my brothers, visit orphanages and hospitals to help poor people who were in need of food, clothes, medicines, etc. And seeing these people rejoicing on our donations made me realize and believe that I was born to help others. My family is a recomposed one, I have 3 brothers from my parents and 3 other brothers and a sister adopted. So helping others means a lot to us. Becoming a doctor, especially a pediatrician, is a long way that takes at least 10 years. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Physicians and surgeons have demanding education and training requirements. Almost all physicians complete at least 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of medical school, and, depending on their specialty, 3 to 8 years in internship and residency programs”. Here in the United States of America, public medical schools require everyone interested in becoming a doctor to have a bachelor degree in a major of their choice while private schools only require students to fulfil their major pre-requisites. According to Choose the Right Undergraduate Major for Medical School, “No matter what major you studied in college, everyone will learn the same material in medical school, and the majority of the material will be new for everyone. In looking at your GPA and MCAT, admissions committees simply want to know that you can handle the intellectual rigors of medical school”. Although it is not required to major in pre-med or any biological sciences, I preferred to major in biology and medical laboratory research not only because most biological science majors have already incorporated all the medical school prerequisites, but also because it will help me to already acquire the experience of working in hospitals, laboratories and other medical fields. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Physicians and surgeons must be good at working with their hands. They work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences”. When I registered to college I didn’t know which major to choose because the US’ program was different from my country’s program; In the DR Congo you can start medical school right after high school but it will take you 12 years. I had to talk to three different school counselors to finally decide on a major. Here at DSC, I am majoring in 7920 Biology AA and I will finish it in spring 2016. After my AA I plan to transfer to the University of North Texas during the fall 2016 semester to get a BS in medical laboratory science which focuses in performing tests on blood, tissue and body fluids to properly treat illnesses and diseases. Since I’ve already taken most of the classes required to obtain that BS in college, it will only take me two more years to finish. After obtaining my BS, I plan to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) which, according to AAMC.org, “is a standardized, multiple-choice examination created to help medical school admissions offices assess your problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine”. It is only after getting my results that I’ll be able to apply to Baylor College of medicine in Houston, Texas. On my third or fourth year of medical school I plan to complete a two weeks program on Tropical Medicine that my school offers during summer. I believe it is essential for me to know about Tropical Medicine because most of the infections (malaria, Ebola, etc.) that kill the population in the DR Congo are classified as tropical diseases and I want to go work there after I finish all my studies. I conducted my informational interview with a pediatrician online through childrenspecialist.blogspot.com. I tried to get appointments with doctors in Daytona Beach but none of them was free, even to give me a call back later. The pediatrician that I interviewed is Dr. Santosh Kondekar from India and his employer is the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai. He is a pediatrician and Associate Professor at Topiwala National Medical College; he is joinable by phone on 919869405747. Dr. Kondekar went to Seth G S Medical College and did his residency at King Edward Memorial Hospital Mumbai, I was very shocked when he told me that his education cost him only 1,000,000 INR which is equivalent to $14,892 nowadays. He likes the fact that his job enables him to interact with people. However, he doesn’t like the fact that it doesn’t give him enough time to go on vacation or be with his family since he’s an emergency doctor. The advice that he gives to students interested in the medical field is planning to revise decisions at every step of life before deciding on them, because what one may fall for as a young person, may not be as one expects. From him, I re-learned that pediatrics is challenging and takes a long time. As he said, he chose this career because it was challenging and it took him from 1992 to 2002. He motivated me even more because I like challenges and enjoy being around people. As any other job, being a physician or pediatrician has its good sides and its bad ones.
Becoming a pediatrician requires 11 years of school and training, and after that you have to pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination and complete a residency to become a licensed pediatrician. Due to the nature of the role of a pediatrician, an individual must develop interpersonal skills in order to communicate easily and effectively with children and their parents. According to Onetonline.org, a pediatrician’s responsibility is to “examine children regularly to assess their growth and development, treat children who have minor illnesses, acute and chronic health problems, and growth and development concerns”. Doctors usually have a busy life and their time is very valuable. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Many physicians work in private offices or clinics, often with a small staff of nurses and administrative personnel. Some practice independently or with a small group of other doctors. Most physicians and surgeons work full time. Many physicians and surgeons work long, irregular, and overnight hours. Physicians and surgeons may travel between their offices and hospitals to care for their patients. While on call, a physician may need to address a patient’s concerns over the phone or make an emergency visit to a hospital or nursing home”. Since demand for pediatricians is always great, they are among the people with the highest salary in the United States.
From a survey conducted by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in May 2014, it has been found that the mean annual wage of a pediatrician in the US is of $175,400 and in Florida it ranges between $158,860- $178,800. According to the BLS again, “Employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow 18 percent from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations. Job growth will occur because of the continued expansion of healthcare-related industries. The growing and aging population is expected to drive overall growth in the demand for physician services as consumers continue to seek high levels of care that uses the latest technologies, diagnostic tests, and therapies”. From my career and major research, I have learned that becoming a pediatrician is a long path that requires a lot of time, patience and dedication.
However, I am not going to let this discourage me because I believe that I was born to be a pediatrician. I tried to look through a list of jobs, but I couldn’t find one that suits me better than medicine. With all the information I gathered from my research, I will try to find ways to make being a medical student an enjoyable trip despite the years that it will take me. “Success is not a destination, but the road that you’re on. Being successful means that you’re working hard and walking your walk every day. You can only live your dream by working hard towards it. That’s living your dream”-Marlon
Wayans.