Career in medicine

Hi guys

I’m in a bit of a mess here. I’m a guy from Denmark who’s about to pick my college degree and I’m having som dificulties deciding.

I am so "privileged" that my grades allow me to pursue the degree I want - and I can actually see myself in many different fields. However, I am particularly interested in nutrition, exercise, sleep, healthy habits, health promotion, disease prevention, and so on. People tell me that with my interests, I should study to become a doctor, but there's something about that path that doesn't feel right to me. I don't really enjoy being in hospitals, and I have a hard time envisioning myself working with the terminally ill and severely sick people - instead, it's the healthy body and disease prevention that I find interesting.

That's why I'm exploring other paths. I'm considering programs such as physiotherapy, nutrition and health, public health, and biomedicine, but I still feel like I keep "coming back" to medicine. Maybe because I feel like it's the "safe" path to take, and because I fear "missing out" on knowledge if I choose one of the other programs and that might regret it later on.

Are there anyone here who has had similar considerations and can maybe share what you chose to do? Is it "overkill" to start studying medicine without ending up as a doctor, or should one choose a less "hardcore" program in that case? And how does one know for sure that they don't want to be a doctor? Is it enough to be uncertain, or can the desire for clinical work arise along the way?

And finally... is it worth entering the healthcare sector if you can easily see yourself elsewhere? I also have the opportunity to study law, economics, and political science - in fact, it's the "top people" in these fields that I look up to the most - but still, my passion for health is so strong that I find it hard to imagine not being able to work in that field. What do you think? Should one only enter the healthcare sector if they truly feel "called" to it? And is it more sensible to choose a more stable and family-friendly career in economics, law, or similar, and simply pursue one's interest in health on the side?

I hope you will share your thoughts, considerations, and experiences - I appreciate all inputs :))

Submitted May 16, 2023 at 01:06PM by PhilDunphySchrute https://ift.tt/YnSJGMm