Being a doctor is a demanding but highly rewarding path, offering deep personal fulfillment from helping people, strong job security, and excellent long-term earning potential, but it requires immense sacrifice in time, finances (student debt), and personal life due to long, stressful training and intense work hours, making it worth it for those driven by science, compassion, and a desire for a noble, impactful profession rather than just a job. The "worth" depends heavily on individual values, as the career is a lifestyle demanding resilience and dedication, not just a career.
Studying medicine in Australia is worthwhile when aligned with realistic career goals, financial capacity, and an understanding of the postgraduate training landscape. For domestic applicants aiming to practice in Australia, it generally offers excellent return on investment.
Becoming a doctor comes with several significant advantages, making it a highly rewarding career choice for many. One of the pros of the field is the profound impact on patient lives, offering the opportunity to diagnose, treat, and prevent illnesses, which can be incredibly fulfilling.
In summary, being a doctor has its own advantages like high earning potential, job security, personal satisfaction, and variety of specializations. However, it also comes with its own set of disadvantages like long working hours, stressful work environment, malpractice lawsuits, and high educational and training costs.
Four English words have been used for centuries to refer to medical practitioners: “doctor,” “physician,” “leech,” and “surgeon.” Each of these has unique origins.
doctor faith healer medicine man physician shaman shamans witch doctor.
Some of the “red flags” are: The patient is from out of state. The patient requests a specific drug. The patient states that an alternative drug does not work.
Balamurali Ambati is a well-known ophthalmologist who made history by becoming the youngest doctor in the world at the age of 17.
A difficult part of having a career in the medical field is the number of hours worked. Doctors and medical professionals typically work long shifts of 12 hours a day or more. This can be physically and mentally draining. Plus, when dealing with many patients, it can be hard to take a break during their shifts.
Combine that with an average starting age of 24 (or 26 for DO – Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine – applicants), and this means the vast majority of medical students don't start working as fully licensed doctors until their early 30s.
Read on to understand the benefits of being a doctor
Emergency medicine physicians experience the most intense burnout, with the highest emotional fatigue (68%) and depersonalization (55%). Therapists reported the next-highest rate of emotional fatigue at 61%, along with the highest mental fatigue (77%).
Jobs paying $500k+ in Australia are primarily in highly specialized fields like Medical Specialists (surgeons, anaesthetists), Senior Finance/Executive Roles (CFO, Head of Treasury, Investment Directors), and high-end Sales & Construction Management (Elite Stockbrokers, Senior Project Managers/Estimators in complex sectors). While roles like Neurosurgeon and Ophthalmologist average well over $500k, achieving this in other sectors often involves performance-based bonuses or leading major projects, with opportunities listed on job boards like SEEK and Jora.
Yes, a 98 ATAR is an excellent score and gives you a strong chance for medicine in Australia/NZ, but it's not a guarantee; you also need a high UCAT score, strong interview skills, and potentially bonus points (SEAS/EAS), as medical admissions are extremely competitive and often require selection ranks well above 98 (sometimes 99+) for direct entry. A 98 ATAR is often the minimum for provisional entry or for some universities, but competitive entry can push requirements to 99+; focus on maximizing your UCAT and interview performance.
These are the most in-demand doctor careers.
Age distribution of physicians in the U.S. 2023, by specialty. In 2023, nearly 83 percent of physicians in the U.S. were aged 40 years or older. There were large variations between the specialties, with cardiologist being generally older than physicians in emergency medicine.
Akrit Pran Jaswal was born on April 23, 1993, in Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh. He became an internet sensation because of his extraordinary talents. At just 7 years old, Jaswal performed surgery on an 8-year-old burn victim.
Howard Tucker (July 10, 1922 – December 22, 2025) was an American neurologist who practiced medicine from 1947 until his death in 2025. In addition to becoming a lawyer and passing the Ohio Bar Examination at age 67 in 1989, Tucker was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest practicing doctor.
Studies have shown that as many as 5% of all medical patients in the United States each year experience some kind of significant diagnostic error. That amounts to roughly 1 in 20 patients. Sometimes, doctors make assumptions that lead to inaccurate diagnoses.
Five Red Flags
If you feel like your doctor tends to interrupt you during appointments, you are not alone. This happens very frequently, and patients often are not given much time to talk. For instance, one study published in the National Library of Medicine claims that doctors interrupt after an average of just 18 seconds.
Healers often possess a heightened intuition and sensitivity to the energy and emotions of those around them. You may find that you can sense the underlying needs or challenges of others, even before they express them verbally.
She's what's commonly known as a curandera—a traditional female folk healer whose practice often involves burning sage, exorcism by egg, miracle teas and herbs, cleansings that rid the body of evil spirits, offerings and prayers made to a higher deity.
Even now the indigenous ethnic groups of Assam, Northeastern India (especially in the Mayong region as well other rural places) have shamanistic medicine men who treat diseases using sorcery as well as witchcraft and black magic for which the area was once renowned.