If you were to watch the TV drama Grey’s Anatomy or the comedy Scrubs, you probably think you know some of the things you’d have to deal with in the medical field. While you of course need to go to years of school, understand medical procedures, and continue to learn throughout your career, there are a few things you need to know before applying for med school.

The Benefits

For starters, the benefits of working in the medical field are extraordinary. You get paid a high salary if you decide to become a doctor, and you get the benefits that go along with that. On top of this, you also receive personal satisfaction in helping people overcome their illnesses.

If you become a doctor, you can often choose your own schedule. You may only work three days a week instead of the standard five. You might even be able to work rather short days every single day. For many people, the medical profession is the dream.

The Risks

However, it isn’t all sunshine and roses. Unfortunately, the medical field is incredibly stressful and emotional because you are working with people’s lives. The office environment isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, since people are on the move at all times.

Additionally, you need to be alert at all times when you are on the job, otherwise you could hurt a patient who needs your assistance. If you do something irresponsible, you could get charged with malpractice. A malpractice accusation can threaten your license to practice. If this happens early in your career, you could be saddled with lawsuit payments, medical school debt, and much more.

The Work Life

Another thing you should keep in check is your expectations for your work life. You aren’t going to be helping a patient every single day. In fact, some of your days will be a whole lot of paperwork and file organization—not exactly mind-blowing stuff here.

You also might be on call when patients flood the hospital. This means it can be hard to plan for life events because you’ll never know when you need to be working. Just be aware that every day won’t be exciting, and you’ll be happy with the job.

This is just a sample of what you will be dealing with in the medical profession. If it is your dream career, then this shouldn’t frighten you, but if you have an idealistic expectation as to what your job should be like, you may want to reconsider applying for medical school. You may be happier somewhere else.

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