The Necessary Qualities of a Future Physician

As I work with pre-medical students, I often think about what makes an applicant successful. Most everyone applying to medical school knows that you have to have stellar grades, a solid MCAT score, research, clinical exposure and other extra-curricular activities. But what are the personal characteristics that medical schools are looking for? And how do you make sure that you have them? Reflecting on my own journey and what I have seen in other medical students, here are some attributes that I think are necessary to be successful in medical school and as a physician.

Resilience. Resilience is having the ability to overcome hardships, and ‘bounce’ back when you face tough times. In my own journey to medicine, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer just days before I took my MCAT. She suffered through unsuccessful treatment and ultimately passed away just weeks before my first medical school interview. Though devastated, I kept my head up, and at times gritted my teeth instead of crying. Facing the most difficult time in my life, I tried to go on, and continue to pursue my dream as I know my mom would have wanted me to do.  There are failures in medicine and there are times you will be let down no matter how hard you try, but having resiliency is key to being able to pick back up and carry on.

Humility. I often have to give pre-medical students fairly tough criticism. Either they don’t have the grades to get accepted to medical school or their personal statement is poorly written. How they receive this criticism is reflective of their character. Do they accept it and try to change? Or do they fight it and struggle to use it effectively?

In medical school, you are constantly receiving feedback- good and bad- and it helps to be humble to accept it, and use it to better yourself. One of my first days as a third year medical student, I was carefully examining an intubated infant. Though I was cautious of the airway tube and surrounding wires, the nurse suddenly came in the room shouting that I could cause the tube to dislodge, which would be a serious detriment to the infant’s recovery. I was taken aback, and quite honestly initially offended that she thought I would be so reckless. However, I soon internalized her feedback and realized that her interests were entirely on the infant’s wellbeing, and intended to teach a young medical student meticulousness.

Being open to criticism and learning from your mistakes is crucial, and admissions committees want to see that you already possess this ability. They want to ensure it is not something you will struggle with since you’ll need it to learn in medical school.

Determination. Though this trait may be obvious to some, having determination is absolutely essential in becoming a physician. I remember when I failed my pharmacology test in medical school. I hadn’t prepared appropriately and didn’t realize the volume of information that would be tested. When I received my grade, I thought that my medical career was over as I would certainly flunk out of the class. However, after talking to my professors and understanding what I did wrong, I turned my frustration into determination, and significantly improved my performance on subsequent exams.

In this 10 year+ path of becoming a physician, you must have consistent determination to make it through. Motivation and enthusiasm for this career is needed long after the MCAT or primary application is completed. Having consistent determination, resiliency and humility will allow you to make it through the challenging pre-med and medical school years, and enable you to become an exceptional future physician.