Various inspirations guided medical students toward the path to becoming physicians, according to Medscape's "Med Student Life & Educational Report: Are Young Doctors Prepared?"
The reported included survey responses from 1,109 male medical students and 1,067 female medical students.
Here are seven reasons medical students chose careers as physicians:
1. Desire to help those in need
- Women — 84 percent
- Men — 79 percent
2. Interest in science
- Women — 73 percent
- Men — 75 percent
3. Feeling a call to medicine
- Women — 67 percent
- Men — 60 percent
4. Medical career prestige
- Women — 29 percent
- Men — 44 percent
5. Compensation
- Women — 19 percent
- Men — 35 percent
6. Mentor influence
- Women — 23 percent
- Men — 24 percent
7. Other physicians in the family
- Women — 16 percent
- Men — 22 percent