Ever since I was really young, I always enjoyed science and math. Okay, that sounds like a very typical thing to say. It's either, "I really enjoyed science and math" or, "I hated them both!" I really enjoyed science and math, and it was also definitely the areas which I excelled in more. I liked learning "rules" and observations about why certain things happened the way they did in the world, and I liked being able to use this knowledge to come to more generalized conclusions about phenomena I experienced throughout my daily life!
Ever since I was born until high school, my dad actually pushed me a lot to go into medicine, but me, honestly having no idea what I wanted to do, always said no (more for the sake of saying no). With working in the medical field came financial stability and an added bonus would be social respect. What parent doesn't want such things for their son, right?
Throughout high school, I did a lot of math and reading tutoring at Kumon Math and Reading center over the summers and also did a lot of hospital volunteer work. The tutoring experience really showed me how rewarding work that is focused on interpersonal relationships can be. It was enjoyable to work with little kids who were having trouble doing simple arithmetic or to just moderate and make sure they didn't keep bothering their neighbors quietly doing work.
The hospital volunteer work I did during the early summers of high school actually weren't too enjoyable. They mainly consisted of either sitting at the front desk to answer random questions or to run errands such as delivering radiographs or delivering flowers to a patient's room. However, during my summer after I graduated from high school, I was very blessed with the opportunity to help out the chief of neurosurgery at San Francisco General Hospital with a conference website that he needed help setting up. My younger brother and I helped him with this conference website, and in exchange, he invited us to come with him on his morning rounds, clinic, and even some surgeries. This was a really awesome experience, as it allowed me to get a feel for the environment that doctors worked in and the type of patient interaction that was involved. Out of the morning meetings in the MRI reading room, following the residents during rounds, seeing patients during clinic, and the operating room, it was the OR that I was most interested in. The culture, rituals, and intensity involved during the prepping of the surgeons and nurses and the actual operation was very exciting. To me, I thought this was perfect! This was an integration of deep knowledge of sciences, heavy interpersonal interaction, and a chance to work skillfully with my hands, all to help better another's life.
At this point, I can say that I seldom thought about my career plans in light of how I could best serve God with my life. I knew that in college, I would want to work on getting into medical school, and that was it. So to rephrase that, my initial decision to pursue medicine was not heavily influenced by any specific plan about what I wanted to do with my life specifically in terms of ministry.
In college came a radical restructuring of my perspective of the purpose of my life. The purpose of my life is for the glory of Christ. And with that, I thought more about how I could best glorify Christ with my life. I don't think there's a black and white, right or wrong way of choosing your career path. You may feel like God has specifically called you to work with young children and to focus your ministry on such a group, and so then you'll probably decide to pursue a career that will give you that opportunity. However, not everyone cultivates such a desire early on before we've established a good feel for what areas of interest we especially enjoy and so would naturally direct our academic pursuits in those directions. Also, it's often likely that our idea of where we can serve best is influenced by what we are good at, which make sense.
In my case, I thought carefully about whether or not working in the healthcare field would allow me to actively pursue a life glorifying to Christ. Would it be a career in which I knew that I could make a part of my ministry that is my life and actively serve Christ?
Here, I will take an opportunity to define what I mean when I say to "live a life glorifying to Christ." What I mean is, will my life give glory to Christ? Will I be obeying His commandments (John 14:15)? Will I be presenting my body as a living and holy sacrifice that is acceptable to God (Romans 12:1)? And even as a doctor, will I continue believing that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21)?
The answer was yes.
Being a doctor will give me opportunities to interact with people in many ways that many other people would not be able to. Doctors are generally given respect and credibility because they are doctors, and as a result, have leverage when it comes to helping another person, even total strangers, make decisions about their life. I believe that this will give me special opportunities for evangelism, both at the patients bedside but also with anyone else in society. Working as a doctor will also give me many opportunities to give meaningful advice that is good for a patient. Also, the financial stability that comes along with working in the healthcare field opens up many opportunities to serve others financially, such as through missions, supporting my home church, or just friends or even strangers in need. So to sum it up, I saw how I could use my career in medicine to serve my Lord, which are as follows: evangelistic opportunities and financial support for the church and others.
I decided to follow through with pursuing medical school because I saw that being a doctor is something that will really allow me to continue learning about what I liked and to practice the things that I am better at rather than not. I made sure to evaluate whether or not working in healthcare, specifically as a physician, will allow me to live a life glorifying to Christ, not just when I was off from work, but even when I was in the hospital.
This isn't to say that I have everything figured out! I still have many decisions that I must make leading up to becoming a doctor. I've been thinking a lot about whether or not surgery is indeed the right specialty to get into. I know that surgery takes many years of residency, and even many more years if I decide to further specialize. It's very important that I make time for family, and so, deciding what specialty to pursue can't be merely based on what I "like".
In the end, it is most important that we as Christians are faithful with what God has given us. As in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the master commends his first two servants for their faithfulness. It is important that we are faithful with what God has given to each of us - our education, knowledge, environment, talents, and everything else. Be wise about how you use each of these things, making sure that you are fully maximizing them for God's glory. That means thinking thoroughly about your academic goals, your use of money, and the application of your talents. Most importantly, how faithful are you in actually doing these things or even considering these matters?
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