You Want to Become a Doctor?

Date
January 10, 2020
Speaker
Wolf Miggiani MD
Topic
Doctor's Articles
Book
Winter 2019

So, you or someone you know would like to become a doctor (or a nurse)? Great! The world needs more Christians who are compassionate about being part of Jesus’ healing ministry. It also takes a special gift to have the desire, knowledge, and ability to effectively address the physical needs of your patients, without neglecting their spiritual needs. At the same time, it is important to recognize that there is a personal cost to pursuing such an endeavor.

What I hope to address in this article is first, what I believe to be the essential characteristics of anyone endeavoring to enter a medical career field. Then I hope to shed light on some of the lesser known, yet important considerations and factors that people often don’t think about when looking into this occupation. Finally, I’ll have some suggestions and conclusions to help folks when making these big decisions.

I. Qualifications—the Three-Legged Stool

The following qualifications are, in my experience, the essential qualities of a Christian that would like to enter the medical field. All three qualities are essential, and like a three-legged stool, the absence of any one of the three leads to an unstable situation, resulting in an entirely predictable crash.

a. Compassion

Jesus said, …Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me –Mat 25:40. As I mentioned in previous articles, compassion is the joining of com meaning together, and passion meaning to suffer (as in “The Passion of Christ”). In essence, it is the ability of one to join in suffering with another, to help bear their burden, for the sake of love. Galatians also reflects this sentiment: Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ –Gal 6:2. This quality is essential: if one does not love people, it is best to find another calling.

Clearly, a medical practitioner without compassion is not a good health care provider, and it is not necessary for someone to have a poor experience to see this. The atrocities of NAZI physicians, such as Dr. Josef Mengele, make this plain to see. The fact that most among us were brought up in a plain or conservative Christian setting shouldn’t cause us to become complacent on this point. There is evidence that quite a number of Mennonites living in Europe during this time period joined the German army, some joined the various arms of the SS, and some even served as prison guards for concentration camps.[i]^, [ii]^, [iii]^, [iv] Also, as early as the June 1934 edition of the Mennonitische Blätter, military nonresistance was officially erased from the Mennonite confession for the Mennonites living in that area of the world.[v] (Here a side note is in order: a large segment of Mennonites had previously emigrated to various countries in North and South America during the 1700’s and 1800’s because they were not willing to compromise on the two-kingdom principle and on the issue of nonresistance.[vi]^, [vii] This is obviously a better example given to us by our spiritual forefathers, which we should strive to emulate—that of unwavering Christian faith and love in action coupled with an unwillingness to compromise.)

This is the one extreme (or “ditch”) to fall into—not having a good sense of Biblical compassion. The other “ditch” is too much compassion.

How is this possible? It is the desire to end the suffering, at any cost, even if it violates the Fifth Commandment, Thou shalt not kill –Exo 20:13. Though this topic deserves its own article, assisted suicide is now legal in nine states and in the District of Columbia. The “assisted” part usually entails a physician or nurse administering lethal medicines. If trends continue following libertarian and anti-Christian waves of sentiment in the nation (and in the world), as seen also in trends of drug legalizations, these laws will soon cover the entire nation. If the trends in Europe are any indication of our future (they have had a longer history of assisted suicide and euthanasia), eventually practitioners will not have the option of declining this “service”, or at the very least they will be “responsible” for finding another doctor to do so. The medical skills of alleviating suffering, without causing death, are not easily learned, and are quickly being forgotten. The result is medical professionals not only unwilling, but unable, to ameliorate (to make better or more bearable) the pain involved in the aging and dying processes.

It is revealing that both ditches result in the same outcome: death. It is no coincidence then that God calls us to the opposite: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: –Deu 30:19.

b. Steadfastness in the Faith

The next vital component that every Christian medical professional needs is that of having a firm foundation in their faith of the true and living God. I have seen too many young Christians fall from their faith while being compassionate and sincere in their desire to help their fellow man. While there are many Christian professors in medical and nursing schools, they are vastly outnumbered by agnostic and atheistic professors—too many of which seem to take pride in dissuading Christians from their convictions.

There are many examples I could give from my experience, but the one that stands out in my mind (after 25 years) was the requirement that all medical students learn to “understand” ALL their patients, including homosexual patients. The “required material” included watching homosexual pornographic videos with a soundtrack of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. I was the only student that stood up and walked out. There were quite a few Christian students that heeded the professors’ stern warning that one should not “judge” that which one does not “know”. (My view was more in line with that of Joseph when he was in Egypt: he did not need to experience debauchery up close and personal before he knew it was wrong, and that it was time to escape –see Gen 39.)

The Christians who do not walk away (flee) from these types of situations become ever more desensitized to the way of the world. I believe it is a detriment to their spiritual walk, at a minimum, and a loss of their faith, at the worst. One brother I knew in a conservative Anabaptist church, whose daughter studied to become a social worker, stated that while she was still a Christian, her “joy in the Lord” was gone.

My experiences are not unique. There may be other schools that are more Christian friendly (however these schools may be even more dangerous, since they can lure believers away in a more subtle manner). Considering all these issues, strong Biblical discernment is needed to deal with the many anticipated and unanticipated moral landmines.

There are straight-forward biblical answers, but the concepts must be conveyed to biblically illiterate patients, colleagues, and supervisors in a simple manner that they can understand and respect. While there are simple, God-affirming answers to these questions, here is a smattering of dilemmas that Christians, contemplating a path into the medical and nursing fields must face. I will let you ponder the answers to these questions and will not provide the answers—they each deserve their own articles:

Corporal Punishment –Research has shown that corporal punishment (spanking) is detrimental, producing angry children, who in turn become more violent. Why shouldn’t it be outlawed (and discouraged by medical professionals)? (Hint: Is all research of the same quality? Also, definitions are important: In the eyes of the researcher who is gathering data, is beating a child in anger regarded in the same manner as spanking a child in love? –see Proverbs chapters 13, 22, and 23.)
Palliative Care –If a person’s quality of life is very poor, and they don’t want to continue living in pain, it is wrong to allow them to keep on suffering. Why shouldn’t we put them out of their misery in as gentle a way as possible? (Hint: What is God’s purpose for our lives? Do the dying still have a role? If so, what is that role? –see Exodus 20:13, and Philippians 1:21.)
Birth Control –Young people are going to “do it anyway” (being promiscuous). Why not protect them from disease by teaching them to use appropriate “safety” precautions when they fornicate, plus give them birth control to avoid having children that they are incapable of caring for? (Hint: Is it true that young people can’t meet a higher expectation than this? Who is really in control? Don’t we actually corrupt youth by expecting this lower standard? –see Acts 5:29, Luke 17:2.)

If you are struggling with finding a Biblical answer to these questions, then imagine how much more of a struggle a young and inexperienced Christian would have (often having to think on the fly), if you multiply these dilemmas by ten or even by one hundred.

No soldier would go into a minefield to find and defuse mines (which could destroy him in an instant) without great carefulness and knowledge of the specific dangers, nor without prior safeguards being put in place. Likewise, no Christian should go into the minefield of the world to receive specialized training without first establishing a complete “toolbox” of Biblical knowledge and discernment—and a basic set of what Peter calls ready answers: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: –1Pe 3:15.

In summary, are you willing to:

Flee from evil (even if it will cost you your career, or more)? –read about Joseph in Genesis 39.
Stand alone (even if you’re not alone)? –read about Elijah in 1 Kings 18.
Stand for Righteousness—are you willing to speak, stand up, and defend the faith, even when all manner of lies are told? –Consider the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. (Remember that silence is consent.)

If you can do all the above, then maybe you are ready for medical or nursing school.

But here is one final consideration about the firmness of one’s foundations, and it requires a strong sense of “spiritual honesty”. I have observed that too many young people from plain backgrounds start with a focus on entering medical or nursing school yet end up with the type of education that becomes a steppingstone into the world. Few in the church can criticize a young person for wanting to help others, but it takes an honest self-assessment to ask how strong their drive is to work in a worldly environment, free from significant accountability.

Parents also need to ask the question, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul –Mar 8:36? Too often, I have also encountered parents from plain Anabaptist churches (including a bishop!) who beamingly tell me about their child, the doctor, only to discover that the child has left the church. How sad and tragic for both the pleased parent and the “successful” child!

c. Knowledge

In the interest of time and space, I will not devote a great deal of attention to this “leg” of the stool, yet it is just as important in becoming an effective Christian medical professional. Needless to say, it is a poor witness if you are not good at what you do. Anyone contemplating a career in nursing or medicine MUST be an excellent scholar!

No matter what profession or occupation we choose, we should be excellent in what we do just like Jesus our perfect example: …He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak –Mar 7:37.

II. Practical Considerations

So perhaps your “stool” has three strong legs. Here are a few practical matters to consider.

Most plain people who enter the medical field prefer to go into primary care. This is a logical desire, since a family doctor or pediatrician has the most continuity of care with their patients. You become part of your patients’ lives. But primary care has the most dilemmas to deal with.

Following is a list of some of those dilemmas:

All hormonal birth control has abortifacient (abortive) mechanisms. There is a growing demand for such, even among plain people.
Unless your work in primary care is exclusively among plain people, there is an expectation that unmarried women will receive birth control shots and pills. (I can count on one hand the number of primary doctors I know of that have not buckled under the pressure to provide this.)
A large part of this type of practice deals with vaccines, many of which are derived from, and grown on, fetal tissue cell lines.

Here are some other considerations:

Unless a doctor has his or her own practice (which is becoming ever more rare these days) the work environment is much more likely to be worldly.
Often there is a mixing of the sexes in a close-working office environment. Workers are predominantly women and office romances are not unusual.
When the workplace is not predominantly Christian, then the office music tends to be very secular.
When you are working with non-Christians, there is always the potential for unhealthy language.
It takes a solidly mature individual to routinely treat patients of the opposite gender and many times in various stages of undress.

III. Women in the Medical Field

Often it is women who feel called to this field of work, since it dovetails nicely with a woman’s nurturing spirit. But it takes a special personality to find the right balance of work and home. Here are some unique considerations.

A good doctor or nurse must be assertive, at times. For example, sometimes I need to have a good nurse tell me that what I am about to do may not be the best decision. (Yes, I and others working with me do occasionally make mistakes, though the vast majority are minor, and/or they are caught by good nurses or others on the team.) The problem is that it is VERY difficult to leave this character quality at work, resulting in a VERY high divorce rate (especially in fields like Emergency Medicine, where assertiveness is especially important). This assertiveness often ends up being brought home, where transitioning to a meek and quiet spirit is exceptionally difficult.
Just like it is for men in the medical field, a medical career for women can be consuming. There will be missed birthdays, church functions, and services. Holidays, weekends, and nights must be covered in many of these jobs, which is especially hard for women who have or hope to have children.
The earnings are good. While most don’t see this as a problem, if the husband is not the main breadwinner, there is a strong pressure to have the husband work less, since she may make much more. If he sticks to working full time, unless the wife minimizes work (to the financial detriment of the family), the children will obviously receive much less of the attention they need. The pressures to reverse roles, and all the implications on how the family functions in such an adverse situation, should be easy to see.

IV. Suggestions

So, you’ve made it this far and are still interested in the medical field? Here are some suggestions for keeping you on the straight and narrow, to be a good witness for the Lord:

a. Vision

Do your research and have a plan of action. KNOW if this is truly God’s will for you, and if so, then decide what you want to do, where you want to go, and how you will serve the Lord once you get there—ahead of time, NOT as an afterthought.

b. Wait on the Lord

Nowhere is it written that an MD or RN degree must be pursued straight out of high school. Few young people in their early 20’s have the maturity it takes to go through such schooling unscathed. While every individual is different, I recommend that young people should gain several years of real-world experience and skills before they go on to a degree. Not only will they be able to better identify with their patients, they will also gain the maturity to stand faithful. If someone simply can’t wait, this is evidence that they must wait to gain wisdom and maturity.

c. Accountability

Churches should take an active role in ensuring their members have the support and accountability they need to succeed. This does not include simply having a farewell service or goodbye party as they are sent off into the world. Students should stay within commuting distance of home. Regular and frequent meetings should be scheduled for the local church leaders to help students from their church find their way through the mine fields, temptations, and emotional turmoil that often accompanies higher education. Spiritually mature medical professionals who are established church members should also help shepherd those that are newcomers to the field of medical education.

d. Choose Wisely

Research where you will be studying and eventually working.
A casual work environment may seem to be a good place to work but may be a spiritual disaster zone. Also look for negative attitudes, which are contagious and can quickly become toxic. Professionalism and common values are a must.
Be up front with your coworkers and supervisors about your faith and convictions.
Consider training in a specialty field other than primary care. There is definitely a need for Christian doctors and nurses in primary care (but the ethical conflicts are many and growing). There is no such need for compromised Christian doctors and nurses.

e. Be Ready to Walk Away

Even with the proper research, finding a good place to work may be difficult. I once worked at a small hospital ER. I told them that I was a Christian doctor, and that I didn’t do abortions and didn’t refer for them either. They did not have a problem with this, and gladly hired me on. When I started to see a number of abortion complications coming through the ER, I found out that, unknown to many, some abortions were being done in the hospital. While certainly any patient in need must be helped, since I was one of the ER doctors, I was considered (officially or not) as a part of their abortion team. When I confronted the administration about this, I requested that they choose between stopping the abortions or my resignation. They chose my resignation.

f. Balance

Medicine can become an all-consuming occupation, so learn how to “Control the Beast.” (I am still learning.)

Realize that nobody is indispensable. If I, as an ER doctor, were to pass away today, they would not close the ER down. Administration may need to scramble to fill in the gaps, but the ER will stay open.
Realize that if you don’t recognize your indispensability, you may be afflicted with a “god complex”, which is where no Christian should find themselves.
Consider the toll taken on the raising of your family by your prolonged absences. Find a job that will allow you to not neglect your family. Those jobs are out there.
Learn to say “No.” This will allow you to spend more time with the Lord personally. It will also give you more time to be active in other ministries for the Lord at church and at home.
Specifically concerning medical school, under normal circumstances it takes a minimum of 11 years of study (after graduating from high school) at a tremendous financial cost to reach the time when one can actually start practicing medicine unsupervised. Add to this the time that I recommended earlier in this article that a young person should take to become spiritually mature. Now a potential medical student is looking at being over 30 before finally settling down! (I was 34.)
Nontraditional Routes: There may be some less costly options in terms of time and expense such as becoming a Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner, which can take about half the time. Grads can also specialize in fields as diverse as orthopedics (bone), oncology (cancer), or ophthalmology (eye).

Conclusions

The medical field is certainly an attractive one to go into for many reasons. I hope I have provided some insights into some of the finer, yet more important things that Christians need to consider. If you have gathered that I would advise extreme caution, you would be correct.

In fact, there has only been one young man that I met in my career who I actually thought should go into medical school. He was quite intelligent, he had a strong vision, and he felt called to be a missionary serving a very primitive people. He had the support of his church and had developed a plan of accountability with his family. His faith and his knowledge in the things of God had great vitality and stability. I gladly offered him a recommendation, should he choose to go to medical school. He declined my offer, spent the next three years becoming an emergency room RN (registered nurse), gaining experience, then promptly went into the mission field in Peru. I think he made the right decision.