Hong 1

Soyu Hong

ELA Core 4

Ms. Powell

22 February 2019

My Utopian Career as an Internist

There are millions of different jobs on the planet, ranging from being a doctor to being an

actor. They are the sources of our income and are what connects us to the world’s economy.

Jobs are what we contribute to the world. As a doctor, I would be able to contribute to the lives

of people who need care and are sick. I would be able to satisfy my interests in biology, as well

as in medicine. Being an internal medicine doctor would be a utopian career for me, because it

gives me the opportunity to form long-term friendships with patients, there is a variety of

subjects mixed into this job, and it allows me to enjoy the complexity of the human body while

helping and saving people’s lives.

Forming friendships with your patients is a gift that comes with treating them with

care. According to the Artisans of Medicine in NYC, a healthcare clinic in Brooklyn, as an

internist, you care for adults throughout their lives, this allows you to establish long terms

relationships between you and your patients (“The Role and Benefits”). This also helps you get

to know the people of your community and become a part of it. However, forming friendships

are not limited to your patients. In an article for the David Geffen School of Medicine, two

internists named Dr. Chang and Dr. Baweja wrote that they both “[felt] that the strong

friendships they formed in the collaborative environment of medical school will continue to

enrich their medical careers” (“Search Campus”). I feel that these friendships allow our jobs to

be more enjoyable and become a big part of our everyday lives. These friendships, whether it is
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with our colleagues or patients, help us during the recovery process and builds trust among each

other. This trust is important in the medical field.

Being an internal medicine doctor also allows me to experiment in many fields as I meet

new people. As an internist, I would not be limited to what research I conduct or patients I help.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of US Department of Labor, states that internists are

“physicians who diagnose and provide non-surgical treatment of diseases and injuries of internal

organ systems”. You will also need a sufficient amount of knowledge on each of the organs to

care for the “wide range of problems” each patient may have (“29-1063 Internists”). Having a

good mix of subjects allows me to be able to use more of what I learned about the many different

functions of the human body. The wide range of biology within this one job keeps being an

internist fun and interesting. I have always been interested in this topic, and this job would let

me be able to keep learning more about each of our body’s functions, without having to choose a

specific one to focus on.

Internists often find the fun in solving the many complex problems a patient may

bring. This will help keep me engaged and I’ll always be able to know that there will always be

more to learn. Doctor James O. Woolliscroft, who was a former dean for a U-M Medical

School, was asked why he became an internist. He replied, “I’ve always enjoyed Sherlock

Holmes stories because he took a clue here and a clue there and put it all together in a thoughtful

application of everything he knew. We do the same in general internal medicine” (Gavin). This

would give me the chance to help people who have the most complex of diseases and need the

most care. Being an internist would also keep me excited. Doctor Hingle, an internist in the

AMA, short for the American Medical Association, once said that there is no normal day in her

job, but this is one of the reasons she likes being an internist. Her day is always never a set
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schedule because it is patient centered. Since complex diseases need a lot of attention, internists,

like Doctor Hingle, make sure that they can be there when the patient needs them (“What It's like

in Internal Medicine”). Having the ability to solve complex problems and being able to help

people in need are one of the many things that makes this job unique. This would be one of the

reasons this is a utopian career for me because it would make proud that I would have the ability

to help people who aren’t like others. This is what sets internists apart from other types of

doctors.

Many people have said that medical educations are expensive and are not worth it, but

they are wrong. Our education is one of the most valuable prizes we can get in life. It is

something that is worth every penny that we invest into it, not only because it is rewarding, but

because it enriches our life. It provides us with a chance to make our mark on the world. Our

education is a part of who we are, it is something that will last forever.

Internists have their own unique job that is unlike any other medical job, but they still

work together with a vast network of doctors to solve growing medical problems in our

society. Being an internist would offer me many opportunities to help other people. According

to ACP, the American College of Physicians, internists work to “enhance the quality and

effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of

medicine” (“Who We Are”). As an internist, I would be able to contribute to this goal. This

would be my utopian career because with it, I would be able to give patients another chance at

life and be able to support people who are in need of it. As an internist, I would not only be

helping myself, but I would be helping the many people that live in this world. Little by little, I

would be able to save lives one by one.

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Works Cited

“29-1063 Internists, General.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,

30 Mar. 2018, www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes291063.htm.

Gavin, Kara. “General Internal Medicine: A Path That Leads to Many More.” Health News,

Medical Breakthroughs & Research for Health Professionals, 18 Jan. 2018,

labblog.uofmhealth.org/med-u/general-internal-medicine-a-path-leads-to-many-more.

“Search Campus and Health News.” Prospective Students,

medschool.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=1158&action=detail&ref=686.

“The Role and Benefits of Internal Medicine- How Can It Help?” Artisans of Medicine NYC, 9

Nov. 2017, www.artisansofmedicine.com/role-benefits-internal-medicine-can-help/.

“What It's like in Internal Medicine: Shadowing Dr. Hingle.” Selecting & Using a Health

Information Exchange | AMA, 18 Oct. 2017,

www.ama-assn.org/residents-students/specialty-profiles/what-its-internal-medicine-

shadowing-dr-hingle.

“Who We Are.” Who We Are | Mission and Goals | Core Values | ACP,

www.acponline.org/about-acp/who-we-are.