Yes! It is worth it
I give a regular talk to 3rd year students on picking a career in medicine. Each time I give this talk I stress the importance of picking a specialty which you will love. Many students pick a specialty which is trendy, especially one which their colleagues think provides “good lifestyle and high income.” If one does that, he/she often makes a big mistake.
Those of us who are fanatics cannot imagine any other career. I know many physicians who feel this way. At age 58, I still regularly get excited discussing a patient situation, making a diagnosis, and helping a patient through conversation.
When I awaken each morning and look in the mirror, I see someone who wants to help.
Many students start medical school with that attitude. Unfortunately, we (medical school faculty) turn eager incoming 1st year students into jaded 2nd year students. I often have stated that 2nd year students are the most undesirable students to teach. But then the 3rd year comes and most students have their joy rekindled. 3rd year students should learn the humbling power of the white coat.
"Is it Worth It?"
I wouldn’t presume to imply that you haven’t given your decision to apply to medical school a lot of thought. Of course you have. The application process alone will weed out anybody who is not completely serious. Still, you may have some lingering doubts and if you do, it is better to hash them out now than when it is too late and you are so deeply into it that to withdraw will mean an unacceptable loss of your considerable investment in time and money.
The first thing you need to do is to cool your jets. Medicine is a good career but it’s just a job. I’m sure you will meet some zealots who seemingly breathe, eat, and live medicine but for the most part, by the time you get into residency you will find that most of your colleagues want pretty much what other working people want, namely a useful job with good pay and decent hours. In this regard, maybe the years of working long hours for little of no pay like you’re going to do in medical school and residency beats the idealism out of people but I prefer to think it teaches them the difference between professionalism and fanaticism. Naturally you have to pretend to be driven to get into medical school as showing passion is a de facto requirement. Your real reasons for wanting to be a physician, while perfectly legitmate, would sound trite and self-serving if you even dared breathe them aloud. Just between me and you I didn’t want to save the world either and just applied to medical school because I thought being a doctor would be kind of cool.