Admin_Adham
With the start of a new medical school year upon us and the total number of students currently in US medical schools reaching a new high of 100,000, according to Association of American Medical Colleges data, Medscape Medical News wanted to know what motivates future doctors to join the field.
Keeping It in the Family
For Ellen Fuller, 25, who is entering her second year at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut, a family of health professionals set the stage for her interest in the field. It included her father, an emergency physician; her mother, a virologist; her oldest sister, a third-year emergency medicine resident; and her middle sister, an emergency room nurse.
“Growing up, my sisters and I were inspired by the work our dad was doing and the fact that it was more than a job to him,” Fuller told Medscape Medical News. “It was a lifestyle that included taking global health trips and learning about medicine from the time we could walk.”
For others, witnessing a family member dealing with a difficult prognosis set the scene for a future in medicine.
About Medscape Data
Medscape continually surveys physicians and other medical professionals about key practice challenges and current issues, creating high-impact analyses. For example, the Medscape Medical Students Rate Clinical Instruction Report 2025 found
- 84% of third- and-fourth year med students at US schools felt confident that they would develop the practical skills demanded in residency.
- 68% of third- and-fourth year US med students felt they get to see enough patients.
- 46% of third- and-fourth year US med students said their attendings take questions and offer feedback.
Family Medical Experiences
Such was the case for Alyssa Klee, 24, currently in her second year of Yale School of Medicine’s MD/PhD program, New Haven, Connecticut, who was 13 years old when her aunt died of ovarian cancer at the age of 38.
“When my aunt was pregnant with my cousin, Max, an ultrasound missed a mass on her ovary, and she died 6 months after he was born,” said Klee, who plans to become an immuno-oncologist when she graduates in 2031. “If it had been found on the ultrasound, there’s a chance they might have been able to remove it instead of the cancer spreading everywhere.”
This family tragedy then led Klee to apply for a summer research program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, when she was just 15 years old. Forging a career in both medicine and cancer research remains central to Klee’s career plans.
“The reason I’m going to medical school and also getting a PhD is that I know I can make an impact this way,” she said. “Even though my aunt’s doctors didn’t have a cure for her, I saw how much her medical team was able to help her and make a big impact in her care. I want to be part of a team that can be there to help, especially during the tough times.”
Klee also looks forward to the day when her research translates into actionable treatment protocols for her patients.
“I want to be the one to see the research through,” she said. “It’s one thing to do the research and be a part of creating therapies. It’s another thing to prescribe that therapy to your own patients.”
Front Line Experience
Adam Crabtree, 39, has spent years in the medical field during a career that began 14 years ago when he became a US Army Special Forces Medic. Today, he’s in his second year of medical school at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada, and said there were many experiences on the front lines that influenced his desire to become a physician once he finished his service.
One experience, which occurred during the evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021, was particularly harrowing because it involved treating a 12-year-old girl who was severely burned during gunfire and flames. Despite the lack of resources, Crabtree and two Afghan physicians were able to work together to stabilize her, providing sedation and the critical care she needed in the midst of a war zone.
“It’s hard to put that entire experience into words,” said Crabtree, who is considering specializing in anesthesiology. “But if you could squeeze anything down into one experience, I feel like that was the moment I had this pivotal realization: I remember watching her being evacuated to safety and realized that I had helped this little girl in need who was running for her life. At that moment, I knew this was my purpose and that I wanted to go home and continue this work.”
Speaking Medicine
Finding a way to use her language abilities (she speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and French) was just one of the things that propelled Clara Goebel, 31, to apply to medical school.
Now in her third year at the Robert Larner, MD, College of Medicine at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont, Goebel, who initially thought she’d follow in the footsteps of her mom, who taught English as a second language to immigrant families from Mexico and Central America, remains committed to helping patients facing language barriers within the healthcare system.
“In the hospital, I find myself drawn to patients who are nonnative English speakers or have other communication barriers,” said Goebel, who is considering specializing in urologic oncology. “I’d like to train and work somewhere with populations that have that kind of communication barrier.”
Watching other doctors connecting with patients in their native language remains inspiring to Goebel.
“I’ve watched some of the doctors speaking in a language that their patients understand, and that’s so important,” she said. “I truly believe every field needs someone who is culturally competent, and that starts with speaking their language.”
Having a personal health challenge is yet another inspiring reason many students pursue a career in medicine.
For Jacob Fliegelman, 27, now in his fourth year at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York, being the first 1-year-old to receive a cochlear implant, after being diagnosed at 6 months with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss, certainly imprinted on him the important role physicians play.
“The medical professionals who treated — and operated — on me enabled me to be where I am today,” said Fliegelman, who had his second surgery when he was 7 years old.
For Fliegelman, the work of a physician is fundamentally all about giving back, something he experienced firsthand.
“Doctors connect to people at the most intimate and vulnerable times,” he said, adding that he is considering specializing in general surgery. “When people are in times of crisis, they look to doctors for hope and guidance, and that spoke to me.”
Despite his unique challenges and the fact that his impairment is “invisible,” Fliegelman is optimistic about his future.
“Occasionally, people don’t realize I have a cochlear implant, so it’s on me to clarify and let them know that if I don’t hear them, especially in the chaotic OR [operating room], I’m not ignoring them,” he said.
Ultimately, Fliegelman’s story is one of resilience and a love for the field. “I want others to know that even if you have similar limitations, anything is possible,” he said. “If you put your mind to it!”
Lambeth Hochwald is a New York City-based journalist who covers health, relationships, trends, and issues of importance to women. She’s also a longtime professor at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute in New York City.
