Just as a point of reference, I'm in the U.S. and not a doctor. But I've always seen careers in medicine as a kind of social scam. Not necessarily a bad one, but there is or was something funny going on.
A person smart enough to be a doctor could be many things and earn a lot more money doing one of those things. The only thing society can really offer doctors is independence and respect. That's why -- for the longest time in this country -- doctors often owned and ran their own practices. That's why we addressed doctors with the honorific "Doctor." But the first is all but dead in this country and the second, because of some kind of unwashed, egalitarian ethic that only gets worse and worse, is starting to die out too.
We've really fucked up, as a society. No one in his or her right mind is going to want to spend life kow-towing to pervasive regulations and third-party bureaucrats second guessing them and tying their hands, while rushing to and fro like a retail clerk in an understaffed big box store, and all the while having to protect the egos of patients by introducing oneself as Bob or Sally.
Doctors need prestige and independence. Without those, the lure of "doing good" just isn't enough to convince anyone to become one -- at least, not anyone I'd want to have to trust as a patient.
Is that really true? Doctors are most of the best-paying jobs in the US [0] It seems to me that if you're bright, and care about making a lot of money, medicine is absolutely the way to go. Yes, there are some people who strike it rich with startups or high finance, but that's essentially buying a lotto ticket.
[0]: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000 (sort by annual mean wage, Anesthesiologists, Surgeons, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, etc.)
The thirty somethings in my son's firm take home over 3M a year. One of the owners took home over 800M a couple of years ago.
Compared to remunerations like that, doctors get a miserable pittance.
"Gilded Paychecks: Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices." NY Times. November 27, 2006.
* Get your M.D.
* Do anything afterward, except practice medicine
* Profit
I think being a doctor is about more than making money. But it isn't simply about helping people and making a good living. Smart people want to be able to exercise their own judgment and initiative. We need to be careful as a society, or the people we want as doctors are going to be the people we chase away.
I encouraged my son to avoid medicine. He followed my advice and is enjoying himself in private equity.
Anyone bright enough to do medicine would do far better in another profession.