When It’s Taking Too Long to Become a Doctor…

“Desire without knowledge is not good—how much more will hasty feet miss the way!”

Proverbs 19:2

Can I tell you something I wish somebody would’ve told me years ago?

One of the biggest reasons my journey to becoming a doctor became longer wasn’t because I wasn’t smart. It wasn’t because God forgot about me. It wasn’t because medicine was impossible.

It was because I was in such a hurry to become a doctor that I missed what God was trying to teach me on the way there.

And according to Proverbs 19:2 — hasty feet miss the way. That verse became painfully real in my own life.

Everybody Else Is Living Their Life… and I’m Still Studying

When people think about becoming a physician, the first thing they think is: it takes forever.

Honestly? That was my frustration too. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I’m speaking for the majority.

I did not want to spend all these years in school while everybody else was moving on with life. Family members living their lives. Friends purchasing cars, buying homes, having children, making six figures. And look at us over here — still studying.

We could’ve picked another career. Something shorter. We could be living a nice life already. But no — we chose the grandiose task of becoming a physician.

This Has to Be a Calling

I really believe being a doctor has to be a call on your life. Because this journey requires endurance. It requires discipline. It requires delayed gratification — studying when nobody sees you, and getting back up after failure.

And most of all, it requires God’s help. There’s a reason not everybody chooses this career. And honestly? You don’t want just anybody to be your doctor.

The Prep Program Merry-Go-Round

Then comes all the preparation. Premed. The MCAT. Post-baccalaureate programs. Special master’s programs. Application cycles. Medical school. Board prep. Clinical rotations. Residency. Sometimes fellowship.

And along the way, people keep telling you: take this program. Take another prep course. Do another review.

Now let me say something I know a lot of students understand. These programs are often necessary. Sometimes they’re sharpening skills you didn’t even know needed sharpening — or building skills you never needed before. Sometimes they’re preparing you for challenges you don’t see coming.

But they can also be financially exhausting. Not everyone has thousands of dollars to keep paying for another course, another application, another resource. Some students can simply purchase every resource they need. Others are working multiple jobs, creating GoFundMes, borrowing money — trying to survive while pursuing the exact same dream.

That reality shouldn’t be ignored.

Not One, Not Two, But Three

So let me tell you my little story.

Before medical school, I completed prep programs. And yes, I’m pronouncing that with an S. Not one. Not two. But three. That’s how you know my mind was not mentally ready.

And here’s the part I have to be honest about: I wasn’t actually there to learn. I was there to finish.

My mindset was, just let me get into medical school. I’m tired of being held up. I entered every one of those programs trying to get out of them — not taking into account that what I was learning was part of the process, and that I would genuinely need it at the next level.

I wasn’t learning. I was completing requirements. There’s a difference.

I was checking boxes instead of building foundations. I thought those programs were obstacles. God saw them as preparation.

I thought they were obstacles. God saw them as preparation.

In Medicine, Everything Matters

Here’s what I eventually learned: in medicine, everything matters.

Every biology class. Every chemistry class. Every anatomy lecture. Every physiology concept. Every tiny detail. None of it is random. Every step is prepping you for the next one — even when it doesn’t feel like it.

If you skip past the basic foundations in premed because you think you don’t need them yet, medical school will slow you down later. Terminology is key. Foundation is key. Understanding is key. You can’t come up with a diagnosis when you only have part of the story.

Let me give you a real example.

I was sitting in physiology, and we were learning about fatty acids — specifically the odd-chain ones. My professor mentioned propionyl-CoA, and without thinking I said, “Yeah, because propane has three carbons.”

I said it casually. I almost missed it myself. But then it hit me — I had just connected two concepts from prior knowledge, years apart, without even trying. Something I learned way back had finally become useful.

That’s medicine. You’re constantly building on what came before. And conceptual classes are not things you can rush through. You have to think them through. You have to take your time.

At the End of All This, There’s a Patient

This is why rushing is dangerous.

Because in our pursuit of becoming a doctor, we forget what’s waiting at the end of it: meeting your first patient, and holding other people’s lives in your hands.

Your patient doesn’t care how quickly you finished school. They care that you know what you’re doing. They want the doctor who notices the subtle symptom. The doctor who catches what everyone else missed. The doctor who thinks before making a diagnosis.

So when you want to rush — remember there’s a patient who needs you to take it slow. Because when we rush, we miss details. And in medicine, a missed detail can mean a missed diagnosis.

Medicine rewards careful thinking. Not hurried thinking.

Your patient doesn’t care how quickly you finished school. They care that you know what you’re doing.

God Can’t Bring Back What You Don’t Put In

Now let me be clear about the faith part, because this is not one of those situations where we do the bare minimum and say, “God will do the rest.”

No. This is actually the opposite. You have to show up with everything you have.

God absolutely helps us. But He also expects us to steward the gifts He’s given us. You have to study. You have to understand. You have to become competent. Because God can remind you of what you’ve learned — but God can’t bring back what you don’t put in.

Kings sit at tables with great men. What you’re pursuing requires this many years because the body is complicated. This is not a career where you sit down and already know what’s going on with someone. Without the right tests, without the knowledge backing it, you can’t help anybody. So competence isn’t optional — it’s part of the calling itself.

The Advisors Were Never the Problem

And here’s a lesson I learned the hard way: listen to wise counsel.

There were times my advisors were telling me exactly what I needed to hear. And honestly? I didn’t want to hear it. My attitude was, look, I’m not listening to y’all — y’all are just trying to hold me back.

And God was like, no. You’re just holding yourself back.

And what did it do? Held me back. My refusal to receive wisdom actually made my journey longer. Sometimes God’s answer comes through the people He’s already placed in your life.

What Rushing Actually Costs You

1. Rushing makes you miss details. When all you see is the finish line, you get caught up in the joy of getting the thing — and you stop paying attention to what you’re supposed to be learning today.

2. You stop enjoying what you prayed for. I was so used to being a goal-getter — making my list, checking it twice — that I wasn’t actually living a life of fulfillment. I was just crossing things off. Some things aren’t meant to be crossed off. They’re meant to be gone through.

3. You end up repeating lessons. The material you skip past today usually becomes tomorrow’s weakness — and you’ll have to come back for it.

4. It costs more money. When foundations aren’t strong, you end up purchasing more resources later to relearn what you rushed through the first time.

5. It costs more time. Ironically, hurrying is inefficient. Trying to rush the journey is often exactly what makes it longer.

6. Your future patients deserve your best. Every concept you truly understand today becomes better care for someone tomorrow.

Don’t Let Haste Rob You

So if you’re frustrated because becoming a doctor feels like it’s taking forever — I understand. I’ve been there. I’m living it.

But don’t let haste rob you of what God is trying to build in you. The physician you’re becoming is far more important than the title you’re chasing.

Take your time. Learn the lesson. Receive wise counsel. Trust God’s timing.

Because one day, a patient will sit in front of you and benefit from every season you thought was taking too long. And when that day comes, you’ll be grateful you didn’t rush the process.

The physician you’re becoming is far more important than the title you’re chasing.