Dear Future Colleagues,

This project is designed to envision and build a better future for all healthcare professionals.

Do you remember the day you chose to pursue medicine?

Do you remember what you imagined your life would be like?

What does it mean to devote your life to the care of others?

Let’s take some time to reflect, to consider how we might improve the factors that lead so many of us in the medical field to exhaustion and feelings of hopelessness.

This project serves both as a glimpse of what it means to practice medicine in America today and as a commitment to future generations.

Let’s paint a clear picture of what we want for tomorrow.

Let’s start implementing positive changes now.

This is the goal of the Dear Future Doctors project. Through letters to our future colleagues, we can lay bare our hopes for them, pass along our knowledge, and make a commitment to improving the lives of medical professionals.

Here is my letter

Write a letter. What do you want your teammates to know? Let’s clarify our hopes for the future of medicine. Let’s work to turn those hopes into realities.

Send your letter through the form below and we’ll include it in our Dear Future Doctors online archive.

Dear Future Doctor Letter Submission

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Letter

Would you like to be anonymous or credited? *

A FEW PROMPTS TO CONSIDER:

• What do you hope the practice of medicine to be like 50 years from now?

• What are the realities of practicing medicine in America today?

• What moments have inspired you? What moments have been your most challenging? What moves you?

• What are you committing to today to make the practice of medicine better and more sustainable for all of us in the future?

• What led you to medicine?

• What words of wisdom, truth, and encouragement do you have for the next generation of those called to care?

Featured

Dear Future Doctors - Anonymous

Practice

Careers can be made and broken in milliseconds. Sometimes, those moments decide who you will become as a provider. I have witnessed, over a 30 year period, skilled providers become nothing more than button pushers. And, on the other hand, I have seen those who once seemed careless become heroic.

Dear Future Doctor of America,

Welcome to the most challenging and rewarding career available. Medicine today, much like medicine of the past, involves caring for individuals who are ill, putting others’ needs before you're own, and helping to diagnose, treat, and cure disease, as well as advancing the scientific knowledge of medicine. Many physicians before you have paved the way with research and knowledge to help pass on the skills needed to care for the sick patient. Throughout your career you will find amazing opportunities to help those in need and develop very rewarding relationships with patients who trust in your knowledge and skill.

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Dear Future Doctors — Jim Sansone, MD

Dear Future Doctors,

Congratulations on your decision to practice medicine and completing the seemingly endless journey to get there. I wish you continued success and a lot of happiness in your future endeavors. Despite the many challenges I truly believe there is not a more rewarding profession. Yes, you will face hardships and trying times but given the opportunity and a good attitude, you will also be rewarded with the knowledge that you can positively change other's lives.

Dear Future Doctor,

As long as I can remember, I knew I was going to be a doctor. My sisters and brothers will attest that it was always my favorite role to take on in our imaginative play. I don’t know why or when. It was just who I was. It is who I am— so much so that when I wasn’t accepted into medical school my senior year of college I thought, Just watch me, and tried again. And here I am.

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