TENSE relationships between doctors and patients, heavy workloads and low salaries are said to be turning college-bound students away from the medical profession. In many cases, parents also discourage their children from joining the field, and instead push them to pursue courses that promise higher salaries and greater respect.

Despite these pressures, there are still some young students intent on studying medicine. In their own words, three freshmen at the Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University share their thoughts on entering this honorable but much-maligned profession.

Chen Xinru, 18, from Shanghai

The reasons why I’d like to become a doctor can be traced back a year ago, when I was just a girl with no dreams. Like everyone else, I used to take health for granted, until a serious disease struck my cousin. He got a tumor in his pancreas.

It was really a shock to my whole family, as 99 percent of pancreatic tumors are malignant. No one could accept this prognosis, so before the results were fully confirmed, my parents decided to hide the truth from me, in case I was distracted from my studies. Shanghai Jiaotong had recruited my cousin, and the university was also a goal I had been trying to reach for years.

Amazingly, here came a miracle. My cousin was in the lucky one-percent. Dr Peng Zhihong at Ruijin Hospital cured my cousin through a successful surgery.

Not only did my family appreciate him very much, but I also started to admire him and his career. Doctor Peng taught me that the white gown was not only the symbol of a doctor. It meant arduous missions and heavy responsibilities to shoulder in the same way.

My father was the one who finally encouraged me to become a doctor. He made me know that doctors fight death with only a surgical knife. His message secretly planted a seed in my heart, which gradually grew into a towering tree in the following days. Therefore, after learning that my grandfather suffered from lymphoma, I held my grandpa’s health report and swore to spell it over one day. Since then, I made up my mind with a sincere wish to support my family.

However, my decision to study medicine met with disapproval from my mother. On one hand, She warned me how hard the career would be. On the other, She was quite worried about the tense relationships between doctors and patients. I admitted that there is a risk to some extent, but my dream was also too strong to tear. Showing my unshakable insistence, I got my mother’s approval in the end.

Now, as you can see, I am one step closer to my dream. It’s my honor to be one of the members of the medical school at Shanghai Jiaotong University. No matter what difficulty I might meet with in the future, I firmly believe that I can still move ahead on the medical path without regrets, and never abandon my original views. To become a respectable doctor, there is still a long way to struggle. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Wang Haiwa, 18, from Zhejiang Province

I chose pediatrics as my first choice. When interviewers at the medical school asked why, since this is the hardest but least paid medical major,

I told them that I just love children, especially after my nephew was born and I saw such a lovely and tiny person in my arms.

It is true. It was when my nephew was born that a door was open for me to seek my inner answer.

Looking after my nephew, I came across many newborn babies at the hospital. The moment I saw them, it was as if an arrow of love had struck my softest heart. The more times I spent along with them, the more attention I paid to them.

Then I found how bad the environment is for our children and how terribly pediatricians are needed in China. Then, I told myself it’s my fate to be their caretaker.

So I chose to be a physician in pediatrics. No one in my family is a doctor. In their opinions, to be a doctor is too tiring and boring. When they knew, they objected to my decision. They attempted to prevent me based on the bad relationships between doctors and patients, and the terrible balance between give and gain. Not only my parents, but also my friends disagreed with me. I never tried to persuade them to believe how great the job it is for me. I just told myself that nothing can be better without hard work. With great determination and enthusiasm, I can go further.

What can’t kill me can make me stronger. As for the strained relationships between doctors and patients, in my opinion, this is because of the loss of trust. As more and more people understand this job, the problems will go away.

Being a doctor is a sacred job. When I wear the white coat, my feelings are complicated.

It’s my honor to join them. At the same time, I’ve found that I need to improve myself. I must study hard, obtain more knowledge and always see outside the box with courage. Now I am on the way.

Wang Mingjiu, 20, from Heilongjiang Province

I am a little bit different from other freshmen, because I was a freshman majoring in mechanics at Shanghai Jiaotong University two years ago. I quit school after a year and followed my heart to learn medicine.

After returning to high school to prepare for the college entrance examination, I finally became a medical student this year.

Though it is two years later than other students, it’s not too late to pursue my own dreams. I am proud of making this decision for myself and sticking to it.

My grandfather and uncle are traditional Chinese medicine doctors. I’ve watched their work since childhood. The idea of being a doctor was vaguely planted into my heart and grew along with age.

I held the dream of learning medicine for years, but my parents were strongly against it and suggested I study mechanics instead. So I listened to them, but I was not happy in my first year at university and I told myself it was time to guide my own life. After talking with my parents, they supported me.

It was really tough to go back to high school and take part in the fierce college entrance examination again. I got up at 6am and finished studying at 10pm. Fortunately, I got a good score on the exam and returned to Shanghai Jiaotong for my medical studies this year.