To Become a Doctor, Denial Helps

Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos Getty Images

Almost every medical student has a version of the same story. At some point, someone older than them — a professor, a physician, a family friend — has looked them in the eye and said something like, “If you can see yourself doing anything else, do that instead.”

For Sarah Alvi, 24, who lives in New York and has wanted to be a doctor since age 6, this moment happened before she even started medical school. In college, she decided...