And pay on average about $130,000 for the priviledge?

http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/jan08/debt.htm

Medical student debt is threatening to become untenable for young physicians. Medical school graduates in 2006 found they owed about $130,000 on average when their educational bills came due. This figure is daunting even for those earning the estimated mean physician income of $216,000, and it can take years for younger doctors to reach that income level. Many primary care physicians may never reach it, as they earn an average of about 30 percent less than the mean.

The mean physician income here includes all types of physicians, not just family care.

>I agree, but in how many profession can you have the satisfaction of saying "I saved a life today"?
>
>>You're right, they had a huge investment in education (8+ years), they likely had huge school loans to pay off, and they face stressful life and death situations every day with little or no margin for error. We make a mistake, even a big mistake...ok, we get slapped around....but if they make a mistake, the consequences are much more severe.