These celebrities were practising doctors before they became famous

When you hear the word doctor, most people picture a professional in a white coat inside a hospital or clinic, treating people and helping them live better lives. But not all doctors treat inside the four walls and through medicine, some take the job of healing the soul.Across the world, there are numerous individuals who have studied and practised medicine for years and yet chosen to move on to other professions, reaching people with their art, all the same. Here are 7 of them:Michael CrichtonMichael Crichton learned medicine but did not practice it even for a day, since he was busy writing. During his years at Harvard College, Crichton knew he wanted to be a writer. “But then I read that only two hundred writers in America support themselves writing. I thought, ‘That’s an awfully small group.’ I didn’t want to be a part-time writer with a day job—that didn’t interest me. I either had to be one of those two hundred people or forget it. So I decided to become a doctor,” he said. By the time he entered medical school at Harvard, the American medical industry was booming. While he did his coursework, he kept on writing novels side by side. He wrote The Andromeda Strain while in medical school and sold the movie rights during his senior year. As soon as he graduated in 1969, he decided to make writing his career. He wrote 26 novels, collectively selling more than 200 million copies worldwide, at least half of them adapted to screen. In addition to the Jurassic Park franchise, Crichton is responsible for Westworld and ER. He married five times and fathered two children before he died of lymphoma in 2008 at age 66.Ken JeongYou might remember him as Mr. Chow from the film 'The Hangover', but he was previously known by his patients as Dr. Jeong. Before becoming an actor Ken Jeong practised internal medicine during the day and did stand-up comedy at night. Soon he began getting television roles with the first appearance being on BET 'Comic View'. However, his first big break in the industry, was getting the part of Dr Kuni in 'Knocked Up' and this was when he decided it was time to leave medicine and pursue acting full time. Next, he got 'The Hangover' and life as he knew it changed completely.Khaled Hosseini"It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime," wrote one of the best-selling authors across the globe, Khaled Hosseini. But not many know that before picking up a pen, he picked up a stethoscope. Hosseini earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine in 1993 and completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, working as a primary care internist through the 2000s. In March 2001, while working full-time as a doctor in California, he began waking up around 4:00 AM to write for three hours before heading to his medical shifts. He expanded a 1999 short story about two boys in Kabul after hearing a news report that the Taliban had banned kite flying in Afghanistan. This manuscript became 'The Kite Runner' and was published in 2003. A year later he retired from practising medicine to focus entirely on writing and humanitarian work.Sai PallaviShe is all set to play Goddess Sita in the upcoming film 'Ramayana' and is already loved as one of the most talented actresses in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Sai Pallavi completed her schooling in Coimbatore and went to Georgia to study medicine at Tbilisi State Medical University. Even after becoming a certified doctor, she continued with her passion for acting. She appeared in dance shows like Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva and Dhee Ultimate Dance Show while also doing small uncredited roles and working as a background artist. Her big break came after Alphonse Puthren cast her as Malar in Premam, setting up her film career. Over the years, Sai Pallavi became part of films like Fidaa, Maari 2, Love Story, Shyam Singha Roy, Gargi, Amaran and Thandel.Che GuevaraBorn Ernesto Guevara de la Serna to an upper-middle-class family in Argentina who actively opposed the dictatorship of Juan Perón, Che was introduced to socialist theories at a young age. He grew up reading philosophy, including Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Disqualified from military service due to his asthma, he attended the University of Buenos Aires, studying medicine, with a focus on leprosy. To observe the disease, he set out on a bike journey across South America where he saw severe poverty and oppression. The sights left him so disturbed that he decided to go on a radical path. While he qualified as a physician in 1953, specialising in dermatology, he left his residency in Mexico to support his own political convictions. Through his future wife Hilda Gadea, Dr. Guevara met and joined forces with Fidel Castro. He developed guerrilla warfare that culminated in the Castro-led Cuban Revolution in January 1959. Included at first in Castro's army for his medical expertise, he soon rose through the ranks to become the top commander of the revolutionary army, and later one of Castro's cabinet members. Captured by the US-trained Bolivian Army in 1967while engaging in a military operation in Bolivia, Dr.Guevara, age 39, was imprisoned and summarily executed, allegedly under the direction of the Bolivian president and the CIA.Sir Arthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Conan Doyle is known for introducing the world to the character of Sherlock Holmes, but his less well-known contributions to the medical world also remain relevant to date. He was born in 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the second of ten children. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was an artist but suffered from alcohol use disorder, something that would later play a role in his creation of Sherlock. He was raised primarily by his mother, Mary Foley Doyle, who was a great storyteller and influenced Sir Arthur’s writing style. From 1876 to 1881, Dr. Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. In his third year of medical school, he worked as an assistant to Reginald Hoare, MD, a general practitioner in Aston. He published a collection of short stories titled The Captain of the Polestar and Other Tales, inspired by his adventures at sea along with a novel, The Stark Munro Letters, based on his experiences with a medical partner. Dr. Doyle established his ophthalmological surgery practice in London, UK, in 1891 after finishing his subspecialty training in Vienna, Austria, and Paris, France. He had relatively few patients, and in his spare time he wrote. A year later, the first compendium of 12 stories, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published.Bassem YoussefIn 2011, when the Arab Spring swept through Egypt, millions of people took to the streets and demanded the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled for almost 30 years. Youssef, until then a respected but little-known heart surgeon, went to Tahrir Square, where he helped treat wounded protestors. 18 days later Mubarak resigned as president. Frustrated with the state media portrayal of protestors during the uprising, Youssef began recording short satirical YouTube videos from his laundry room to ridicule government propaganda. He showed snippets of state news broadcasts to which he added satirical commentary. Within several months, he had over five million views. A small liberal Egyptian TV network gave Youssef his own programme, Al-Bernameg (The Show), which continued to parody news reporters as well as Egyptian celebrities and politicians. At the height of its popularity, his comedy was being seen by 30 million viewers a week, roughly a third of the Egyptian population. While he was loved by viewers, he managed to upset both governments post-Mubarak, first the Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi and then the military government led by General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. Under al-Sisi, the signal for his show was jammed twice and his life was threatened. This was when he fled to Dubai and then US, where he now continued his stand-up comedy career.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.