In recent years, the image of medicine as a caring profession has been badly tarnished by a rash of critical reports in the mediIn the face of this negative publicity, do young people still want to be doctors? The author reviews conventional reasons given for the declining applicant pool (e.g., issues of declining income, loss of autonomy, etc.) and posits that an additional reason may be perceptions that doctors no longer command respect and that they are being oppressed by, rather than being guardians of, the health care system. Such views challenge academic medicine to broadcast to the world a realistic picture of the fabulous opportunities and gratifications that lie ahead for the next generation of physicians. However, academic medicine must also address some current realities within medical education. The author acknowledges that these are tough challenges. Leaders of academic medicine should prepare and disseminate an explicit statement of their commitments, a kind of compact between teachers and learners of medicine. He outlines these commitments, and states his hope that by fulfilling them, the academic medicine community can make clear that medicine is a true calling, not just beleaguered occupation.