To the fundamental question belying model asian american career choices and how academics/expectations stifles self expression/desire, comedian (and certified M.D.) Ken Jeong answers:

"I don't think I was stifled, I think that I was worried that I would feel trapped, that I would lose my window of opportunity to do something I wanted to do. So I split the difference, I compromised.
In the back of my mind, I always secretly wanted to be an actor.
Once I got into residency, that changed my life. My residency director in New Orleans [Donald Irwin], said to me: 'I know you want to do comedy, but you have the potential to be a great physician. Have you ever thought of blending both? You can not only use your comedy to help your medicine... but you can also use your medicine to make you a better comedian. Have you ever thought of it that way? This experience would be good for you, and you would have a unique perspective in comedy that no one else in the world will ever have.'
It's because of him I wasn't miserable as a physician. I found a way to love what I did. I found a way to enjoy it because of my comedy and because I had a director that actually nurtured and encouraged me to keep doing comedy while being a physician. It actually made me want to be a doctor even more." -- Koream, June 2011, Volume 22 Number 6