His 'Vocation'
Even though my father never became a doctor, he became a specialist in a somewhat medical capacity. We lived in a place where medicine was socialized and was described by a popular saying, "Medicine for nothing is... medicine for nothing".
My dad's specialty was as follows: whenever anybody in the circle of family or friends would get seriously sick, they would call my dad and explain the situation.
He would say something jocular and encouraging and go for his personal address book. He would call everyone in the book to find out if they knew somebody with connections who could help find a doctor willing to take money 'under the table' and provide some decent care in the case. My dad was very good at that and had a lot of success stories of people who would not have survived but for his help. Naturally, his services were free of charge.