I don't know if I should do medicine

[Blueberry17]

I'm about to be a junior in college, so I figure it's time to start thinking seriously about medical school if I'm going to go. I took General Biology freshman year and General Chem this past year. I got a B+ in bio and a B in chem. I worked in hospitals during the past two summers and also shadowed doctors. I'm interested in medicine because I really like seeing the patients. I like that somebody comes in and something is wrong with them and you get to figure out what it is. And I like that you can make them feel so much better. Making somebody feel better makes me feel really good. I had a kidney stone a few years ago and I was in so much pain and didn't know what was wrong with me and when I got to the ER, they took a CT scan and I thought it was pretty cool that they could figure out what was wrong with me. The reason I hesitate about studying for the MCAT and everything is because medical school honestly seems like hell on earth. It seems to me like medical school students have no lives. And residency seems impossible. When I think about having to do residency, it just doesn't seem possible to me, especially because I get headaches when I'm fatigued. My mom is a doctor and she tells me she would be tired very often, but it was not that bad, but I don't believe her. How do I decide if I'll be able to do this?

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[eteshoe]

If you have this view it would be better for you to go do something other than medicine first, mature, then reevaluate if you feel like going down this path.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'm about to be a junior in college, so I figure it's time to start thinking seriously about medical school if I'm going to go. I took General Biology freshman year and General Chem this past year. I got a B+ in bio and a B in chem. I worked in hospitals during the past two summers and also shadowed doctors. I'm interested in medicine because I really like seeing the patients. I like that somebody comes in and something is wrong with them and you get to figure out what it is. And I like that you can make them feel so much better. Making somebody feel better makes me feel really good. I had a kidney stone a few years ago and I was in so much pain and didn't know what was wrong with me and when I got to the ER, they took a CT scan and I thought it was pretty cool that they could figure out what was wrong with me. The reason I hesitate about studying for the MCAT and everything is because medical school honestly seems like hell on earth. It seems to me like medical school students have no lives. And residency seems impossible. When I think about having to do residency, it just doesn't seem possible to me, especially because I get headaches when I'm fatigued. My mom is a doctor and she tells me she would be tired very often, but it was not that bad, but I don't believe her. How do I decide if I'll be able to do this?

Is there anything else that would make you happy?

Med school honestly isn't all that bad. MS1 and MS2 were pretty okay, aside from dedicated, and even that wasn't hell on earth. Block weeks sucked I guess, wouldn't want to do that again. Third year is okay so far, not nearly as bad as I'd feared. Residency will suck, but it's just a finite period, and I'm probably going into a fairly chill specialty anyway, so even that won't be that bad.

I had all the fears you have about medical school, and honestly, in the end I feel like the people who have a bad time are the ones that torture themselves. I prioritized keeping myself sane and enjoying life and it was alright for me so far. None of my fears came true, they were all overblown. But don't go into this if you have doubts, because once you're in there is pretty much no going back.

 

[Goro]

So don't.

Next question!

 

[Turkishking]

What goro said

 

[Pinocytosis]

The reason I hesitate about studying for the MCAT and everything is because medical school honestly seems like hell on earth. It seems to me like medical school students have no lives. And residency seems impossible. When I think about having to do residency, it just doesn't seem possible to me, especially because I get headaches when I'm fatigued. My mom is a doctor and she tells me she would be tired very often, but it was not that bad, but I don't believe her. How do I decide if I'll be able to do this?

*Disclaimer* I'm an applicant.

Thousands of medical students in the US alone successfully study medicine every year. Is it difficult? Yes. Is it impossible? No.

The thing is, your life will drastically change. You go from worrying about how many episodes are left in latest Game of Thrones season to worrying about VTE prophylaxis while studying. Joking aside, you're going to be challenged. You're going to question why the hell you got yourself into this mess. But, always remember the light at the end of the tunnel: "I'm interested in medicine because I really like seeing the patients."

There are much bigger fish to fry (mmmm) than the MCAT. It is an important test, but do not let that deter you from pursuing medicine. I would suggest finding a pre-medical friend or talk to your pre-medical advisor to re-align your application and drive towards medicine. If you decide that medicine is not for you, no big deal. We don't blame you and wish you the best on your future endeavors.

One final note: If you are not passionate about medicine on your application (AMCAS/AACOMAS, secondaries, extracurriculars, etc.), admission committee members can sniff that out quite easily.

 

[Crayola227]

so many threads on this.

research the field. shadow. figure it out.

 

[jqueb29]

I'm about to be a junior in college, so I figure it's time to start thinking seriously about medical school if I'm going to go. I took General Biology freshman year and General Chem this past year. I got a B+ in bio and a B in chem. I worked in hospitals during the past two summers and also shadowed doctors. I'm interested in medicine because I really like seeing the patients. I like that somebody comes in and something is wrong with them and you get to figure out what it is. And I like that you can make them feel so much better. Making somebody feel better makes me feel really good. I had a kidney stone a few years ago and I was in so much pain and didn't know what was wrong with me and when I got to the ER, they took a CT scan and I thought it was pretty cool that they could figure out what was wrong with me. The reason I hesitate about studying for the MCAT and everything is because medical school honestly seems like hell on earth. It seems to me like medical school students have no lives. And residency seems impossible. When I think about having to do residency, it just doesn't seem possible to me, especially because I get headaches when I'm fatigued. My mom is a doctor and she tells me she would be tired very often, but it was not that bad, but I don't believe her. How do I decide if I'll be able to do this?

Like Mad Jack said, a lot of the "med school is the worst" hype is overblown. Are there times it sucks? Absolutely. But as someone who is a month into my MS3 year, there are plenty of fun times. If you want to have any "real" job someday, there are going to be a lot of times you have to buckle down and make sacrifices. Might as well go into the industry that will reward those sacrifices most greatly.

 

[ColoradoHkyMom]

I'm currently a rising senior in high school and I'm going to be applying to colleges in the fall. I'm a very competitive applicant, I go to a very rigorous private high school and I have a 4.0 GPA and 2300 SAT. I would like to be a doctor. I've been looking at 6 year programs, but many of them are through colleges which aren't known for their academic strength, especially in the undergraduate years. I'm most strongly considering the NEOMED BS/MD program, where the undergrad work is done at underwhelming institutions such as Kent State University and University of Akron. I'm wondering if it is better to do something like go to a prestigious college for 4 years (a place like Washington University or Rice) and then apply to medical school or do the six year program. I'm not asking which path is better for the life experiences, I'm asking which path is better for academics and ultimately one's preparedness to practice medicine.

Just wondering how you went from a rising senior in high school to a junior in college in one month?

 

[Sardinia]

Just wondering how you went from a rising senior in high school to a junior in college in one month?

I can't take this sub-section seriously anymore. Wish the admins would utilize an IP filter to cut down on this behavior. There's only so many networks people can hide behind before they have to start paying in order to do it.