Thoughts on quitting medical school

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mrslackalot

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Already in my first year I started to seriously dislike med school, and have recently been thinking about quitting altogether. I'm currently starting my second year. I would like to give some of my reasons for why I feel this way, and would love if you could give me some feedback and/or share thoughts of your own regarding some of my points.

*First off, I feel like medicine will get more boring as you progress. It feels great to learn new complex things every day, but once you're done, i feel like it's going to be assembly line-work for the rest of my life. Research is overrated, since any contribution you will make as an individual is a drop in the ocean.

*Second, in medicine you work ALL THE TIME. I'm not talking about hours, but the intensity of those hours. You have appointments and in between there's the paperwork. In other lines of work, you have a lot of breaks, time to talk to colleagues over coffee, leave the office to grab lunch, etc. It leaves you much more relaxed once you're done working, and you have more time to pursue whatever it is you like to do.

*Third, hospitals are not fun places to work. Even when you get used to body fluids and all the drama etc. (not a big deal for me really), it's still not a great environment. People are stressed and take it out on you, buildings usually not that great, etc.

*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.

*Fifth, no offense to anyone, but I don't find people in medicine that exciting. People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working. One guy was in a band, another worked on a novel, another wrote for a travel magazine, etc. In med school people study and work out and that's pretty much it. Not a diverse crowd and not really living their lives. Also, a lot of med students feel like medicine is the only thing worth doing in life, even if they hate it.

I may add some more points later on.

PS I have no debt (mentioning it since it's always an issue in these posts)

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tell them to let TYPICALINDIAN take your place. Thanks
 
Already in my first year I started to seriously dislike med school, and have recently been thinking about quitting altogether. I'm currently starting my second year. I would like to give some of my reasons for why I feel this way, and would love if you could give me some feedback and/or share thoughts of your own regarding some of my points.

*First off, I feel like medicine will get more boring as you progress. It feels great to learn new complex things every day, but once you're done, i feel like it's going to be assembly line-work for the rest of my life. Research is overrated, since any contribution you will make as an individual is a drop in the ocean.

*Second, in medicine you work ALL THE TIME. I'm not talking about hours, but the intensity of those hours. You have appointments and in between there's the paperwork. In other lines of work, you have a lot of breaks, time to talk to colleagues over coffee, leave the office to grab lunch, etc. It leaves you much more relaxed once you're done working, and you have more time to pursue whatever it is you like to do.

*Third, hospitals are not fun places to work. Even when you get used to body fluids and all the drama etc. (not a big deal for me really), it's still not a great environment. People are stressed and take it out on you, buildings usually not that great, etc.

*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.

*Fifth, no offense to anyone, but I don't find people in medicine that exciting. People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working. One guy was in a band, another worked on a novel, another wrote for a travel magazine, etc. In med school people study and work out and that's pretty much it. Not a diverse crowd and not really living their lives. Also, a lot of med students feel like medicine is the only thing worth doing in life, even if they hate it.

I may add some more points later on.

PS I have no debt (mentioning it since it's always an issue in these posts)

Dude, I hate to rain on your +pity+ party... but didn't you know what you were getting into? My guess is that you're unhappy about something else in your life and it's getting down on you. Then again, I could be wrong... but maybe you should talk to someone IRL at your institution (you know, off the record type of student psych help), they might be able to help you better.

I hope you get out of this slump and soon. Good luck in the future!
 
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Stop being a little whiny crybaby.

Edit: sorry I'm on my mean streak today.
 
This is definitely a pre-med thread.
 
Sounds like you've never had a real job. "Doing ok is fine" Why would anyone strive for that? Your boss is OK with that? Only medicine is stressful? "You have time to hang out during work hours over coffee"??? Says who? Your boss? Management? The shareholders? And if you have a shift job, you'll be clocking in/out for your 30 min lunch break.

If you really think the people you graduated with who are "working on novels" are doing so well...then...enjoy that fantasy world. Chances are they will be getting their accelerated nursing degree once they finally have to move out of their parents' house.
 
*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.


Didn't matter if I was scraping poo from rat cages.. doing a damn good job was always a top priority.
 
Life is a routine. You just need to find the routine which is the least unpleasant to you.
 
Already in my first year I started to seriously dislike med school, and have recently been thinking about quitting altogether. I'm currently starting my second year. I would like to give some of my reasons for why I feel this way, and would love if you could give me some feedback and/or share thoughts of your own regarding some of my points.

*First off, I feel like medicine will get more boring as you progress. It feels great to learn new complex things every day, but once you're done, i feel like it's going to be assembly line-work for the rest of my life. Research is overrated, since any contribution you will make as an individual is a drop in the ocean.

*Second, in medicine you work ALL THE TIME. I'm not talking about hours, but the intensity of those hours. You have appointments and in between there's the paperwork. In other lines of work, you have a lot of breaks, time to talk to colleagues over coffee, leave the office to grab lunch, etc. It leaves you much more relaxed once you're done working, and you have more time to pursue whatever it is you like to do.

*Third, hospitals are not fun places to work. Even when you get used to body fluids and all the drama etc. (not a big deal for me really), it's still not a great environment. People are stressed and take it out on you, buildings usually not that great, etc.

*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.

*Fifth, no offense to anyone, but I don't find people in medicine that exciting. People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working. One guy was in a band, another worked on a novel, another wrote for a travel magazine, etc. In med school people study and work out and that's pretty much it. Not a diverse crowd and not really living their lives. Also, a lot of med students feel like medicine is the only thing worth doing in life, even if they hate it.

I may add some more points later on.

PS I have no debt (mentioning it since it's always an issue in these posts)

If it were me, I would wonder since I'm already this far, why quit now? What else would I possibly do? Did you not shadow doctors/get much clinical experience during undergrad to know what you were getting in to?
 
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