I have been considering giving up on my dream of going to medical school but I am not sure if I can yet. I do have a great and well paying career right now but it still doesn't fulfill me or fascinate me in the way medicine does. I would need to retake the mcat soon and take classes and study with the little free time I have. When is it time to let go of pursuing a medical degree?
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
I can relate in a big way to your situation, bakr, and I have come to the conclusion that since I haven't been able to stop thinking about becoming a doctor for the past year-and-a-half, I will take small steps toward becoming one at 31 years old. For instance, since I am very wary as to if becoming a doctor is truly a good investment of my life for me, I have started down the path cautiously by volunteering at different hospitals. This has put me in the medical environment at least, and it has provided me with time to think as I walk around the hospital hallways. "Do I truly want to spend the majority of the next, say, 20 years in here?" I'll ask myself. I've also spent a good deal of time reading about the cons of this path on sites such as KevinMD, which provides a very clear picture of the downside to the path into and throughout a career as a doctor.
Personally, one of the most daunting drawbacks to me in considering such a career move is the debt load. But if you are quite financially sound, then you may very well not be that bad off by going down this path. The more funds you have that could potentially cover debt costs if you were to change your mind, the better, in my opinion. Most student debt is not eligible for student loan forgiveness besides under special circumstances.
I am cognizant too of how much this path could potentially take me away from a girlfriend or a wife and kids. Do I want that? I have been single for more of my 20's than not, so I am quite comfortable with being single indefinitely. But if I were married, I'd be heavily considering what strain this could potentially put the marriage under. If my wife were very understanding, I would be more inclined not to worry. Would I be OK with studying for hours while my kid is at a championship baseball game, for instance? Obviously I would have to deal with that. Hopefully he would later view me as a hero for sacrificing things to become a physician.
Lastly, it's good that you know why you like the idea of becoming a doctor so much. Me personally? For example, I think the idea of being woken up in the middle of the night to put someone back together and save his or her life is absolutely badass! There's only one way to have that honorable privilege, and that's to up and do this by jumping through every hoop I need to to become a surgeon! Is that enthusiasm from within enough to take the plunge for me though? Really, I'm not sure. I'm really not the best with sleep deprivation, and I want to spend more time with my parents as they grow older. I also think I need to be available for a relationship if I really want children one day. But I am going to keep volunteering while working in my career right now. If I'm still thinking about the career change come late October, I'll likely enroll in organic chemistry this coming spring of '17. That will be a major gut check as to how much I want it if I still want it by then—being able to work full-time and do well in OChem 1 and 2 would speak well to my ability to handle med school, I think, particularly if the urge still burns in me while I'm putting myself through that. Perhaps studying hard for the MCAT while working your job is a good way to do such a gut check on yourself, to put yourself under some stress in pursuit of this dream to see if the passion is still there once you're under that stress.
Considering such a change in life is certainly a monumental deal. I think that if you work towards this long enough while continuing to want it, then you will find your answer.
