- Joined
- Jun 8, 2013
- Messages
- 101
- Reaction score
- 6
- Points
- 4,571
- Pre-Medical
Yes--and I would've done it sooner, instead of exsanguinating myself in a PhD program for 5 years*...
*though yes, in its defense, it did prevent me from having 6-figure debt, and it does put me in the top 1-5% of psychiatrists as far as actual understanding of neuroscience goes...but still not sure that outweighed the pain.
If given the option to go back all the way to undergrad, would you choose again to pursue medical school? And, if so, would you re-select psychiatry as your specialty?
If no, what would you have done instead?
i didn't know you were a MD/PhD. Do you still publish?
Definitely not. I had a reputation on SDN a few years ago, while still in medical school, for droning on and on about how I went into medicine for the wrong reasons and how much I hated my life, so I won't rehash it all. Suffice it to say that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake; I went into it basically to try to impress women. It didn't work, but by the time I came to terms with that fact, it was too late to back out. The fact that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake was a big part of the reason I wound up in psychiatry. The only true dream I've ever had was to become a writer, so if I had to do it over, I'd try my hardest to make it as a writer.
Definitely not. I had a reputation on SDN a few years ago, while still in medical school, for droning on and on about how I went into medicine for the wrong reasons and how much I hated my life, so I won't rehash it all. Suffice it to say that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake; I went into it basically to try to impress women. It didn't work, but by the time I came to terms with that fact, it was too late to back out. The fact that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake was a big part of the reason I wound up in psychiatry. The only true dream I've ever had was to become a writer, so if I had to do it over, I'd try my hardest to make it as a writer.
Definitely not. I had a reputation on SDN a few years ago, while still in medical school, for droning on and on about how I went into medicine for the wrong reasons and how much I hated my life, so I won't rehash it all. Suffice it to say that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake; I went into it basically to try to impress women. It didn't work, but by the time I came to terms with that fact, it was too late to back out. The fact that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake was a big part of the reason I wound up in psychiatry. The only true dream I've ever had was to become a writer, so if I had to do it over, I'd try my hardest to make it as a writer.
Personally, I wish I had gone to PA school instead of med school.
I'm only a pgy3, but I wish I would have done a fp/psych residency instead of psychiatry because I realized quite late that I want to do both, so I'm going to do a fp residency after psych and practice both part time. A combined residency would have saved a lot of time.
Personally, I wish I had gone to PA school instead of med school.
I'm only a pgy3, but I wish I would have done a fp/psych residency instead of psychiatry because I realized quite late that I want to do both, so I'm going to do a fp residency after psych and practice both part time. A combined residency would have saved a lot of time.
I love medicine. One of my attendings told me "only BAD psychiatrists forget their medicine"...
Sorry for the possible derailing here, but I've heard from a number of residents and attendings that for the most part the combined residencies are not worth it being that ultimately one will work in only one of the two fields anyway. Not sure how much truth there is in that, but that's what I've heard so far. How realistic is it to practice in both fields? I can see how the training in one will help with the other and help one grow as physician (maybe?), but is it necessary? Just curious.
Definitely not. I had a reputation on SDN a few years ago, while still in medical school, for droning on and on about how I went into medicine for the wrong reasons and how much I hated my life, so I won't rehash it all. Suffice it to say that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake; I went into it basically to try to impress women. It didn't work, but by the time I came to terms with that fact, it was too late to back out. The fact that I was never really interested in medicine for its own sake was a big part of the reason I wound up in psychiatry. The only true dream I've ever had was to become a writer, so if I had to do it over, I'd try my hardest to make it as a writer.
Well, There have been great Physicians who are also remembered for their literature. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr was known for his excellent poetry (Old Ironsides and Autocrat at the Breakfast table) as well as his witty anatomy lectures at Harvard. William Carlos Williams was excelled in his Pediatrics practice and his poetry. He would have been more famous if not for TS Eliot rocking the world with Prufrock. Anton Chekov contributed to the great Russians and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes. If you need somebody modern, Samuel Shem wrote a definitive satire on his Internship. And he was a psychiatrist.
Maybe you can make your mark.
Haven't since residency. Not doing any basic science anymore, but have a couple of things underway in the clinical education vein. Trying to beef up the "scholarly activity" piece of our program.
Nothing stopping you from becoming a writer now, so instead of the pity party, seize the day, dude.
Wow, dude. Please don't take this the wrong way, but have you considered psychoanalysis? If you're happy, then don't bother.
There is a whole heck of a lot stopping him from becoming a writer. It's called the publishing industry, which doesn't just publish anything. It's called talent in most cases. It's called low pay.
I think he's just admitting and realizing things a lot of people are afraid to say. Half if not 95% of my med school class was probably there to impress their parents. And they lacked the self-awareness to realize this. Doctors are among some of the least self aware creatures in the universe. Only in a medical school can you claim to be going into interventional radiology because you "are really inspired by science" and "really want to help people," and watch as people lap it up. Everywhere else this is known as being a phony.
Ditto this. Your average 24 year old doesn't have a good grip if who they are or where they want to end up in life. Heading immediately into medical school after undergrad saddles them with so much debt that some find themselves unable to make the decision to leave and then continue on in a field they aren't passionate about and deliver poor care while romanticizing other fields they never really had the chance to explore.I will say that one thing that helped me to know whether medicine and psychiatry were right for me was taking a couple of years off and working between undergrad and med school. By the time I hit med school, I was looking forward to being back in school, instead of dreading yet another 4 years of the same old thing. It also helped to have some time to enjoy life, relationships, and freedom. I also had a chance to contemplate other career paths.

she told me I was crazy. So I became a psychiatrist.
Wow, dude. Please don't take this the wrong way, but have you considered psychoanalysis? If you're happy, then don't bother.
You sound like my father when I was 16 and told him I had finally discovered my life's dream and wanted to be a writer. ("Are you crazy? There are thousands of people who want to be writers! Everybody's trying to get a book published! The only way you can get anything published is if you know someone in the publishing industry!") I've always viewed his extreme discouragement as the primary reason I never actually tried to do it.By the way, lots of people have dreams of becoming a writer. It's a good hobby to have but only the top 0.1% ever make it. You should consider yourself fortunate that you wound up where you did. You could just as easily have gotten a PhD in English only to end up in a high school teaching position wishing you had done something more practical (such as medicine).
I've always viewed his extreme discouragement as the primary reason I never actually tried to do it.
To the poster who said he might choose to be a PA instead, I offer the opposite experience. I chose to be a PA because I was afraid of being rejected from med school (analyze that!) The longer I worked as a PA, the more confidence I gained and the less satisfied I was with the dependent role. In my mid-30s my discomfort with remaining a PA for the rest of my career overcame my fear of failure and more debt and I went back to med school at 37.
Very early in my PA career I was interested in psychiatry but there were almost no jobs for PAs in my area--in Oregon PMHNPs owned that market. I went into FM instead and took advantage of PA lateral mobility and moved into the ED. I never did find my niche as a PA until I began teaching PAs--and then I found that I needed to learn what I didn't know and that ultimately pushed me back into med school.
While I enjoy aspects of both primary care and emergency medicine, I never really LOVED anything until I did a month of inpatient geriatric psychiatry. I really doubt this would have grabbed me in my 20s--I needed to grow up quite a bit, hurt a bit, learn a few more life lessons and be stretched to find that I could connect with people. I really am such a better doctor (almost doctor) at 39 than I ever would have been at 26. Maybe this is true for most of us.
One thing I fear about choosing psych is giving up medicine. I love medicine. One of my attendings told me "only BAD psychiatrists forget their medicine"...I appreciated that but really would like to hear from others whether their career as a psychiatrist satisfies them intellectually and professionally.