Anyone else suddenly realize they actually have to go to medical school?

[Perimeter]

After my dad finished his MD he went directly to law school. Medical school is not that hard if you're smart.

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[Charles_Carmichael]

I agree, it is not easy. And the reason I KNOW it is not easy is because I have done it...I am doing it. 7 years ago I walked away from another career with more than 200k of educational debt. And I am now signing up for another 200k.

Can most people do it? No. People who are practically strangers love to tell me every day that I am nuts or making a mistake. Though since I have gotten into medical school, they have changed their minds a bit.

It is really really hard to pull a 180 in your life. REALLY hard. Even people who love you and are close to you will find it hard to support you because they won't think it is the best thing for you. It takes bravery and stamina and tears and a hell of a lot of will and belief in yourself. You lose a lot of friends, have a lot of sleepless nights, and are always wondering if you're doing the right thing. But what keeps you going is knowing how it felt when you were doing the wrong thing....and knowing how it feels when you are doing the right thing.

Is it easy? No. Can it be done? You bet your sweet butt

I agree with you. I can't even imagine what it would feel like to walk away with such a huge monkey on your back. With my limited understanding of that feeling, I feel like most people (myself included) would be unlikely to walk away from a career like medicine that virtually guarantees that you'll be able to repay those loans, even if they ended up severely disliking the field and disillusioned.

 

[MedIsInMyBlood]

The title of this thread should be: "Anyone suddenly realize they actually have to become a doctor." Med school isn't that hard, its the being a doctor that sucks.

Of course medicine has pros and cons.

However, THAT is how one needs to look at it - medicine. Not medical school. You are about to enter a new phase of life that will change who you are and how you live, from here on out.

The problem with premeds perspective (and why its difficult to truly see whats going to happen) is that there is a view that its just "4 more years." I hear it all the time. But its not.

Honestly, medical school isn't that hard.
1st year is a review of undergrad for a lot of people. Its awesome because you have your own schedule for one of the last times in life, you get to deepen your knowledge and be SUPER excited that you're going to be a doctor. However, by the end of first year most people are shackled to medicine. Most people could not survive the payments of a 50k loan without finishing and being a physician.
2nd year is undergrad on steroids and the pain of studying for Step 1 12 hrs/day for a month. Its awesome because pathology is incredible, and you'll have all sorts of new diseases you never knew you had
3rd year is the worst, working 50-80 hr weeks (longer if you go to school on the east coast) and learning a whole new skill of working in the hospital. Possibly getting yelled at by residents, attendings and nurses. But third year is awesome because you can try new specialties, make connections with patients and learn some of the basics of clinical medicine.
4th year you pick your specialty, apply to residency and chill through lots of easy electives. Its just outright awesome - no downside here

Then there is residency, and the rest of your career.

No one says its evil or terrible, its honestly not that hard. However, its a shock in how much it will change your life. Predominantly starting 3rd year. You will look at society differently, feel worse about humanity, feel frustrated with our healthcare system.

In your personal life you will do the best you can, but old connections will break off because you will find you have very little in common with people outside of medicine, even family relationships will be difficult to maintain. If you aren't already in a relationship its very difficult to find one and maintain it, if you do you may relocated for residency likely breaking it off. Many of the single women in my class have no prospects and freak out about never getting married or having kids.

You do all this while watching your friends from high school buy houses, have kids, go on vacations (maybe barely getting by the skin of their teeth but still...), etc. etc. etc. and you wonder if it was really worth it.

Sure you get to be a physician, some people will respect you for that - most won't. You get to spend 40-120 hours every week working for the rest of your life. 40 hrs is rare. You will make decent money but will pay down 200k of debt and won't really have tons of money to throw around until several years after residency (meanwhile you earned below average for a college graduate for 3-7 years in residency). Patients won't listen to you, they will be self-destructive, some will hit you. You will see everything thats wrong with society and never be able to do anything about it. You will watch nice people die too young and have to tell their families. You will see the frighteningly crass attitude that permeates medicine and will quickly find yourself participating.

Just remember its not 4 more years. When you hit your third year you are going to become a different person. You may or may not like that person. Then you will continue to be that person for the rest of your life.

The pros of the overall field: recession resistant, decent pay, very cool job, get to work with tons of people both colleagues and patients, quite a bit of variety to choose from within the career.

Its not that medicine is bad, but a lot of people hit a wall where they wonder if it was worth it - and its usually not - too much life cost for too little benefit, there are other options out there. Don't get me wrong, I love my life - I am in a relationship am fortunate to see my family often and can't wait to be an EM doc. However, if I were magically transported back 5 years ago...no way in hell I would do it again.

I am very confused with this post. From reading the post (and especially the paragraph that I bolded above), it seems like you are in your mid 40's and have been in practice for 15 + years.

But, apparently, you are in your 4th year of medical school.

?

 

[alwaysaangel]

I am very confused with this post. From reading the post (and especially the paragraph that I bolded above), it seems like you are in your mid 40's and have been in practice for 15 + years.

But, apparently, you are in your 4th year of medical school.

?

There is nothing in that paragraph that a 4th year medical student hasn't seen/experienced. No, I don't practice independently and I know nothing of billing and fighting with insurance companies and being sued - but I didn't comment on that.

I know the hours and pay of physicians. I watch residents/early attendings pay off debt.

I've had patients disrespect me, my residents, my attendings. I've seen patients multiple visits in the ED where they are self-destructive and unchanging. I've had a patient swing at me (a class mate of mine got too close and got hit). I've seen patients die, I've sat with docs and families while bad news was given.

The crass attitude of medicine you will first experience in your third year of medical school and you will be participating by 4th year.

Not exactly sure what confused you...

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

I am very confused with this post. From reading the post (and especially the paragraph that I bolded above), it seems like you are in your mid 40's and have been in practice for 15 + years.

But, apparently, you are in your 4th year of medical school.

?

3rd and 4th years are the clinical years of med school. I'd imagine med students, during these years, would get a decent exposure to what it's really like to practice medicine. And you don't have to go far to get the sense that many people dislike/distrust physicians. Read any article in the NYT for example!

 

[theprodizzle]

It's probably safe to say that med school was/is/will be different in a few/some/many ways for each person. Awful/bad/meh/good/AWESOME. Med school is just something you have to experience in your own way. Really, with all sincerity and support, you just have to find out for yourself.

But, back to the question: When do you actually realize? Whenever you want to or have to. It may be the acceptance, moving, loans, new friends, smelling like everyone else in your class after anatomy, getting a Littman, acing Step 1, marrying your significant other, giving a friend/classmate a hug just because it's been rough, giving an outside friend a hug, matching, 3rd Four Loko after an exam...uhh, maybe not at this point. Whenever.

But it starts with an acceptance. Congrats! Be happy. Go nuts. You accomplished a goal.

 

[Dr Oops]

Look I understand what you are saying but try to understand what I am saying. 20/20 hindsight from current med students is great but there are a lot of med students on here who consistently post the bad about med school and never provide anything good about it. I'm pretty sure most premeds know med school isn't going to be easy, theres a good and bad in everything. However it would be nice to say something encouraging for someone who is willing to make the sacrifices for medicine. We do not have to be reminded every two seconds how much medicine sucks for you. Thanks for keeping it real but all im asking is for something positive every once in awhile. For someone who worked extremely hard to even get in the last thing they want to hear is "get out if you can."

What most premeds don't think about or get is that med school is not like college. Yes you grow as a person & get to experience new things but its a means to an end-getting a job as a physician were not gonna tell you its rainbows & Sunshine cuz its not. l am not miserable in School but it does require alot of sacrifice & you won't understand the level until you're in it. if you don't feel like you have Less of a life in med school then you had a boring one before. Sorry. The reason you don't want to hear get out while you can is because you put in alot of work to get it & you're bitter that everyone not telling you how great it is and that all your hard work was worth while. Tough, it is what it is. theres Some good stuff about med School but l would say there is more suck about but you just deal w/ it and jump though the hoops because you will be a dr. afterwards.

So believe whatever you want. But know that nobody cares how hard you worked so far. Nobody cares that what you're hearing isn't living up to you're expectations. All they care about is that you jump through the hoops & pay your tuition. Having fun along the way is up to you.

 

[armybound]

However, THAT is how one needs to look at it - medicine. Not medical school. You are about to enter a new phase of life that will change who you are and how you live, from here on out.

I think this is a really important point. A lot of my classmates see their time in medical school a lot like they saw undergrad -- a time to try to get perfect grades to set them up for the next stage of training. They'll bitch and moan about missing a single question on an exam and fight for every last point they can get. It's not about learning for them, it's about scoring highly.

You're in med school to LEARN and to be able to APPLY that knowledge. You are not here to fight for points so you can land that cushy residency.

People need to change their perspective of being in school vs. preparing for a life of being someone's physician.

 

[gravitywave]

NEWS FLASH: You still have a life in med school, I still watch tv, drink, party, workout, sleep, and yes I study more, but you establish a new baseline so whatever. I still never go to class, but cramming now, is measured in days not hours/ the night before.

this is the reality for a lot of us - granted, not all - but the people here who can't stand not to be working six days/50 hrs+ a week are for the most part just stressing themselves out needlessly.

Is that sarcasm...? I can't tell.

But at any rate, I'm looking forward to the challenges med school will bring (if I get in). And besides, EVERYONE else in your med school class will be going through just about the same exact thing as you. And EVERYONE who came before you had to go through it as well. So it's obviously not that bad...

it's not sarcasm. link2swim06 just described my life

your point about everyone going through the same thing at the same time is very well made though: everyone has these thoughts at times, and they all get through this, too. There's no reason to think that you won't too. "You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake."

What most premeds don't think about or get is that med school is not like college. Yes you grow as a person & get to experience new things but its a means to an end-getting a job as a physician were not gonna tell you its rainbows & Sunshine cuz its not. l am not miserable in School but it does require alot of sacrifice & you won't understand the level until you're in it. if you don't feel like you have Less of a life in med school then you had a boring one before. Sorry. The reason you don't want to hear get out while you can is because you put in alot of work to get it & you're bitter that everyone not telling you how great it is and that all your hard work was worth while. Tough, it is what it is. theres Some good stuff about med School but l would say there is more suck about but you just deal w/ it and jump though the hoops because you will be a dr. afterwards.

So believe whatever you want. But know that nobody cares how hard you worked so far. Nobody cares that what you're hearing isn't living up to you're expectations. All they care about is that you jump through the hoops & pay your tuition. Having fun along the way is up to you.

the sacrifices of med school are nothing compared to the sacrifices you make working in a dead-end job. time is your most precious asset and i can't think of a better way to be spending mine right now. i'm just a first year, but i'm pretty sure i'll never want to go back to what i was doing before.

it is possible to walk away from $50-100-even 200k in debt. it's all a matter of what the trade-offs are. people's biggest problem with that is the necessity of admitting to themselves that they made a mistake and need to move on.... why else would they keep making payments on an upside-down mortgage?? it's the same thing.

 

[alwaysaangel]

it is possible to walk away from $50-100-even 200k in debt.

Really? Because I'm only in 167k debt and my repayment plan is $2500/month... exactly how would one walk away from medicine and find another job that they can realistically pay down that debt and not starve.

I guess you could kill yourself, since thats about the only thing that forgives federal student loans... You can't just say "I'm not going to be a doctor so I'm not paying you back." Doesn't work that way.

For the vast majority of people, you are stuck once you're a year in.

 

[gravitywave]

Really? Because I'm only in 167k debt and my repayment plan is $2500/month... exactly how would one walk away from medicine and find another job that they can realistically pay down that debt and not starve.

I guess you could kill yourself, since thats about the only thing that forgives federal student loans... You can't just say "I'm not going to be a doctor so I'm not paying you back." Doesn't work that way.

For the vast majority of people, you are stuck once you're a year in.

perhaps you misunderstood me. i could have said that people walk away from the investment. of course student loans are generally not discharged under bankruptcy.

but there are ways of managing the choice if a person decides to make it. obviously the choice is more difficult if the number is $200k as opposed to $50k. but people do it. hell, people graduate with $50k just in undergrad debt all the time now.

don't tell me you seriously were considering paying $2,500/month all through residency? that just sounds awful...

 

[alwaysaangel]

perhaps you misunderstood me. i could have said that people walk away from the investment. of course student loans are generally not discharged under bankruptcy.

but there are ways of managing the choice if a person decides to make it. obviously the choice is more difficult if the number is $200k as opposed to $50k. but people do it. hell, people graduate with $50k just in undergrad debt all the time now.

don't tell me you seriously were considering paying $2,500/month all through residency? that just sounds awful...

No. You can forbear (and pull all subsidized loans out of deferment) or pay off using an income-based repayment (comes to about $500/month when you're making $3000/month in residency). But it doesn't even cover the monthly interest, let alone touch the principle. So I suppose you could pay 1/4-1/6th of your income to your loans until you died at which point they would be discharged. Or start working for a non-profit and hope that PSLF is still around in 10 years.

I'm sure someone has done it but for most people, if they go to medical school, changing careers stops being an option because they would never be able to have a normal life while trying to pay down the debt. I have plenty of classmates who would love to leave, but instead they found the highest paying specialties for the least amount of hours and are tolerating it the best they can.

 

[gravitywave]

No. You can forbear (and pull all subsidized loans out of deferment) or pay off using an income-based repayment (comes to about $500/month when you're making $3000/month in residency). But it doesn't even cover the monthly interest, let alone touch the principle. So I suppose you could pay 1/4-1/6th of your income to your loans until you died at which point they would be discharged. Or start working for a non-profit and hope that PSLF is still around in 10 years.

ok. my point is that these are not unreasonable choices for people that realize late that medicine isn't for them. the alternative is spending twenty years of your life doing something you loathe - which i realize people do - but that's a shame.

btw, the IBR payment for someone with an AGI of $40k and $200k of debt is ~$300. that's a car payment, not Armageddon.

I'm sure someone has done it but for most people, if they go to medical school, changing careers stops being an option because they would never be able to have a normal life while trying to pay down the debt. I have plenty of classmates who would love to leave, but instead they found the highest paying specialties for the least amount of hours and are tolerating it the best they can.

sounds nasty. what happens if they aren't good enough for the ROAD?

 

[alwaysaangel]

ok. my point is that these are not unreasonable choices for people that realize late that medicine isn't for them. the alternative is spending twenty years of your life doing something you loathe - which i realize people do - but that's a shame.

btw, the IBR payment for someone with an AGI of $40k and $200k of debt is ~$300. that's a car payment, not Armageddon.

what happens if they aren't good enough for the ROAD?

I agree with you its not impossible. But i feel like you're minimizing it by saying its a car payment. Its a car payment with no car. Good luck getting a car too. Its also a never ending car payment. Because you would never pay down the principle it would just keep growing until you die. As for roade... Anesthesia and EM arent super competitive but luckily a lot of the people who hate medicine are the ones who spent their life studying so most i know have a lot of options.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Anyway, I'm not trying to be contrary and argue endlessly.

I just feel like minimizing the concept of the burden of debt is a disservice to premeds. People need to really undertand what they're getting into and be really sure it's what they want (many don't and aren't). Because in general once you set foot in a US med school you will graduate and you will work as a doctor for the rest of your life. Whether it makes you happy or not.

 

[Geekchick921]

Notice the post above where someone was claiming they gave up prime years of their life for school -- it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to sacrifice your life for med school.

I'm not even in medical school yet and I hate those posts. I wholeheartedly agree. Anyone that knows the euphemism in my status can see I refuse to put my life on hold for my career.

Very well said. I took a year off after undergrad to work and I was incredibly bored and depressed. The next year, I went and did an SMP and was happy as hell. Now, I'm busy doing research and volunteering but I'm ready to go back to school again.

I can't wait til I can quit my job in the summer. Everyone's nice here but Jesus tap-dancing Christ I am bored out of mind.

i think everyone needs to chill out.
take it as it comes...

i dont know about you guys, but i'd rather chill out right now, see my friends, hit the gym, and enjoy my time knowing i got into med school and leave the worry about what its gonna be like for when i get there.

You are like the chillest person on this forum, MB. I've seen it time and time again. I always appreciate it.

I also am starting to realize I agree with just about everything alwaysangel has to say.

 

[circulus vitios]

Really? Because I'm only in 167k debt and my repayment plan is $2500/month... exactly how would one walk away from medicine and find another job that they can realistically pay down that debt and not starve.

I guess you could kill yourself, since thats about the only thing that forgives federal student loans... You can't just say "I'm not going to be a doctor so I'm not paying you back." Doesn't work that way.

For the vast majority of people, you are stuck once you're a year in.

Take your bachelors degree and fly to another country?

 

[teddy bear doc]

I'm not even in medical school yet and I hate those posts. I wholeheartedly agree. Anyone that knows the euphemism in my status can see I refuse to put my life on hold for my career.

Are you going to defer or soldier through?

Congrats, btw, even if it was a... well, I suppose "surprise" is a nice word.

 

[Geekchick921]

1. Soldier through. 2. Thank you! 3. It wasn't.

 

[teddy bear doc]

Good news on all fronts.

Adding a second into the equation is much like what everyone is saying here about med school. Nothing on earth can prepare you for that particular hurricane, even if you THINK you know what you are getting yourself into.

 

[MRSAful Fate]

I'm just really excited about starting school. I appreciate the candid insight from med students on this thread (alwaysaangel, your posts always rock), and as someone who works in a hospital I get reminded by the docs on a daily basis of the lifelong *****-kicking that I'm getting into. But that's fine. Even if it was as bad as the worst over-exaggerators claim I would still go through with it because I'm stubborn as hell and this is what I want to do. I have friends who are already out there making money and starting families, but I would be bored out of my skull working their jobs (accounting? kill me now). I like school, I like learning, I want to be a doctor, I don't mind getting my ***** kicked, and I'm already used to being berated by patients and having to restrain crazy people with ready-to-burst MRSA filled abscesses (honestly it kind of livens up my day).

 

[Endolas]

I meet med students, residents, and docs in real life, and they're all happy.

I come on here and it's crying and moaning, doom and gloom.

People are just more dramatic on the internet.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I'm not even in medical school yet and I hate those posts. I wholeheartedly agree. Anyone that knows the euphemism in my status can see I refuse to put my life on hold for my career.

You can hate all you want, but medical school does require a huge lifestyle change for most people. I certainly don't consider it some soul-sucking social black hole where people go to turn into uncaring diagnosis machines, but I've had to make tons of personal sacrifices to make med school work. As someone who's satisfied with just passing everything and typically does not have to study anywhere near as much as most people, I feel pretty confident saying that if I've had to make significant adjustments, you will too. While it's unlikely that you'll have to totally lose yourself in medicine (though some people do have to do that), there's a lot of truth in the posts bemoaning how burdensome med school is, unsavory though they may be.

edit: That said, I love third year so far. Labor and delivery was beyond miserable, but I saw that coming miles away and wrote it off as a loss long ago. Other than that, I've had a great time despite the absurd hours on surgery. It's also really nice to not have to study stupid bull**** minutiae all the time. First year was crappy, second year was a mix of incredible (due to free time gained by not going to class) and really terrible (due to insane workloads at times).Overall, med school has been a positive experience, despite anatomy ruining first year. It's not all that bad, but I'd advise you to completely ignore anyone who tells you that it's "not that hard if you're smart" or anything similar. I mean, it's easy in the sense that running a marathon is easy - all you do is run. In med school, all you do (for the first two years, anyway) is memorize stuff. Simple, right?

 

[Geekchick921]

You can hate all you want, but medical school does require a huge lifestyle change for most people. I certainly don't consider it some soul-sucking social black hole where people go to turn into uncaring diagnosis machines, but I've had to make tons of personal sacrifices to make med school work.

Yeah, Al, I know that sacrifices are necessary, but the bolded is what I'm talking about. I think that is a big fat slab of whiney hyperbole.

 

[MilkmanAl]

It absolutely is. If you truly hate medicine that much, you're making your own misery.

 

[Hoody]

It absolutely is. If you truly hate medicine that much, you're making your own misery.

I love to hate it and hate to love it....back and fourth if you know what I mean. Although I am rather social, I really do not like most people. Im attracted to medicine for the the procedures and technology...not so much to advance the human race.

How do you know if you are going to truly love something without already being shoulders deep?

I just feel like minimizing the concept of the burden of debt is a disservice to premeds.

You're posts are spot on today. I wouldn't know what you are going through but my SO does. He graduated back in the late 90s. Unless he wins the lottery, divorcing medicine is not an option. At least not for many, many years post residency.

And funny you mention the car thing...one of my friends went to refinance his house and couldn't. He is an EM attending (2 years post residency). lol. he had too much debt.

 

[IMdocT]

i forgot how i got to this thread, but i'll put in my 2 cents.

to answer the title of this thread: i didn't get much of a shock from matriculating into med school; i was one of those who went into the 6-8 year programs straight from high school. there wasn't a big change from undergrad to 1st year med school, except it really is a lot more work.

what did shock me, though, was during match day, when 4th year students find out where they're going for residency. it really hit me, because for a long time i wasn't sure that i was in the right place. my primary reason for going to med school was family pressure. although i had doubts from day 1 after leaving high school, there wasn't much to deter me, because i had no knowledge of what doctors really did from day-to-day, and having family expectations did not necessarily exclude a happy ending. as time went on, i became sure that i went in with the wrong reasons. i kept on going, though, because i kept hoping that i would find myself satisfied with work when i finally made it into residency (along with loans, expectations, not knowing what else i'd do).

that doesn't seem to be the case for me now, almost 2/3 into my intern year. i am planning on finishing intern year, and not renewing my contract for 2nd year. i do not have much of an idea about what i will do next, but i think it is the right thing for me to do. i regret not taking the initiative for getting out earlier.

my advice for pre-meds is to take some time to think and make sure that this is what you want to do. i would also recommend shadowing a doctor in a specialty that you are interested in (although most med students change their ideal specialty throughout school). i'm not saying NOT to go on to med school. the majority of residents are happy to where they are. if they are not, i read that 10% of us switch hospitals or switch specialties, many of whom end up doing just fine. however, you should realize that there are people who discover a little late that they need to admit to themselves that it's time to move on. i hope my scenario has given you something to think about.

 

[45408]

I know that was like a joke and all but I always find it that the people who discourage premed's the most about being a doctor are med students themselves. No offense to you of course, but we all know what we are getting in to. Its hard work, what it kill some of you med students to say things that will make students more motivated? Geeze, you guys use to be us at one point. However there are a few med students who always consistently give great advice even when its something a premed may not want to hear. Now those med students are awesome, but if you have nothing great to say about medicine and you want everyone else to hate it just like you then just quit already. Once again this is really not directed at ccmonopolies.

Sort of.

 

[45408]

perhaps you misunderstood me. i could have said that people walk away from the investment. of course student loans are generally not discharged under bankruptcy.

Change "generally not" to NEVER EVER, and you'd be right.

 

[45408]

Alwaysangel has made more eloquent points than I'm about to, and I think she's absolutely right, but here are my thoughts:

Like someone else said, it's not just med school. It's medicine. Med school goes by fast (in retrospect, not as you're going through it). Then suddenly you're a resident. How bad could it be, right? Wait until you're showing up at the hospital when it's dark out, leaving when it's dark out, getting home and having to study for your cases the next day, being too tired to work out because you're on Q3 call, and then reading the posts by the pre-meds saying "No, really, I know what I'm getting into!"

Most of the time, I do like what I'm doing. It is like the "eating pancakes" analogy. It's great to eat pancakes at IHOP on a Saturday morning at 10am for a nice breakfast. Eating pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week for months and years on end? Not so much. Earlier this month, I realized that from one Sunday to the next, I'd worked over 110 hours. That's a lot of pancakes.

 

[Perrotfish]

I've got to say, I think that if you've done your research it's pretty easy to know what you're getting into with medical school. This education has had high points and low points, but what it almost never was was surprising.

First year: average-ish hours and a terrible smell? Check.

Second year: Paying 50K to study in a coffee shop all day? Check

Third year: Surgery sucks, Peds is fun but you catch a cold, Medicine is like the live action version of a textbook, Family is good hours but very preachy, and Psych is just crazy? Check to all. I still have Ob left but when it turns out to be months of terrible hours and malcious, catty attendings I won't be shocked.

One of the nicest things about medicine is that you should be able to know what you're getting into. The hours, the loans, your career options, exactly what you need to do to achieve various careers, what those careers entail, and even your ultimate hours and salary. It's very standardized, and the info is all online. Or on any one of various popular TV shows. Honestly the few surprises I have had have mostly been positive. People tend to emphasize the most difficult and traumatic parts of this.

 

[ACSurgeon]

yes we used to be you and as such we can tell you that you DONT know what you're getting yourself into. You just can't understand it until you're @ least a month in. A lot of pre meds have the idea that "O I got into med school journeys over". Its just the beginning. Enjoy.

Well, actually you will likely keep on learning new things that you didn't know you were getting into. When I was in college, I used to think I'd do med school even if it was 10 years instead of 4. Not the case anymore. I'm sure residents will look at me and say I don't know what I'm getting into, and attendings the same to residents.

The best we can do is shadow and try to get a sense for what our future will be like. However, there is no way to know what it will feel like to be in training as a 30 year old until you've actually gone through it.

For the pre-meds accepted, congrats! The road ahead is long, but hopefully you'll feel like it was worth it at the end. I certainly still do.

 

[gravitywave]

Anyway, I'm not trying to be contrary and argue endlessly.

I just feel like minimizing the concept of the burden of debt is a disservice to premeds. People need to really undertand what they're getting into and be really sure it's what they want (many don't and aren't). Because in general once you set foot in a US med school you will graduate and you will work as a doctor for the rest of your life. Whether it makes you happy or not.

i'm not trying to argue on either, and i'm glad the thread moved on without us

and i'm not trying to trivialize the debt issue. But what I do know that it scares people away from medicine, people that the profession needs a lot more than it needs some of my classmates, i'm afraid. this also happens to be the time of year when those who have just been accepted start to get woozy with sticker shock. i just don't think it's as much gloom/doom as the prevailing winds on this forum make it sound, however.

No one should skip happily into medical school without considering the consequences - but i don't think people's lives should be ruled by fear, either. The people who are only still in this profession because they think they have no other choice, making everyone around them miserable as they do it, need to GTFO already. We have no use for that. Life is too short to treat yourself and those around you that way. There is always another option.

 

[VikingLegacy]

.

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

Really? Because I'm only in 167k debt and my repayment plan is $2500/month... exactly how would one walk away from medicine and find another job that they can realistically pay down that debt and not starve.

I guess you could kill yourself, since thats about the only thing that forgives federal student loans... You can't just say "I'm not going to be a doctor so I'm not paying you back." Doesn't work that way.

For the vast majority of people, you are stuck once you're a year in.

Law students have it worse.

 

[Hoody]

Law students have it worse.

what about md/jd students then

 

[chintana]

I don't know how to describe it, but suddenly in my Junior Year, I found out to be physician is for me and what I really want to do.
I started college undergrad, as anthro major, switched to Biochem, then to physics then I found out I like bio and physics. so I end up going for Bioengineer with specialization in NeuralEngineer. Believe it or not, it takes on experience to show you the path you want to follow. that one experience told me that been doctor is what I want to do and is what I should I seek. as of now I am a bioengineer in my senior year (Five year program), I love my major and I enjoy it more than anything else, however there are prices that comes with it, Low GPA comparing to other majors, sacrificing a lot of social life, trend of grades goes down etc

I have experience and researches that makes my application a competitive one, however the GPA might hold me down (3.3), I took a practice MCAT AND i SCORED a 34

btw
yesterday A friend of mine couple got into medical school (upstate Med), however, she asked her boyfriend (secret relationship) to write her a letter of recommendation (boyfriend is a resident in Upstate). this scenario made me feel disgusted, and what bother me more, she find it funny that her professor who teach biology of Cancer has a cancer also (how funny is that? )

 

[Endolas]

I don't know how to describe it, but suddenly in my Junior Year, I found out to be physician is for me and what I really want to do.
I started college undergrad, as anthro major, switched to Biochem, then to physics then I found out I like bio and physics. so I end up going for Bioengineer with specialization in NeuralEngineer. Believe it or not, it takes on experience to show you the path you want to follow. that one experience told me that been doctor is what I waBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

:/ who cares?

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I don't know how to describe it, but suddenly in my Junior Year, I found out to be physician is for me and what I really want to do.
I started college undergrad, as anthro major, switched to Biochem, then to physics then I found out I like bio and physics. so I end up going for Bioengineer with specialization in NeuralEngineer. Believe it or not, it takes on experience to show you the path you want to follow. that one experience told me that been doctor is what I want to do and is what I should I seek. as of now I am a bioengineer in my senior year (Five year program), I love my major and I enjoy it more than anything else, however there are prices that comes with it, Low GPA comparing to other majors, sacrificing a lot of social life, trend of grades goes down etc

I have experience and researches that makes my application a competitive one, however the GPA might hold me down (3.3), I took a practice MCAT AND i SCORED a 34

btw
yesterday A friend of mine couple got into medical school (upstate Med), however, she asked her boyfriend (secret relationship) to write her a letter of recommendation (boyfriend is a resident in Upstate). this scenario made me feel disgusted, and what bother me more, she find it funny that her professor who teach biology of Cancer has a cancer also (how funny is that? )

 

[Hejman]

No offense, but with that kind of vocabulary and syntax, I am surprised to hear that you scored a 34 on a practice MCAT- which BTW, is made to be purposely harder than the real thing so that you end up taking the course that the prep company is peddling so effectively. Your post history is also very sketch; you start off by saying that you scored a 36 on your real MCAT, then you say that you scored a 35 on a practice Kaplan MCAT, and now you say that you scored a 34....which leads me to believe that you are either lying about having taken the MCAT at all, or you just have a case of worsening short-term amnesia. So which is it? I put my money on the former.

BTW, it isn't as easy to score a 36 on the MCAT as you might think. Especially with your current level of critical thinking and writing skills. You might need to consider remedial education for two years or so before you consider taking the MCAT.

 

[goldenwest]

I meet med students, residents, and docs in real life, and they're all happy.

I come on here and it's crying and moaning, doom and gloom.

People are just more dramatic on the internet.

This. However, it consequently explains why I come to this forum - I can't stay away from the crazy. It's freakin' addicting.

 

[Mr Interesting]

I meet med students, residents, and docs in real life, and they're all happy.

I come on here and it's crying and moaning, doom and gloom.

People are just more dramatic on the internet.

seriously we know its not all sunshine and roses but some students on here just whine the whole time.

 

[Mr Interesting]

What most premeds don't think about or get is that med school is not like college. Yes you grow as a person & get to experience new things but its a means to an end-getting a job as a physician were not gonna tell you its rainbows & Sunshine cuz its not. l am not miserable in School but it does require alot of sacrifice & you won't understand the level until you're in it. if you don't feel like you have Less of a life in med school then you had a boring one before. Sorry. The reason you don't want to hear get out while you can is because you put in alot of work to get it & you're bitter that everyone not telling you how great it is and that all your hard work was worth while. Tough, it is what it is. theres Some good stuff about med School but l would say there is more suck about but you just deal w/ it and jump though the hoops because you will be a dr. afterwards.

So believe whatever you want. But know that nobody cares how hard you worked so far. Nobody cares that what you're hearing isn't living up to you're expectations. All they care about is that you jump through the hoops & pay your tuition. Having fun along the way is up to you.

Good God will someone give this guy a hug? nobody cares how much I worked? Agreed but understand nobody cares about all your bitching about med school either. You claim to be happy but never say anything positive about your choice of profession. You chose the wrong field to get into. My uncle and father are both doctors I may not have gone through medical school yet but i know enough to know what I am getting into. Sorry you didn't.

 

[FloridaMedicine]

Good God will someone give this guy a hug? nobody cares how much I worked? Agreed but understand nobody cares about all your bitching about med school either. You claim to be happy but never say anything positive about your choice of profession. You chose the wrong field to get into. My uncle and father are both doctors I may not have gone through medical school yet but i know enough to know what I am getting into. Sorry you didn't.

no offense to the guy he's talking to but.. OWNED lol

 

[Dr Oops]

Good God will someone give this guy a hug? nobody cares how much I worked? Agreed but understand nobody cares about all your bitching about med school either. You claim to be happy but never say anything positive about your choice of profession. You chose the wrong field to get into. My uncle and father are both doctors I may not have gone through medical school yet but i know enough to know what I am getting into. Sorry you didn't.

Ha. My dad's also a doctor buddy. I would spend entire shifts with him at the hospital as in 24 hours at a time as a pre-med. Ive also been an EMT and a patient in the hospital.

Guess what I still didnt know what I was getting into and you thinking you know what your getting into because your daddys a doc, well that just proves u dont know jack, let alone the fact that healthcare is at its most uncertain point in pretty much the history of the country, safe for the implementation of medicare.

Trust me pal you wont be puking sunshine and farting rainbows when you have to sit in a room for 10 hours a day staring at books and watching lectures etc. Saying how much you love medicine and this was the perfect choice for you before you even started is the pre med condition- one of blissful ignorance.

I like what I learn most of the time. But I also like hanging out with my friends going to the bars etc. which I do, but not to the extent I used to (and yes I took some time off and worked in the real world). So when can I get my hug?

 

[Dr Oops]

no offense to the guy he's talking to but.. OWNED lol

If youre gonna start posting pictures here u need to step up your game.

You'll never get accepted to med school if you bring this weak as.s **** to the boards

 

[sc4s2cg]

Yes, now that I made a 5 month schedule for how I'm going to balance workout/sleep/eat/MCAT/classes. And that I started thinking about LORs..it hit me last week Sundayish that "OMFG, I'm going to ****** med school".

 

[RogueUnicorn]

No offense, but with that kind of vocabulary and syntax, I am surprised to hear that you scored a 34 on a practice MCAT- which BTW, is made to be purposely harder than the real thing so that you end up taking the course that the prep company is peddling so effectively. Your post history is also very sketch; you start off by saying that you scored a 36 on your real MCAT, then you say that you scored a 35 on a practice Kaplan MCAT, and now you say that you scored a 34....which leads me to believe that you are either lying about having taken the MCAT at all, or you just have a case of worsening short-term amnesia. So which is it? I put my money on the former.

BTW, it isn't as easy to score a 36 on the MCAT as you might think. Especially with your current level of critical thinking and writing skills. You might need to consider remedial education for two years or so before you consider taking the MCAT.

you are confused.

Ha. My dad's also a doctor buddy. I would spend entire shifts with him at the hospital as in 24 hours at a time as a pre-med. Ive also been an EMT and a patient in the hospital.

Guess what I still didnt know what I was getting into and you thinking you know what your getting into because your daddys a doc, well that just proves u dont know jack, let alone the fact that healthcare is at its most uncertain point in pretty much the history of the country, safe for the implementation of medicare.

Trust me pal you wont be puking sunshine and farting rainbows when you have to sit in a room for 10 hours a day staring at books and watching lectures etc. Saying how much you love medicine and this was the perfect choice for you before you even started is the pre med condition- one of blissful ignorance.

I like what I learn most of the time. But I also like hanging out with my friends going to the bars etc. which I do, but not to the extent I used to (and yes I took some time off and worked in the real world). So when can I get my hug?

maybe you're just not particularly smart yo

If youre gonna start posting pictures here u need to step up your game.

You'll never get accepted to med school if you bring this weak as.s **** to the boards

umad?

 

[SoundofSilver]

I'm actually pretty excited about starting school this summer. Right now I'm just working (gap year) and I definitely miss the classroom (weird).

It's just the sickening amount of debt that I'll be going into that kind of worries me.

 

[FloridaMedicine]

If youre gonna start posting pictures here u need to step up your game.

You'll never get accepted to med school if you bring this weak as.s **** to the boards

Really? LOL
http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/1431965/happens+every+single+time/

http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/1431965/happens+every+single+time/http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/1431965/happens+every+single+time/
Golly you're right mister if I don't score over a 35 in graphic forum posting I'll never make it to med school! Who cares that you spent 24hr shifts in the E.R. as a premed I thought all that "hardwork" didn't matter as a pre-med remember? lol theres your problem right there.. you never had a girlfriend, aww you sure you don't want that hug?