Anyone else thinking about switching to a different career path?

[cheshir3]

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So I just started my first official semester of working towards getting my pre-reqs. I'm about to start volunteering at a local teaching hospital, am applying for an editorial position on my campus lit journal, and am in general enjoying things so far.

But....I'm kind of having second thoughts about medicine. Not because I don't like the career; I really do (well, what I've seen of it while shadowing) but because every doctor I've talked to, when I tell them my plans, say flat out "Don't do it, it's not nearly as glamorous as people make it out to be." I realize that's just a small sample of the physician population, and there probably are plenty of doctors out there who love what they do.

The realistic part of me is fighting with my idealistic tendencies. Long hellish hours as a resident, insane amounts of money spent just applying to med school, and 100k+ in school loans (my undergrad alone will be around 100k! and every day I swear I hear about some new way in which student loans are about to blow up like the housing market did), and bureaucracy that is totally skewed towards the insurance companies....

Is it honestly worth it? Right now, I want to say yes, but I don't want to end up being one of those naive pre-meds who is all "so what if I'm $400k in debt when I graduate, I'm gonna LOVE my job and cure AIDS!"

Anyone else feeling like this?

 

[236116]

Nope.

I will say, though... if you're having real doubts, and not just "omg o chem suxxxxx!!!!": think long and hard. Don't waste your time and all those other resources for something you don't want.

There are other ways to save the world.

 

[shaggybill]

There's not a thing wrong with reconsidering your career paths. It might just be that after a year or two of pursuing something else, you come back to medicine, and it will be with a more rounded education and life experiences. If you are having second thoughts now about medicine, yet continue to push yourself into it, it will do you absolutely no good whatsoever, and you will most likely burn yourself out on it very quickly.

You could always continue taking the prereq's, but at a much slower pace so you aren't rushed, and when graduation comes, you'll at least have those classes finished in case you do decide to apply to med school.

 

[redlight]

ive flirted with the field of dentistry a few times

but in my mind it would always be just the "easy(ier)" way out/easier alternative to an MD. i think the field deserves more than that though. i mean i love how residency/fellowship is more or less optional, how their working hours are way more manageable and conducive to rearing (LOL hope i'm using the right word) a family, and how they tend to see families over long periods of time..

but i hate how they just focus on the mouth/head (more or less after the first two years of school), hate how they have to pay laods of $$ for all the equipment tehy use during school, how i feel uneasy about how stable the field is in terms of starting your own practice (though im sure the fear is unwarranted), how i am unsure about how satisfied/not bored i would be being a dentist, etc.

plus arent tongues the dirtiest/nastiest things ever (besides maybe feet)??
(lol sry for the immaturity)

 

[kanoe]

It's completely natural to have second doubts, how many people experience cold feet before getting married! But seriously it shows that you're actually thinking about the ramifications of such a serious choice, hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt + a decade of your life are the begining of it.

I definitely experienced the same doubts you did during my second year, and as a result explored every foreseeable option, dentistry, law, mba, engineer, pharmacist. In the end I decided to stick with medicine, but not for the money, there are easier ways to make $, or prestige, who cares what others think, but instead for my own self satisfaction, and at the end of the day that's what matters the most.

 

[shiftingmirage]

In my very short time in med school (M1) I have lost a lot of respect for the profession. It is not as prestigious as you probably thought going in. That being said, the people that are dissatisfied are probably the ones that went into medicine for the wrong reasons. One day in the ER, I was a patient for a minor thing and the doc was like why don't you have a primary care doc...he asked what I did, and I told him M1 at the school whose hospital I was at, and told him I was interested in EM. He told me get a primary car doc, and that EM is great, he loves his job every day.

When you hear those dispairing remarks, perhaps you should inquire what drew them to medicine in the first place.

 

[236116]

plus arent tongues the dirtiest/nastiest things ever (besides maybe feet)?? (lol sry for the immaturity)

yessssssssss

no way am i going into vascular

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

it's good to have doubts. that means you will continue investigating the field and make a more informed decision--whatever that may be.

that being said, every occupation has its fair share of people who are miserable. try to seek out some physicians that are content/happy to have a more balanced view.

finally, even if you managed to cure AIDS, it wouldn't save the world. each year MILLIONS of people still die from malaria and TB alone. last time i checked, we had already figured these out.

 

[swamprat]

Yes I agree it IS quite discouraging to hear from numorous doctors NOT to go into medicine. It has happened to me on several occasions. I've second guessed the idea many times, but to be honest I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I've wanted to be a doctor for so long, and it is obviously NOT about the money. The thing is I think it depends on what field you go into. Any type of office-related medicine seems to be miserable. But anytime I talk to someone who works in a hospital such as EM physicians I get a completely different viewpoint - most but NOT all of the time.

 

[MDman87]

Nope, no doubts

 

[Lukkie]

every bedsheet i change and linen closet i stock solidifies my passion and interest in being a doctor

 

[lord_jeebus]

One day in the ER, I was a patient for a minor thing and the doc was like why don't you have a primary care doc...he asked what I did, and I told him M1 at the school whose hospital I was at, and told him I was interested in EM. He told me get a primary car doc, and that EM is great, he loves his job every day.

When you hear those dispairing remarks, perhaps you should inquire what drew them to medicine in the first place.

Were you expecting the emergency med doctor to act as your PCP? I'm a bit confused. The purpose of an emergency department is to stabilize and admit patients with emergent conditions; there are no resources to provide same-day primary care services to all who walk in.

 

[WannaBePreMed]

Yes I agree it IS quite discouraging to hear from numorous doctors NOT to go into medicine. It has happened to me on several occasions. I've second guessed the idea many times, but to be honest I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I've wanted to be a doctor for so long, and it is obviously NOT about the money. The thing is I think it depends on what field you go into. Any type of office-related medicine seems to be miserable. But anytime I talk to someone who works in a hospital such as EM physicians I get a completely different viewpoint - most but NOT all of the time.

Doxycycline I feel the same way you do. I have the same doubts. They're just apart of life that has to be dealt with, even Mother Teressa had doubt's of the existence of God. Something about becoming a doctor gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over. It's weird I can feel energy making me gravitate towards medicine. I can't escape it.

 

[Drexon]

While it's good to think about your options. But if you are serious about medicine, you will do whatever it takes to get in. Now I don't mean you should be a cut throat b**** and some back stabber, but if you want it bad enough you'll find a way of making it work.
I've personally wavered a bit and lost sight of things between my 2-3 years of undergrad but that wavering made me really rethink medicine and now I strongly believe medicine is for me.
If people tell you not to go into medicine then..what they think about medicine it's THEIR opinion not yours. You can only choose your own path and you can only tread at YOUR own pace.

 

[Nilf]

So I just started my first official semester of working towards getting my pre-reqs. I'm about to start volunteering at a local teaching hospital, am applying for an editorial position on my campus lit journal, and am in general enjoying things so far.

But....I'm kind of having second thoughts about medicine. Not because I don't like the career; I really do (well, what I've seen of it while shadowing) but because every doctor I've talked to, when I tell them my plans, say flat out "Don't do it, it's not nearly as glamorous as people make it out to be." I realize that's just a small sample of the physician population, and there probably are plenty of doctors out there who love what they do.

The realistic part of me is fighting with my idealistic tendencies. Long hellish hours as a resident, insane amounts of money spent just applying to med school, and 100k+ in school loans (my undergrad alone will be around 100k! and every day I swear I hear about some new way in which student loans are about to blow up like the housing market did), and bureaucracy that is totally skewed towards the insurance companies....

Is it honestly worth it? Right now, I want to say yes, but I don't want to end up being one of those naive pre-meds who is all "so what if I'm $400k in debt when I graduate, I'm gonna LOVE my job and cure AIDS!"

Anyone else feeling like this?

No, it's not worth it. Move on.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

every bedsheet i change and linen closet i stock solidifies my passion and interest in being a doctor

Good one Lukkie