Anyone have regrets?

[canmed96]

Hi guys, just curious to those that are currently in med school or are doctors. Is it still worth it for you so far? Do you have regrets as far as your youth you had to sacrifice? Do you have fun/enjoy life?

I want to be a doctor but its kinda scary to think about these things, so it'd be nice to get some input.

Thanks

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[DrDarce]

Absolutely no regrets. It's definitely a much bigger decision than most people expect because you're sacrificing most if not all of your 20s to high stress and no income. What I seem to always hear from the people I know who do have regrets is that they see all of their friends getting jobs, traveling, buying houses, getting married and having children. It's not to say you can't do some of those things, it's just different. As a med student (preclinical years) I feel like I have a good amount of time for hobby's, but we'll see how I feel once I get to clinicals.

 

[Mansamusa]

Many people regret it. Many people don't. That is why important to understand yourself and the things that you need in your life to make you happy.

I know this answer sounds useless, but so much of this decision is about knowing yourself. You will have to make personal sacrifices and you know best which sacrifices would be okay for you.

 

[Turkishking]

Hi guys, just curious to those that are currently in med school or are doctors. Is it still worth it for you so far? Do you have regrets as far as your youth you had to sacrifice? Do you have fun/enjoy life?

I want to be a doctor but its kinda scary to think about these things, so it'd be nice to get some input.

Thanks

No

 

[Monkey.King]

No

You got a sexy young nurse to fall in love with you. Why would you have any regrets :/

 

[darkjedi]

The notion that we are 'sacrificing' our youths I think is complete nonsense. Having given up another career, I can say that being part of the 'real world' also has it's issues.

It's not like if you declined to pursue medicine, you can graduate college and then you are free to party and travel all the time. I honestly had way more fun in med school than I ever did working, making good money on Wall St. I still had the opportunity (if not more) to make really close friends, party and travel during most of med school.

Sure residency sucks time wise, but pretty much every field that pays well requires a certain amount of sacrifice and dedication to succeed, whether it's finance, law, engineering, or whatever. I love what I'm doing and am actually thankful every day I made the decision to switch careers.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

The notion that we are 'sacrificing' our youths I think is complete nonsense. Having given up another career, I can say that being part of the 'real world' also has it's issues.

It's not like if you declined to pursue medicine, you can graduate college and then you are free to party and travel all the time. I honestly had way more fun in med school than I ever did working, making good money on Wall St. I still had the opportunity (if not more) to make really close friends, party and travel during most of med school.

Sure residency sucks time wise, but pretty much every field that pays well requires a certain amount of sacrifice and dedication to succeed, whether it's finance, law, engineering, or whatever. I love what I'm doing and am actually thankful every day I made the decision to switch careers.

Being a pre-med, I have to ask: Though medical school is known to throw large amounts of information, do the students that seem to never have free time tend to be one ones with bad study and time management skills? Is it really possible to enjoy your youth as a medical school student?

 

[Mansamusa]

Being a pre-med, I have to ask: Though medical school is known to throw large amounts of information, do the students that seem to never have free time tend to be one ones with bad study and time management skills? Is it really possible to enjoy your youth as a medical school student?

I start med school in a couple weeks, but I know plenty of med students. Many of them have a lot of fun. Date, get engaged. Travel internationally during school breaks. Go clubbing on weekends. Play videogames/watch tv on weekday evenings

I went to a top grade deflating undergrad. We had a lot of work, but it was more than possible to have a life. The people who didn't have lives chose not to have lives because they were neurotic. I worked from 6:30am-8pm for the past two years and I've had no problem maintaining a life and workout routine. So if you study 10hrs/day (say 8am-6pm), I know you will still have plenty of time to do what you want and I've never heard med students saying that they need to study more than 10hrs/day. An example plan is to wake up at 7am, do med school stuff until 5 pm, then have 8 hours to fill until going to bed at 1am. Seems doable to me and leaves plenty of time for relaxation, but maybe my view will change once school starts

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

I'm only 24 and about to be an M1 so not really qualified to comment...

But my general opinion is that any job you're working in your 20s should suck if your trying to break into a high level career. At least in the circles I ran in (relatively high caliber private uni) the only people who didn't go to grad school were people going into finance. And let me tell you, I'd take law/med/PhD school any day over the Banker lifestyle.

 

[canmed96]

The notion that we are 'sacrificing' our youths I think is complete nonsense. Having given up another career, I can say that being part of the 'real world' also has it's issues.

It's not like if you declined to pursue medicine, you can graduate college and then you are free to party and travel all the time. I honestly had way more fun in med school than I ever did working, making good money on Wall St. I still had the opportunity (if not more) to make really close friends, party and travel during most of med school.

Sure residency sucks time wise, but pretty much every field that pays well requires a certain amount of sacrifice and dedication to succeed, whether it's finance, law, engineering, or whatever. I love what I'm doing and am actually thankful every day I made the decision to switch careers.

this is very refreshing and nice to hear!

 

[Shmoclo]

No

dude u like finished freshman year of college. wtf have u sacrificed already lmao

 

[Psai]

You got a sexy young nurse to fall in love with you. Why would you have any regrets :/

Trust me, it's very easy to regret. I'm just glad that I get to keep my whole salary.

 

[Perrotfish]

Being a pre-med, I have to ask: Though medical school is known to throw large amounts of information, do the students that seem to never have free time tend to be one ones with bad study and time management skills? Is it really possible to enjoy your youth as a medical school student?

The first two years of medical school are just school. Lectures and tests. You know what that is like. How much you need to study depends both on how smart you are and how well you want to do.

The fourth year of medical school is all electives and is easy.

MS3 and residency suck. You're in the hospital all the time and the time in the hospital as a trainee is mostly abusive and exhausting.

So if you take the fast way through training (3 year residency and no fellowship) I would say that you are 'giving up' at least 4 years, in the sense that you'll give up most of the things you would have enjoyed during that time. That's a trial, but it's not 'your youth', that's an over exaggeration of the time you lose. Before and after that its all about your ambition and time management skills and lots of people do enjoy preclinical, MS4, and attending life.

 

[moisne]

I start med school in a couple weeks, but I know plenty of med students. Many of them have a lot of fun. Date, get engaged. Travel internationally during school breaks. Go clubbing on weekends. Play videogames/watch tv on weekday evenings

I went to a top grade deflating undergrad. We had a lot of work, but it was more than possible to have a life. The people who didn't have lives chose not to have lives because they were neurotic. I worked from 6:30am-8pm for the past two years and I've had no problem maintaining a life and workout routine. So if you study 10hrs/day (say 8am-6pm), I know you will still have plenty of time to do what you want and I've never heard med students saying that they need to study more than 10hrs/day. An example plan is to wake up at 7am, do med school stuff until 5 pm, then have 8 hours to fill until going to bed at 1am. Seems doable to me and leaves plenty of time for relaxation, but maybe my view will change once school starts

No one I know sleeps at 1 am - esp if they plan to wake up at 7 am.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[mitch8017]

The notion that we are 'sacrificing' our youths I think is complete nonsense. Having given up another career, I can say that being part of the 'real world' also has it's issues.

It's not like if you declined to pursue medicine, you can graduate college and then you are free to party and travel all the time. I honestly had way more fun in med school than I ever did working, making good money on Wall St. I still had the opportunity (if not more) to make really close friends, party and travel during most of med school.

Sure residency sucks time wise, but pretty much every field that pays well requires a certain amount of sacrifice and dedication to succeed, whether it's finance, law, engineering, or whatever. I love what I'm doing and am actually thankful every day I made the decision to switch careers.

Very well said. People think they have to push their lives back 8-10 years just because they want to be a doctor. Sure, you may not be able to buy your first house when you're 24, but you'll have 40-70 years for that kind of stuff once you finish your education. People still get married, have children, go out with their friends on Friday nights, have hobbies, all of that stuff in their 20s. Only real difference is you push back when you start making a real income and likely won't be able to buy your first house or whatever until you're into your 30s. Life isn't about getting to death, the experience and the adventure from A to B is what we live for, not just to reach the end result. Medicine shouldn't be any different. Make sure you know what you're getting and you want to do it, and the path to medicine should be exciting and enjoyable.

 

[Sardinia]

Mfw people think the norm is being able to buy your first house at the age of 24. Wait. We go from 24 to 64-94 as being the age demographic? Or is owning a house supposed to be one of those luxury amenities along with driving a Ferrari and smoking Cuban cigars.

 

[mitch8017]

Mfw people think the norm is being able to buy your first house at the age of 24. Wait. We go from 24 to 64-94 as being the age demographic? Or is owning a house supposed to be one of those luxury amenities along with driving a Ferrari and smoking Cuban cigars.

I never said it was the norm, but I have recently seen a cousin and a friend buy their first houses at the age of 24. Granted, I come from a small town where the cost of living is pretty low.

 

[mitch8017]

Mfw people think the norm is being able to buy your first house at the age of 24. Wait. We go from 24 to 64-94 as being the age demographic? Or is owning a house supposed to be one of those luxury amenities along with driving a Ferrari and smoking Cuban cigars.

Also when I say 40-70, I mean that you will get out of residency in your early 30s and have the next 40-70 years (so ages 30ish to well past your 70s to own your own home, settle down with your family and things like that that people feel like they push back by devoting their 20s to pursuing a career in medicine. People will see their friend get a new truck because he has been in the work force since he was 18 or someone getting married and buying a house when they are 24 and get all worked up because they can't have it the same way as them because they have med school, residency etc.

 

[Sardinia]

@mitch8017 I don't think trucks and houses are the base reason why people feel regret. I think that immediate income is only a portion of the regret with a significantly larger concern being based around other life oriented factors.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'll let you know after I get my Step results back. If passing, no regrets. If failing, I regret everything.

 

[mitch8017]

@mitch8017 I don't think trucks and houses are the base reason why people feel regret. I think that immediate income is only a portion of the regret with a significantly larger concern being based around other life oriented factors.

Absolutely no regrets. It's definitely a much bigger decision than most people expect because you're sacrificing most if not all of your 20s to high stress and no income. What I seem to always hear from the people I know who do have regrets is that they see all of their friends getting jobs, traveling, buying houses, getting married and having children. It's not to say you can't do some of those things, it's just different. As a med student (preclinical years) I feel like I have a good amount of time for hobby's, but we'll see how I feel once I get to clinicals.

I was piggy-backing so to speak off of this quote, its the experiences and such and the idea that you "can't do as much as your friends and you're missing out on life" mentality that some portray towards medical school and what not, trucks and houses were just some material, easily identifiable examples.

 

[Sardinia]

I'll let you know after I get my Step results back. If passing, no regrets. If failing, I regret everything.

M2 in a nutshell.