Can i handle medical school?

[Bubblebee]

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I am a senior in college and up until now i've had been planning on becoming a doctor. Now i have doubts. I am interested in medicine, but i wonder if it is just simply an interest. I hear about the amount of material med students need to know, and i am starting to have doubts about whether i can handle it. I am also interested in public health, but i am having difficulty deciding what to do with my life. I feel like i should walk away from medicine, but i am afraid i might regret my decision. I just wonder if im not pushing myself hard enough or if i just can't handle anymore.

 

[tryp]

It's really hard for anyone to make any comment at all about your situation because you really haven't given any information about why you are concerned that you will not be able to handle it or what specific parts concern you.

I would suggest talking it out with an advisor or someone else who has more information about you as a person. Or at least asking some more concrete questions on SDN that will address your specific areas of concern.

Going to medical school involves a lot of sacrifices - sacrificing your free time is a common, concrete example, but I find I have also sacrificed a lot of peace of mind and innocence that was really very pleasant to have on board. I am sure there are other things too.

For me, I think it will be worth it. For you - only you can be the judge of that.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Maybe take a visit to your local med school, speak to the admissions office, maybe attend a class if they let you. Make sure you fully understand what you're getting into before you make such a major decision.

 

[kingphoto13]

I think everyone goes through these doubts sometime in premedical career. If your worried that medicine is just an interest, try and get as much hands on experience with medicine as possible, through shadowing and volunteering. As hard a medical school is, the vast majority of people who enter medical school graduate, I think the number is about 95%. This basically means if you can get into a medical school, you are capable of handling the work. However, if you do decide to walk away from medicine now, you can always come back to it after a few years. It would be a whole lot harder to that as opposed to going in straight out of college, but it can be done.

 

[theseeker4]

I think everyone goes through these doubts sometime in premedical career. If your worried that medicine is just an interest, try and get as much hands on experience with medicine as possible, through shadowing and volunteering. As hard a medical school is, the vast majority of people who enter medical school graduate, I think the number is about 95%. This basically means if you can get into a medical school, you are capable of handling the work. However, if you do decide to walk away from medicine now, you can always come back to it after a few years. It would be a whole lot harder to that as opposed to going in straight out of college, but it can be done.

Harder how? Maturity and having seen what it is like out in the real world gives perspective to those of us who didn't move directly from college to med school, making the choice more certain and keeping the ultimate goal in our mind. Being out of school for a little while does not, according to any statistics I have seen, reduce your chances for admission, provided there is some relevant course work in the recent past (defined differently by different schools). If anything, a break from school may be just what someone needs to realize the additional 7+ years of school and training are worth the opportunity to be a physician.

OP, if you aren't sure, don't jump in. Get a job, really investigate the work required of doctors, and see if you really want to commit another decade or so to becoming an attending physician. Some time off will not hurt you if you aren't sure you want this right now. If you jump in now, unsure, you could burn out only to realize later, when in the real world with a failed attempt at medical school as a blemish on your record, that you really do want this. After all that, it will be much harder to gain admission to a medical school and fulfill your dreams than if you take a break of a year or three now.

 

[PetPony]

Harder how? Maturity and having seen what it is like out in the real world gives perspective to those of us who didn't move directly from college to med school, making the choice more certain and keeping the ultimate goal in our mind. Being out of school for a little while does not, according to any statistics I have seen, reduce your chances for admission, provided there is some relevant course work in the recent past (defined differently by different schools). If anything, a break from school may be just what someone needs to realize the additional 7+ years of school and training are worth the opportunity to be a physician.

OP, if you aren't sure, don't jump in. Get a job, really investigate the work required of doctors, and see if you really want to commit another decade or so to becoming an attending physician. Some time off will not hurt you if you aren't sure you want this right now. If you jump in now, unsure, you could burn out only to realize later, when in the real world with a failed attempt at medical school as a blemish on your record, that you really do want this. After all that, it will be much harder to gain admission to a medical school and fulfill your dreams than if you take a break of a year or three now.

For some people, med school might be easier after a break of a year or two after undergrad, because they can relax and not have the pressure of school in that time.

To others, it might become harder, because they could use their study habits and generally just being used to sitting in class all day and learning so many new things. Not everybody can just take a break and jump right back in.

 

[obgyny]

As others have said, try more shadowing/volunteering and really making sure this is what you want to do. Medicine is a huge commitment (and not just in medical school).

I don't know how I could do med school if I didn't love it. There's really nothing else I would rather do 😍. It's certainly not fun all the time, but the fun times make it completely worth it.

I also recommend taking time off if you're still undecided. I didn't go straight to med school and I don't regret it. I worked full-time, but continued to volunteer. The time off just made me want to go to med school even more.

And you won't know what med school is like by just attending a class...

 

[GimpGenius]

I'd say lean more toward volunteer work / clinical exposure than shadowing. Watching a physician work is one thing; taking an active role in patient care is a completely different (and, I think, more enlightening) experience. There are plenty of opportunities for volunteerism (patient escort, for example) and paid experiences (ER scribe, CNA, EMT) that don't require excessive pre-requisites.

Bottom line: You won't know if you like the medical field unless you try it. So try it!

 

[jtdMU2010]

I disagree with the comments about shadowing and volunteering more. Seriously? That won't help him decide if he can handle medical school. That would simply confirm or not confirm an interest in medicine.I feel the question is asking more about the amount of constant studying, staying on top of all the to do's and just the minutiae of all the basic science knowledge and then attempting to apply it to people in a clinic. I'm sure most people have doubts about medical school but I've heard medical students say, "If I made it through, you can make it through" and I've heard clinician professors say the same thing. Just apply to med school when you feel the time is right, don't doubt yourself and if you get in, take that as a sign that you're meant to be in med school and you can handle it. I think admissions does a great job of selecting people who will handle it and graduate. I've heard once you're in med school, you're staying for the most part unless you decide you don't want to be there. It's less likely due to academic problems. First year so far is a lot of work but if I can do it you can do it. Why do you doubt you can handle it? Poor GPA? Poor MCAT?

 

[hellocubed]

I disagree with the comments about shadowing and volunteering more. Seriously? That won't help him decide if he can handle medical school. That would simply confirm or not confirm an interest in medicine.I feel the question is asking more about the amount of constant studying, staying on top of all the to do's and just the minutiae of all the basic science knowledge and then attempting to apply it to people in a clinic. I'm sure most people have doubts about medical school but I've heard medical students say, "If I made it through, you can make it through" and I've heard clinician professors say the same thing. Just apply to med school when you feel the time is right, don't doubt yourself and if you get in, take that as a sign that you're meant to be in med school and you can handle it. I think admissions does a great job of selecting people who will handle it and graduate. I've heard once you're in med school, you're staying for the most part unless you decide you don't want to be there. It's less likely due to academic problems. First year so far is a lot of work but if I can do it you can do it. Why do you doubt you can handle it? Poor GPA? Poor MCAT?

I completely agree.
I have plenty of friends who would have given an arm and a leg to become a doctor. But in the end, a lot of them just didn't have the diligence and discipline to make it out of pre-med/ into med school.

 

[DeterminedDoc]

I am a senior in college and up until now i've had been planning on becoming a doctor. Now i have doubts. I am interested in medicine, but i wonder if it is just simply an interest. I hear about the amount of material med students need to know, and i am starting to have doubts about whether i can handle it. I am also interested in public health, but i am having difficulty deciding what to do with my life. I feel like i should walk away from medicine, but i am afraid i might regret my decision. I just wonder if im not pushing myself hard enough or if i just can't handle anymore.

How are your stats? If they are high enough, then at least you have proven you have the intellect to be a doctor, and you can take your own time to decide if thats what you really want.

Better than knowing that you want to be a doctor already and having the intellectual ability of an acorn like me.

 

[obgyny]

The OP does seem to be indecisive about medicine vs public health, which is why we're suggesting shadowing/volunteering. First, you have to find out if it is just more than an "interest" and how badly you want to go into the field. Whether or not you can handle it is indeed another issue. GPA and MCAT might be a good predictor if you're academically qualified (and if you're selected for an interview). But even then, med school is not like college.

If you make it into med school, and you really want to be there, then you can do it.

 

[GimpGenius]

I disagree with the comments about shadowing and volunteering more. Seriously? That won't help him decide if he can handle medical school. That would simply confirm or not confirm an interest in medicine.I feel the question is asking more about the amount of constant studying, staying on top of all the to do's and just the minutiae of all the basic science knowledge and then attempting to apply it to people in a clinic. I'm sure most people have doubts about medical school but I've heard medical students say, "If I made it through, you can make it through" and I've heard clinician professors say the same thing. Just apply to med school when you feel the time is right, don't doubt yourself and if you get in, take that as a sign that you're meant to be in med school and you can handle it. I think admissions does a great job of selecting people who will handle it and graduate. I've heard once you're in med school, you're staying for the most part unless you decide you don't want to be there. It's less likely due to academic problems. First year so far is a lot of work but if I can do it you can do it. Why do you doubt you can handle it? Poor GPA? Poor MCAT?

I disagree, to a point. I'm assuming that the OP has the ability to handle the courseload. Obviously, there's the issue of applying clinical skills to an actual patient. While it's all well and good to say the adcoms are good at selecting people, there's a lot of self-selection that goes on among the candidates. If the OP can't handle, or doesn't think they can handle, a normal academic courseload and some sort of patient interaction or volunteer experience, now's the time to find out.

On the other hand, we're both using anecdotal evidence and personal experience to make an argument. Hopefull the OP takes something constructive away from it. 🙂

 

[Druggernaut]

There's something that predicts whether you'll be able to handle medical school that that's accurate around 95% of the time: getting accepted. If you get in, you're very likely able to handle it. The tests, hoops, and interviews you have to deal with aren't for nothing.

Almost all the information you need to learn isn't difficult. It just comes in such a high volume that it's unbelievable. As long as a person is willing to focus and put in the time, they should be able to make it through medical school. The person of average intelligence is just going to have to put in more time than some of his classmates.

I'd put the brakes on applying until you decide it's what you want to do, though. How much and what quality of clinical experience do you have? Take some time off if you have to so that you can spend time in the trenches and see what medicine's really like.

Harder how? Maturity and having seen what it is like out in the real world gives perspective to those of us who didn't move directly from college to med school, making the choice more certain and keeping the ultimate goal in our mind.

I think some time "out in the real world" can be helpful for a lot of people. I doubt I'd be doing as well if I graduated college in four years and then went straight to medical school. But it is more difficult for students in their 40's to learn the material, and they'll probably have a harder time recalling it later. It certainly seems like the non-traditionals are disproportionately represented in the population of students who need to remediate, and many will admit that they're not sure how the 22 year olds can retain so much information.