Can you learn to like medicine?

[bluejay05]

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Hi everyone. I just discovered this forum. My question is: can you learn to like medicine? I got my B.S. last year and throughout high school and college, I've been wishy washy about wanting to go to medical school. There is a lot of pressure from family and friends. I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. The thought of spending so much effort and time on something I'm not that enthusiastic about just doesn't make sense to me. I posted this here because you all are already in med school. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do you start to like medicine once you're in it? Appreciate your input.

 

[tupac_don]

Hi everyone. I just discovered this forum. My question is: can you learn to like medicine? I got my B.S. last year and throughout high school and college, I've been wishy washy about wanting to go to medical school. There is a lot of pressure from family and friends. I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. The thought of spending so much effort and time on something I'm not that enthusiastic about just doesn't make sense to me. I posted this here because you all are already in med school. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do you start to like medicine once you're in it? Appreciate your input.

First of all I think you already answered your question, you are just looking for approval now. Two I strongly suggest not to go through medical school if you don't even like it that much to begin with. Medicine is a lifestyle choice a career not a job. So if you don't like it and you don't have a strong affinity of it to begin with, you will be absolutely miserable. If you want to go to a medical field, why not be a nurse, pharmacist or a dentist. Much lower amounts of schooling, but will give you free time and cash. I defiently would not go into medicine unless you absolutely are excited over it. Good luck.

 

[gschl1234]

If you want to go to a medical field, why not be a nurse, pharmacist or a dentist. Much lower amounts of schooling, but will give you free time and cash. I defiently would not go into medicine unless you absolutely are excited over it. Good luck.

Don't forget PA.

To the OP: There are a few things I really like about medicine that I didn't expect to enjoy. (I should note that once I came to the conclusion that I really wanted to go into medicine, I had no doubts, so our situations aren't exactly the same.) I really love interviewing patients but didn't come into med school expecting that I would because I found watching doctors I shadowed interview patients quite boring. What kinds of things did you do as a volunteer? But I agree with what's been said. If you're just luke-warm about the whole thing, save yourself the grief and expense because you'll be miserable.

 

[siimpleton]

Hi everyone. I just discovered this forum. My question is: can you learn to like medicine? I got my B.S. last year and throughout high school and college, I've been wishy washy about wanting to go to medical school. There is a lot of pressure from family and friends. I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. The thought of spending so much effort and time on something I'm not that enthusiastic about just doesn't make sense to me. I posted this here because you all are already in med school. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do you start to like medicine once you're in it? Appreciate your input.

sure you might start to like it, but i've love medicine since freshman yr of high school..i still love it..yes probably more..but i still question often why i put myself through what i do every day. (and i didnt have to apply to med school or take mcats) if you want to do something other than primary care, med school is tough. find something that suits you bettter..it doesnt matter what other people want you do do...theyre not the ones who have to do it

 

[Blue Scrub]

Hi everyone. I just discovered this forum. My question is: can you learn to like medicine? I got my B.S. last year and throughout high school and college, I've been wishy washy about wanting to go to medical school. There is a lot of pressure from family and friends. I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. The thought of spending so much effort and time on something I'm not that enthusiastic about just doesn't make sense to me. I posted this here because you all are already in med school. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do you start to like medicine once you're in it? Appreciate your input.

Although anything is possible, I dont think you should go to med school with a hope that you'll learn to like medicine. It is a big commitment that requires a lot of thought before you do it. It doesn't sound like you'll be into medicine or going through all the training to become a doctor, so maybe you should consider other career options? What interests you the most?

 

[Mike59]

Hi everyone. I just discovered this forum. My question is: can you learn to like medicine? I got my B.S. last year and throughout high school and college, I've been wishy washy about wanting to go to medical school. There is a lot of pressure from family and friends. I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. The thought of spending so much effort and time on something I'm not that enthusiastic about just doesn't make sense to me. I posted this here because you all are already in med school. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do you start to like medicine once you're in it? Appreciate your input.

If you don't like medicine before you get here, I would say take some time to think about it and don't rush into anything...It's not impossible for one to change their mind but I would say that it's highly unlikely for one to develop a passion for it. These long nights on call will knock you down in the first round if you aren't at least somewhat enthused about being here.

 

[wiryMD]

Hi everyone. I just discovered this forum. My question is: can you learn to like medicine? I got my B.S. last year and throughout high school and college, I've been wishy washy about wanting to go to medical school. There is a lot of pressure from family and friends. I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. The thought of spending so much effort and time on something I'm not that enthusiastic about just doesn't make sense to me. I posted this here because you all are already in med school. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do you start to like medicine once you're in it? Appreciate your input.

Medicine is not just a job, it is a lifestyle choice. I love medicine and was 100% sure I wanted to be a physician when i started medical school, even still there were days that I questioned if it was all worth it. The point is it's not worth it if you aren't truly committed, you'll be miserable, and waste a whole lot of time and money. If you didn't have family pressure would you even consider it as a career? Do yourself a favor find something you are passionate about and go with it.

 

[eklope2000]

Yes, you can learn to like (even love) medicine as you progress in your education in med school.

For example, much like you, I never was gung-ho for medicine before medical school. It was only right at the end of high school that I ever considered it as a career, before that, I always hated the idea of it (my father is a doctor.)

While I wasn't ever completely enthusiastic about medicine, I also was NOT pressured by others to do it. My parents were surprised when I first mentioned medical school, and were supportive, but were not the first ones to suggest it, nor ever pressured me to follow-through and do it. I did real well in undergrad and knew I was a competitive candidate for med school admissions, and I talked myself into sticking with it for things like prestige and money. The two most important reasons why I was unsure about medicine were that I really loved some other (albeit lower-paying, less prestigious, more uncertain) career options and also doubted my social abilities that I knew I would have to use all the time in medicine.

So anyway, now as a medical student, I honestly think I work hard at it and succeed because I really like the profession, and not so much those other reasons. As I build confidence and get good feedback on the social parts of the training, I feel much better about the career decision. True, I am somewhat regretful about giving up other interests of mine, but I hope that down the road I can have the opportunity to develop those interests.

Maybe the most important part of my post is that I wanted to say that I think, in reality, I am happier and more motivated for medicine now than some of my classmates who ironically were much more enthusiastic about medicine than I was before medical school. Many people are very impressed with the mystique of medicine, like to watch TV shows and movies with doctors in it, and also have the profession greatly hyped up from a young age by their families. All that stuff doesn't accurately reflect the day to day realities of studying to be a doctor and accepting the responsibilities involved in being a professional.

So the point is don't necessarily be scared off from medicine because you're not as enthusiastic about it as other people before you get started.

 

[bluejay05]

Thanks for all the advice and for sharing your experiences. The thing is, I got pretty good grades and a decent score on the MCAT (3.65, 29) so the argument I get is if you have a chance at getting into med school you should go for it. Most people apply in their junior year, but I've delayed applying in the hopes that the enthusiasm will come. But so far, it hasn't.

One of my professors (before he went into teaching) started med school and dropped out after a year. Someone else I knew dropped out after 3 years because she got a calling to do something else. Has this happened to any of your classmates?

 

[zeloc]

Thanks for all the advice and for sharing your experiences. The thing is, I got pretty good grades and a decent score on the MCAT (3.65, 29) so the argument I get is if you have a chance at getting into med school you should go for it. Most people apply in their junior year, but I've delayed applying in the hopes that the enthusiasm will come. But so far, it hasn't.

One of my professors (before he went into teaching) started med school and dropped out after a year. Someone else I knew dropped out after 3 years because she got a calling to do something else. Has this happened to any of your classmates?

I'm a first-year medical student, so I haven't been a student long enough for people to have the opportunitiy to leave, but I did hear of a person the year before me who dropped out after a year, and a couple people in my class are going to redo the first year since they weren't doing well academically. But for your original question, if there's something else that really excites you and that you'd like to go into, why not try that first and see how it goes. There are quite a few people in my first year class who had some interesting careers before they decided to go into medicine, for example, one person played professional soccer and another was a teacher for a couple years, but they both at some point decided to apply to medical school. So if you end up wanting to go into medicine, it is always an option. You don't really want to be in a situation where you wish you should have done something else instead of going into medicine. Since you've delayed in applying, do you have another year before you'd enter school? Seems like a good opportunity to try another career path and depending on how it goes, you may have another perspective on whether you should go to med school.

 

[phoenixsupra]

Hi everyone. I just discovered this forum. My question is: can you learn to like medicine? I got my B.S. last year and throughout high school and college, I've been wishy washy about wanting to go to medical school. There is a lot of pressure from family and friends. I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. The thought of spending so much effort and time on something I'm not that enthusiastic about just doesn't make sense to me. I posted this here because you all are already in med school. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do you start to like medicine once you're in it? Appreciate your input.

No. The last thing we need is yet another wishy washy fool who doesn't want to be there. Quit seeking the approval of others and go become a person instead.

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

Do you have other professions you can see yourself doing? Anything else really excite you. I agree that you could try these things first. There are former electrical engineers, former computer programmers, former athletes, former wall street bankers, and many others in medical school.

You can learn to love medicine, but its not gaurenteed. I know a couple people that dropped out. I was not hardcore about medicine, but found myself loving third year. I actually liked all of the rotations except psych and ob/gn. I found that I loved radiology, which is somewhat out of the usual practice of medicine (little patient contact). Good luck.

 

[Anka]

I think the best thing we can give you on this thread are stories about how we decided to go to med school -- my guess is most people are 'sure' by the time they actually go to med school, i.e., they're decided. I'm not sure if that means "I'm absolutely positive I will want to do this 140 hours per week for the rest of my life and will trade my first born son for the opportunity to do it." It may just mean, I think I have something to contribute here, am willing to put in the time and energy to find out.

My personal story is -- I was dead set against going to med school throughout college. After college I worked in a lab, and shadowed a medical doctor pretty regularly, but thought it was boring as watching grass grow (three hours of rounds, seeing patients who talked incessantly about headaches, etc... it was a neurologist). I tried to get into it, because doctoring seemed like something you should try to get into (probably similar to where you are), but it didn't really click.

Then I shadowed my neurologist into the OR, where they were doing operative monitoring of cardiothoracic surgery... if there was ever a lightning bolt moment, that was it. I just stood there staring over the tent for 8 hours, completely taken. I walked out of that OR thinking, that's what I want to do.

Then I woke up the next morning, and tried to talk myself out of it (I mean, 2 years of getting into med school, 4 years of med school, 7 years of general surgery residency, 2-3 years of CT fellowship). But there was something about the OR -- I just kept going back as often as I could.

Anyway, I'm now a first year in medical school and loving life. I get to scrub in about 1 day a week, follow the patients I scrub for, learn lots of neat stuff in my classes (though some classes are better than others for the future surgeons among us, as you can imagine) and so on.

All of which is to say -- can you learn to love medicine? Yes, of course. Everyone has to learn to love medicine at some point, either before or after med school. But it'll probably be from seeing something you haven't seen before, or doing something you haven't done before, or being around a different group of people. Don't keep hanging out with a rheumatologist if you're bored off your rocker -- try hanging out with the surgeons, or a family practice person, or whatever.

Given the time, energy, and money you're going to invest, I'd recommend having some sense of "I think I could enjoy doing X" before you start it. But, look, there's nothing wrong with having an MD, even if you decide medicine isn't for you in the end. There are worse ways to spend four years of your life.

Best,
Anka

 

[Sancho]

I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere.

Volunteering in the ER, I thought, for the most part sucked donkey balls.
For one thing, you have relatively no knowledge...and absolutely no power to have a meaningful impact.
Also, the atmosphere (organized chaos) was a negative in my book as well.
fortunately, there are niches in medicine to suit almost everyone.
Me, I've found radiology to be pretty cool, maybe because it's nothing like ER.
Not much else gives you a range of options like medicine.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I volunteered in the emergency room at a local hospital but didn't like the atmosphere. .

As other posters have said, don't throw medicine into the trash simply because you didn't enjoy volunteering at the ER. Volunteering is MUCH different from actually doing something as a career. Further, there are MANY other aspects to medicine than the ED.

 

[calcrew14]

A doctor told me that people all over the world jump off their high school into medicine only because they believe that it is the best profession. Those people commit themselves without any prior exposure at all. They get into their medical schools solely on the basis of their intelligence. He is happy and grateful to be one of them. He insists that he has never heard of any school-mate who quits his school or the career afterwards. Even those who are not too happy with the career wouldn’t do it again another way. The anomaly/uniqueness happens only here where people often waste/sacrifice their minds or even part of their lives in the luxury and greed of choices. Hate it or love it, a good person turns out to be a good doctor. Does s/he really need to learn to like medicine then?