Cold Feet before Medical School

[Jsmith1255]

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Hi!

I am a college senior who is planning to matriculate to medical school in the fall. Recently, I have been getting cold feet about attending medical school. I do not have any back up or alternative plans for next year, but I find myself continually questioning whether I am doing the right thing. Has anyone ever felt the same way/ have any advice? Thank you in advance!

 

[deleted407021]

Super common feeling! It’s a huge step but you’re in it with tons of other people, many of whom feel similarly. While I felt little trepidation going into med school, with residency looming I’m getting more of that “am I ready?“ feeling. The answer is almost certainly yes.

 

[yeet]

run away and don't look back

 

[jurassicpark]

It's like asking a girl out or getting married. Exciting, terrifying, omgodzz kind of feeling. Then that passes and you realize you have a huge bill at the end.

 

[LucidSplash]

Hi!

I am a college senior who is planning to matriculate to medical school in the fall. Recently, I have been getting cold feet about attending medical school. I do not have any back up or alternative plans for next year, but I find myself continually questioning whether I am doing the right thing. Has anyone ever felt the same way/ have any advice? Thank you in advance!

Absolutely no shame in taking a year or two off between college and med school. In fact, I highly recommend it.

 

[deleted915325]

Absolutely no shame in taking a year or two off between college and med school. In fact, I highly recommend it.

If you’ve already been accepted (which if you’re planning to attend in the fall, I assume you have), I would highly discourage taking a year off now unless you entirely decide not to pursue a degree in medicine. Solely because of the fact that it is looked upon very negatively by adcoms should you decide to apply again.

But if I’m misreading the timeline and you have not yet applied, then yeah, nothing wrong with taking a gap year or two to think things over.

 

[Jsmith1255]

Absolutely no shame in taking a year or two off between college and med school. In fact, I highly recommend it.

I have already been accepted; therefore, I do not think I have the option to take a year off.

 

[Fatalis]

Hi!

I am a college senior who is planning to matriculate to medical school in the fall. Recently, I have been getting cold feet about attending medical school. I do not have any back up or alternative plans for next year, but I find myself continually questioning whether I am doing the right thing. Has anyone ever felt the same way/ have any advice? Thank you in advance!

this time and the time when you are done rotations and ready to graduate are the best parts of med school...cherish it! Your feelings are completely normal, you worked hard and the admin committee said you got what it takes, trust yourself and you will do just fine!

 

[Dro133]

You might think about asking your future school's admin if deferring for a year is an option.

 

[LucidSplash]

If you’ve already been accepted (which if you’re planning to attend in the fall, I assume you have), I would highly discourage taking a year off now unless you entirely decide not to pursue a degree in medicine. Solely because of the fact that it is looked upon very negatively by adcoms should you decide to apply again.

But if I’m misreading the timeline and you have not yet applied, then yeah, nothing wrong with taking a gap year or two to think things over.

He can ask to defer. The worst they can say is no. They aren’t going to rescind his acceptance just for asking.

 

[You shall know the Truth]

Every year you take off is at least 200k in lost wages plus a 3 % tuition rate hike

 

[deleted915325]

He can ask to defer. The worst they can say is no. They aren’t going to rescind his acceptance just for asking.

How do you suggest OP phrase this in order to minimize the school’s perceived risk of deferring for a student who is unsure if they will follow through with their matriculation next year?

 

[LucidSplash]

How do you suggest OP phrase this in order to minimize the school’s perceived risk of deferring for a student who is unsure if they will follow through with their matriculation next year?

Find something else to do. Couch it as an educational/professional opportunity that will complement your future career/your personal growth/address a family obligation.

 

[LucidSplash]

Every year you take off is at least 200k in lost wages plus a 3 % tuition rate hike

Only if you count life goals based purely in monetary form. I took 3 years off and wouldn’t trade that time for anything. Quite frankly I don’t know anyone who took time off between college and med school who regretted it. Know lots of people who didn’t take time off didn’t regret it either, but know tons that wish they had. Haven’t done any kind of formal SDN poll, but on various conversations over the last 15 years, the number who regretted taking time off was approaching zero, if not zero.

Also know a few people that bailed on med school after a couple years. That’s a lot more expensive than taking time off to make sure this is what you want.

 

[deleted407021]

Why are y'all suggesting deferring? LOL

It doesn't seem that bad.

 

[LucidSplash]

Why are y'all suggesting deferring? LOL

It doesn't seem that bad.

Because I’m 15 years in his future and just don’t believe anyone should get into this if they aren’t sure.

Because I had a few friends bail in medicine along the way and wish they hadn’t started.

Because the medical school and residency forums have more than a few “Don’t want to do clinical medicine, now what?” threads.

Because I love my job and wouldn’t want to do anything else but I know a lot of people in medicine who don’t feel the same way.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Because I’m 15 years in his future and just don’t believe anyone should get into this if they aren’t sure.

Because I had a few friends bail in medicine along the way and wish they hadn’t started.

Because the medical school and residency forums have more than a few “Don’t want to do clinical medicine, now what?” threads.

Because I love my job and wouldn’t want to do anything else but I know a lot of people in medicine who don’t feel the same way.

The young ones don't understand 😉

 

[deleted407021]

Because I’m 15 years in his future and just don’t believe anyone should get into this if they aren’t sure.

Because I had a few friends bail in medicine along the way and wish they hadn’t started.

Because the medical school and residency forums have more than a few “Don’t want to do clinical medicine, now what?” threads.

Because I love my job and wouldn’t want to do anything else but I know a lot of people in medicine who don’t feel the same way.

I feel like the OP's posts don't suggest they're *that* worried though. We don't really have a great idea how bad their cold feet are.

 

[You shall know the Truth]

Only if you count life goals based purely in monetary form. I took 3 years off and wouldn’t trade that time for anything. Quite frankly I don’t know anyone who took time off between college and med school who regretted it. Know lots of people who didn’t take time off didn’t regret it either, but know tons that wish they had. Haven’t done any kind of formal SDN poll, but on various conversations over the last 15 years, the number who regretted taking time off was approaching zero, if not zero.

Also know a few people that bailed on med school after a couple years. That’s a lot more expensive than taking time off to make sure this is what you want.

I understand your point, but I took time off and I regret every minute of it. while I only put monetary terms in my original post there are non financial reasons also.

 

[LucidSplash]

I understand your point, but I took time off and I regret every minute of it. while I only put monetary terms in my original post there are non financial reasons also.

Well then n=2 so far, so I still say approaching zero applies. I took 3 years off, probably could have been happy with 2 but don’t regret 3, working a full-time job in biotech, and then did 9 years of residency/fellowship training after med school. So I started practice at 37. The difference between that and starting at 34? Negligible on the scale of my life and it wasn’t like life stopped while I was in residency. I think people get this idea that life is at a standstill until you’re done with training. Did a lot of my life revolve around residency and fellowship? Sure absolutely yes. But I had romantic relationships, vacations, awesome memories with family and friends during that time. I missed stuff too, but that doesn’t stop for most of us when we are done with training, it is the nature of the job sometimes.

At 21-22, there is a tendency to see finishing medical training as a destination rather one of many milestones along the journey. This first year in practice has been more stressful than a lot of my training in a lot of ways, and I like to think I’m pretty well trained. I’m glad I had the time off before starting to have something to compare residency and even attending life to.

 

[Jsmith1255]

Thank you for all of the replies. I think deferring wouldn’t be the worst option since I am coming straight from undergrad. I was very excited for medical school but reading many of the posts on SDN about the many negative aspects of medicine has made me question if I am cut out for medicine and the lifestyle with it. I think my school may require a specific reason for deferral, but I am not quite sure.

 

[LucidSplash]

I feel like the OP's posts don't suggest they're *that* worried though. We don't really have a great idea how bad their cold feet are.

I dunno, I think “continually questioning” could mean a lot of things, but certainly telegraphs to me more than a little anxiety. And because I think pretty much everyone would do well with a gap year, I don’t think taking a year off is that extreme of a suggestion. The average and median age of matriculation these days is around 24 I believe, so I’m not the only one.

Having worked with a variety of med students and residents and Fellows through the years, it seems like those that struggled with the rigors of training tended to come from the pool who went straight through and never did anything else. So this is the same advice I’ve given to a lot of premeds through the years who have crossed my path. If you’re not sure, take your time to decide. There are a lot of things you can do in life and medicine is just one of them.

 

[LucidSplash]

Thank you for all of the replies. I think deferring wouldn’t be the worst option since I am coming straight from undergrad. I was very excited for medical school but reading many of the posts on SDN about the many negative aspects of medicine has made me question if I am cut out for medicine and the lifestyle with it. I think my school may require a specific reason for deferral, but I am not quite sure.

Most do but you have some time to find one.

 

[strappysandals]

Thank you for all of the replies. I think deferring wouldn’t be the worst option since I am coming straight from undergrad. I was very excited for medical school but reading many of the posts on SDN about the many negative aspects of medicine has made me question if I am cut out for medicine and the lifestyle with it. I think my school may require a specific reason for deferral, but I am not quite sure.

Take a break from the internet... forums tend to highlight doom and gloom. You also dont know the context of the people posting, who(whom?) could have vastly different goals from you. Essentially, get off SDN. wish I could take my own advice tho.

 

[deleted915325]

Thank you for all of the replies. I think deferring wouldn’t be the worst option since I am coming straight from undergrad. I was very excited for medical school but reading many of the posts on SDN about the many negative aspects of medicine has made me question if I am cut out for medicine and the lifestyle with it. I think my school may require a specific reason for deferral, but I am not quite sure.

If you’re school allows you to defer and you think it’s the right decision than go for it. In the meantime, get off SDN. It can be worse than alcohol... aka it can make you make decisions you never would if you were sober and then question what the heck you were thinking once you sober up and realize you gave up on your dream becuase of a transient pulse of anxiety

Reconsider once you get off the internet and become grounded again and back in touch with why YOU wanted to be a doctor in the first place

 

[washboardEarth]

it really depends on who you are as a person. only you know the answer, if you're self aware. if you're at a top school and intelligent then run far away and go into what your finance-bound or pre-law friends are going into. if you are good at math / comp sci that field is booming. medicine takes a lot of work to get into but for the most part the people who go into it are duds with nothing particularly interesting or compelling about them. no hate - i'm one of them. i would have never made it in finance or sales but probably would have been happy in computer science

 

[deleted1005514]

it really depends on who you are as a person. only you know the answer, if you're self aware. if you're at a top school and intelligent then run far away and go into what your finance-bound or pre-law friends are going into. if you are good at math / comp sci that field is booming. medicine takes a lot of work to get into but for the most part the people who go into it are duds with nothing particularly interesting or compelling about them. no hate - i'm one of them. i would have never made it in finance or sales but probably would have been happy in computer science

Pre-law students are making a huge mistake. Way oversaturated, high stress field!

 

[numbersloth]

it really depends on who you are as a person. only you know the answer, if you're self aware. if you're at a top school and intelligent then run far away and go into what your finance-bound or pre-law friends are going into. if you are good at math / comp sci that field is booming. medicine takes a lot of work to get into but for the most part the people who go into it are duds with nothing particularly interesting or compelling about them. no hate - i'm one of them. i would have never made it in finance or sales but probably would have been happy in computer science

Finance (or at least the parts that make $$) is incredibly stressful, and unlike medicine, lifestyle does not improve as you move up/get older. Most managing directors continue to work most weekends and 70hr+ weeks are very normal. Would not recommend finance unless you truly have a passion and realize that work/life balance is not possible unless you take a very large pay cut.

 

[deleted610572]

I think we are also jumping the gun in this thread without understanding the totality of the situation. OP, explain your hesitations. What are they and what do they mean to you? Is it the nervousness that you’ll fail or something else? Is it the path you are taking?

 

[Jsmith1255]

Thank you for all of these replies and insights! Truthfully, I worry that I have had too much of an idealistic view of medicine. While I find medicine interesting, want to serve others and appreciate the stability and straightforward pathway of medicine, the downsides of medicine (long training, tough residency, non-stop studying) have made me question if I truly considered the sacrifices of this career path. I also am nervous about failure since medical school seems to be so high stakes in terms of academics. I have performed well in undergrad, but I understand that medical school is a whole other level. Unfortunately, I do not have any alternatives right now for the coming year since I have been so focused on getting into medical school. I already have an acceptance to my top school, so my options would be to attend, not attend, or (possibly) defer.

 

[deleted610572]

The cold feet we are referring to that is extremely common right before stating medicine usually stems from the perceived in over our heads/fears of failure. That happened to me. If those were the only feelings then I would say continue on. This being the chances are you will be fine... but your other concerns are more thought out. You will have to decide if you can deal with medicine as a reality and not as a dream.

 

[YouEverHadOurSausages?]

Thank you for all of these replies and insights! Truthfully, I worry that I have had too much of an idealistic view of medicine. While I find medicine interesting, want to serve others and appreciate the stability and straightforward pathway of medicine, the downsides of medicine (long training, tough residency, non-stop studying) have made me question if I truly considered the sacrifices of this career path. I also am nervous about failure since medical school seems to be so high stakes in terms of academics. I have performed well in undergrad, but I understand that medical school is a whole other level. Unfortunately, I do not have any alternatives right now for the coming year since I have been so focused on getting into medical school. I already have an acceptance to my top school, so my options would be to attend, not attend, or (possibly) defer.

Fear of failure shouldn’t be on your mind. If you’re smart enough to get in then you’re smart enough to get through it. It’s a lot of work but so is pretty much anything worth doing.

 

[Schwifty]

Hi!

I am a college senior who is planning to matriculate to medical school in the fall. Recently, I have been getting cold feet about attending medical school. I do not have any back up or alternative plans for next year, but I find myself continually questioning whether I am doing the right thing. Has anyone ever felt the same way/ have any advice? Thank you in advance!

First year med student here, came in straight from undergrad, I don’t regret not taking time off cause I’m happy where I’m at, but I felt the same way you do before I started. I do wish I would have taken a year off before starting, so I would say if you want to try and ask your school to defer for a year, otherwise don’t worry about it, once you start school all those feeling will go away (they did for me at least)

 

[deleted889094]

Thank you for all of these replies and insights! Truthfully, I worry that I have had too much of an idealistic view of medicine. While I find medicine interesting, want to serve others and appreciate the stability and straightforward pathway of medicine, the downsides of medicine (long training, tough residency, non-stop studying) have made me question if I truly considered the sacrifices of this career path. I also am nervous about failure since medical school seems to be so high stakes in terms of academics. I have performed well in undergrad, but I understand that medical school is a whole other level. Unfortunately, I do not have any alternatives right now for the coming year since I have been so focused on getting into medical school. I already have an acceptance to my top school, so my options would be to attend, not attend, or (possibly) defer.

First year med student here. Lemme just interject that I was a bit worried about med school because I wasn't the best student in undergrad. Turns out I'm doing much better now. People kept telling me how hard it would be and how I'd have no life, but you just don't know how your experience will be until you do it. Some people have a blast, some people have a rough time. If you have an acceptance to your top choice, that's really great. Go in and do a great job. Worst case scenario, you can quit if you really hate it. Absolutely no shame in that. But you might regret if you turn it down now without trying. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Chlorophyll Oracle]

My cold feet were because of how hard everyone said it would be. Med school is not hard, its just a lot of work. If you can get yourself to stick to a good rhythm and grind through pretty boring stuff every day you'll be great. And honestly, I like the material much more than undergrad. Its a long haul for sure. I took a year off and worked, so its also weird not bringing in a paycheck anymore. There are days where I'm like damn, my friends who are the same age are bringing in 70, 80, 100K dollar salaries every year and I won't be making that for another 6 years, but it passes. I really don't think there's another job that pays as well, with as much job security and where a majority of the public respects you. This COVID-19 debacle is showing how respected the medical profession is and how safe their jobs are. Unemployment numbers just hit 6.6 million today. My finance who is a nurse is very thankful that she doesn't have to worry about losing her paycheck anytime soon.

 

[Ttubule]

I went through the same thing, I bet a lot of us do. I was running a small business and had a little bit of income and a couple months before giving it all up and starting school I was worrying I’d made the worst mistake of my life. To be honest with you, I had the same worry creep back up a few times during med school too. It’s normal. Looking back on it now that I’m at the end I can’t imagine how I ever thought I could do anything with my life except for this. It’s not always a smooth transition but I’m confident you’ll be glad you made the decision to go for it.

 

[deleted889094]

My cold feet were because of how hard everyone said it would be. Med school is not hard, its just a lot of work. If you can get yourself to stick to a good rhythm and grind through pretty boring stuff every day you'll be great. And honestly, I like the material much more than undergrad. Its a long haul for sure. I took a year off and worked, so its also weird not bringing in a paycheck anymore. There are days where I'm like damn, my friends who are the same age are bringing in 70, 80, 100 dollar salaries every year and I won't be making that for another 6 years, but it passes. I really don't think there's another job that pays as well, with as much job security and where a majority of the public respects you. This COVID-19 debacle is showing how respected the medical profession is and how safe their jobs are. Unemployment numbers just hit 6.6 million today. My finance who is a nurse is very thankful that she doesn't have to worry about losing her paycheck anytime soon.

Yes. Exactly this. It's work, but I love learning the stuff we're learning, which makes it easier and more rewarding.

 

[Mass Effect]

If you’ve already been accepted (which if you’re planning to attend in the fall, I assume you have), I would highly discourage taking a year off now unless you entirely decide not to pursue a degree in medicine. Solely because of the fact that it is looked upon very negatively by adcoms should you decide to apply again.

But if I’m misreading the timeline and you have not yet applied, then yeah, nothing wrong with taking a gap year or two to think things over.

I disagree. As long as the OP doesn't matriculate, they can say they applied and chose not to attend. Even admitting you turned down an acceptance isn't the career-ender it's portrayed. You just have to have a decent reason and wanting to take some time to truly consider what it means for you and your family (and ultimately deciding it's the right thing to do) is a completely reasonable reason. OP can also say the school was accepted to was too far from family and after consider it strongly, she opted against it. Again, a lot of places will understand.

Med school is like marriage -- you need to be absolutely sure because you are making a commitment. Can you quit? Sure, but if you're getting loans, it'll be expensive. It's not something to take lightly.

 

[Gos81238ia]

Hi!

I am a college senior who is planning to matriculate to medical school in the fall. Recently, I have been getting cold feet about attending medical school. I do not have any back up or alternative plans for next year, but I find myself continually questioning whether I am doing the right thing. Has anyone ever felt the same way/ have any advice? Thank you in advance!

I think its common to have doubts through each step of the process. Even speaking as an attending, there are always some fleeting thoughts of "could the grass be greener on the other side?" when things get tough. Its an occupation with high stress.

Reflect on what the root of your uncertainty is - is it that you worry you won't succeed? If so, you have imposter syndrome, like many of us in medicine. If you made it to the point of acceptance in the first place, you have what it takes to succeed. Push through it, the reward of actually succeeding will be great.

If your uncertainty is more about whether or not you can see yourself being happy in this career, then proceed with caution. Ask yourself what were your reasons for applying to medical school in the first place. Are these reasons still valid? If so, then reconnect to your purpose and push through. If not, could be very reasonable to defer while you figure out whether or not this is the career for you.

 

[Goro]

Hi!

I am a college senior who is planning to matriculate to medical school in the fall. Recently, I have been getting cold feet about attending medical school. I do not have any back up or alternative plans for next year, but I find myself continually questioning whether I am doing the right thing. Has anyone ever felt the same way/ have any advice? Thank you in advance!

All new endeavors are fraught with anxiety. You'll be fine.

 

[PS2summerdays]

Your situation is specific to you. I would warn against the advice that "you will be fine." There is no guarantee that you will. For most people it is, but for a good 5% who drop out to a large, potentially 20% who take more than 4-years to graduate, this isn't so easy. (And those are ROUGH stats for US MD schools, not Caribbean). Also, things being "fine" does not by any means it will be easy.

The unfortunate thing is that you won't know if it's right for you until you try it. And even worse, the skills in years 1-2 are quite different from the skillset required years 3-4. You'll have to stick with it for at least a semester to get a feel of how it is, and then make the decision. Usually, people will have a rough time adjusting. The skills you master during undergraduate studies or academics in general aren't skills which necessarily translate well into medical knowledge or medical work. To differentiate between what is a naturally rough time vs. a serious problem (i.e. medical school not being right for you), will take personal insight and maybe even a therapist.

I felt similar to you before starting, after starting, and throughout medical school. It was a horrible mess, but I fell for the sunk cost fallacy and stuck with it since I was in so much debt already. I wouldn't advise this path. I am sad most days, but I put up with it, because I try to put patient care first. It's not easy and again, I don't recommend this stupid stubborness. It's not admirable, it's just sad, and eats away at your well-being. Some people just aren't cut out to be doctors (I am one of them). Nothing wrong with it. It's just like how some people aren't meant to be ballerinas or UFC fighters. But it's better to find out before you get trapped by debt and the loss of valuable skill-learning, income-making years. Good luck...