Hello everyone! I am currently an M2 and am strongly considering leaving med school. My reason is primarily because I really have no interest in clinical medicine. I first realized this about a year ago upon coming back from winter break. I would like to precede any further comment by saying that I have multiple years of clinical experience working in a hospital. I have also grown up in a family involved in medicine, which has given me the opportunity to shadow many specialties. Prior to med school I spent extensive time shadowing surgeons, anesthesia, pathologists, rads, medicine, OB, etc. I feel I am very aware of the options and what life as a doctor is like.
I entered medical school with a pretty good idea that I wanted to do Pathology or Diagnostic Radiology. Both fields interest me more than any other field of medicine, and have minimal patient interaction. I am an extroverts introvert in the sense that I interact well with people, but do not particularly like being around people.
I also entered medicine realizing that for me it was not my passion. I have many interests and hobbies, but none of them are the type of activities I can make a living off of, so for me medicine was something I figured could be intellectually stimulating enough to be bearable as a job, but would mainly be what I do to allow me to partake in the things I am really passionate about. Yet another reason Path and Rads interest me.
That being said, I am encountering the same lack of initiative and interest after this winter break as I did last year, which has really continued since then. This has been exacerbated by having to learn the physical exam and beginning work with patients, since I have no interest in any of it. I am doing just fine in all my classes, but focusing and studying is quite the chore.
My language makes it sound like I am decided, but my dilemma mainly comes from what my other options are. At this point I have the debt for 1.5 years of med school, and my previous degrees offer no job opportunities (I have a humanities background). I have considered looking into another field entirely, assuming it would allow me to finish school and begin working sooner than med school would. I am also curious about options an MD degree would offer if I did not pursue a residency.
Regardless, I need some plan to get to a career if I leave medicine. I have always really enjoyed math and have strongly considered CPA. Pharmacy seemed like a possibility, but from talking to some administrators it seems like that would still be 4 more years.
As I said at the beginning of this post, I am looking for realistic opinions and ideas. I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this, as I know we all have busy schedules.