considering leaving medical school during 1st semester

[i live in ATP]

Hi everyone,

In short, I am a first-year medical student debating whether or not I should drop out of medical school. Yes, I recognize that it has only been a month, and yes, I recognize that I had to work hard to get here, and yes, I know some people are going to say "this is the dumbest thought ever!" I, too, have thought those things, yet here I am.

My main reasons/concerns are:

1) I value family/friends more than I value medicine, and I don't think I will be able to cultivate the kinds of relationships I want based on where I am
2) As a physician, I likely will not get to spend the amount of time I want with my friends and family
3) I will be over $300,000 in debt by the time I graduate
4) I can see myself happily pursuing several other careers that still involve helping people, whether in the healthcare field or not
5) I do not care how much money I make
6) My desire to go to medical school went up and down throughout the application cycle, but I ultimately decided to go

To MD or not to MD, that is the question.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

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[kpcrew]

I'm pretty sure everyone feels like that. Stick it out, we barely started building up the knowledge base needed to be a physician. It will be worth it in the end.

 

[HatWobble]

I don't think #1 and #2 will be true. For #1, if relationships are important to you, you will find ways to them. For #2, if spending time with your family is important to you, you will find time for it. My dad is an orthopedic surgeon and he still found time to coach my youth football team every year.

#3 is immaterial... Everyone is able to pay off their debt. (Assuming you're not in the Caribbean.)

For 4-6... Like KP said, I'm sure most med students feel that way. I do.

 

[JP2740]

You didn't think about these things before starting your 1st semester? What the hell have you been doing?

 

[i live in ATP]

I don't think #1 and #2 will be true. For #1, if relationships are important to you, you will find ways to them. For #2, if spending time with your family is important to you, you will find time for it. My dad is an orthopedic surgeon and he still found time to coach my youth football team every year.

#3 is immaterial... Everyone is able to pay off their debt. (Assuming you're not in the Caribbean.)

For 4-6... Like KP said, I'm sure most med students feel that way. I do.

Well, my major concern is that I am gay and an area that is not particularly gay friendly and does not have many gay people. I feel like I'm relegating myself to a minimum of 4 years of solitude/isolation, which is definitely concerning.

I definitely thought about that issue before coming, but told myself I needed to at least try before I judged. Lo and behold, I'm not particularly fond of what I've found...

 

[link2swim06]

Hi everyone,

In short, I am a first-year medical student debating whether or not I should drop out of medical school. Yes, I recognize that it has only been a month, and yes, I recognize that I had to work hard to get here, and yes, I know some people are going to say "this is the dumbest thought ever!" I, too, have thought those things, yet here I am.

My main reasons/concerns are:

1) I value family/friends more than I value medicine, and I don't think I will be able to cultivate the kinds of relationships I want based on where I am
2) As a physician, I likely will not get to spend the amount of time I want with my friends and family
3) I will be over $300,000 in debt by the time I graduate
4) I can see myself happily pursuing several other careers that still involve helping people, whether in the healthcare field or not
5) I do not care how much money I make
6) My desire to go to medical school went up and down throughout the application cycle, but I ultimately decided to go

To MD or not to MD, that is the question.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

I remember the start of med school was a "shock to the system" because it was new and alot of work. Eventually it will be normal and you will learn to be more efficient with your time.

 

[Serotonergic]

.

 

[kpcrew]

Well, my major concern is that I am gay and an area that is not particularly gay friendly and does not have many gay people. I feel like I'm relegating myself to a minimum of 4 years of solitude/isolation, which is definitely concerning.

I definitely thought about that issue before coming, but told myself I needed to at least try before I judged. Lo and behold, I'm not particularly fond of what I've found...

I am not gay and I feel like I'm relegating myself to a minimum of 4 years of solitude/isolation too. Are there no gay friendly places around? My school gave us a student handbook and it had a section on places that lgbt people may be interested in.

 

[i live in ATP]

I am not gay and I feel like I'm relegating myself to a minimum of 4 years of solitude/isolation too. Are there no gay friendly places around? My school gave us a student handbook and it had a section on places that lgbt people may be interested in.

I'm looking into some of these things, but I'm afraid the school has a much brighter/happier view of how things are here.

4 years (maybe more, since people tend to match in the area) seems like such a long time to dedicate myself to being/feeling alone. Is that just a sacrifice that you (and other people) are kind of accepting?

 

[DrSnips]

I think #4 is actually a valid reason to quit now, although you might have considered this before applying...

Medicine is only something to pursue if it is the only thing you enjoy doing as an occupation. If you are intelligent enough for medicine, then you could probably make more money doing something else and still have a better lifestyle outside work.

 

[i live in ATP]

I think #4 is actually a valid reason to quit now, although you might have considered this before applying...

Medicine is only something to pursue if it is the only thing you enjoy doing as an occupation. If you are intelligent enough for medicine, then you could probably make more money doing something else and still have a better lifestyle outside work.

Yeah, this is my big concern. If my hearts not in medicine, I'm concerned that'll bleed into my academics, and subsequently my residency. It seems like a slippery slope.

 

[notbobtrustme]

Medicine is only something to pursue if it is the only thing you enjoy doing as an occupation. If you are intelligent enough for medicine, then you could probably make more money doing something else and still have a better lifestyle outside work.

A lot of high paying jobs isn't about intelligence or work ethic, it's about luck and connections.

That's pretty much the whole point of business school. Business school doesn't teach you very much, but it does put you in contact with local industry/business leaders.

 

[Shnurek]

wut

Don't worry bro there won't be much time to hit the gay clubs second and third year anyway.

Just got to LA/NYC/Miami. Plenty of homo(sexual)-friendly [better with no parenthesis] places here. Get lost in the anonymity of the big cities. You'll need it.

 

[i live in ATP]

Just got to LA/NYC/Miami. Plenty of homo(sexual)-friendly [better with no parenthesis] places here. Get lost in the anonymity of the big cities. You'll need it.

I definitely agree that big cities are much more tolerant/gay-friendly.

But to wait 4+ years to (hopefully) get to one of them? That seems like a high price to pay

 

[VivaLaVida]

You can do away rotations in more gay friendly cities. And I would wager that you are not the only gay person in your class...or city. Find some liberal friends!

 

[marke]

hm.. technically.. you'll only be at your school school for about 20 months...

your 4th year is pretty much elective rotations... which at most schools you can set it up anywhere in the country...

you spend your third year mostly in the hospital/ clinics .. which might or might not be in the same city as your school (depending on your school's sites)

you get summer btw your first and second year off... you can also study for your boards at home/ anywhere after your second year classes end..

I'm not sure what speciality you are thinking of going into.. but I do believe if you ended up sticking to it and practice medicine, you can help care for the LGBT community

Like above post mentioned, I am a true believer that (after residency), you always have a choice of how much you work. Granted, it might not be at the best location or your dream job but you have a choice. I know a doc who just work 3 and a 1/2 days / week so she can spend more time w/ her family. I also know a surgeon who always put his family first before scheduling his surgeries/ office hrs.

all in all.. medicine is not for everyone and is a long road (4 yr med school+ 3 yr residency at least).. If you really don't think it's in your heart to do it, you might be right to get out early.

Best of luck!

 

[DocHawk117]

well all those seem fixable except number 4 (can see yourself doing other careers). I also value family/social/personal life above medicine, and I plan on going into a specialty that allows me to go to my kids games and what not, totally feasible. Also, there are many part-time options. And, a lot of other opportunities to work with an MD, but not necessarily "practicing medicine" in the traditional sense.

My general advice to people is to only go into medicine if it is the ONLY career that you can envision yourself doing. Otherwise, why "waste" the time, because sooner or later you may end up miserable, in debt, with a hard job that makes you hate people and resent your choices. One semester of debt will be ok to handle. But more than that would be really tough.

 

[wholeheartedly]

You can do away rotations in more gay friendly cities. And I would wager that you are not the only gay person in your class...or city. Find some liberal friends!

This, there are probably quite a few gay people around you. They just might keep a lower profile depending on the feel of the area. You can socialize with anyone. Finding gay people might require a bit more creativity on your part, or maybe venturing to a nearby city once in awhile to have some fun but you might be surprised. Make a free account on match and just do a search in a 20 mile radius or something and see what you find. Then keep in mind that's only gay people who are online looking, not the total number of gay people in your area. You might be reassured by what you see.


If the relationship thing really is a big factor keep in mind that there are no guarantees relationship-wise if you leave medical school. You might get some other job in another location and still not find someone for 4 years. Then how will you feel about leaving medical school?

Also, I know it's hard, but is transferring to a different school something you'd consider?

Lastly, even if most people match to the area doesn't mean you will or have to. People have different preferences for why they rank certain places and wind up places.

 

[umean2tellme]

If you don't to be a physician that is perfectly ok. There are plenty of careers out there that you may prefer. But being gay and feeling like you won't be able to meet someone for four years is NOT a really good reason for dropping out. You'd be throwing away a career you worked hard for in order to be with someone you have yet to meet, with no guarantee that you will actually meet your "soulmate" or w/e in the next four years anyway.

As far as the other reasons, there aer plenty of career options in medicine that allow you to spend time with family and friends. If you worked as a hospitalist,emergency medicine, or ICU you'd be doing shift work and you could potentially make a lot of money working very few hours. Or you could do something much more competitive like GI, derm, plastics, allergy/immuno and still have a 9-5 kind of life. As others have pointed out, fourth year of med school is a vacation and you have two summers off in the next two years, so it's not like you'll be trapped in some dungeon for the next 48 months. And I don't know what area you're in, but I'm sure there are places where you can meet someone else, you just have to find out where to look. Good luck.

 

[MilkmanAl]

But being gay and feeling like you won't be able to meet someone for four years is NOT a really good reason for dropping out. You'd be throwing away a career you worked hard for in order to be with someone you have yet to meet, with no guarantee that you will actually meet your "soulmate" or w/e in the next four years anyway.

Actually, if the OP were to walk away at this point, he'd save himself the vast majority of the hard work involved in becoming a doctor. Med school and residency can suck pretty badly. Avoiding those would certainly make it more likely to find "that certain someone."

As far as the other reasons, there aer plenty of career options in medicine that allow you to spend time with family and friends. If you worked as a hospitalist,emergency medicine, or ICU you'd be doing shift work and you could potentially make a lot of money working very few hours. Or you could do something much more competitive like GI, derm, plastics, allergy/immuno and still have a 9-5 kind of life.

ICU docs work their asses off. Hospitalists may get half the year off, but they're buried while they're on duty. GI, plastics, and allergy all require demanding residencies beforehand and are pretty rough fellowships at most places. A lot of people here will advise that "it's just a few years," but I can say for sure that I'm pretty tired of it's-just-a-[amount of time]-ing my 20s away. A year is a long time to eat doing something you're unsatisfied with. 3-6 years would just plain be unacceptable to me.

In fairness, 4th year definitely was a vacation. That was awesome. I'd really, really like to go back to last spring.

OP, becoming a doctor is a seriously tough road. All of your concerns are legitimate ones, and it's worth noting that you can solve most of them now by dropping out. Unfortunately, that obviously means you won't be a doctor. Whether that sacrifice is worthwhile is up to you, but I'd advise talking it through with every counselor, dean, friend, SO, etc. you can before pulling the trigger. Give this a lot of thought, because you most likely can't come back if you walk away.

 

[Charlie Hustle]

It sounds like you've made your decision already. As others have said, medicine is a tough road for everybody and if your heart isn't in it 100%, you'll end up unhappy one way or another.

If I was in your shoes, I would spend some serious time talking with my friends and family and really evaluating my priorities. If you think you would be happy with a career in medicine, see if there's a way to stick it out without compromising your personal relationships and happiness. If not, then there are plenty of awesome career options out there that will allow you to feel satisfied with your decision and still give you the opportunity to use your skills to give back to others.

Don't worry about trying to please everyone else. At the end of the day, it's your life and your decision to make.

 

[thepoopologist]

If you're okay with finding another career, now is the best time to walk away. Med school isn't prison but it's definitely a time consuming endeavor that will be unpleasant and costly if you're not 90-100% devoted to it. If I had the choice you now have knowing what I know about myself as a 4th year, I can't say I'd have gone through with it. You may not know what it's like in the wards yet but the basic principle remains, you will spend the majority of your time dealing with med school and if you don't want that, walk away while the debt is minuscule.

 

[NYCMS2]

So you have aleady paid 1st semester tuition? How long are you obligated on rent? You should at least stick out the semester - that money is not going to be refunded. And try to rediscover what drew you to medicine in the first place - was it shadowing? or volunteering? You can still do those things now, and you should.

Or did you apply to med school for the wrong reasons. Say, to serve your ego? If so, you might as well pack up and leave today, because med school is an assault on ego the likes of which I never imagined. Only the strong survive this hell...

 

[StephenMaturin]

Hi everyone,

In short, I am a first-year medical student debating whether or not I should drop out of medical school. Yes, I recognize that it has only been a month, and yes, I recognize that I had to work hard to get here, and yes, I know some people are going to say "this is the dumbest thought ever!" I, too, have thought those things, yet here I am.

My main reasons/concerns are:

1) I value family/friends more than I value medicine, and I don't think I will be able to cultivate the kinds of relationships I want based on where I am
2) As a physician, I likely will not get to spend the amount of time I want with my friends and family
3) I will be over $300,000 in debt by the time I graduate
4) I can see myself happily pursuing several other careers that still involve helping people, whether in the healthcare field or not
5) I do not care how much money I make
6) My desire to go to medical school went up and down throughout the application cycle, but I ultimately decided to go

To MD or not to MD, that is the question.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

1 and 2. As you get older everyone will have less time for friends. As people start to get married and have kids and real jobs with real responsibilities, medical or not, you don't just hang out with friends as much as in college and the few post-college years. You'll make time for your family.

3. You said you don't care how much money you make. Why do you care about the debt then? You'll be able to pay it off.

4. This is the most legit complaint. Do what you want and what you think will make you happy.

5a. You will in about 10 years when you have kids and want to live in a neighborhood with a good school system and you want to save for their college and provide them with things that will allow them to live a happy, fulfilling life.

5b. A huge part about the MD money thing is the assurance of having a job almost anywhere you want to live, and not having to worry too much about getting laid off. It's hard to find a job. You want to find a job near your friends and family? Medicine is probably one of your best bets.

 

[StephenMaturin]

If you are intelligent enough for medicine, then you could probably make more money doing something else and still have a better lifestyle outside work.

This is a comforting myth, in my opinion. There are lots of very smart, competent, charming people out there fighting for 70g/year jobs. Medicine, dentistry, ect with their near guaranteed employment and salary are a pretty sweet deal.

 

[von Matterhorn]

Literally every complaint you have is something you should have known before even starting school. I can't even take this seriously

 

[MEDMED99]

Hmm...so I am a fourth year medical student (5th year total as I took a year to do a masters)....and as I head into the home stretch (well until residency!) this is the post that finally willed me to write my first comments on this forum.

Here are my thoughts on the following -

1) I value family/friends more than I value medicine, and I don't think I will be able to cultivate the kinds of relationships I want based on where I am
---> Many of us put family first. I will likely be working part time in the earlier part of my career to have time to raise a family. Don't be a neurosurgeon, a general surgeon, a cardiologist, etc - but there are other mellower options.

2) As a physician, I likely will not get to spend the amount of time I want with my friends and family
--> You can work specialties that are more 8-5, and if money is less important, you can work part time. Most physicians also get 4-6 weeks paid leave a year. Most major medical centers (academic, kaiser, etc) have their physicians on a 8 half days shifts (meaning two half days off a week) for a full time contract. The only jobs you might have more vacation/flexibility in are some of the techy things where you can tele-commute, or teaching (I used to be a high school teacher and it was awesome - but don't think its easy, you get a lot of holidays but the hours can be grueling while you are working and the pay is poor). Medicine is by far more lucrative, even when worked part time compared to some of those options.

3) I will be over $300,000 in debt by the time I graduate
- You will have income based repayment, so you'll pay less when you start out and more as you advance in your career. Not to mention, if you decide to do primary care, work in certain areas, or commit to doing 10 years at a non-profit (including academics), there are various degrees of loan pay back available.

4) I can see myself happily pursuing several other careers that still involve helping people, whether in the healthcare field or not
- Despite some other peoples comments, I don't think this is a deal breaker. Many of us could be happy doing more then one thing. Many of us are career changers and have done more then one thing. Carefully weigh your interests, future job situation, earning potential, job market, etc. You could be happy doing something else, but you already have a great opportunity to do medicine, and that could make you happy to - because you can help people, make good money, live where you want (assuming you don't super specialize), and have time for your family (if you work part-time, or pick the right specialty for you). Give the opportunity you have a fair shot.

5) I do not care how much money I make
I think a reliable income is more important that the amount, on the whole, physician jobs are fairly recession proof (you are unlikely to get laid off once you are set up....that is a very good thing)

Bottom line....your unhappiness seems more tied to you lack of social support then anything to do with med school (to be honest, 1st semester has very little to do with the rest of med school anyhow). Don't quit without first trying to develop that support system for yourself in a new place. It may mean meeting with a therapist or counselor - not cause your crazy, but because you need someone truly objective to talk through this with (trust me, we as med students are NOT objective). Try to make a few (liberal) friends, and totally do some research into where the gay community might be in your area.

I wish you luck and strength, and I hope you find the support you need.

 

[Wordead]

2 classmates dropped out around this time into M1, and for what it's worth neither of them regret it in the least (at least that's what they said).

I'd say if you don't want to do it, drop out now before you're invested. A couple of my classmates are just so miserable but are too far in debt now.

On the other side of the coin, to me, med school gets better every single year.

 

[J ROD]

First only you know if you have the desire to be there.

For example, I am loving every minute of it because I am getting a shot at my dream.

Well, maybe not all of it. Histo is boring as hell. Gross is hard but cool.

 

[Bane]

I'm looking into some of these things, but I'm afraid the school has a much brighter/happier view of how things are here.

4 years (maybe more, since people tend to match in the area) seems like such a long time to dedicate myself to being/feeling alone. Is that just a sacrifice that you (and other people) are kind of accepting?

Btw, it much longer than 4 years... residency is just as bad.

I will admit, med school can be socially isolating. Especially if you have moved out of state and don't seem to fit in with your local crowd.

 

[michaelrack]

5a. You will in about 10 years when you have kids and want to live in a neighborhood with a good school system and you want to save for their college and provide them with things that will allow them to live a happy, fulfilling life.
.

Being gay, odds are that the OP will not be in this situation in 10 years (although not entirely impossible)

 

[DNAdude120]

I can understand the idea of being gay and feeling a little isolated from community. I always chuckle a bit when people come on these forums and worry about whether or not they will find their soul mate in med school because frankly, the odds of me finding "Mr. Right" in my class are ridiculously slim if not zero. Even if the stars aligned and I found him, we wouldn't be able to tie the knot anyway. The solace I take is that being gay affords you a delayed adolescence. Should you choose to continue with med school and get residency in a more metropolitan area, chances are most of the friends you make, should they be gay, will likely not be coupled up or have kids. You will have the time (and means) to live it up and enjoy life.

 

[DahlkeA]

Well, my major concern is that I am gay and an area that is not particularly gay friendly and does not have many gay people. I feel like I'm relegating myself to a minimum of 4 years of solitude/isolation, which is definitely concerning.

I definitely thought about that issue before coming, but told myself I needed to at least try before I judged. Lo and behold, I'm not particularly fond of what I've found...

Dude... I'm not sure where you are at, but I'm gay as well and live in IDAHO. I don't know if you've ever been to Idaho... but it's a pretty S****y place to live and be gay, only thing worse I think would be Utah. I just recently got married (although not legal in this state), and live an openly same-sex lifestyle despite being in a community that's VERY conservative, Very religious, and very anti-homosexual.

Like someone else said, I can promise you're not the only gay person in town, hell there are probably, statistically speaking, gay people in your class. It seems like this is a silly reason to throw out your medical school admission you've tried to hard for. Just my .02. I would give my left nut to be in your shoes.

 

[Bane]

Dude... I'm not sure where you are at, but I'm gay as well and live in IDAHO. I don't know if you've ever been to Idaho... but it's a pretty S****y place to live and be gay, only thing worse I think would be Utah. I just recently got married (although not legal in this state), and live an openly same-sex lifestyle despite being in a community that's VERY conservative, Very religious, and very anti-homosexual.

Like someone else said, I can promise you're not the only gay person in town, hell there are probably, statistically speaking, gay people in your class. It seems like this is a silly reason to throw out your medical school admission you've tried to hard for. Just my .02. I would give my left nut to be in your shoes.

Pre-med vs med student perspectives are always entirely different. Pre-med want to save the world too usually.

 

[RafaTech]

Hi everyone,

In short, I am a first-year medical student debating whether or not I should drop out of medical school. Yes, I recognize that it has only been a month, and yes, I recognize that I had to work hard to get here, and yes, I know some people are going to say "this is the dumbest thought ever!" I, too, have thought those things, yet here I am.

My main reasons/concerns are:

1) I value family/friends more than I value medicine, and I don't think I will be able to cultivate the kinds of relationships I want based on where I am
2) As a physician, I likely will not get to spend the amount of time I want with my friends and family
3) I will be over $300,000 in debt by the time I graduate
4) I can see myself happily pursuing several other careers that still involve helping people, whether in the healthcare field or not
5) I do not care how much money I make
6) My desire to go to medical school went up and down throughout the application cycle, but I ultimately decided to go

To MD or not to MD, that is the question.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

The bolded statement above is probably the one reason you should actually reconsider medicine. Medicine is a long hard road that never gets any easier, even as an attending. For the most part, you're looking at many years of commitment, long hours and countless hours of studying. If you are having doubts first semester, its still early and you can bail. Whatever you decide, good luck.

 

[Druggernaut]

4) I can see myself happily pursuing several other careers that still involve helping people, whether in the healthcare field or not

I'm just picking this one out since people say it all the time on SDN. Who couldn't see themselves doing something else? I remember asking a doctor I shadowed prior to medical school if he felt this was true. He said that if you can't see yourself being happy doing something else, you haven't looked around enough.

This whole "I couldn't see myself doing anything else" notion is just talk. Just like some people like to make a big deal about how difficult medical school is, how tough residency is, and so on, people say it because it makes them feel good about their decision. It's nice to have a calling rather than a job. It's nice to be smarter than everyone else, or (to some) to be more self-sacrificing. But show me a guy who couldn't be happy doing anything other than medicine, and I'll show you a guy I don't want to hang out with.

But to answer your question, if you've already paid the money for the semester and can't get it back, finish out the semester at the very least. You'll settle into a routine where the academics get easier, and you'll have opportunities go build more of a social life for yourself. I'd be shocked if there were no other gay people in your class, and even if you're in a really small town, I'm sure there are opportunities to meet with other gay people within a fairly small geographic area.

 

[DrSnips]

But show me a guy who couldn't be happy doing anything other than medicine, and I'll show you a guy I don't want to hang out with.

I think I know a lot of people you would not want to hang out with.

 

[nowanmd]

I just picked up my new 2013 Lexus ES STAY IN SCHOOL Today I,m happy as pig in sh@t

 

[kish180]

1) I value family/friends more than I value medicine, and I don't think I will be able to cultivate the kinds of relationships I want based on where I am
2) As a physician, I likely will not get to spend the amount of time I want with my friends and family
3) I will be over $300,000 in debt by the time I graduate
4) I can see myself happily pursuing several other careers that still involve helping people, whether in the healthcare field or not
5) I do not care how much money I make
6) My desire to go to medical school went up and down throughout the application cycle, but I ultimately decided to go
Thanks!

MS3 here at TUSM. Hey man. Ive been there. I seriously considered dropping out, even talking to the Dean and everything. My advice to you is this: dont drop out without knowning what you're passing on. I'm sure you think you know what "medicine" is like. I did also first year. But the truth is you really have to do a rotation to have any idea what any given specialty is going to be like on a daily basis.
I thought I would love internal medicine, ended up hating it cause of the paperwork. I knew I would hate surgery because of the hours, I ended up liking it because taking care of surgical patients doesnt involve as much information overload as other specialties.
The reality is that its hard to tell how much you're going to like any specialty until you've completed medical school, and until you can safely say you don't like every specialty, its worth it to explore each.
The reason I put "medicine" in quotes above is because today, medicine is nonspecific, a category which contains many very very different jobs within it. Some of those work long hours, some dont, some are mostly paperwork, some are procedural, some focus on labwork, others consulting, others seeing patients, etc.

1. its very specialty specific. In ER for example, you work shifts, and can take as little as you want. Many attendings work 2-3 12 hour shifts per week, and have most of the week off. Pathology works 9-5, no call. Having a very high base salary puts you in a strong position, mainly, you can work part time or locum tenens in virtually any specialty and make much more than you would in any other career. Keep these things in mind. Medicine doesnt have to be terrible hours and stressful unless a) you want it to be or b) you want the money, which later on, you said you dont.
2. I get that you're gay and in a not gay-friendly location. But really, its pretty hard to date during med school, for anyone. You just take hit of those 4 years. Also, you can do away rotations as much as you want 4th year.
3. Youll be in debt but you are borrowing against future salary. If you lived after residency the way you do now, you could pay back the debt in a few years. The debt really isnt that much, it just seems like it. Also, if you wanted you could do HPSP. But as im sure you know the HPSP requires usually 4-6 years of service, much more than the required number of years to pay off the debt.
4. I dont really think you help people in medicine personally, I think its gotten to a point of assembly line management of patients. But im sure you could, if you wanted to. Many other careers also help patients in healthcare. In fact many other healthcare professionals, PA's, some skilled nurses, etc. could do almost the same job as a physician most of the time, but they get paid less. Why would you want to do that, when youve already passed the main limiting factor for those other jobs : getting into med school.

Anyways thats just my thoughts on the matter. Like to see what others have to say. TBH, im not sure im even going to go into clinical medicine, might work for pharma or do research after med school. But all in all I dont think med school can ever really hurt you, unless of course you have absolutely no interest in anything healthcare related and want to do MMA fighting or something.
People always talk about the whole stress and no time thing, but I think its really a self fulfilling prophecy. People have this image of medicine as being an all consuming career, so they only go into if they are willing to sacrifice. But in reality, there are many specialties in medicine with a very good lifestyle. A resident I met in my IM rotation told me he plans to do locum tenens for 3 months every year and sail around the world for 9 months. How could that be stressful at all? And thats IM, one of the easiest residencies to get into.

 

[ashah0224]

I'm trying to find a mentor - somebody to chat with. My school has no resources or programs of the sort. Anybody have any ideas? I'm in a position similar to OP in deciding what to do... and very stressed out.

If anybody can provide any names or direction, send me a PM please.

Thanks for your time and any advice.

 

[i live in ATP]

thanks for the positive/encouraging responses, everyone. it's great knowing that there is a supportive community even if it isn't in the immediate vicinity

i just want to clarify that i couldn't agree more that medical school is an investment that yields potentially high rewards. putting in time, money, and effort will lead to a stable salary, career, and (hopefully) happy lifestyle. but like with any investment, there are risks...so all of the time, money, and effort that you put in could be for nothing if you don't get rewards you want in the end.

i'm in no way saying that i don't want to be an MD...i'd love to be a physician. but let's face the sad reality that being gay is an issue in several parts of the US (let alone the world). while it is a comforting thought to know that major metropolitan areas are receptive and welcoming, residency positions (which may dwindle in numbers by the time i graduate) and jobs in these areas can be hard to attain. everybody keeps saying that there are bountiful jobs and opportunities...but are there really, when you consider what it'd be like to be bound by location due to social circumstances that are out of your control?

i realize that this post is really harping on the gay issue, but hey, it's a major reason for why i am having doubts.

 

[Cinclus]

thanks for the positive/encouraging responses, everyone. it's great knowing that there is a supportive community even if it isn't in the immediate vicinity

i just want to clarify that i couldn't agree more that medical school is an investment that yields potentially high rewards. putting in time, money, and effort will lead to a stable salary, career, and (hopefully) happy lifestyle. but like with any investment, there are risks...so all of the time, money, and effort that you put in could be for nothing if you don't get rewards you want in the end.

i'm in no way saying that i don't want to be an MD...i'd love to be a physician. but let's face the sad reality that being gay is an issue in several parts of the US (let alone the world). while it is a comforting thought to know that major metropolitan areas are receptive and welcoming, residency positions (which may dwindle in numbers by the time i graduate) and jobs in these areas can be hard to attain. everybody keeps saying that there are bountiful jobs and opportunities...but are there really, when you consider what it'd be like to be bound by location due to social circumstances that are out of your control?

i realize that this post is really harping on the gay issue, but hey, it's a major reason for why i am having doubts.

Don't let the haters win by letting this hold you back from doing what you'd love to do.

 

[deleted263296]

Drop out now before you get further in debt. Despite what people say, every year in your training gets harder and worse than the year before it. You will have a huge burden lifted off your shoulders and I can guarantee you there will be many in this profession who envy your wisdom. Be true to yourself.

 

[i live in ATP]

transferring is definitely an option for me, although i've heard that it is a rare occurrence. i've also heard that you need some pretty compelling reasons in order to do it.

would me wanting to be in a more gay-friendly environment (worded more professionally than that) be a good enough reason? i mean, i'd like to be able to get married and stuff at some point, which is against the law in the state that i'm in (how awesome is that?).

 

[michaelrack]

transferring is definitely an option for me, although i've heard that it is a rare occurrence. i've also heard that you need some pretty compelling reasons in order to do it.

would me wanting to be in a more gay-friendly environment (worded more professionally than that) be a good enough reason? i mean, i'd like to be able to get married and stuff at some point, which is against the law in the state that i'm in (how awesome is that?).

Most admission committees would not consider it a good enough reason (unless you were suffering severe harassment for being gay). As far as the marriage issue; it doesn't sound like you plan on getting married in the next 3-4 years, so how is that even an issue?

 

[DocHawk117]

i realize that this post is really harping on the gay issue, but hey, it's a major reason for why i am having doubts.

I am in a place that is arguably not as gay-friendly when compared to both the west and east coasts, but there are gay people in my school and they have no problem fitting in whatsoever. In fact, they are so comfortable with themselves, that it makes everyone around them comfortable and it doesn't even make sexuality an issue (i.e. they do not let their sexuality define them). The people that go into medicine, for the most part, are very intelligent and educated, and with that generally comes cultural competence, open-mindedness, and an appreciation for diversity (at least to some extent). I guarantee that 90% of the people in med school have NO problem with sexuality, and the other 10% has just been sheltered and not exposed to sexual diversity, therefore, may be more uncomfortable with it. As far as being afraid of spending "four years in solitude/isolation," I don't see a reason for this having to be the case anywhere. For making friends, give your classmates a real chance to prove you wrong. I say just be comfortable with who you are and it will make others more comfortable, and hopefully the issue will be removed from the table and you can concentrate more on your studies. As far as meeting someone, heck, I'm straight, surrounded by men constantly, and I still haven't met my Mr. Right. When it happens, it happens, no matter where you are, so just live life

 

[Amnipotem]

You should not take 300k loans lightly and do not count on IBR to dispose of it, since your interest will keep accruing in that period and you will have to pay a tax on the amount that is wiped out at the end of the 20 year period. Also, who knows what Congress will do in the meantime to the program. Perhaps we will be forced to pay back loans until we die.

Because you will be investing a great amount of time, and more importantly, money (this is life-changing debt that you will have to face for 10 to 20 years, minimum), into your future, you should only pursue this career if you really, really WANT to be a physician. You will be sacrificing at least 8 years of life studying BS during that time, and more importantly, digging yourself into a grave of debt with 7 percent interest rates. Your amount owed may be closer to 350k-400k by the end of your residency since you will not be making enough to pay off your principal during the residency.

There are plenty of jobs that pay a decent amount of money without requiring you to sacrifice your life and your finances. You could get a 9-5 job, make less money, but not have loans and save money and invest it in the 8 year period you are in med school and residency.

So if you are having doubts now about wanting to be a physician, I would say drop out before you incur more debt and it's too late. Medical school, like most higher education programs in America, is pretty much only a luxury available to rich kids who don't have to face the burden of paying off life-changing debt. If you are paying for it on your own, you have to truly want to be a physician.

 

[DocHawk117]

I'm in a different field, have six figure loans (although much less than 300k), and I'm making six figures. Before I went to graduate school, I had no perception of how large a mental and literal burden paying off a large amount of debt is.

You should not take 300k loans lightly and do not count on IBR to dispose of it, since your interest will keep accruing in that period and you will have to pay a tax on the amount that is wiped out at the end of the 20 year period. Also, who knows what Congress will do in the meantime to the program. Perhaps we will be forced to pay back loans until we die.

Because you will be investing a great amount of time, and more importantly, money (this is life-changing debt that you will have to face for 10 to 20 years, minimum), into your future, you should only pursue this career if you really, really WANT to be a physician. You will be sacrificing at least 8 years of life studying BS during that time, and more importantly, digging yourself into a grave of debt with 7 percent interest rates. Your amount owed may be closer to 350k-400k by the end of your residency since you will not be making enough to pay off your principal during the residency.

There are plenty of jobs that pay a decent amount of money without requiring you to sacrifice your life and your finances. You could get a 9-5 job, make less money, but not have loans and save money and invest it in the 8 year period you are in med school and residency.

So if you are having doubts now about wanting to be a physician, I would say drop out before you incur more debt and it's too late. Medical school, like most higher education programs in America, is pretty much only a luxury available to rich kids who don't have to face the burden of paying off life-changing debt. If you are paying for it on your own, you have to truly want to be a physician.

Even though I already knew all of this, thanks for reminding me. lol.

 

[music2doc]

If you don't to be a physician that is perfectly ok. There are plenty of careers out there that you may prefer. But being gay and feeling like you won't be able to meet someone for four years is NOT a really good reason for dropping out. You'd be throwing away a career you worked hard for in order to be with someone you have yet to meet, with no guarantee that you will actually meet your "soulmate" or w/e in the next four years anyway.

As far as the other reasons, there aer plenty of career options in medicine that allow you to spend time with family and friends. If you worked as a hospitalist,emergency medicine, or ICU you'd be doing shift work and you could potentially make a lot of money working very few hours. Or you could do something much more competitive like GI, derm, plastics, allergy/immuno and still have a 9-5 kind of life. As others have pointed out, fourth year of med school is a vacation and you have two summers off in the next two years, so it's not like you'll be trapped in some dungeon for the next 48 months. And I don't know what area you're in, but I'm sure there are places where you can meet someone else, you just have to find out where to look. Good luck.

 

[umean2tellme]

What? Intensivists don't work 12 hour shifts and make good pay these days?