Deciding to quit medical school

[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

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Is it really possible to pursue something like film/acting once your an resident/attending?

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Is it really possible to pursue something like film/acting once your an resident/attending?

Ken Jeong

 

[Schwifty]

Is it really possible to pursue something like film/acting once your an resident/attending?

Ken Jeong

 

[enalli]

there’s no way “having been a medical student” can be taken in a negative light, if you decide to leave

If I heard that phrase, I would be concerned you are trying to inflate your knowledge of medicine and I would be put on my guard. I'm sure people outside of medicine eat it up, though.

I always appreciate when OPs come back to their old threads and give an update. I'm glad you figured out what you wanted to do.

 

[psych_psych_psych]

Hi everyone I'm an MS1 toward the end of his first year.

I know deep inside that my main attraction to medical school was to offset this panic that if I didn't pursue medicine I would be "wasting my life", "wasting my potential" and that I "Should become a doctor". Within all those feelings is this tremendous feeling of fear associated with becoming a doctor and shame associated with the repercussions of my (many times fantasized) going away from it.

Maybe pursuing this career was actually a (genuine) mistake that I am just realizing now that there isn't really an escape. I know that many medical students feel this way. But despite the clinical training and information I have learned so far I feel like life is really dark and medicine is an incredibly stressful, anxiety provoking, all encompassing experience. Last night I had this epiphany that if I pursued music, art, and innovation (areas of interest I have always had) I would truly be going where my heart is. I know I can be a great artist and innovator. Maybe I just have no idea who I am anymore. But I feel silly having the thought of acting on these other aspirations and feel panicked that if I were to leave medical school to pursue something completely different I would instantly regret it. There is also the idea in my head that other medical student are good at everything that I can do and I would just be kidding myself if I decided to leave to pursue something stupid like that. And that, I could do both.

Before making any major moves, I want to think this over really really hard. I want to know what people think about this common advise: "Don't quit. Just keep going until you get your MD, most people will eventually figure out what specialty they want to go into and the worst part is actually the beginning.", "Don't quit grad school.", "It gets better.", and "you can still have a medical career and do other things on the side". A haunting thought of mine is that life outside medicine is not really different in the way I think it may be. That pursuing something I may truly love, fully pursuing it, is something that is useless, because I can just do it while I am in the medical field.
I also want to know what people think about this: "If you truly don't feel passionate about medicine, quit now. It is better to quit sooner than later."

What is the turning point. What gives? At what point do you just decide to pack up and leave? Am I foolish to walk away before receiving my MD degree, or should I just go for the MD and then drop it? Isn't doing that more of a waste of time and money though? What if I actually do not like this profession at all and I have only convinced myself that I like it? These kinds of questions are what I think of every day, multiple times per day, because I feel like I have been lost for the longest time.

There are so many things you can do with an MD besides clinical medicine. It's just a starting point.

 

[El-Rami]

That's true, but med school's not for everyone (why do it if you're just miserable while doing it?), and the OP has apparently found a good career s/he is proud of.

 

[psych_psych_psych]

That's true, but med school's not for everyone (why do it if you're just miserable while doing it?), and the OP has apparently found a good career s/he is proud of.

I get it, there are several students in my class that want absolutely nothing to do with medicine. They plan on doing business/PE/consulting after graduating. However, this is kinda a one shot opportunity. If you leave, you'll never get back in. once clinicals are done its smooth sailing and you've given yourself a very powerful accolade with a lot of lateral movement. I think the MD opens many, many doors outside of the clinical realm.

 

[HKSZYU]

@doctor_x10050 Much respect OP. When I left my former career to go back to school, I got so much vitriol from all sides, people saying that I was dumb for leaving a sure thing, or talking about sunk costs and such. What they didn't realize was just how much I hated waking up in the morning in that life.

I completely agree with your perspective. When you're making these kinds of changes, you of course need to be pragmatic and have a plan. But at the end of the day, you only live once, and you might as well do things that you enjoy.

Wishing you all the best on your new journey.

 

[deleted1068453]

Noob here to resurrect this and say @doctor_x10050 is a beast. I wish I had that. Congratulations. Enjoy life brutha.

 

[YoungDrummer]

If you go for a career in music, you may end up needing to teach in order to survive. And to teach, you would need at least a BA/MA degree in Music. For instance, you could teach music at a high school with a Bachelor's degree in Music. With a masters, you could teach at a college or university.