Do you ever feel like you've made the wrong career choice?

[medstudent87]

I'm a second year med student and every now and then I wonder if I made the right career choice. I mean, I look at other students and see how PASSIONATE and enthusiastic they are about the material and medicine in general, yet I seem to have more of a blasé attitude. I've always been good at science and I enjoy interacting with new people, so I figured "why not medicine?", but I'm worried that my lack of intense passion will lead to my eventual "demise"...To me, being a physician isn't some sort of calling or what not...its a job like any other.
I certainly do not enjoy going to lectures and studying alone in quiet rooms...but I figure this is just temporary (albeit LONG). Furthermore, I was so used to always being at the top of my class all throughout high school and college, yet now I'm about average, which is upsetting even though I realize that my classmates are also the "cream of the crop".

Are there any other medical students that feel this way, at least once in a while?

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[xanthomondo]

I'm a second year med student and every now and then I wonder if I made the right career choice. I mean, I look at other students and see how PASSIONATE and enthusiastic they are about the material and medicine in general, yet I seem to have more of a blasé attitude. I've always been good at science and I enjoy interacting with new people, so I figured "why not medicine?", but I'm worried that my lack of intense passion will lead to my eventual "demise"...To me, being a physician isn't some sort of calling or what not...its a job like any other.
I certainly do not enjoy going to lectures and studying alone in quiet rooms...but I figure this is just temporary (albeit LONG). Furthermore, I was so used to always being at the top of my class all throughout high school and college, yet now I'm about average, which is upsetting even though I realize that my classmates are also the "cream of the crop".

Are there any other medical students that feel this way, at least once in a while?

1. People are fake... people's intensity is often a front.
2. You're fine, just hang in there and find something you enjoy.

 

[auburnO5]

1. People are fake... people's intensity is often a front.
2. You're fine, just hang in there and find something you enjoy.

I feel ya OP. I'm already feeling like you and I just started in July.

 

[Bartelby]

Similar feelings here. The material is nowhere near as interesting or life-changing to me as what I learned in college and on some of these long hour rotations the thought of going in the next day (after not having had a day off in a week or two) just makes me angry. The free time isn't what it used to be, and a lot of other stuff is on hold (traveling, starting a family, hobbies, writing).

Sometimes I feel sure I made the wrong decision but other times I think it was a fairly good one. I still really hope that once I am practicing day to day in the specialty that most interests me that I will find the enjoyment and satisfaction I expected from medicine. Otherwise it will have been a tremendously expensive mistake, in terms of life and money.

Plus I owe enough now to consider myself an indentured servant, owned by the system, because going anywhere else is no longer an option.

But to echo what was said above, you're not alone. I think a lot of people feel this way at least part of the time.

(Disclaimer: I tend to get this way when I am overworked, stressed, and sleep deprived. At other times I genuinely enjoy talking to patients and thinking through medical problems. It seems like a pretty awesome job all told.)

 

[Rollo]

I would hold off on making any judgment based purely from classroom experience.

With that being said, I hear ya on how painful this classroom experience can be. Think about it, this is the last year of classroom i.e. being a student in its classical definition.

Next year will be practical and accurate representation of what we signed up for.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Second year in particular has a lot of rote memorization. All the random drug names and bacteria that you just have to cram into your brain. You're right, it's not as inherently interesting as some of the stuff we learned in undergrad. But I think you'll find that with your interest in science, once you have the medical toolbox from 2nd year, you'll see that your job really isn't like all the others and you'll be glad you did it.

 

[unsung]

Similar feelings here. The material is nowhere near as interesting or life-changing to me as what I learned in college and on some of these long hour rotations the thought of going in the next day (after not having had a day off in a week or two) just makes me angry. The free time isn't what it used to be, and a lot of other stuff is on hold (traveling, starting a family, hobbies, writing).

Sometimes I feel sure I made the wrong decision but other times I think it was a fairly good one. I still really hope that once I am practicing day to day in the specialty that most interests me that I will find the enjoyment and satisfaction I expected from medicine. Otherwise it will have been a tremendously expensive mistake, in terms of life and money.

Plus I owe enough now to consider myself an indentured servant, owned by the system, because going anywhere else is no longer an option.

But to echo what was said above, you're not alone. I think a lot of people feel this way at least part of the time.

(Disclaimer: I tend to get this way when I am overworked, stressed, and sleep deprived. At other times I genuinely enjoy talking to patients and thinking through medical problems. It seems like a pretty awesome job all told.)

Exactly.

1) In college, I learned to think. In medical school, I learned to memorize.

Leading into...

2) People are fake. Who the hell enjoys memorizing more than thinking??

I think what bugs me more than anything else is the fakeness. It would be less aggravating slogging through the mud if I got the sense that others hated it as much as I do. But nooooo, people have to pretend to be enthusiastic about this stuff.

(3) ...Except for that minority of people who actually are enthusiastic about memorizing crap. I HATE THOSE PEOPLE. )

 

[medstudent87]

Exactly.

1) In college, I learned to think. In medical school, I learned to memorize.

Leading into...

2) People are fake. Who the hell enjoys memorizing more than thinking??

I think what bugs me more than anything else is the fakeness. It would be less aggravating slogging through the mud if I got the sense that others hated it as much as I do. But nooooo, people have to pretend to be enthusiastic about this stuff.

(3) ...Except for that minority of people who actually are enthusiastic about memorizing crap. I HATE THOSE PEOPLE. )

UGhhhhh i raelly miss thinking. just yesterday actually, a friend of mine called me up to ask me to help him solve a complex math problem since I minored in math (he is a HS tutor) and I enjoyed working at it sooo much...I miss math

 

[Rollo]

Exactly.

1) In college, I learned to think. In medical school, I learned to memorize.

Leading into...

2) People are fake. Who the hell enjoys memorizing more than thinking??

I think what bugs me more than anything else is the fakeness. It would be less aggravating slogging through the mud if I got the sense that others hated it as much as I do. But nooooo, people have to pretend to be enthusiastic about this stuff.

(3) ...Except for that minority of people who actually are enthusiastic about memorizing crap. I HATE THOSE PEOPLE. )

You forgot to include the group of people who enjoy learning this material yet hate the memorizing part.

 

[njbmd]

I'm a second year med student and every now and then I wonder if I made the right career choice. I mean, I look at other students and see how PASSIONATE and enthusiastic they are about the material and medicine in general, yet I seem to have more of a blasé attitude. I've always been good at science and I enjoy interacting with new people, so I figured "why not medicine?", but I'm worried that my lack of intense passion will lead to my eventual "demise"...To me, being a physician isn't some sort of calling or what not...its a job like any other.
I certainly do not enjoy going to lectures and studying alone in quiet rooms...but I figure this is just temporary (albeit LONG). Furthermore, I was so used to always being at the top of my class all throughout high school and college, yet now I'm about average, which is upsetting even though I realize that my classmates are also the "cream of the crop".

Are there any other medical students that feel this way, at least once in a while?

Stop comparing yourself to other students (or people in general). Every time you compare yourself to another person, you will come up short. You have to live your life according to what you want. You make decisions based on what's right for you. What difference does it make in YOUR life if another person "feels" or doesn't "feel" the same as you? Actually it makes no difference.

What you did in the past is meaningless. What you are doing right now is the only thing that counts. If you can't focus on the here and now, try to find a counselor or faculty adviser at your school that can help sort out some of your feelings as they apply to your life situation so that you can get and keep your focus on the job at hand.

While it's wonderful to get into a "feeling festival" with people on a message board, you actually have such a short amount of time to learn what you need to be a competent physician. In short, don't waste your time and energy on things that don't benefit you. Commiseration "parties" waste valuable living time.

If your career isn't what you want, you are the only one that can change it to what you DO want. Your feelings in this matter are the only ones that count. If you "demise" and I doubt that this will be the case, it will be because you were not able to focus on what you needed to focus on and get the job done. Feelings will have little to do with this. In the end, you do the best you can and let the rest go. If something doesn't work, make some changes.

 

[yakiea]

Exactly.

1) In college, I learned to think. In medical school, I learned to memorize.

Leading into...

2) People are fake. Who the hell enjoys memorizing more than thinking??

I think what bugs me more than anything else is the fakeness. It would be less aggravating slogging through the mud if I got the sense that others hated it as much as I do. But nooooo, people have to pretend to be enthusiastic about this stuff.

(3) ...Except for that minority of people who actually are enthusiastic about memorizing crap. I HATE THOSE PEOPLE. )

Thank you thank you thank you. I am not alone. Voicing my thoughts to people often bites me in the ass and makes me feel like I'm cynical. And when I try to tell other potential pre-meds, they stare at me. But I'm telling them things I wish I knew...Instead of being deluded into it by Asian parents. Ya know...

Ya know, there is Google to look up stuff.

 

[bertstare]

I'm a second year med student and every now and then I wonder if I made the right career choice. I mean, I look at other students and see how PASSIONATE and enthusiastic they are about the material and medicine in general, yet I seem to have more of a blasé attitude. I've always been good at science and I enjoy interacting with new people, so I figured "why not medicine?", but I'm worried that my lack of intense passion will lead to my eventual "demise"...To me, being a physician isn't some sort of calling or what not...its a job like any other.
I certainly do not enjoy going to lectures and studying alone in quiet rooms...but I figure this is just temporary (albeit LONG). Furthermore, I was so used to always being at the top of my class all throughout high school and college, yet now I'm about average, which is upsetting even though I realize that my classmates are also the "cream of the crop".

Are there any other medical students that feel this way, at least once in a while?

Same. Depressed, relationship is falling apart, went from top of class to avg (or lower) in med school...overall feel hopeless and alone lol

 

[footcloud]

My issue is that I dislike the clinical year more than the classroom years. I never liked the classroom years to begin with, but I could have my life for a couple of weeks until pre-exam. But now...it's like constantly no life and trying to pretend to care about stuff I don't. I don't mind interacting with patients, but constantly being evaluated is really stressful and not knowing what I'm doing hearing with minimal feedback ...

 

[LifetimeDoc]

YES! I definitely made the wrong career choice!

Then I applied to medical school, got accepted, am pursuing a career in general surgery, and am the happiest I've ever been!

And, yes I do get down on all of the stupid memorization that we have to endure, the long hours, the crazy exams. But in the end, at least for me, it's the right choice.

 

[muhali3]

YES! I definitely made the wrong career choice!

Then I applied to medical school, got accepted, am pursuing a career in general surgery, and am not the happiest I've ever been!

And, yes I do get down on all of the stupid memorization that we have to endure, the long hours, the crazy exams. But in the end, at least for me, it's the right choice.

Lol. but yeah that's cool, I think non-trads who had a career/full-time job before coming into medical school respect how things have turned out for them a lot more.

 

[taratm]

what i was hoping to find in medical career was being so much engaged with "science". since I was one of those "intuitive" kind and really wasn't looking for something "sensible" or "practical" . I assumed medical research had a lot to do with my personal interests rather than any other career. now I think it was a big mistake . people here are so "down to earth" nobody ever wants to hear anything about a new idea unless it's part of the final exams or [worse than that] it's going to appear on their DAMN CVs.they much enjoy walking within the these lines...
yes med88 I've felt like that alot

 

[LifetimeDoc]

Lol. but yeah that's cool, I think non-trads who had a career/full-time job before coming into medical school respect how things have turned out for them a lot more.

Freudian slip I supposed? LOL Corrected.

I can say that I'm not happy taking exams all the time, and not doing as well as I could have done memorizing stuff when I was in my early 20's. But in the end I'm happy that I'm doing what I always wanted to do. Back to forcing myself to study rheumatology...

 

[Perrotfish]

I mean, I look at other students and see how PASSIONATE and enthusiastic they are about the material and medicine in general, yet I seem to have more of a blasé attitude.

A lot of these people are lying to you, and most of what's left are lying to themselves. The ones who are legitmately doublethinking and not just trying to annoy you are actually sort of interesting to watch. Once a girl told me that she needed to periodically sneak into the bathroom to have crying fits because she was so depressed and tired and stressed and hadn't seen anyone she cared about in months. Shortly after that I said something along the lines of 'Medical school really sucks' and she responded with 'Really? I love every minute.'. WTF?

 

[RedSHIFT]

1 game of chess = 1 week of actual thinking in medical school

The problem is I'm too busy memorizing random **** to play chess.

A toast to the thinkers.

 

[RedSHIFT]

A lot of these people are lying to you, and most of what's left are lying to themselves. The ones who are legitmately doublethinking and not just trying to annoy you are actually sort of interesting to watch. Once a girl told me that she needed to periodically sneak into the bathroom to have crying fits because she was so depressed and tired and stressed and hadn't seen anyone she cared about in months. Shortly after that I said something along the lines of 'Medical school really sucks' and she responded with 'Really? I love every minute.'. WTF?

LoL

 

[mac_kin]

]

 

[Trismegistus4]

A lot of these people are lying to you, and most of what's left are lying to themselves. The ones who are legitmately doublethinking and not just trying to annoy you are actually sort of interesting to watch. Once a girl told me that she needed to periodically sneak into the bathroom to have crying fits because she was so depressed and tired and stressed and hadn't seen anyone she cared about in months. Shortly after that I said something along the lines of 'Medical school really sucks' and she responded with 'Really? I love every minute.'. WTF?

I don't think so. When I've had trouble in med school, people have tried to tell me "don't worry, everybody feels that way sometimes," but there are differences of quantity vs. differences of quality. I'm willing to believe that many if not most med students question their decision at some point, go through periods when they're not that excited about it, or wish they could just drop it and go do something else. But those people still at heart have a genuine interest in biomedical science and health care. There are those of us for whom that is not true; people who were never really into this kind of thing and always knew it, knew in the back of their minds even as they were taking the MCAT and interviewing that they were doing this for the wrong reasons. The OP could be such a person. I'm not saying I know that he is, but he could be.