Do you think it's a good idea to keep it simple after getting into medical school?

[JoyKim456]

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Disclaimer: I am only an undergrad. I've recently been thinking about what to do with my future and my goal is to facilitate a discussion with people that have more experience than me and want to listen to the thoughts and opinions of others.

I feel after getting into medical school, you should be golden, because if you "follow the rules", you are guaranteed a medical degree. After you get in, it is more about avoiding doing something bad and making sure everything is done properly and complete. I just think that you should focus on being happy. It's ok to not get into radiology or dermatology. It's ok if you are not at the top of your class. You got into med school for a reason: you have the intelligence and maturity to be a decent physician. Personally, I would just like to get a simply, not too risky, specialty (pathology, rheumatology, internal medicine etc) and focus on making the non-professional parts of my life better so I can be a lot happier (raise a family, explore other countries, etc).

Again, I apologize if I am wildly missing something here. If I am wrong, please feel free to correct me.

 

[Feelgood Inc]

Can we create a new forum subsection dedicated to JoyKim456 questions, lol I swear every time I log in I see a question from you

 

[Ace Khalifa]

 

[Lucca]

That sounds perfectly alright to me. Do whatever makes you happy and make sure medicine is a big part of what makes you happy and you will probably live a very successful and fulfilling life.

Always easier said than done though but it sounds like a great attitude to have.

The only caveat is that you may end up really loving the "risky" residencies (I'm not sure what you mean by risky?). Just do the best you can, do what you want to do, and don't forget the people around you or yourself.

 

[JoyKim456]

@Lucca By risky, I meant stressful. Thing like cardiology or surgery.

 

[JoyKim456]

@Feelgood Inc My last post was 2 weeks ago. Anyways, this is meant to be sincere

 

[Ismet]

@Lucca By risky, I meant stressful. Thing like cardiology or surgery.

Cardiology (and rheum) are fellowships you complete after an internal medicine residency.

 

[JoyKim456]

@Ismet I know. Yet I believe rheum is less risky than cardiology, correct? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, I was talking about final career choice rather than the steps needed to get there

 

[ridethecliche]

What's risky in cardiology? Unless you're talking about cardiac surgery.

 

[Ismet]

@Ismet I know. Yet I believe rheum is less risky than cardiology, correct? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, I was talking about final career choice rather than the steps needed to get there

I think you're confusing risky with competitive.

No, you don't need to go overboard, but medical school is not something you can just breeze through. Even if you don't want to go into a competitive field, the top programs of even the least competitive fields are hard to get into. You don't need to be at the top of the class, but your goal should not be to "just pass," as you will sorely regret that once Step 1 time comes around. Also depending on your school, it takes a lot of work to get HP/H in clinical years, the goal is definitely not just to pass clinical rotations.

I'm all for a balance between medicine and non-medicine, and I think I've done a good job of that so far in med school. I just caution you about taking too much of a relaxed approach to med school. You still need to do your best, avoid the mentality of "oh I got in, I'll be a doctor if I just follow the rules."

 

[Ace Khalifa]

What's risky in cardiology? Unless you're talking about cardiac surgery.

I think OP meant "specialties that are competitive and have a high risk of not matching" when he said "risky." Or maybe OP doesn't know what he's talking about. All specialties have inherent "risk" in them; every time you make a diagnosis or perform a procedure, you "risk" making a mistake.

EDIT: @Ismet beat me to it.

 

[jqueb29]

I'm not really sure what the point of this post is.

 

[Psai]

what is this thread

 

[JoyKim456]

Sorry if I was not as clear.

By "risky" I meant specialties that have high risk. I know there is risk for every specialty, but obviously neurosurgery would be more risky than, say, pathology. Physicians in high risk specialties have so much stress to deal with.

And sorry if I meant "breeze through medical school". What I meant by "follow the rules" was trying your best and being happy. I meant that you should try your best but don't obsess about the outcome of your score. My friends talk about seeing classmates that really want to get into a competitive specialty and then they ruin their mental health over it.

The point of this thread is more towards getting an opinion. Can you be happy by just trying your best and being positive that you will get a decent job? Or is it better to be a bit obsessive because it is more likely to give you more success.

 

[Psai]

why don't you worry about that when you're in medical school

 

[houston9]

The point of this thread is more towards getting an opinion. Can you be happy by just trying your best and being positive that you will get a decent job? Or is it better to be a bit obsessive because it is more likely to give you more success.

What matters is your happiness, no? Why are you asking other people's opinions about this? Figure out what makes you happy and then do that.

 

[JoyKim456]

Can someone close this thread?