Does anyone else feel like its too much?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
G

GypsyHummus

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
4,246
Reaction score
2,673
Members do not see this ad.
Does anyone feel like that going to medical school is too much, that trying to be competitive for it is too much, or the preparation for it is driving you up a wall?? Everyone else that I know if graduating this year is getting a 50K+ year job, getting married, staring with their lives and finding themselves, and I feel like I'm still grinding away trying to get into medical school and continuing on with my medical education. I know this is a nobel profession, but it would be nice to know if anyone else is feeling trepidation in this endeavor.

Do you guys have friends that are continuing on with their lives and you are still grinding away?
 
GypsyHummus said:
Does anyone feel like that going to medical school is too much, that trying to be competitive for it is too much, or the preparation for it is driving you up a wall?? Everyone else that I know if graduating this year is getting a 50K+ year job, getting married, staring with their lives and finding themselves, and I feel like I'm still grinding away trying to get into medical school and continuing on with my medical education. I know this is a nobel profession, but it would be nice to know if anyone else is feeling trepidation in this endeavor.

Do you guys have friends that are continuing on with their lives and you are still grinding away?
Click to expand...

Ha. Yeah I know the feels. I have two friends who graduated in engineering and have bought their own cars and gotten married. It's weird thinking we won't get our career job for another 4 years but as you said, medicine is a calling.

I really suggest taking some time to watch this, it inspires and motivates me out of any trenches.

Good luck!
 
Last edited:
Sure, I think most people can relate to what you're describing. You just have to stop looking at "everyone else" and focus on yourself: what do you want? what are your goals?

It took me a some time being out of school to be able to clearly recognize what I want. It's easy to look at others' situations and imagine that the grass is greener, but truly ask yourself: would I be happier next year to get a $50K job and get married/"start my life", or would I prefer to be starting medical school? (Edit to add: Both answers are good. You just need to determine which one is right for you. Choosing NOT to pursue medicine is completely valid, and you should allow yourself to explore this as an option without feeling guilty!)

You have to stop feeling like your life is on hold just because you're a student. Believe it or not, your life has already started! 😱
 
Last edited:
GypsyHummus said:
Does anyone feel like that going to medical school is too much, that trying to be competitive for it is too much, or the preparation for it is driving you up a wall?? Everyone else that I know if graduating this year is getting a 50K+ year job, getting married, staring with their lives and finding themselves, and I feel like I'm still grinding away trying to get into medical school and continuing on with my medical education. I know this is a nobel profession, but it would be nice to know if anyone else is feeling trepidation in this endeavor.

Do you guys have friends that are continuing on with their lives and you are still grinding away?
Click to expand...
Where do live that all these 22/23 are graduating and getting married? I honestly don't know a single person from my college class who is married or even engaged, and I graduated in 2013.
 
Have you considered other careers too, like nursing, PA, etc? Time spent in school is much less, and you'll still have a significant role in patient care
 
As someone who is 3 years out of college, I can promise you that by the time you finish your medical education and begin/finish residency your friends, who have been working for 4-6 years at the same job making $8k more than they did when they graduated, will be feeling this way about your life.

Keep on keeping on
 
GypsyHummus said:
Does anyone feel like that going to medical school is too much, that trying to be competitive for it is too much, or the preparation for it is driving you up a wall?? Everyone else that I know if graduating this year is getting a 50K+ year job, getting married, staring with their lives and finding themselves, and I feel like I'm still grinding away trying to get into medical school and continuing on with my medical education. I know this is a nobel profession, but it would be nice to know if anyone else is feeling trepidation in this endeavor.

Do you guys have friends that are continuing on with their lives and you are still grinding away?
Click to expand...

Perspective, Perspective, Perspective my friend.

I felt the same way seeing all of these people pop up getting married, having children and buying houses. All the while I'm grinding out multiple re-writes of a personal statement and treacherous details of an application. I questioned my decisions and thought process multiple times and ultimately wound up frustrated many, many days.

Now I'm on that other side of the grass IN medical school and I can tell you despite the harsh reality of how difficult medical school is, there's nothing that compares to holding the scalpel, the human heart, brain, and lungs in your hands and learning how the entire human framework comes together and everything that can cause its undoing.

In short, it's worth it.
 
GypsyHummus said:
Does anyone feel like that going to medical school is too much, that trying to be competitive for it is too much, or the preparation for it is driving you up a wall??
Click to expand...
If one can't manage a 3.3/24 even with grade replacement and MCAT retakes, I don't know what to say.
 
Last edited:
As a current resident, I'll say this. If you love medicine and taking care of patients and believe that being a physician is what you were made to do, it's worth it. If you are unsure or simply want to be a physician for lifestyle, money, etc.. it's absolutely not. It's a very tough road, and just when you think you've gotten over one hurdle, there's another one right around the corner. Med school was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Before that, undergrad was 4 years of constant stress trying to ensure I had the grades to get in. People don't understand what you have to give up to become a physician...all the things you mentioned in your post and then some. In the end, I'm glad I did it.
 
Last edited:
user3 said:
If one can't manage a 3.3/24 even with grade replacement and MCAT retakes, I don't know what to say.
Click to expand...

Its tough to get in with those scores. Possible but tough. It's not easy getting in.


OP I feel the same way all the time. Its a lot. I think at the end of the day you got to enjoy what your doing. For me its a lot. I'm tired all the time. When I start medical school next year I expect it to get worse. I'm taking tons of upper level classes to make it easier but boy are these classes gonna be lowering my GPA. But overall I think you gotta have some relaxation time because its so easy to burn out. Spending time with friends/family is important. Having fun is important. Work hard and play hard.
 
I honestly don't understand why so many moan and groan about premed. Getting a 3.5 in college is not bone breaking labor, it's doable as long as you want it. Volunteering a bit with people is not hair pulling ruin, it's entirely a thing you can choose and potentially enjoy. Taking the mcat is a pain, but it's doable.
 
GypsyHummus said:
Does anyone feel like that going to medical school is too much, that trying to be competitive for it is too much, or the preparation for it is driving you up a wall?? Everyone else that I know if graduating this year is getting a 50K+ year job, getting married, staring with their lives and finding themselves, and I feel like I'm still grinding away trying to get into medical school and continuing on with my medical education. I know this is a nobel profession, but it would be nice to know if anyone else is feeling trepidation in this endeavor.

Do you guys have friends that are continuing on with their lives and you are still grinding away?
Click to expand...

Word. That's what I've been preaching for the last year. It only gets worse. It really isn't worth it unless you truly love it.
 
Last edited:
serenade said:
I honestly don't understand why so many moan and groan about premed. Getting a 3.5 in college is not bone breaking labor, it's doable as long as you want it. Volunteering a bit with people is not hair pulling ruin, it's entirely a thing you can choose and potentially enjoy. Taking the mcat is a pain, but it's doable.
Click to expand...
Maybe at your alma mater. I attended a school that didn't curve and in half of our science classes 0 people received an A...
 
serenade said:
Too bad you won't know it until it's too late.
Click to expand...

Yep. There's really no way to know if you'll like it unless you were a PA/NP. I didn't shadow much as a pre-med. I wish I did...
 
ChiTownBHawks said:
Maybe at your alma mater. I attended a school that didn't curve and half of our science classes involved 0 people that received an A...
Click to expand...

Did you attend Mudd or one of the other schools like that? Because they do look at those differently....

But yah, alright for most students, not all. But honestly, a lot of failed premeds at my school really did badly because they just didn't try and parties all their time. I mean, we just need to be reasonable and admit that compared to many majors like engineering or comp sci we didn't do all that much work.
 
serenade said:
Did you attend Mudd or one of the other schools like that? Because they do look at those differently....

But yah, alright for most students, not all. But honestly, a lot of failed premeds at my school really did badly because they just didn't try and parties all their time. I mean, we just need to be reasonable and admit that compared to many majors like engineering or comp sci we didn't do all that much work.
Click to expand...

Well remember, sometimes people don't get in the first time
 
dreday710 said:
I think people have different abilities and different responsibilities in their journeys to medicine.
Click to expand...
Yep yep yep. Some of my friends quit after bio 1. Everyone is different. But this is not an easy path!
 
The road to medicine is what you make it... Some of the pre-requisites are arduous just because they're large classes with "more difficult than average" material, but that's only a small portion of your undergraduate experience. Even if I end up pursuing a different field, I wouldn't change what I've already done for anything. It has literally made me a different person. Not for medicine, but for me.

That's why I would always say - and I don't mean this in a disparaging way - that people should veer as far away from the cookie-cutter biology and hospital volunteering that so many people do. That stuff is most often entirely just because you want to go to medical school; it's certainly not useless, but it ends up being more limiting than it's worth.

The role of medical school is to prepare you as a physician. The role of your pre-medical education is to rule out everything else.
 
dreday710 said:
I think people have different abilities and different responsibilities in their journeys to medicine.
Click to expand...

With the exception of the responsibility part I honestly think that's an excuse. With many kids they fail not because they're not capable, but because they don't want to put in the work or lack the genuine interest to go on.

From my perspective I believe I did well because to me learning was important for my end goals and for enriching me as a person. Many people go into bio 1 expecting to get an A and farting half the material, and trust me this enormously true in many kids that I've seen in tutoring. There hearts simply aren't into it and there isn't a drive to really deeply care for anything but the A.

But I will include this. I think many people get defeated along this path. And they become enormously hardened because of what it did to them emotionally. So maybe I'm being an ass here for not acknowledging that.
DoctorSynthesis said:
Yep yep yep. Some of my friends quit after bio 1. Everyone is different. But this is not an easy path!
Click to expand...

Again, from my retrospective view on premed I think that it honestly doesn't have to be a hard path and for many successful ones it isn't. Sure there's a lot of studying and work, but is that really all that hard? I mean compared to engineering? To working 40 hours and doing college?

I know people who worked 40 hours, had kids, and still came to class enthusiastic and ready to tackle the material and got top scores. These people aren't geniuses, nor hard-working saints, but if they can not complain for their end goal then we shouldn't either.
 
AlteredScale said:
Perhaps it's just coincidental but I've seen a lot of burn out or statements of burn out from those in anesthesiology?
Click to expand...

No cliquish just seems like he genuinely doesn't really like medicine as a whole. He was smart enough to get through the material but he shows it no real strong love for it.


Posted using SDN Mobile
 
While I'm writing my 25-page research paper, with two tests coming up this week, I do feel the pressure.

Sometimes, I want to quit, and when I get subpar grades on my tests, I rethink everything... "Is it worth it? Should I change career paths? Maybe medicine isn't for me... I need to start trying... I will start trying... Ugh, I'm so stressed out... Just one more chapter... Last lap... *test comes back 90+*" Thats when it's worth it.

But until I have that on everything for the next 1.5 years, then it won't count for anything... My first 1.5 to 2 years of college was spent in a community college. Dropout kid who was lost in life, no sense of direction... When I found out where I wanted to be, and hung out with the right people, I was clinging onto a 2.6 cGPA at a community college. I was ashamed... Now I have to work my butt off (like this allnighter I'm pulling tonight) just to make ends meet from my foolish years as a teen.
----------
Just a personal experience, and those who have done some sort of clinicals would understand:
There was a patient who came into the clinic, complains of palpitations and radiating chest pains, rushed him in to do an EKG, found out he was having having a major arrhythmia... The doctor started IV adenosine to control it, all the while we were calling for ambulance transport, and the patient subsequently had a heart attack... Ambulance rushed in, because of our efforts he survived, and he came back to the office 2 weeks later.

If you ever have a moment like that, whether as a volunteer, or a healthcare provider, you'll know that it's worth it, just to save a life...
 
DoctorSynthesis said:
It only gets worse. Sigh.
Click to expand...

Amen. I thought premed was over once I started, but then you get smacked with the realization that MCAT is replaced by Step 1 (with growing importance on Step 2) and that volunteering, research, leadership etc have the same importance as if you were a premed. Grades are replaced by class ranks and clinical grades in your rotations. Bit if you don't match, you're stuck SOAPing somewhere you don't like or worse. If you find out if you're interested in subspecializing, then your residency is yet another hell of trying to beef up your resume.

*sigh*, I wonder who said getting in was the hardest part, b/c that's a load of bull.
 
serenade said:
No cliquish just seems like he genuinely doesn't really like medicine as a whole. He was smart enough to get through the material but he shows it no real strong love for it.


Posted using SDN Mobile
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. The idea of medicine is interesting and reading about it is kind of fun, but the actual day to day provides me with little fulfillment. This is obviously my issue; you all may love medicine.
 
GypsyHummus said:
Does anyone feel like that going to medical school is too much, that trying to be competitive for it is too much, or the preparation for it is driving you up a wall?? Everyone else that I know if graduating this year is getting a 50K+ year job, getting married, staring with their lives and finding themselves, and I feel like I'm still grinding away trying to get into medical school and continuing on with my medical education. I know this is a nobel profession, but it would be nice to know if anyone else is feeling trepidation in this endeavor.

Do you guys have friends that are continuing on with their lives and you are still grinding away?
Click to expand...

I hate to do this but it is "noble".

The education of a physician is meant to be more rigorous because you are dealing with saving human lives. You need to be trained at the highest level to diagnose and operate on people. Your friends are probably working average jobs that can pay for a average quality of life without much growth in their professional lives if they have not attended graduate school (trust me bachelor's degree can only get you so far). With medical school, you will have many possiblities and fields you can go into and you will earn a very comfortable salary depending on your specialization. Many people get married during their residency and few in medical school so you can still plan for starting a family in your early 30s ( this is typically considered the normal age to have kids if you get married around 29, not what's happening with your friends). What does "starting with their lives" mean to you? You start your "life" once you begin undergradaute education. You are independent from your parents and are shaping your career from that moment. For some the shaping aspect takes longer based on their passion (professional school or graduate school) and where they want to be. "Starting your life" is not the moment you get married, have kids, and make money. I think you need to realize where you will be happy. Working an average job with average responsiblities so you can get married early or struggling for a better opportunity in life with larger demands so you can live a comfortable lifestyle.

The words "average" and "comfortable" are biased since some strugggle mentally as a physician though they make decent money.
 
cliquesh said:
Pretty much this. The idea of medicine is interesting and reading about it is kind of fun, but the actual day to day provides me with little fulfillment. This is obviously my issue; you all may love medicine.
Click to expand...

PGY-2 hasn't gotten better? For you, is it absolutely medicine in general, or is it residency? Like are the things that you hate the most related more to your schedule or the material you deal with day-to-day? Not talking about fulfillment here, just enjoying the material/work.

There's something wrong with residency training in this country. It seems like there is a sense that docs have to be broken down and then rebuilt in training. People have said that it gets better (1st year is the worst, then residency, but after that things get better). The other problem is that residency is very different than how most docs practice, so its hard to gauge how you'd like working by residency alone. Most docs simply don't work in the same settings as residency.

The thing is, if you don't find the whole field stimulating, that might not get better. That said, I know plenty of people that have done the whole thing only to decide they want only research or only part-time clinical work or even something different altogether (some friends started a start-up software engineering company related to healthcare). Worst case scenario, those options are always open.
 
.
 
Last edited:
There is no question that medicine is a LONG-TERM goal. You have to make sacrifices...especially women. By the time a woman gets out of a typical residency...they are 30+ and the biological clock is ticking. My wife and I wanted multiple children...so she got pregnant in medical school and will likely be trying again this year while she is a PGY-2. It is either that or get started at age 34 for her...not ideal. And many women wait until after residency to get married compressing the time even further.

You may make more money as a physician but your life is also significantly busier and more stressful than practically any other profession. You earn ever penny of your money.

How many decades away from my family will I lose because of this profession? Who knows...but it will be significant. I wouldn't change a thing...but those of you who don't think you make significant sacrifices in Medicine need a wake up call.
 
I'm in this boat...I feel like the career is everything I could hope and dream for, but I am not convinced that it is worth losing out on many other great things in life. Right now I'm debating if medicine is for one of two people, 1. Geniuses that can still have a solid social life through and after med school and 2. People who are not but make medicine the center and majority of their life. Undergrad has not been hard for me, neither high school, but after studying for the MCAT I would have to be a fool to consider myself the exception any longer and lots of sacrificing will be involved.
 
TheMightyTexan said:
I'm in this boat...I feel like the career is everything I could hope and dream for, but I am not convinced that it is worth losing out on many other great things in life. Right now I'm debating if medicine is for one of two people, 1. Geniuses that can still have a solid social life through and after med school and 2. People who are not but make medicine the center and majority of their life. Undergrad has not been hard for me, neither high school, but after studying for the MCAT I would have to be a fool to consider myself the exception any longer and lots of sacrificing will be involved.
Click to expand...

It also never ends. You'll will always need to read and stay up to date.
 
cliquesh said:
It also never ends. You'll will always need to read and stay up to date.
Click to expand...

I feel like any other health profession will just be a job for me though :/ the only other thing that interests me is PA or orthodontics possibly oral surgeon.. Mainly I would like to do some form of surgery and also have customers that appreciate the work you've done. While dentists are needed, I've always hated the experience and I don't know anyone who likes it. Besides braces. Getting bones straightened out or fixed has been enjoyable for me.
 
nm825 said:
Where do live that all these 22/23 are graduating and getting married? I honestly don't know a single person from my college class who is married or even engaged, and I graduated in 2013.
Click to expand...

go to a catholic school (like me)... there were 5+ couples in my class that were married before graduation. more engaged and married now 6 months later.
 
TheMightyTexan said:
I feel like any other health profession will just be a job for me though :/ the only other thing that interests me is PA or orthodontics possibly oral surgeon.. Mainly I would like to do some form of surgery and also have customers that appreciate the work you've done. While dentists are needed, I've always hated the experience and I don't know anyone who likes it. Besides braces. Getting bones straightened out or fixed has been enjoyable for me.
Click to expand...

Being a PA seems like a decent job. Two years of school, you basically do the same thing as a doctor, you can specialize if you want, $80k+, shift work, 40hrs a week or less, you are not ultimately legally responsible...
 
darklabel said:
Amen. I thought premed was over once I started, but then you get smacked with the realization that MCAT is replaced by Step 1 (with growing importance on Step 2) and that volunteering, research, leadership etc have the same importance as if you were a premed. Grades are replaced by class ranks and clinical grades in your rotations. Bit if you don't match, you're stuck SOAPing somewhere you don't like or worse. If you find out if you're interested in subspecializing, then your residency is yet another hell of trying to beef up your resume.

*sigh*, I wonder who said getting in was the hardest part, b/c that's a load of bull.
Click to expand...

Getting in is this biggest hurdle, not necessarily the most difficult part. Attrition rate overall is what, less than 5%? And the senior match rate including scramble is what, 95%+?

We will (almost) all get there eventually 🙂 Gotta keep on pushing and enjoy what we can.
 
cliquesh said:
It also never ends. You'll will always need to read and stay up to date.
Click to expand...

I feel like this is huge. Don't you have to take boards every ten years?

I wonder if there are any professions in medicine- pharmacy, optometry, dentistry- that don't require this ten year test deal.
 
cliquesh said:
Being a PA seems like a decent job. Two years of school, you basically do the same thing as a doctor, you can specialize if you want, $80k+, shift work, 40hrs a week or less, you are not ultimately legally responsible...
Click to expand...

Combined with the fact that you can literally do combined programs that graduate you as a PA by age 23 ( 5 year progs) I think it's a really sweet deal.
 
GypsyHummus said:
I feel like this is huge. Don't you have to take boards every ten years?

I wonder if there are any professions in medicine- pharmacy, optometry, dentistry- that don't require this ten year test deal.
Click to expand...

Yea, and you also need to earn continued medical education (CME) credits each year (basically attend lectures or conferences). Both are not hard; they just require money. It's kind of necessary, though, because much of what you'll learn in medical school will turn out to be false in 10 years.
 
cliquesh said:
Yea, and you also need to earn continued medical education (CME) credits each year (basically attend lectures or conferences). Both are not hard; they just require money. It's kind of necessary, though, because much of what you'll learn in medical school will turn out to be false in 10 years.
Click to expand...

Before this becomes an issue here, most professional licenses will require some form of continued education to stay licensed.
 
What do you think my best bet is? I have read a lot online about different health fields, talked to some doctors, shadowed some...I'm guessing more shadowing and various fields? I'm already 24, assuming I get in this coming cycle starting med school at 25 does not have me feeling very swell about the time commitment mainly. My girlfriend is already in Pharm school and I would like to enjoy at least a few years before having kids.. PA seems like a waste of my batchelors, but on the other hand, I could get my 2000 hours while sweating out a gap year perhaps and it may give me more time to research careers
 
TheMightyTexan said:
What do you think my best bet is? I have read a lot online about different health fields, talked to some doctors, shadowed some...I'm guessing more shadowing and various fields? I'm already 24, assuming I get in this coming cycle starting med school at 25 does not have me feeling very swell about the time commitment mainly. My girlfriend is already in Pharm school and I would like to enjoy at least a few years before having kids.. PA seems like a waste of my batchelors, but on the other hand, I could get my 2000 hours while sweating out a gap year perhaps and it may give me more time to research careers
Click to expand...

Honestly man? Shadow. Shadow shadow shadow.

I shadowed dentists and saw myself doing it. I shadowed pharmacists and could never see myself doing it. I shadowed doctors and found my calling.

PA is a great career.

So is podiatry. Nice and under the radar option for people wanting to do surgical stuff.
 
I gave up premed after my first year because I felt it was too much stress and wanted to do something "easier". I worked construction...eff that. I tried bench research, nope. Eventually got back onto the medical path and never looked back. For me, the hard years are well worth it in the end. I'm working retail right now and would probably kill myself if I had to do this for the rest of my life. I love studying, I love learning, I love being responsible for something important. I want to be the one that others look to for answers when they need it most. I'm a naive premed, but if I was a millionaire, there isn't anything else I could see myself doing with my life without getting complacent. I love to adapt and challenge myself. Life is a game and I want to be a winner (within reasonable expectations).
 
Shinobiz11 said:
I gave up premed after my first year because I felt it was too much stress and wanted to do something "easier". I worked construction...eff that. I tried bench research, nope. Eventually got back onto the medical path and never looked back. For me, the hard years are well worth it in the end. I'm working retail right now and would probably kill myself if I had to do this for the rest of my life. I love studying, I love learning, I love being responsible for something important. I want to be the one that others look to for answers when they need it most. I'm a naive premed, but if I was a millionaire, there isn't anything else I could see myself doing with my life without getting complacent. I love to adapt and challenge myself. Life is a game and I want to be a winner (within reasonable expectations).
Click to expand...

Just as an aside to work history. I guess Starbucks considers their employees to be in retail as supposed to fast food. Strange huh?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

noxlle
How much does CASPER and PREview matter?
Replies
6
Views
4K
MDMechEngr
MDMechEngr
I
AACOMAS-how does fee assistance work and is it too late to get it
Replies
2
Views
2K
infinitestars
I
Goro
So much for D.O. limiting one's options
Replies
8
Views
2K
EEqualsRx2
EEqualsRx2
H
adcoms, how much do you value publications?
Replies
3
Views
1K
Goro
Goro
D
Feeling pretty bad
Replies
8
Views
1K
AlbinoHawk DO
AlbinoHawk DO
Top