Feel lost and frustrated.

[VCorp]

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I'm half way through the 3rd year of my rotations. I'm having a good time learning and applying the stuff that I learned the first two years. It's awesome to get patient interaction, being on call, interacting with other students, and etc. However, I'm not sure what's wrong but I just feel completely hopeless and don't feel I can wait another 2 years till residency.

I'm 28 years old and keep looking back at my past and wished I had made better life decisions. I have friends who are the same age as me that're either in their residency or on the verge of signing their contracts. Here I am, stuck in 3rd year. I know, I can't hold onto the past and just need to keep looking forward - but looking forward and seeing the end seems like it's going to be a lifetime. 🙁

 

[GangaMaster]

Well what did you do before you started med school at 26?

 

[Etorphine]

1.5 yr more is very little time, although it may not seem that way now

 

[VCorp]

Well what did you do before you started med school at 26?

Started at 25 and was doing consulting work. Did it for 18 months before me and 190 other employees were laid off.

 

[bulldogmed]

I'm half way through the 3rd year of my rotations. I'm having a good time learning and applying the stuff that I learned the first two years. It's awesome to get patient interaction, being on call, interacting with other students, and etc. However, I'm not sure what's wrong but I just feel completely hopeless and don't feel I can wait another 2 years till residency.

I'm 28 years old and keep looking back at my past and wished I had made better life decisions. I have friends who are the same age as me that're either in their residency or on the verge of signing their contracts. Here I am, stuck in 3rd year. I know, I can't hold onto the past and just need to keep looking forward - but looking forward and seeing the end seems like it's going to be a lifetime. 🙁

Stuff happens for a reason. Just because you didn't start med school with some of your friends, doesn't mean you wasted your time before school. Somewhere along the line you learned some important life lessons, or sorted out some life issues. Don't be so hard on yourself. You'll make it through the last 1.5 years in no time. Keep your chin up.

 

[NickNaylor]

Hey man, I'm in the middle of third year too (looking forward to starting surgery in 3 weeks - ugh). I think a lot of people feel similar things at this point during their third year. It's tiring and, for me at least, I'm a little sick of the third year student role. Almost everyone I've talked to about this says it gets so much better once you're in the field you're going into - it becomes much more tolerable, interesting, and fulfilling.

Stay strong, we're almost done!

 

[evilbooyaa]

I can imagine a lot of people who didn't enter medical school straight out of college have a feeling similar to what you're experiencing, OP. All you can think about is whatever positives there were between college and medical school.

That being said, I know the feeling of being unable to wait to start your career. I'm currently on a research year and counting down the days until I can get back into the hospital as a 4th year, and the days until I find out where (hopefully) I match.

 

[Lavan]

I have former classmates of mine that are literally six years behind me in pursuing medicine. In high school and college, age almost always equates to how far in life/career you are. That stops after college, and while it's frustrating to not be as "far" along the path as some of your former peers, it is indeed not a race. You're life isn't something to get through and neither is medical school. The fastest way to being happy when you're doing something as difficult as medical school or residency is to find a reason to value your time now.

The feeling of "if I can just get through X then I'll be happy" is a fallacy that we all started buying into during organic chemistry, and it remains just as wrong as a resident as it was then.