Feeling Useless

[Abagnale]

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This is a question that hopefully some people at each stage of training could answer.

I don't want to sound entitled: I fully acknowledge that with my (so far) incomplete bachelor's degree, I'm hardly qualified to do anything "real," and that especially holds in the medical field (organic chemistry, bio, etc. aren't really relevant at all, as I found out). However, I've heard that same sentiment expressed by medical students, interns, and even residents, which sort of bothers me. When do you finally pass that barrier when you no longer feel clueless? I understand that it's a slow transition, but are you taken more seriously as a medical student (or resident)? Or, does it take until you've been an independent physician for several years?

As an aside, if you are a medical student/resident/wherever you are in the path, how do you personally motivate yourself through the times when you realize (or are told) that you still know very little?

 

[ReptarBar]

first world problems.

 

[Abagnale]

first world problems.

I realize that, but so are most other posts on here, wouldn't you say?

 

[Thego2guy]

From my personal experience with friends and other students, I don't think it ever stops. You do gain more confidence as you go along BUT there is always something that you could be reading/doing/practicing. If you want to look at the far end of the totem pole, academic physicians and surgeons at top university hospitals still have to read insane amounts of literature and keep up with scientific progress. In short, it never ends. Hence you have to enjoy the process of learning and deducing. Its all about the journey man, not the destination 😉

(that's just my opinion btw)

 

[willen101383]

I honestly felt useless all of M1 and M2. I am in the final days of my boards prep right now and things have FINALLY gotten to the point where I feel like I have a good idea of what is going on and have the confidence that I will eventually be a good doc. Before this I was never able to see it...everything was just a clusterfck in my head.

I start rotations in a few weeks...and I know that the change to clinical medicine will be like going right back to the beginning of M1 again...totally useless. This huge databank of information and yet no knowledge of how to apply it. I am sure you go through this numerous times through your career every time you face an advancement. But you adapt, you learn more, you hone your skill sets to your practice area.

Dont expect to feel useful as a premed. Virtually nothing you learn as a premed is even relevant in med school. Premed is for learning how to learn. Med school is for the acquisition of knowledge. Growing up (and hell even as a premed) I had this crazy idea that doctors knew EVERYTHING about the human body. Couldnt be further from the truth. If you dont use the knowledge you have, you lose it. You need to keep replenishing it along the way.

Would be interesting to hear from residents and attendings on how their confidence has progressed through their training.

 

[costales]

You're always clueless about something if you haven't seen it or heard about it. Medicine is a vast field. The best you can hope for is to learn enough to pass the next exam and to do a good job. For practicing physicians, there is a requirement for continuing education just like in other professions.

Learning itself is a motivator. So is fear. Failing is not a good option once you're in med school.

 

[lobo.solo]

From my personal experience with friends and other students, I don't think it ever stops. You do gain more confidence as you go along BUT there is always something that you could be reading/doing/practicing. If you want to look at the far end of the totem pole, academic physicians and surgeons at top university hospitals still have to read insane amounts of literature and keep up with scientific progress. In short, it never ends. Hence you have to enjoy the process of learning and deducing. Its all about the journey man, not the destination 😉

(that's just my opinion btw)

I second this, is all about the journey... Savor the learning process. There is a lot to be learned and most people don't know it all, so you got to keep going

 

[ImmunoPharmD]

This is a question that hopefully some people at each stage of training could answer.

I don't want to sound entitled: I fully acknowledge that with my (so far) incomplete bachelor's degree, I'm hardly qualified to do anything "real," and that especially holds in the medical field (organic chemistry, bio, etc. aren't really relevant at all, as I found out). However, I've heard that same sentiment expressed by medical students, interns, and even residents, which sort of bothers me. When do you finally pass that barrier when you no longer feel clueless? I understand that it's a slow transition, but are you taken more seriously as a medical student (or resident)? Or, does it take until you've been an independent physician for several years?

As an aside, if you are a medical student/resident/wherever you are in the path, how do you personally motivate yourself through the times when you realize (or are told) that you still know very little?

Don't reply to what I am about to tell you because if you do, then you are telling me that you are a pessimist and have wasted my 1 minute of typing. Here's my advice: persevere and show them wrong.

 

[da8s0859q]

This is a question that hopefully some people at each stage of training could answer.

I don't want to sound entitled: I fully acknowledge that with my (so far) incomplete bachelor's degree, I'm hardly qualified to do anything "real," and that especially holds in the medical field (organic chemistry, bio, etc. aren't really relevant at all, as I found out). However, I've heard that same sentiment expressed by medical students, interns, and even residents, which sort of bothers me. When do you finally pass that barrier when you no longer feel clueless? I understand that it's a slow transition, but are you taken more seriously as a medical student (or resident)? Or, does it take until you've been an independent physician for several years?

As an aside, if you are a medical student/resident/wherever you are in the path, how do you personally motivate yourself through the times when you realize (or are told) that you still know very little?

It's a progression where you learn lots of stuff and then realize you have lots more to learn.

As a senior premed, you know little to nothing about medicine. As an early medical student, you know just enough to be dangerous. By the end of M3, you know a little bit more.

Obviously I can't speak for residency, but I think it's telling that a few of my past residents have said they learned more being a resident than they did at any other point.

+1 to the guy above me who mentioned "impostor syndrome." That's sort of the idea -- it's easy to overlook how far you've come when you see how far you have to go.

 

[fizzgig]

+1 on imposter syndrome. i think that's been really screwing with my life, and my med school decisions, and such.

i remembered seeing this before, so maybe this but with the graph starting at 0 at the beginning?

 

[LostInPreMed]

When do you finally pass that barrier when you no longer feel clueless? I understand that it's a slow transition, but are you taken more seriously as a medical student (or resident)? Or, does it take until you've been an independent physician for several years?

I think a lot of what you are talking about is precenption. Really, no matter where you are in medicine, there will always be people you ahve to defer to. If you are in medical school, its residents. If you are a resident, its a fellow or attending. If you are an attending, its going to be a chief of staff or a certain specialty. If you are a specialist, you have to defer on anyone that is a specialist out of your specialty. you always have to defer to someone.

Part of practicing medicine is knowing what you don't know and knowing when you need to pass the tourch. Sometimes it may hurt the pride, but that is better then hurting the patient! Know what you know and own your specialty! just beacause you have to ask for help are don't know something, doesn't mean you are clueless, it just means you are willing to ask for help in order to help your patients!


Onwards!

 

[alpinebrook]

I just got accepted to medical school, and I'm feeling good about myself. I know that feeling incompetent, overwhelmed, useless, etc. are all-to-normal for most medical students and residents, etc., so I'm prepared for some difficult days ahead. But I think of it like this: I'm doing something positive with my life. I could be wasting away and/or causing problems for society, but instead I'm trying to do the exact opposite. So why should I let myself feel useless?

 

[dd128]

I just got accepted to medical school, and I'm feeling good about myself. I know that feeling incompetent, overwhelmed, useless, etc. are all-to-normal for most medical students and residents, etc., so I'm prepared for some difficult days ahead. But I think of it like this: I'm doing something positive with my life. I could be wasting away and/or causing problems for society, but instead I'm trying to do the exact opposite. So why should I let myself feel useless?

Funnily enough, I think the smartest I've felt was right before med school started. Savor it while it lasts 😉

 

[btown8908]

This is a question that hopefully some people at each stage of training could answer.

I don't want to sound entitled: I fully acknowledge that with my (so far) incomplete bachelor's degree, I'm hardly qualified to do anything "real," and that especially holds in the medical field (organic chemistry, bio, etc. aren't really relevant at all, as I found out). However, I've heard that same sentiment expressed by medical students, interns, and even residents, which sort of bothers me. When do you finally pass that barrier when you no longer feel clueless? I understand that it's a slow transition, but are you taken more seriously as a medical student (or resident)? Or, does it take until you've been an independent physician for several years?

As an aside, if you are a medical student/resident/wherever you are in the path, how do you personally motivate yourself through the times when you realize (or are told) that you still know very little?

As a wise man once said "As for me, all I know is that I know nothing". Honestly, motivation comes from thinking about future "you"...

 

[yossarian444]

My perspective as somebody between med school and residency right now:

I'm still clueless. My significant other is an intern - she feels clueless a lot of times. I kind of suspect my degree of cluelessness warps her's though. Some attendings seemed to take me seriously as a student, looking back, perhaps they were just humoring me?

As far as motivation...I dunno. Brute force? Fear of failure? Jogging while listening to the Rocky theme song? The feeling of cluelessness is much worse during M3/4 than during M1/2. You get used to it. Med school is one giant exercize in self-motivation. I think that is the key. After 4 years, any med student from any school at a minimum knows how force themselves through whatever hoop is thrown their way.

 

[thlaxer]

Funnily enough, I think the smartest I've felt was right before med school started. Savor it while it lasts 😉

What if someone is already feeling like an imposter and school hasn't even started yet . I'm in this situation haha.

 

[KnightofBaldMt]

This is a question that hopefully some people at each stage of training could answer.

I don't want to sound entitled: I fully acknowledge that with my (so far) incomplete bachelor's degree, I'm hardly qualified to do anything "real," and that especially holds in the medical field (organic chemistry, bio, etc. aren't really relevant at all, as I found out). However, I've heard that same sentiment expressed by medical students, interns, and even residents, which sort of bothers me. When do you finally pass that barrier when you no longer feel clueless? I understand that it's a slow transition, but are you taken more seriously as a medical student (or resident)? Or, does it take until you've been an independent physician for several years?

As an aside, if you are a medical student/resident/wherever you are in the path, how do you personally motivate yourself through the times when you realize (or are told) that you still know very little?

Yeah, I know exactly what you are talking about. I think its because (in my case) you really are starting from scratch so you haven't got any "street cred."