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Getting cold feet
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deleted936470
You'll be fine.
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Being older is not a red flag..
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If you were accepted into a MD school, would you still be feeling the same way?
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Mind telling us your age? Because my class had someone who had his 50th birthday during MS 3 and he matched. He was a "real" adult, if you know what I mean. He had everyone's respect from day one and not because he was old enough to be everyone's father but because of how he carried himself - like he had his **** together and knew what he was doing.
The path is hard. It's long. It's miserable at times. But if you want to be a doctor, you should do it anyway and enjoy the journey along the way. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking they have to end life at intern year and resume it again as an attending. But actually, you can have a lot of fun during med school and residency and you'll see when it's all over how much you've grown and how it wasn't all bad.
The path is hard. It's long. It's miserable at times. But if you want to be a doctor, you should do it anyway and enjoy the journey along the way. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking they have to end life at intern year and resume it again as an attending. But actually, you can have a lot of fun during med school and residency and you'll see when it's all over how much you've grown and how it wasn't all bad.
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Dude, mid-thirties is not old. I had plenty of friends in med school that were in their mid-thirties. You're fine. You're probably just having some imposter syndrome, and God knows I know its a long road, but realistically we're talking 7-8 yrs, giving you at least 15-20 yrs of a career in medicine by your sixties. If its something you truly love and have planned out, its worth it. If you were a decade older, I might be more hesitant, but not in your mid-thirties. If that's your main reason for being nervous, forget it.
Now if there are truly other reasons, like not being confident you'd like it or not being able to tolerate the idea of your family coming 2nd during that time, that may be worth a little more thought, but don't question the decision based primarily on your age.
Now if there are truly other reasons, like not being confident you'd like it or not being able to tolerate the idea of your family coming 2nd during that time, that may be worth a little more thought, but don't question the decision based primarily on your age.
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deleted1005514
Imposter Syndrome is real, and it can mess with your head in serious ways.
You can do this, you are capable, and you belong in medicine. You’ll find a niche in your class.
I’m older than you, based on the guess that your birth year is in your username. I’m an OMS-1 with with older kids, married, etc. DM me if you need to talk...you got this!
You can do this, you are capable, and you belong in medicine. You’ll find a niche in your class.
I’m older than you, based on the guess that your birth year is in your username. I’m an OMS-1 with with older kids, married, etc. DM me if you need to talk...you got this!
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I came into med school with pretty much an identical story. Same age as OP, children, a career I was happy with before all of this. I just wanted more than a job, felt like medicine provided that, and I went for it.
There will be times where you will hate this decision. You will wonder why you gave up something that provided you an income while allowing you to have a life, spend time with your family at your own discretion, and on and on. And then there will be times when you realize this is a pretty awesome opportunity that many will never experience, and if you're anything like me, you will be grateful you did it.
And trust me, I know all too well how easy it is to doubt yourself when you talk with classmates who were in middle school when you could have theoretically been starting medical school. I will say that there are pros and cons of starting med school later. I have received a lot of overwhelmingly positive feedback on my standardized patient encounters and have been plainly told many times that it's evident I have life experiences outside of just school. I believe that same thing will carry forward on rotations.
Don't worry about not matching, expansion of schools, p/f, etc. That's outside of your control and not worth spending time thinking about. If you were dead-set on becoming a neurosurgeon, sure, I would agree that those things might pose a problem. If you want to go into FM or IM, put in the work and DO will get you there. SDN has a lot of great information, but keep in mind that a large population of this site is either neurotic young adults who believe the world is crashing around them every year, and a similar amount of attendings who predict the fall of their profession every year. In reality, situations change, people adapt, and 99% of these people end up fine... unless you're a rad onc.
There will be times where you will hate this decision. You will wonder why you gave up something that provided you an income while allowing you to have a life, spend time with your family at your own discretion, and on and on. And then there will be times when you realize this is a pretty awesome opportunity that many will never experience, and if you're anything like me, you will be grateful you did it.
And trust me, I know all too well how easy it is to doubt yourself when you talk with classmates who were in middle school when you could have theoretically been starting medical school. I will say that there are pros and cons of starting med school later. I have received a lot of overwhelmingly positive feedback on my standardized patient encounters and have been plainly told many times that it's evident I have life experiences outside of just school. I believe that same thing will carry forward on rotations.
Don't worry about not matching, expansion of schools, p/f, etc. That's outside of your control and not worth spending time thinking about. If you were dead-set on becoming a neurosurgeon, sure, I would agree that those things might pose a problem. If you want to go into FM or IM, put in the work and DO will get you there. SDN has a lot of great information, but keep in mind that a large population of this site is either neurotic young adults who believe the world is crashing around them every year, and a similar amount of attendings who predict the fall of their profession every year. In reality, situations change, people adapt, and 99% of these people end up fine... unless you're a rad onc.
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deleted610572
Like said above if you want IM/FM then the expanding DO seats and p/f usmle won’t matter. There are still plenty of seats for those. When we talk about not enough seats it’s in the more competitive stuff people want so bad. These are the same students who treat pcp as the plague. In reality, pcp affords a great lifestyle and good salary. Don’t worry about age. My oldest classmate was born the year of my mother and he’s doing fine in FM.
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Don’t over think things just do it
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deleted610572
Definitely don’t recommend the just do it mentality over half a million dollar investment haha. But OP worries conveyed so far are normal nerves and I would continue
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AnatomyGrey12
The most competitive residency applicant in my class is in their 30's.
Just decide how bad you really want to be a doctor. Your concerns have merit but are more normal than you realize, and if you really want to do this then those concerns shouldn't be enough to persuade you. Good luck.
Just decide how bad you really want to be a doctor. Your concerns have merit but are more normal than you realize, and if you really want to do this then those concerns shouldn't be enough to persuade you. Good luck.
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There were plenty of "older" people in my class and I doubt I'd have even noticed if they hadn't told me. I'm in my early 30s and just graduated (going into IM, which you'll have no trouble matching), and while I was in the older half of the class, there were plenty of people older than me, including someone in their 50s. Perhaps that person had to deal with agism but in your early 30s it will be a non issue.
The best thing you can do for your mental health is avoid SDN and Reddit. Medical students catastrophize a lot on the internet, and med school was a much better experience than I was led to believe it would be from my time on this site. Many of the complaints people have with medicine and medical school are the exact complaints everyone has about every job or professional school.
(And as a final side note, I believe the DO match rate to ACGME programs is the best it's ever been. The people in my class who didn't match applied to surgical specialties or had a pattern of board/class failures.)
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He’s over thinking it though. If he was weighing a super good career vs medicine then I would think it but it seems to be more due to cold feet (obviously lol). I know he mentions his career but age seems to be the biggest factor in his decision. Eh if anything the older people in our class did excellent. One of the oldest people in our class for IR at umich. Real life experience and thicker skin from being burned in the past is not something frowned at in residency apps. To be fair the youngest person in our class was our one ortho match too so whatever. Age does not matter.
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no you won't be discriminated. You will jive way better with attendings because they won't judge you for lack of sharing life/family perspectives. Given you have a family, your priority is to study and keep your people close by. Grab a study buddy who will empathize with you AND help you. I am slightly younger than you and even I have the same feelings on a daily basis. All of the people in my class who are successful are older and have a family. I look up to these folks for keeping it together. Over these years, I have realized to let go of fantasies that people show about medicine and living in the moment. I look at my time in medicine as if there is no certainty. It gets a little frightening and rocky in multiple places and I was miserable trying to think about the future. Ultimately, COVID helped me realize the bigger picture. Life is rough, but if IM and FM are what interest you, try to stay on the good side of your faculty. Believe it or not, studying for comlex and step to me was a nightmare. The folks who waited to take them far apart in time are now having the last laugh because step 1 was required for many aways but now that aways aren't even happening, it's like the deadlines don't matter. I guess now that step 1 is not numerical you won't feel pressured to perform on a numeral scale but still have the opportunity to do aways. You don't have the hindsight 20/20 but your class to me is the luckiest because you guys actually have the foresight to make changes to your app right now...whereas a lot of us don't. Talk to your people in your school who actually have connections and can connect you to the right people. I somehow never clicked with the connections because they stopped considering me after hearing I was a DO. I wish looking back, I could have approached faculty that were more supportive of my degree. It's ok, a little burn here and there is perfectly fine because guess what? you can't change that. You can though try to focus on your thing and seek people who will help you and make you feel like you are doing this for the right reasons. I'm sharing this side of my story to help you prepare for the journey you have signed up for. By the end of third year, you'll realize no matter what you want to pursue there will be endless crossovers and further education.
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OP, you will be fine. Be the adult you are and treat it like a job and you will dunk on most of your classmates even if some are smarter.
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All new endeavors are fraught with anxiety. Gawd knows I had doubts about embarking to grad schools.
You'll be fine.
Thanks everyone for your valuable suggestions and time, much appreciated! I was talking with one of my colleagues today, he said mostly the same things as you all, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago (in my case, it would have been 15 years ago), the second best time is NOW."
I don't consider myself to be risk-averse, but try my best to identify the risks upfront and come up with strategies to mitigate them. We only get to know if something is right or wrong in retrospect. Five years ago, when I realized that I still wanted to pursue medicine, I started over-analyzing, wanted to make sure that we have enough reserves to survive the long journey and both kids were too young back then. So took my time, switched from FTE to consulting, lived frugally with just wife's income, saved enough for the first two years of tuition fee, and for emergencies. I was traveling Sunday to Thursday, tested the water to see if my wife can take care of kids without me being around much to help, they did fine, so they should be fine once I start the school this fall.
But in retrospect, I feel I lost precious 4 years waiting to get things smoothened out on the financial and family front instead of pulling the trigger immediately. I am 37 now, once I start applying, I'll be 40 plus, with 4000 more DO grads applying to residency along with me.
The biggest blow to me was Step 1 pass/fail. I feel blessed that I am academically so good from childhood days if I can say so about myself. I have no trouble sitting down and studying for hours together, actually, I enjoy doing that and I am a very good test taker. I had doubts when I started studying for prereqs and MCAT after several years, but nothing much has changed, I still do good with learning new materials. So I was banking heavily on Step 1, thought I'll try my best to score well and prove my worth irrespective of my age.
Okay, it is what it is. I cannot change the past. I cannot have the cake and eat it too. I'll put in more effort and work with what I currently have and with the things that I can control and make myself competitive and desirable for matching. Fingers crossed! Thanks again!
I don't consider myself to be risk-averse, but try my best to identify the risks upfront and come up with strategies to mitigate them. We only get to know if something is right or wrong in retrospect. Five years ago, when I realized that I still wanted to pursue medicine, I started over-analyzing, wanted to make sure that we have enough reserves to survive the long journey and both kids were too young back then. So took my time, switched from FTE to consulting, lived frugally with just wife's income, saved enough for the first two years of tuition fee, and for emergencies. I was traveling Sunday to Thursday, tested the water to see if my wife can take care of kids without me being around much to help, they did fine, so they should be fine once I start the school this fall.
But in retrospect, I feel I lost precious 4 years waiting to get things smoothened out on the financial and family front instead of pulling the trigger immediately. I am 37 now, once I start applying, I'll be 40 plus, with 4000 more DO grads applying to residency along with me.
The biggest blow to me was Step 1 pass/fail. I feel blessed that I am academically so good from childhood days if I can say so about myself. I have no trouble sitting down and studying for hours together, actually, I enjoy doing that and I am a very good test taker. I had doubts when I started studying for prereqs and MCAT after several years, but nothing much has changed, I still do good with learning new materials. So I was banking heavily on Step 1, thought I'll try my best to score well and prove my worth irrespective of my age.
Okay, it is what it is. I cannot change the past. I cannot have the cake and eat it too. I'll put in more effort and work with what I currently have and with the things that I can control and make myself competitive and desirable for matching. Fingers crossed! Thanks again!
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pass your exams, dont fail anything, and be open to different geography and you have no reason to worry about matching FM or IM.
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OP, don't worry about all this stuff. Honestly, when I started medical school four years ago in my late 20's, now 30's, sdners on here were touting how my year was going to be screwed due to the merger. Four years later, after hell that I experienced in medical school and our crappy COMLEX Level 1 averages compared to the prior year (the average dropped about 20-30 points from the previous year), I finally graduated and matched. I know of a student in my class in his late thirties who matched into a really great anesthesia program. Don't worry about the what-ifs. I wouldn't have been where I am today if I listened to all the doom and gloom and speculation on SDN.
Like what Shia Lebeouf would say. JUST DO IT.
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Dude you are over analyzing your life. Keep it simple. Go to med school, work hard, keep your goals realistic and score a nice IM/FM residency. If age bothers you so much think about how at 44 you could be a board certified PCP. That’s just 7 yrs.
If this is working you up so much, I would be concerned about how the dynamic of med school messes with your thinking. Med school is a **** show, the worst is yet to come. This is the easy part.
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The worst is when you keep getting job offers that would basically allow you to wipe out your student debt in a year...yet you still decide to stay
I'm in the same boat as you, minus kids. Yes its stressful at times, yes there are occasionally times where I miss my previous life. But at the end, of the day, you spent decades planning for this, thinking about this, staying up at night over this, visualizing this. Do you really think those years were misguided? Or is it more likely that this is just cold feet over a high-risk high-reward situation?
Re the p/f and residency spots, don't worry. People have said the sky is falling every year since 2000 BC. Yet somehow, we're still here.
Re age, the only issues i've had with it are social. I have good friends at school, but sometimes I want to hang out with a more mature crowd. So I've found a way to make outside friends through hobbies. Sometimes its nice to talk about something other than what the answer to #34 was. Hopefully your family will help with that a bit.
I'm in the same boat as you, minus kids. Yes its stressful at times, yes there are occasionally times where I miss my previous life. But at the end, of the day, you spent decades planning for this, thinking about this, staying up at night over this, visualizing this. Do you really think those years were misguided? Or is it more likely that this is just cold feet over a high-risk high-reward situation?
Re the p/f and residency spots, don't worry. People have said the sky is falling every year since 2000 BC. Yet somehow, we're still here.
Re age, the only issues i've had with it are social. I have good friends at school, but sometimes I want to hang out with a more mature crowd. So I've found a way to make outside friends through hobbies. Sometimes its nice to talk about something other than what the answer to #34 was. Hopefully your family will help with that a bit.
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I was one of the most vocal opponents of step 1 going pass/fail. But it won’t matter too much because Step 2 CK is scored and will simply replace the Step 1 mania and the opportunity that Step 1 created for our students. We can sustain the rapid growth of the last decade as a profession, but moving forward can not. I don’t expect anywhere near the same expansion the next decade as we saw this last decade. As things currently stand the profession is as strong as it has ever been.
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Same here, OP. I’m in my 30s and left a very stable career for medical school. I’ll play devil’s advocate to most of the advice here, and suggest taking your concerns to a counselor if you have access. Differently from you, I struggled a lot with postponing home ownership and children for medical school. It was difficult to watch classmates go “back home” to see their parents every long weekend, when I have to travel 16+ hours to see mine. It was also challenging to hear some 21-year-old classmates speak poorly of those who take on debt to pay for school, while they get a free ride from Mom and Dad MD. I still haven’t gotten married to my fiancé of 11 years because medical school takes up too much time.
Yes, there will be struggles. For me, all those hurdles were worth the prize of getting my degree. For me, those inconveniences are minor, manageable, and will work out in the end. You may not feel the same way as me, and if you decide to move forward, you need to be 100% on board and focused because med school won’t give you much time to process all the extra stress that comes with being an adult student.
Yes, there will be struggles. For me, all those hurdles were worth the prize of getting my degree. For me, those inconveniences are minor, manageable, and will work out in the end. You may not feel the same way as me, and if you decide to move forward, you need to be 100% on board and focused because med school won’t give you much time to process all the extra stress that comes with being an adult student.
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I was in the same boat 10 years ago.
Now that I’m one year into being and attending, I’m so happy I stuck to my plan.
Get it dawg!
Now that I’m one year into being and attending, I’m so happy I stuck to my plan.
Get it dawg!
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Spidey82
Have faith in yourself. You can do it. I used to doubt myself and thought my age (47 y/o intern) would be a huge factor too... but it wasn't. Turns out, most people embraced my maturity and life experience. They'll appreciate yours also. Trust me.
Here's my story:
Have faith in yourself. You can do it. I used to doubt myself and thought my age (47 y/o intern) would be a huge factor too... but it wasn't. Turns out, most people embraced my maturity and life experience. They'll appreciate yours also. Trust me.
Here's my story:
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Just by your background (not a 10 year flunky like myself) you’re already much better suited to succeed in med school than the average late bloomer. Match rate with merger is still pushing 90% and you have Step 2 with regard to P/F Step 1. Plus you don’t want a competitive field, you have planned for this and will not regret it man. I’ll be 42 when I finish residency! I came into med school as a dude with 4 kids and a stay at home wife, plus a record of failing out of undergrad TWICE. Every GD day I worked like a man utterly terrified of failing out of med school, 10x dumber than anyone around me but I made it through with no fails. If a late 30’s bozo like me can do it then you’re gonna crush this thing.
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I started school at 30. I would not do it if I knew what I know now. If you are making good money and have kids, it's a lot smarter to use your time to be with them and invest your cash into your retirement. Best case scenario you're finished with training in your early 40s with a lot of debt. I don't see that as a smart move. Medicine is massively overrated
Always one of these guys who think some harrowed regret, without providing any context of their initial motivations to even enter medicine, is suitable to change someone's mind about their career path. OP, like many have said, there is always anxiety, overthinking, double-guessing with new endeavors. I have dreamt of getting into medical school since I could fathom the idea, have put in too many hours/resources to count that I know I wouldn't for anything else to get in, have moved to many new places/done many things by myself, and am still feeling the same sense of uncertainty as I almost begin as I did starting those new endeavors. It's natural and your mind's way of protecting you from new, insecure situations that we are biologically wired to feel uncomfortable in. Trust your past self that got you here and your initial motivations and all will be well.
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Lots of helpful posts so far! I wanted to echo that a lot of your feelings seem like normal aspects of imposter syndrome hitting as medical school draws near, possibly amplified by the unusual times we’re living in. I started medical school in my 30s (now an M4) and have not found age to be a drawback academically. My life experiences and maturity make it easier to connect with patients on the wards. It’s true, as another poster said, that I sometimes don’t want to spend as much time socially with classmates (not into playing beer pong at this age!), but I love studying with them and collaborating on community service projects. Ultimately, you need to decide what seems right for you and your family. If you have the drive and commitment, you will definitely be able to match to IM and FM. It won’t always be easy balancing studying with family life and it will sometimes be physically exhausting, but to me, caring for patients and constantly learning has been the most meaningful thing I’ve done professionally. I also agree with others that talking to a therapist about these thoughts can be helpful!
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I am sure if you take the time to read through his 4800s posts you will find the context.
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deleted610572
albino is not just some bitter person. He has been here a while and always offered level headed ideas. I also agree with him... for myself. I love what I do but when I entered medical school I was a young kid fresh out of undergrad without a family or marketable skills. Looking back, if I was making good money, was that age, and had a family I wouldn’t subject myself to the abuse. But of course hindsight is 20-20.
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deleted936470
The same poster has complained on these forums for years about his medical school experience. Clearly he had his mind made up far before residency and it's obvious medicine was a bad choice for them.
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My motivation is the same as most people here. I became fascinated with medicine and wanted to contribute to people's lives directly. Before med school, I had worked extensively in mental health services
I am sharing my experience. It's as valid as yours or as anyone that did it as an older student and has no regrets. It's never good to close your mind into one point of view.
I am sharing my experience. It's as valid as yours or as anyone that did it as an older student and has no regrets. It's never good to close your mind into one point of view.
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Yes, I definitely have had my fair share of complaints. Many of my classmates did too. It's not about "making up my mind." It seems some of you just don't get that not everyone has a positive experience or thinks medicine is all it's advertised to be. If you go into physician surveys, you will find a high number of physicians dissatisfied with their career choice.
I find it very curious that some of you seem to take it so personally. Maybe the last thing you guys want to hear dealing with this is that there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or perhaps you do genuinely enjoy the dysfunctional aspects of med school and residency.
Sorry medicine didn't work out for you and many others. Medicine has a way of attracting all kinds of people with all sorts of motivations. It seems yours and those unhappy with their decisions perhaps didn't have the right initial motivations for this sort of demanding career. It's not about you having invalidated experiences; it's that one's poor life choices are not examples by which I lead my life. I've sought out my own motivation for this field and acquired the life experience to feel assured - I'm sorry that that is not always the case with everyone pursuing medicine.
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deleted936470
OP isn't citing concern about potential dissatisfaction or his preconceptions of medicine being ruined. He's always wanted to be a physician. Some of us explored that motivation, heavily, and vetted multiple fields before applying. To be clear, he's worried that his age / class expansion will impact match chances.
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I wonder how often the people who regret their life choice regarding med school went straight through from undergrad vs non-trads. I was so dumb and immature when I was 22, but if someone were somehow smart and did well in school (or rich and had parents holding their hand the whole time) they may very well end up down a road they didn’t actually want. Medicine is definitely a tough career to abandon, but it can be done. Teaching, consulting, start ups, there are many avenues...
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deleted936470
Immaturity? Sure... also, judgement problems, sunk-cost fallacious and emotional thinking, inability to be introspective / reflect and cut losses, lack of varied clinical exposure, family pressure, grass is always greener mentality, etc., there are many reasons why people regret their decisions and become miserable.
When you work in a warehouse, medical insurance office and in a restaurant, you then start to realize what actually sucks and what doesn't.
A lot of things in medicine DO suck, be many like to ignore the positives.
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I am a non-trad myself and I wouldn’t go back to the business world if you paid me a million dollars a year. Well, maybe a million.
I went into medicine because I wanted job security and I was tired of sitting at a desk doing boring things. Perhaps that is why I have enjoyed medicine so much and would never go back to my old life (despite how stressful this path can be at times). Healing the sick and all of the altruistic stuff people talk about on their applications was never part of my decision process, lol.
I went into medicine because I wanted job security and I was tired of sitting at a desk doing boring things. Perhaps that is why I have enjoyed medicine so much and would never go back to my old life (despite how stressful this path can be at times). Healing the sick and all of the altruistic stuff people talk about on their applications was never part of my decision process, lol.
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Medicine is full of long hours, being treated like crap by people just because "that's how it is in medicine", endless egos, and on and on. You can go into medicine for all of the right reasons (whatever those even are...) and still be unhappy with this crap simply because it's normal to not like being treated like dirt. I'm still happy with my decision to go to medical school, but I can't wait for the day that I don't have to pretend to be okay with being treated the way students are treated.
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deleted610572
To clarify I absolutely love what I do at the heart of it. The problem is the business of medicine that sucks. And as a young adult entering medical school, I absolutely made the right choice, but what I was emphasizing was at the OPs accomplishments in life. Family, well paying career, etc. I was 100% in the calling category, but now I believe focusing on my family is the number 1 thing. I would shovel **** from one side of the yard to the other side 40 hours a week if it paid me well enough to take care of my family and simultaneously have time to spend with them.
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deleted610572
haha dont worry if you dont like being treated like dirt as a student it only gets worse in residency when you get poo'd on from nursing, consults, etc.
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While I get as sick of the constant bitching on SDN as much as anyone, I don't think there's anything wrong with not liking medicine. It's not a perfect job by any means, and it is often sold as one to pre-meds (high pay! help people! no downsides!). The problem with US medical education is that because the debt load is so severe it railroads people very early on, and if halfway through M3 you realize you really wanted to be a computer programmer then you're $150,000 too late to make that choice.
That being said I'm a non trad who left a stable union firefighting job to go to med school and I have no regrets. I feel like with a few exceptions like Step 1 dedicated, I had about as much fun, if not more, as I would have if I'd stayed with my old job. I got to travel, live in a cool new city, and make new friends, to say nothing of medicine being interesting. But that's just me--my brother is in finance making a crapload of money and happy as a clam. And if I had kids or an SO with an inflexible job then my frolicking all over the country would be a headache instead of enjoyable.
That being said I'm a non trad who left a stable union firefighting job to go to med school and I have no regrets. I feel like with a few exceptions like Step 1 dedicated, I had about as much fun, if not more, as I would have if I'd stayed with my old job. I got to travel, live in a cool new city, and make new friends, to say nothing of medicine being interesting. But that's just me--my brother is in finance making a crapload of money and happy as a clam. And if I had kids or an SO with an inflexible job then my frolicking all over the country would be a headache instead of enjoyable.
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I love when premeds tell doctors they're wrong about their feelings toward medicine
A lot of people with your motivation are the ones that walk away the most disillusioned. Medicine isn't glorious. It's a rough world with a lot of stress and long hours. It's a bit better than most jobs and certainly pays a lot more than most, but there's a lot of up front costs. It will take away from your life, however, and medicine takes a piece of you in a way no other field does. So like, finish your walk down the path and tell me if it's worth it, because you've got absolutely zero right to armchair quarterback the feelings of people who have actually been there. At least then you'll understand why they feel that way, because let me tell you there's not a single attending or resident I've ever worked with that would judge anyone for feeling medicine was not the best choice for their life.
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I just turned 35 this past month. May I ask why you regret going into medicine? I’m not sure if I want to apply anymore especially if I have to move my wife and kids across the country.
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Idk man... Was med school so bad? I'm almost done with 3rd year and med school has been the most fun time of my life. Made a lot of friends and it feels like the info I learn actually matters.
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Truly an inspiration. Hats off!
D
deleted936470
Agreed, medicine is not for those with thin skins.
Work full-time in a warehouse, hospitality, or insurance office, where those jobs are your primary source of income and you'll quickly redefine what it means to be dirt on the floor to people. It helps build character, too.
The point, if you're expecting to be some saving grace, god's gift to medicine, and to be the warm, healing light in children's dark lives or whatever and put on a pedestal, you're in for a rude awakening..
Medicine as a motivation really doesn't surmount to anything beyond "can I see myself doing anything else?" If the answer is yes, you should probably go do that.
but the problem is...
OP hasn't stated concerns about this. It's not a question of whether your experiences are valid, bc they are, but whether they pertain to OPs concerns... like why try and scare him away?
Approximately 4/5 doctors are "happy with their careers" so it follows that it takes a certain person to wade these forums w/ constant negativity. Not saying that's you, but my point is that it then becomes partially self-afflicted misery.
No one is saying medicine is glorious and easy, I think we should focus on what is being said and not how others are interpreting it.
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