Having Doubts.

[MedoMD]

Hello all,

I just wanted to let you guys know that I have been having some doubts on my route to Medicine. I was in the hospital the other day, volunteering, and it turns out I didn't enjoy it as I thought I would. It seems to me some doctors live depressing lives, keep diagnosing patients that are going to die - and it just seems such a job that I couldn't even handle. Maybe I am not fit for medicine as a career. I'm more of a hands on person, like learning new skills, but this (medicine) doesn't look too appealing to me anymore. My parents are waiting 'till the day I finish up my undergrad and continue on with medicine, but RIGHT NOW, I'm kind of on a halt. I think I'm going to stop now and transfer to engineering/ or business.

I just have my doubts, so I think it's best to pull out. Do you guys have any feelings toward where your heading? I just wanted to hear your opinions.


Thanks, Medo.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jsegalBSD]

i think it is ok to be unsure or cautious. some people say that if you have the slightest doubt then dont even bother applying, but i disagree... tho, i am not a med student or a doctor. i just know what i want out of life and for a future, and medicine (i believe) is the best choice. what other options/interests do you have?

 

[postbacker]

Doubts are part of a healthy internal date that all of us should engage in...I am much more skeptical of the folks who have "no doubts" about it...

 

[luckycharms08]

i don't think i would've picked medicine off volunteering in a hospital alone. usually i felt really useless and didn't get a good sense of the field. maybe you should try shadowing a doctor in a field you think is very interesting before you quit on it completely.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

i don't think i would've picked medicine off volunteering in a hospital alone. usually i felt really useless and didn't get a good sense of the field. maybe you should try shadowing a doctor in a field you think is very interesting before you quit on it completely.

^^^ agree 100%. I volunteer at a hospital and have spoken to docs and kind of seen them in action. Its so much different. For the cancer center where I'm at, sure I can check vitals and bring patients blankets and stuff like that...

but then you see the doc come in, analyze each specific patient's situation...if theyre getting better, continue the path. if not, you have to strategize right away to change the current plan to see what works better. it's like a really hard strategy game...and i like strategy games! ...only bad part is if you lose the game, you lose the patient. So i agree it can be depressing but i think its far more rewarding knowing you are saving tons and trying your damn best to save the rest.

 

[Blade28]

But this is one of the good reasons to shadow/volunteer - to be exposed to medicine and see what the reality of it is.

Much better than those who go into med school without any idea of what it's really like (i.e. it's very different than on TV).

 

[moe_4eva]

I've had doubts recently too, although it isn't from the job itself. I love the hospital environment, and I love working in it.

My doubts have arisen as I've looked at the future and how doctors and their families interact. It seems especially hard for doctors to have what I consider to be a good home life and yet to dedicate themselves to their work as well. For me, my family will always come first. That makes dedicating myself to the hospital near to impossible.

With that said, I haven't completely ruled it out, and I'm looking at other options that may allow me more time with my family. For example, I don't know if you've looked into DPT programs (doctor of physical therapy), but there you are helping people get better, you can work in a hospital or own your own practice, and you're hours are nice and easy to boot. Sure the money isn't quite as good, but then again you aren't paying malpractice insurance, so it sort of evens out (sorta kinda not really, but still).

 

[chizledfrmstone]

i don't think i would've picked medicine off volunteering in a hospital alone. usually i felt really useless and didn't get a good sense of the field. maybe you should try shadowing a doctor in a field you think is very interesting before you quit on it completely.

Agreed.

Also who says you will be one of the lame doctors?

There's always MD/PhD

 

[Cranial Gavage]

I'm just a fellow applicant, but here are a few thoughts from my own shadowing experience.

I was in the hospital the other day, volunteering, and it turns out I didn't enjoy it as I thought I would.

The entertainment media portrays medicine as fun and sexy. The actual vocation appears to involve deep satisfaction concealed beneath superficial layers of stress, frustrations, and grueling work. Perhaps satisfaction stems from the catharsis of overcoming these obstacles in a manner that helps others.

Maybe I am not fit for medicine as a career . . . I think I'm going to stop now and transfer to engineering/ or business.

None of us can tell you if medicine fits or not. However, I would caution against turning one volunteering experience into a litmus test for the entire profession.

Consider pursuing several different opportunities to volunteer/shadow. Perhaps you will see a different facet of healthcare that attracts you. However, if they all rub you the wrong way, then medicine may not be the right choice.

 

[Isoprop]

I remember how surprised i was when i overheard a resident say "why can't these people get sick on my day off?" This resident always seemed more than happy to go above and beyond for her patients. I remember thinking I hope I can be as dedicated as her when I become a doctor.

The thing is, you can't fall in love with every aspect of medicine. There are many different fields for different kinds of doctors. Even when you are in a field you love, there are certain things about it that just suck.

There's a blog here that someone else on SDN refered me to. Here, the doctor dicusses 11 GOOD reasons why you shouldn't become a doctor (http://ifinding.blogspot.com/2007/08/dont-become-doctor.html). His whole point is NOT to discourage premeds or med students from becoming a doctor. Rather, he wants to reveal the good things and the bad things about medicine. Full disclosure.

Having doubts could suggest that you should look into other career choices. But just because you are having feelings of doubt does NOT mean medicine isn't right for you.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

 

[silverlining1]

Consider pursuing several different opportunities to volunteer/shadow. Perhaps you will see a different facet of healthcare that attracts you. However, if they all rub you the wrong way, then medicine may not be the right choice.

I absolutely agree with this. You can't have experienced everything from one volunteering experience. If you have a hard time finding other types of doctors to shadow, there are some great books that talk about the many specialties in medicine. I don't mean to say that you should force yourself into medicine and just pick the specialty that is the least sucky - I mean that you shouldn't throw this dream away because of one experience that isn't necessarily representative of the whole.

 

[Despina]

You mentioned that you don't like the dying part of medicine, but like to be hands on...how about dentistry or other hands on medical specialties just as physical or occupational therapy programs. Physical therapy is headed toward requiring a Ph.D. (so they can prescribe PT rather than waiting for the docs orders). It is very hands on, and would allow you to see more of the recovery (happy) side of medicine.

It sounds like you parents might be pressuring you? Maybe take a year off in between college and medical school. I was pursing a career in music and had a lot of parental pressure in college. Once I was paying my own bills and working, I was able to clearly see what I wanted. And yes I do think the phrase, "If you can see yourself doing anything else, you shouldn't be in medicine." This same phrase was commonly used in my former line of work (singing opera) and I think it's true. As a singer I had my doubts all the time and toward the end had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that it wasn't the right path for me. As a pre-med all these doubts have dissipated, and I feel very internally content. Yes, it's o.k. to have doubts and question, but really, really listen to your gut for guidance.

 

[Law2Doc]

But this is one of the good reasons to shadow/volunteer - to be exposed to medicine and see what the reality of it is.

Much better than those who go into med school without any idea of what it's really like (i.e. it's very different than on TV).

Exactly. The OP got some exposure to medicine, saw things he didn't like or didn't see himself doing, and as a result is going to consider other things. This is exactly how it's supposed to work. Nobody should try to talk the OP back to the fold. Medicine is not going to be for everyone, nor should it be. Clinical exposure is better info than any counter-arguments on this board. Perhaps OP should seek out more clinical experience, but sounds like he saw the real deal. And the fact that OP cites parental desires for him suggests that he may be being pushed into something that isn't right for him anyhow. (This should never be a consideration because frankly it is too long and hard a road unless you want it for yourself and not someone else's dream).

 

[MrBurns10]

Also, the respective specialties in medicine are so vastly different they may as well not even be considered the same field (i.e. surgery has very little in common with psychiatry which has very little in common with radiology and so forth). You definitely can't expect to love everything...especially when you're volunteering.

 

[brianmartin]

Hmm, considered surgery?

 

[flyingesquino]

In my experience volunteering at hospitals are been a waste of time and a really poor way to truly get the "doctor experience". The whole time I was volunteering I felt I was more of a burden than anything else, and a nurse even told me "I don't know what you're even supposed to be doing here so you can just sit and watch if you want"... yeah.. great that's why I signed up to volunteer.
From then on I've stuck to shadowing doctors instead and it's been a much more fun and educational experience; you also get a much better idea of what it's like to be a doctor. I would definitely suggest shadowing a doctor before giving up on the idea of being a doctor, you shouldn't really base it strictly on volunteer work.

 

[Blade28]

Exactly. The OP got some exposure to medicine, saw things he didn't like or didn't see himself doing, and as a result is going to consider other things. This is exactly how it's supposed to work. Nobody should try to talk the OP back to the fold. Medicine is not going to be for everyone, nor should it be.

I totally agree. Sounds harsh and blunt, but it's true. This is a good way to see if medicine, in reality, is to your liking - it's nothing like the movies and TV shows portray.

It's so true that medicine isn't for everyone. And there's nothing wrong with that - just like law, engineering, teaching, retail, etc. isn't for everyone.