How do you find the patience?

[GreenMed]

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If I can just have patience, then someday I'll have patients...

I know that this is the group that knows it best - but this process just takes so long! Right now I am really struggling with the fact that even once I have the pre-reqs done this May, there's still another year before I actually get to start school (fall 2014). It looks like I have an interesting clinic job lined up for that time, and that should be enough... but as a nontrad who used to have another career, the salary is depressingly low - and it's just not what I really want to be doing, which is going to med school.

I know that I have so much for which to be grateful, and I am sure that I will be in school in 2014. So, how do I focus on those positives and have patience with this "down-time?" How do all of you find the patience to take this day-by-day?

 

[ErrantWhatever]

If I can just have patience, then someday I'll have patients...

I know that this is the group that knows it best - but this process just takes so long! Right now I am really struggling with the fact that even once I have the pre-reqs done this May, there's still another year before I actually get to start school (fall 2014). It looks like I have an interesting clinic job lined up for that time, and that should be enough... but as a nontrad who used to have another career, the salary is depressingly low - and it's just not what I really want to be doing, which is going to med school.

I know that I have so much for which to be grateful, and I am sure that I will be in school in 2014. So, how do I focus on those positives and have patience with this "down-time?" How do all of you find the patience to take this day-by-day?

I can totally relate to this. 18 months of post-bac work actually went by pretty quickly bc I was so busy w/ class, EC's, MCAT prep, and work. I never felt overwhelmed, but like you, the test of patience has been the greatest challenge. I hope it's not the case for you, but it's even worse now during my gap year. My job will pay off in the end, but it's not exactly stimulating. At the end of the day, what helps me is to picture myself as a practicing physician in 10 years saying, "It was so worth it." It helps me. A lot, actually.

Keep your eye on the prize!👍

 

[popopopop]

Down the road when you have 15 years of experience, you'll meet a person that started 2 years before you and he'll have 17 of experience as a doctor. Do you really think it matters by that time? Also, the grass is always greener on the other side. Take your downtime and do things you know you won't have time for once school starts: shed those few pounds, enjoy your ec, read some books, ski trip in the winter etc etc.

 

[Shjanzey]

I have already invested five years of my life as a "pre-med". Those five years started three years after I graduated from my undergrad. I have so much time and effort invested, that patience doesn't mean anything to me anymore. It has become an overriding obsession. I will be an MD, and I will get into Medical School...after all, it is only a matter of time

 

[WTEngel]

It seems excruciating now, but I agree with the previous poster...once you have your "10,000" hours under your belt, it will all be worth it.

 

[DrMidlife]

If guilt or worst cases work for you, you can think about the nontrad premeds who were delayed for years because they got cancer or lost a child. If you only have to wait 18 months to go to med school, count your blessings.

 

[ErrantWhatever]

Might I also recommend listening daily to "Go the Distance" from the Disney animated hit "Hercules"...

...the one from the movie, not the Michael Bolton version...

...

...

 

[Shjanzey]

If guilt or worst cases work for you, you can think about the nontrad premeds who were delayed for years because they got cancer or lost a child. If you only have to wait 18 months to go to med school, count your blessings.

This may not be a healthy practice, but every time I start to feel lazy I'll go to the thread "When you found out you got in..." in the pre-allo thread and read up. Having already been rejected once, just reading those stories is very difficult. It hurts so bad I have cried a few times. That really gets me motivated to keep going.

I am not an emotional person, but the first time that happened it made me realize just how deeply I want to achieve this goal. Having a dream hurts sometimes, but when you finally reach it, it is so worth the pain and suffering.

 

[Jas1360]

Find something new and fun to do, in order to take up time while you wait.

 

[GreenMed]

I appreciate all of these replies so much! They're helpful and come from many different directions:
- once I'm a physician, all of this will seem worth it (and a long time ago)
- try to see it as an opportunity to fit in other experiences
- social comparison: my path is relatively straightforward, compared to some
- and Disney songs make everything better.

 

[yossarian444]

Meh, learn to live and appreciate the now. Med school just plain sucks a lot of the time, and many people cope by repeating to themselves: "it'll all be over soon, I just gotta keep going, then I'll be done with this 4-year long exercise in self-inflicted torture." Then residency hits, and suprise - residency can suck at times too. "Just once I'm done with residency....can't wait...few more years...then life will be better."

Life can't just be about waiting/planning for the next phase to arrive. Many people do that in medicine and they are convinced their life doesn't somehow "start" until after residency. Don't be one of these people. Do something fun with your time! Don't stress about what comes next and improve upon your current self. Medicine is one heck of a fast-paced ride and you won't have much time to explore new hobbies or do any other self-improvement projects.

Oddly enough, at times during residency, you'll probably be thinking to yourself: "I wish I had the patience for some of these annoying patients!" Full circle, eh?

 

[rangoon1984]

.

 

[alderjems]

I think It depends. You can not be totally assured that the things remain same all the time.

 

[lunalight]

I try to not think too far ahead. It's too easy to get too far ahead of myself and overwhelmed with impatience and frustration at not doing this sooner. The other day at work a surgery resident came in, he's not much older than me and will be done in 2 years. His wife and 2 young kids were in the waiting room. Even though I'll start MS1 in July, seeing him stung a little bit. "That's where I should/could be." But I have to shake it off and instead think, "That's where I WILL be."

It's easier to be patient when you're focusing on getting good grades this semester vs thinking about what's going to happen a year or two from now. 🙂

 

[Helen Wheels]

Even after you start medical school it will still be 7+ years until you are "done," depending on what you are going into. Just enjoy the ride. Life's a journey, not a destination. 🙂

 

[wholeheartedly]

Even after you start medical school it will still be 7+ years until you are "done," depending on what you are going into. Just enjoy the ride. Life's a journey, not a destination. 🙂

👍 this.



But oh is that easier said than done, especially when you're so busy.

 

[Law2Doc]

Even after you start medical school it will still be 7+ years until you are "done," depending on what you are going into. Just enjoy the ride. Life's a journey, not a destination. 🙂

Med school isn't a destination, just another long road. As is residency thereafter. You cannot have the view that the next road is a goal, because when you get there you are going to be inpatient that you have 4 years until you start residency, and then when you get to residency you'll have another 3-7 years until you finish residency, and then fellowship, and then maybe you'll be on a partnership track... It's a road that never ends. So enjoy the ride because that's the value, not the destination, which is a distant and moving target.

 

[Jas1360]

Even after you start medical school it will still be 7+ years until you are "done," depending on what you are going into. Just enjoy the ride. Life's a journey, not a destination. 🙂

This is a great point, people who are always looking ahead for the next great thing will never be content.

 

[Gfliptastic]

I've treated this journey to being a physician much like I would approach a bad ex. In that, there were aspects of my previous (non-med school) life (or ex) I wish I could have back. But there were obviously wants and desires and painful dislikes that pushed me to TRULY pursue this path.

It's SO tough. And I'm not going to tell you it gets easier. Post-bacc, pre-med, the MCAT...child's play!

And when it gets tough, I think about my "past life" and all the things I hated about it, and how much I wanted more than I did out of life when I had my old job, and THAT'S WHERE YOU WILL find the patience and motivation to keep going.

The clinic job should help you out too. When I see patients everyday (MS3), and sit and discuss their problems and TREAT THEM (under the supervision of a preceptor, of course), I am so enthused my entire day!! And I am always disappointed when my preceptor sez we are done for the day. And I realized I saw patients for 10 hrs. I'm kinda ticked off I don't have to go in today, and am left trolling SDN lol.

So knowing this is the only pathway to your ultimate goal (of whatever drove you to be a physician) is like a jumpstart to your self's "batteries". What a recharge!! In my analogy, it's like getting to dating the new gal. And the new gal is WAAAAAAY better than the ex!!! 🙂