If you could do it over would you

[Sivastraba]

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Ok I will give you some insight into my whole experience. Before going into Medical School I was the sort of person who had gone through a lot of BAD THINGS through life. I lost my Mom at age 5 and my Indian Dad didn't carry quiet a well the job of raising me. The only thing he taught me was study, study, study as if that were the only important thing to strive for in life. There is no question that I totally lacked proper social skills because of the environment I was raised. In addition, he was the kind of person who always scorned me if I got B's or C's during elementary, junior and high school. Even when I got the A's he would say that I had to get perfect and strive to be #1 in my class. He always downplayed my achievements because I never was #1. Can u believe this BS? He has always treated me like a small child even through undergrad. I was pushed into Medical School by him. It was a way of he trying to fix the mistakes he made in his life of not having studied medicine. Before going into Med school I was the sort of person that was very sensitive to criticism because also I had been bullied a lot in High School. As a consequence, I suffered from a lack of self-esteem and even ended up taking Antidepressants several times during college. Medschool was the catalyst that definitely made me crack up. During the 2nd year of Medical School it came to a point that I couldn't take it anymore because of the grades I was getting, being always criticized and humiliated by Faculty members, and having the constant backstabbing of your fellow classmates. Oh believe me it is literally the survival of the fittest. My severe anxiety and constant stress led me to the point of retaliating against the faculty and I almost thought of dropping out. In my personal opinion, many Medical Doctors are only in for the prestiege and money that the profession brings. They think that they are better than the rest of the people in the world. Yeah right. I was able to barely make it through Med School just passing everything with average and slightly above average gradess. Today I am a Medical Graduate who still doesn't have a job because I didn't match last year. In other words, after having busted my butt for 4 years, sometimes only sleeping 2-3 hours or being completely sleep deprivated I can definitely say it was all for a VANE purpose. Just as the war taking place today in which Billions of Dollars are wasted and thousands of lives are lost for a VANE purpose. We have all become slaves of this capitalist sytem which makes us waste our lives making money to then consume it in Big Houses, Fancy Cars, etc. Is it all worth it? I don' t think so. This has been the worst nightmare in my life. I still don't have a girlfriend, I still am not earning money, and even when I get into residency it will be like another 4-5 before I start earning a decent salary. All this experience has been hell for me. I hate my Dad, I hate my family, I hate our government, I hate my life. If I could make one wish come true It would definitely be to not have been born in this world.... I could keep going on, but I think that what I have written is depressing enough... Flames as always are welcomed. You can give me your best shot.

 

[gujuDoc]

Ok I will give you some insight into my whole experience. Before going into Medical School I was the sort of person who had gone through a lot of BAD THINGS through life. I lost my Mom at age 5 and my Indian Dad didn't carry quiet a well the job of raising me. The only thing he taught me was study, study, study as if that were the only important thing to strive for in life. There is no question that I totally lacked proper social skills because of the environment I was raised. In addition, he was the kind of person who always scorned me if I got B's or C's during elementary, junior and high school. Even when I got the A's he would say that I had to get perfect and strive to be #1 in my class. He always downplayed my achievements because I never was #1. Can u believe this BS? He has always treated me like a small child even through undergrad. I was pushed into Medical School by him. It was a way of he trying to fix the mistakes he made in his life of not having studied medicine. Before going into Med school I was the sort of person that was very sensitive to criticism because also I had been bullied a lot in High School. As a consequence, I suffered from a lack of self-esteem and even ended up taking Antidepressants several times during college. Medschool was the catalyst that definitely made me crack up. During the 2nd year of Medical School it came to a point that I couldn't take it anymore because of the grades I was getting, being always criticized and humiliated by Faculty members, and having the constant backstabbing of your fellow classmates. Oh believe me it is literally the survival of the fittest. My severe anxiety and constant stress led me to the point of retaliating against the faculty and I almost thought of dropping out. In my personal opinion, many Medical Doctors are only in for the prestiege and money that the profession brings. They think that they are better than the rest of the people in the world. Yeah right. I was able to barely make it through Med School just passing everything with average and slightly above average gradess. Today I am a Medical Graduate who still doesn't have a job because I didn't match last year. In other words, after having busted my butt for 4 years, sometimes only sleeping 2-3 hours or being completely sleep deprivated I can definitely say it was all for a VANE purpose. Just as the war taking place today in which Billions of Dollars are wasted and thousands of lives are lost for a VANE purpose. We have all become slaves of this capitalist sytem which makes us waste our lives making money to then consume it in Big Houses, Fancy Cars, etc. Is it all worth it? I don' t think so. This has been the worst nightmare in my life. I still don't have a girlfriend, I still am not earning money, and even when I get into residency it will be like another 4-5 before I start earning a decent salary. All this experience has been hell for me. I hate my Dad, I hate my family, I hate our government, I hate my life. If I could make one wish come true It would definitely be to not have been born in this world.... I could keep going on, but I think that what I have written is depressing enough... Flames as always are welcomed. You can give me your best shot.

As a fellow desi, I will not flame you by any means.

I know what it is to have an overbearing father and an ass of a family. Even though I am going into medical school of my own will and desire to go into medical school, I have witnessed this happen many times.

I have known many indian parents do some crazy thing to try to hold control of their kids lives and live through them.

My dad did not force me into the idea of medicine, but he once tried to force my brother into it and he completely rebelled and went into engineering instead.

He's much happier in engineering because he earns a decent living while maintaining his sanity and having time to do things he enjoys.

Too many times do I hear indian parents go all goo goo ga ga over you if you are in medical school and try to push their kids to do the same. They think it is an easy route to becoming rich. but it is not like that by any means.

Sure you make a lot of money, but you suffer like nothing. This thread is proof enough of the price a person pays by going into this field.

Its funny you post this only hours after I had this same conversation with another fellow desi, who is my roommate.

Indian parents think that you should not be allowed to live. First, they don't want you to take your time to have fun in college while studying, saying that after their studies they'll have time to have fun. Then when after studies are done, they try pushing you into finding someone to marry. That's the problem that I've seen with a lot of desis that I have known in my life.

I thank god for the few desi parents that have let their kids go into fields they wanted to go into or who let their kids decide for themselves what they want to do or that if medicine is what they are going into it is of their own accord.

Your story really makes me want to cry because I know what it is like to have desi parents and how they can be, and how ignorant to the realities of medicine many of them are who have not been in the field.

I hope things work out for you somewhere down the road.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Ok I will give you some insight into my whole experience. ...Flames as always are welcomed. You can give me your best shot.

Man....who would stoop so low as to flame that. I'm sorry your life sucks. Medicine is definitely NOT for you.

 

[Sanman]

As a desi myself, I can also definitely relate to what you are talking about. One the reasons I decided not to go into medicine was that I wasn't truly sure if I was interested in it or the environment I grew up caused me to want to do this. I still deal with the whole your work is your life thing, which casues me a lot of burnout at times. My suggestion for you is that you take this year and figure out what YOU want to do with your life. There are consulting companies that will hire MDs if you like finance, there is always the option of getting a research fellowship and going into pharma. If engineering is your thing, you may want to look into medical device / tech consulting. I've seen this ideal of medicine pretty much destroy a good friend of mine, so I feel for you. Also, get out there, ake friends, and enjoy yourself.

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

Dr. Greddy,

Let's see if you got the same opinions once you're in your 4th year of med school about to apply for residency. Or better yet, when you're half way done with residency and have worked 80 hours a week consistently for 2-3 years. Until then, stop making yourself look like such a fool.

You got NO EXPERIENCE, dude, so just calm down, take step back and stop posting with your trivial experiences you're so proud of. I came from the research sector too with a graduate degree, and still had no idea, no idea...let me say it again, ....no idea of what it really was like until I experienced it. Except, in contrast to you, I didn't go around telling people who already were in the mix of things about the medical field. What a joke 😡

I don't blame you for not following the argument more closely as it was a tedious one, but to reiterate what I was saying:

an MS4, while posessing a good deal of knowledge regarding the basics of medicine, isn't in a position to grand-stand about the state of practicing medicine as a whole, and does not have the background to state there is nothing intellectually stimulating in medicine at all, in any field, unless you do research. I am direct witness to people who prove this untrue, which brings me to my next point:

I am going to weigh various sources of advice and guidance in various ways. I'm going to weigh the advice of people I've worked with more than angry wankers on anonymous internet forums. You may think I should bow my head to people who claim to be med students on the 'net, but I will not do that: I will make my decisions based on experience and guidance from people I trust.

I love this "you have years of clinical experience, buy you ain't a med student so you aint nothin" attitude. Anyone professing this belief can kindly step-off.

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

Dude, listen to Sacrament. He's giving you good advice and what he says is true, even if it is coming from a guy who regrets his career choice.

I would just say that clinical medicine is occasionally intellectually stimulating but the vast majority of the time it is, if not exactly boring, fairly routine with most of the clinical problems you will encounter fairly common problems which you treat in fairly common ways.

This is why I'm trying to switch out of Family Medicine. Not that I think that Internal Medicine or Emergency Medicine don't have their fair share of "bread and butter" cases but only because Family Medicine is a little too sedate for me. All of the cases that would be intellectually stimulating are referred to specialists. The specialists, for their part, look at a terrifying disease which you may see twice in fifteen years as just another boring day at the office.

I'm not sure if you should be telling me to listen to the advice. You're saying basically what I was: that there are specialties in medicine that can work the mind. I wasn't arguing that IM of FP is interesting to everyone all the time. Radiology, imaging protocols, advancement in MR techniques, that is my field of study now.

I'm so sorry for saying those might be interesting fields, and I totally deserve to be insulted and put down for having the audacity to formulate the idea that it might not all be scutwork. What was I thinking?

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

In the 6 months and as many pages since last I entered this discussion, one consistent idea I'd like to address is the concern about the lack of intellectual challenge in medicine. Whereas this is certainly in the eye of the beholder, I don't agree that clinical practice is always rote or anti-intellectual.

I personally would find outpatient pedi too rote for me, but others don't. I wish this forum had more attendings in general pedi or IM practice who could speak to that.

However, I can speak to what I do, which is care for critically ill babies. In the management of these babies, one has to balance management issues of multiple organ system failure. Often the needs of one organ system compete with those of another, leading to real continuous challenges. It's not hard to find a situation every night in which key management decisions may make a large difference, and often these decisions are not obvious or contained in any guidebook. We find that it frequently isn't until our fellows reach their second or third year of fellowship that they are prepared to prioritize the care issues in critically ill patients as well as the challenge of managing simultaneous problems in a large unit at night. I think this is an intellectual challenge and having done much of my work in college in engineering before going on to biology and medicine, I think it has a lot of similarities to some of the challenges of engineering.

This type of intellectual challenge in medicine may not be apparent to students and even residents, but is available in the careers for those who choose this type of medicine or any type in which there are very sick patients.

Finally, I note that for some of us in academic medicine, one of the best intellectual challenges is educating those who will follow after us. That is probably worth a longer post on its own, but believe me, doing medical education well is not simple or "unintellectual".

So, whereas I agree that research is the most intellectually stimulating aspect of medical practice, I am unconvinced that clinical care is always rote or that other aspects of medicine, such as public policy and education, are not also sources of intellectual challenge.

I hope that those of you who are looking at your future careers will consider the real possibility of finding a field in which you will be intellectually challenged, even if there is a trade-off in terms of salary and hours.

Regards

OBP

👍

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

Dr. Geddy,

Not to bust on you. But again, this thread was meant for actual medical students and residents to tell their thoughts on medicine. If they want to vent here, at least they will be telling us the truth of their thoughts on their career.

I don't think its fair to say we really know the full scale of medicine until we get there and have seen how hard it really is.

I don't know when it turned into med school gripe session. I thought it was from people actually practicing medicine.

The OP:

I frequently hear practicing physicians, even the ones who somewhat enjoy what they do, say that they would not do it again if given the chance. Im currentlyin the process of deciding wether or not to go to med school. I was just wondering how you residents feel about this, would you do it over again

 

[etudiante04]

Those who say it's not worth it are usually people who went straight to medical school after colllege and have never worked fulltime in a non-medical related job for years. They have a false impression the grass is greener on the other side.

I thought this statement was interesting. I am currently between my undergraduate and medical school. At first, I regretted not going straight into medical school from college. But I am loving my time off. Could it be that those who went straight in were less satisfied with the experience? While those who took a breather from school are enjoying the medical school experience? It is just an observation. I know that educational debt and workload play a role, but I wanted to know if the time spent between undergrad and med school was another indicator.

I will not even try to pretend to know how medical school will turn out. That said, this thread is very helpful, as I am currently contemplating a career in medicine.

 

[etudiante04]

Why would anyone in their right mind want to do this twice?!!!?!!! 😀 😛

 

[gujuDoc]

Those who say it's not worth it are usually people who went straight to medical school after colllege and have never worked fulltime in a non-medical related job for years. They have a false impression the grass is greener on the other side.

I thought this statement was interesting. I am currently between my undergraduate and medical school. At first, I regretted not going straight into medical school from college. But I am loving my time off. Could it be that those who went straight in were less satisfied with the experience? While those who took a breather from school are enjoying the medical school experience? It is just an observation. I know that educational debt and workload play a role, but I wanted to know if the time spent between undergrad and med school was another indicator.

I will not even try to pretend to know how medical school will turn out. That said, this thread is very helpful, as I am currently contemplating a career in medicine.

I wouldn't say that those going straight to college are the only one's who seem disgruntled. I think everyone's situation is different depending on the person. But judging from this thread, not everyone here is a traditional student who had not so good words to say. So I guess it is relative to each individual person.

Dr.Geddy,

My earlier point was not that you should take what people on here say as set in stone. But rather, it was my way of telling you to give these people a break. People asked for honest opinions, not for opinions giving a picture perfect rainbow colored picture of medicine that glosses over the realities.

That is all these med students and residents were doing. Also, this thread was extended to medical students to answer, not just residents and other practicing physicians.

One final note: Before this thread I had heard similar stories from attendings in different departments at the medical school affiliated with my insitution. So it is apparently not just a few people on an anonymous forum who feel a certain way.

You are going to have happy physicians and then you are going to have people who regret the choice they made. Take all the sources and then determine whether it is something you want to really do. But don't completely ignore an opinion just because it differs from the prettier picture others paint for you. And also, look at each program you get into carefully because which medical school you go to does matter in the sense that curricula and the way they approach things is different at different schools, and those things play a role in adjusting and happiness.

 

[etudiante04]

I agree with several posters on this thread who quessed that many of the unhappy doctors/residents/students out there went straight into medicine out of college. They simply must lack a certain amount of perspective compared to their collegues who did something else first. That being said, I am also of the opinion that certain people will always be happy with their lives and certain others will always be disgruntled.

Just an observation.

I agree.

 

[A. Melanoleuca]

... and he completely rebelled and went into engineering instead.

Fight the power!

 

[davvid2700]

Those who say it's not worth it are usually people who went straight to medical school after colllege and have never worked fulltime in a non-medical related job for years. They have a false impression the grass is greener on the other side.

I thought this statement was interesting. I am currently between my undergraduate and medical school. At first, I regretted not going straight into medical school from college. But I am loving my time off. Could it be that those who went straight in were less satisfied with the experience? While those who took a breather from school are enjoying the medical school experience? It is just an observation. I know that educational debt and workload play a role, but I wanted to know if the time spent between undergrad and med school was another indicator.

I will not even try to pretend to know how medical school will turn out. That said, this thread is very helpful, as I am currently contemplating a career in medicine.

you can 10 years off before medical school.. it wont change the way you feel when you have aboslutely no control over your life.. your on call ridiculous long hours. the expectations of you are really high.. you deal with passive aggressive people all day long.. you are treated like dirt by everyone.. You miss your friends family and many social functions You are underpaid. streesed and over worked and will remain that way forever. So taking time off before medical school will not somehow make you feel any different. the only way some how it would make it better if you made 5-600, k per year after you finish residency.. and thats not the case and it wont be the case..

sorry if this is really eye opening and troubling.. but i feel this is my take on it. I know its depressing..

 

[A. Melanoleuca]

you can 10 years off before medical school.. it wont change the way you feel when you have aboslutely no control over your life.. your on call ridiculous long hours. the expectations of you are really high.. you deal with passive aggressive people all day long.. you are treated like dirt by everyone.. You miss your friends family and many social functions You are underpaid. streesed and over worked and will remain that way forever. So taking time off before medical school will not somehow make you feel any different. the only way some how it would make it better if you made 5-600, k per year after you finish residency.. and thats not the case and it wont be the case..

sorry if this is really eye opening and troubling.. but i feel this is my take on it. I know its depressing..

I second that. I am the ultimate non-traditional student. If anything, the older you get and the more experience you have outside of the highly insular world of medical education the more intolerable you will find it.

If you are literally raised in the system (college to medical school to residency) you think it's normal to miss sleep, spend eighty percent of your time doing paperwork, and to generally fritter away many hours in the day in a system which to be charitable I will merely say is highly ineficient.

And I'm not unhappy and don't regret my decision to go to medical school.

 

[Lady In Rad]

you can 10 years off before medical school.. it wont change the way you feel when you have aboslutely no control over your life.. your on call ridiculous long hours. the expectations of you are really high.. you deal with passive aggressive people all day long.. you are treated like dirt by everyone.. You miss your friends family and many social functions You are underpaid. streesed and over worked and will remain that way forever. So taking time off before medical school will not somehow make you feel any different. the only way some how it would make it better if you made 5-600, k per year after you finish residency.. and thats not the case and it wont be the case..

sorry if this is really eye opening and troubling.. but i feel this is my take on it. I know its depressing..

I could not have said it better myself. I feel this same way almost every day.

 

[gujuDoc]

Fight the power!

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

Dr.Geddy,

My earlier point was not that you should take what people on here say as set in stone. But rather, it was my way of telling you to give these people a break. People asked for honest opinions, not for opinions giving a picture perfect rainbow colored picture of medicine that glosses over the realities.

You are taking my arguments way out of context and painting them with your own hyperbole, please stop

Okay, lets get back to reality and examine what actually took place in the conversation:

My first post was lamenting how boring a non-educated life can be. I said going into to medicince for something that was interesting and intellectual was a prime motivator.

But no, that's not allowed. I was basically put down in Sac's first post here:
"say that is like saying "I going into medicine for the money, yo."

Equating some teen in college who thinks he's going into medicine for the money and the bitches, with my desire to have something a little more stimulating, was wrong.

As far as respecting opinions go, I have nothing to say criticizing anyone in this thread or elsewhere that doesn't like medicine, or those who would advise against going into the field. But I get insulted by a holier-than-than student, and no you're telling me to give other's a break. Give me a break.

That is all these med students and residents were doing. Also, this thread was extended to medical students to answer, not just residents and other practicing physicians.

I wasn't in conversation with any doctors. So I don't really know how what "they were doing" has any impact on the conversation.

One final note: Before this thread I had heard similar stories from attendings in different departments at the medical school affiliated with my insitution. So it is apparently not just a few people on an anonymous forum who feel a certain way.

Now you are making ludicrous simplifications of my argument. If you really want to continue this with me, please go back and read my posts before you comment on them.

I said the very exact thing you just did: there's a variety of opinions on the matter from med-student on up. If you'd read my posts before attempting to critique them you'd know this.

You are going to have happy physicians and then you are going to have people who regret the choice they made. Take all the sources and then determine whether it is something you want to really do. But don't completely ignore an opinion just because it differs from the prettier picture others paint for you. And also, look at each program you get into carefully because which medical school you go to does matter in the sense that curricula and the way they approach things is different at different schools, and those things play a role in adjusting and happiness.

If anyone, anywhere, ever says to me: "I didn't go to med school because of what some people on a forum told me," I'm going to smack them. Twice.

 

[Poety]

If anyone, anywhere, ever says to me: "I didn't go to med school because of what some people on a forum told me," I'm going to smack them. Twice.

but doesn't EVERYONE listen to EVERYTHING on the anonymous forum? JUST KIDDIN 🙂

Lets all kiss and make up, can't we all juss get along wiff one another?

btw, today is a non-regret day because I'm so happy with my decision to go into psych. Now that I've started interviewing for residency, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, although it is about a 4 year walk to the end. I'm deathly afraid of internship - I love to work hard, but its scary when I think that I'll be forced to work hard. It won't be one of the "oh, shes so enthusiastic" What I'm most afraid of is killing a patient or doing something horribly wrong when I'm so exhausted I can't see straight. Is there anyone else that is just utterly non-functional on a sleep deficit? I seriously hope I'm not the only one - how are you handling the prospect of being sleep deprived for at least the next year? or... how did you handle it if you are post intern year?

 

[gujuDoc]

You are taking my arguments way out of context and painting them with your own hyperbole, please stop

Okay, lets get back to reality and examine what actually took place in the conversation:

My first post was lamenting how boring a non-educated life can be. I said going into to medicince for something that was interesting and intellectual was a prime motivator.

But no, that's not allowed. I was basically put down in Sac's first post here:
"say that is like saying "I going into medicine for the money, yo."

Equating some teen in college who thinks he's going into medicine for the money and the bitches, with my desire to have something a little more stimulating, was wrong.

As far as respecting opinions go, I have nothing to say criticizing anyone in this thread or elsewhere that doesn't like medicine, or those who would advise against going into the field. But I get insulted by a holier-than-than student, and no you're telling me to give other's a break. Give me a break.



I wasn't in conversation with any doctors. So I don't really know how what "they were doing" has any impact on the conversation.


Now you are making ludicrous simplifications of my argument. If you really want to continue this with me, please go back and read my posts before you comment on them.

I said the very exact thing you just did: there's a variety of opinions on the matter from med-student on up. If you'd read my posts before attempting to critique them you'd know this.



If anyone, anywhere, ever says to me: "I didn't go to med school because of what some people on a forum told me," I'm going to smack them. Twice.

Well, not to sound like I'm trying to fight with you, because I am not trying to fight at all, but ...........

I did read the other comments by you, including the very first ones.

As to the rest of the post, I never said to give up medicine. But I acknowledge that I may have misinterpreted your posts. If so, then I apologize in advance for doing so.

 

[CTSballer11]

As a fellow desi, I will not flame you by any means.

I know what it is to have an overbearing father and an ass of a family. Even though I am going into medical school of my own will and desire to go into medical school, I have witnessed this happen many times.

I have known many indian parents do some crazy thing to try to hold control of their kids lives and live through them.

My dad did not force me into the idea of medicine, but he once tried to force my brother into it and he completely rebelled and went into engineering instead.

He's much happier in engineering because he earns a decent living while maintaining his sanity and having time to do things he enjoys.

Too many times do I hear indian parents go all goo goo ga ga over you if you are in medical school and try to push their kids to do the same. They think it is an easy route to becoming rich. but it is not like that by any means.

Sure you make a lot of money, but you suffer like nothing. This thread is proof enough of the price a person pays by going into this field.

Its funny you post this only hours after I had this same conversation with another fellow desi, who is my roommate.

Indian parents think that you should not be allowed to live. First, they don't want you to take your time to have fun in college while studying, saying that after their studies they'll have time to have fun. Then when after studies are done, they try pushing you into finding someone to marry. That's the problem that I've seen with a lot of desis that I have known in my life.

I thank god for the few desi parents that have let their kids go into fields they wanted to go into or who let their kids decide for themselves what they want to do or that if medicine is what they are going into it is of their own accord.

Your story really makes me want to cry because I know what it is like to have desi parents and how they can be, and how ignorant to the realities of medicine many of them are who have not been in the field.

I hope things work out for you somewhere down the road.

I am not desi but, myself, my cousins and siblings are in the same boat as you and other fellow desis. Long story short my uncle is a doc and he really really wants his kids and myself to go into medicine. He is not forcing us but he thinks that medicine is the best career. My father on the other hand thinks every profession is BS and that you can only be successful if you are an MD. My godfather has tried to force his three kids into medicine and all of them rebelled and have dropped out of the premed thing. My brother is a year younger and is a bio major with intentions of going to medical school. WIth my dad we are not allowed to choose, we have to become doctors. (or dentists). My aunt has three kids, one in medical school, and two undergrads who plan on applying to medical school. The pressure is immense. my uncle who actually has a medical degree is pretty diehard about us going into medicine, but has told my dad that this is not a career you can push someone into. That last post really hit me hard because my cousins and godbrothers are always arguing with their parents about there career choice. That is life, I guess.

 

[gujuDoc]

I am not desi but, myself, my cousins and siblings are in the same boat as you and other fellow desis. Long story short my uncle is a doc and he really really wants his kids and myself to go into medicine. He is not forcing us but he thinks that medicine is the best career. My father on the other hand thinks every profession is BS and that you can only be successful if you are an MD. My godfather has tried to force his three kids into medicine and all of them rebelled and have dropped out of the premed thing. My brother is a year younger and is a bio major with intentions of going to medical school. WIth my dad we are not allowed to choose, we have to become doctors. (or dentists). My aunt has three kids, one in medical school, and two undergrads who plan on applying to medical school. The pressure is immense. my uncle who actually has a medical degree is pretty diehard about us going into medicine, but has told my dad that this is not a career you can push someone into. That last post really hit me hard because my cousins and godbrothers are always arguing with their parents about there career choice. That is life, I guess.

CTS,

I feel sympathy for people in you and your relative's situation.

Speaking of my story about my brother, you want to hear a story??????/

So 8 years ago, when my bro graduated highschool, a family friend came down from Atlanta. This particular family friend has a wife who is a pediatrician and 9 children who all went into medicine.

He spent the whole evening, and I mean the whole evening (like 3-4 hours) trying to convince my brother to go into medicine on the basis of the amount of money you make in medicine.

My brother finally had to pretend to hear the phone ring to get out of the house and leave to go see a friend until this guy retired for the evening. He was our house guest for a day or two.

My dad who never gets pissed off at others, was really really pissed that evening at what that guy did. He basically stated what your relatives stated, " that medicine was the best profession" in his eyes.

Luckily for me, it is my own personal decision and not my parents forcing me. But I cringe at the stories of some parents forcing kids into particular professions against their will and threatening to cut their kids off if they don't do such. The only thing that creeps me out more than that is when parents marry off their kids to people their kids may not want to get married too.

Two things you should never force a person to do: get in a relationship they don't want to get into and get into a profession they don't want to get into.

 

[bennyhanna]

I've spent a couple hours reading the posts here.

I am a non-trad student considering medicine. I worked for 5 years as a lifeguard, 3 years as an industrial medic for a physician, 1 year as a metro medic, and now as a hospital CNA on all floors (as a 'float' aid) in a major hospital in the Denver area...

While doing my undergraduate English II course, I did a research paper on healthcare in America. Several, almost all, physicians I've talked to said that if they could go to medical school and become physicians in today's healthcare climate, they would not, though some said they would if they could 'go back' to when they initially went to med school, but not now, noting the obvious differences in medicine.

So many love their jobs, yet cite losing autonomy, higher malpractice insurance, more lawsuits and more demand for the filler medical jobs, P.A.s and FNPs... as reasons.

I noted that one physician said that, "Physicians generally endure the most post graduate education to get their M.D.s and specialize, yet often are told what to do, are regulated and are subject to people who have only gotten two years post graduate training... their MBAs... these are the CEO's of Hospitals, of groups, of insurers who decide what they will and will not pay for, which decides what you will and will not do. The autonomy is decreasing, the income is decreasing and the respect is decreasing.'

This thread on this topic has given me a lot to think about... though I think I would have it better than most as I currently am a student, my wife is an FNP and would understand to an extent what I would be going through in medical school, and the debt burden wouldn't be there, but regardless...

Thanks to all who post and continue to.

~BB

 

[WildcatMD]

All of these posts in this thread have made me realize that medicine sucks...

So therefore I am going to LA to be a porn star 😀

Jenna Jameson here I come!!
(pun totally intended...)

 

[roja]

I've spent a couple hours reading the posts here.

I am a non-trad student considering medicine. I worked for 5 years as a lifeguard, 3 years as an industrial medic for a physician, 1 year as a metro medic, and now as a hospital CNA on all floors (as a 'float' aid) in a major hospital in the Denver area...

While doing my undergraduate English II course, I did a research paper on healthcare in America. Several, almost all, physicians I've talked to said that if they could go to medical school and become physicians in today's healthcare climate, they would not, though some said they would if they could 'go back' to when they initially went to med school, but not now, noting the obvious differences in medicine.

So many love their jobs, yet cite losing autonomy, higher malpractice insurance, more lawsuits and more demand for the filler medical jobs, P.A.s and FNPs... as reasons.

I noted that one physician said that, "Physicians generally endure the most post graduate education to get their M.D.s and specialize, yet often are told what to do, are regulated and are subject to people who have only gotten two years post graduate training... their MBAs... these are the CEO's of Hospitals, of groups, of insurers who decide what they will and will not pay for, which decides what you will and will not do. The autonomy is decreasing, the income is decreasing and the respect is decreasing.'

This thread on this topic has given me a lot to think about... though I think I would have it better than most as I currently am a student, my wife is an FNP and would understand to an extent what I would be going through in medical school, and the debt burden wouldn't be there, but regardless...

Thanks to all who post and continue to.

~BB

I absolutely love my job. There are definately those bad aspects. And that is the key to the whole process. And why volunteering is so important. Because my pay off is waaaaaaaaaaay more than the hassles that one has to put up with in medicine. Is it sometimes frustrating? sure. Are there things that annoy me? absolutely. However, I find my career continually intellectually challenging. I get a phenomenal sense of satisfaction from caring for my patients. Knowing I saved a life, etc. made someone feel better. Really, I love it. But I also had very open eyes. I knew there were days in clinic when I was bored. I saw the frustrations of watching md's fight for treatments, etc. But you fight for your patient and that is satisfying.

Its a choice. Now more than every, if you don't absolutely love caring for patients and having a career that you have to continually educate yourself in, then you definately should not go into medicine. but if you love those things, nothing is better. Nothing. 😍

 

[etudiante04]

Wow, its good to see a few positive posts!!

I absolutely love my job. There are definately those bad aspects. And that is the key to the whole process. And why volunteering is so important. Because my pay off is waaaaaaaaaaay more than the hassles that one has to put up with in medicine. Is it sometimes frustrating? sure. Are there things that annoy me? absolutely. However, I find my career continually intellectually challenging. I get a phenomenal sense of satisfaction from caring for my patients. Knowing I saved a life, etc. made someone feel better. Really, I love it. But I also had very open eyes. I knew there were days in clinic when I was bored. I saw the frustrations of watching md's fight for treatments, etc. But you fight for your patient and that is satisfying.

Its a choice. Now more than every, if you don't absolutely love caring for patients and having a career that you have to continually educate yourself in, then you definately should not go into medicine. but if you love those things, nothing is better. Nothing. 😍

 

[Lonestar]

well as a 2nd yr anesthesia resident, I can tell you guys (med studs and college studs) you are in for a rude awakening. Reimbursements are definitely decreasing. On top of that, there are scum MDs (yeah you heard me) that will try to rip you off once you finish residency. They will work you hard and then not make you partner. Medicine has this long history of eating its young (and they say "its for our own good"). complete BS. First getting into med school, then surviving it, then surving residency. Damn why do i feel like i am on survivor island? Trust me when i say this!! There is nothing professional about the people (for most part) who practice medicine. They have this attitude "if i went through it, so must you." And at the end of it all (after residency), it leaves many docs bitter and disillusioned. And the good part is, it keeps getting worse. More tests, more steps, more hassles, and now lower pay in just about every field. BTW, if you havent figured out yet, i would advocate going into medicine when hell freezes over. well enough ranting, i am just waiting for the day where i can pay back my loans in a reasonable time period and get on with my life.

 

[Hockeyguy]

I have been reading this post for a while and finally couldn't stand it anymore, I had to post. Mainly for the pre-meds getting such a negative view.

I think wether or not you would "do it over again" depends on your overall attitude for life in general. I am only a fourth year med student - so residents feel free to flame away - but even though I cringe at the thought of doing med school over (especially third year) I am overall happy with my descion. I was hating on Med school and then a few months ago I went and talked to a group of pre-meds that want so badly to get into med school it reminded of myself five years ago. Then one of my best friends was killed and it reminded I was lucky to be alive. I am really proud to be a soon to be doctor. I have many very succesfull friends, i.e. young millionares, who uniformily respect the fact that I will soon be an MD. As jealous of them as I am of them and their money and their time, I am finding out they are a bit jealous of me too. My point is the grass is always greener. Make your life what you want. If you want to be an MD f'ing go for it. If you only want to make an assload of money (which is cool so do I) start a buisness like my buddy www.mdanswer.com - he makes more than any neurosurgeon and never sees patients! Medicine is huge and parts of it really suck, I mean really f'in suck. But if you look hard enough you will find a niche. If you are so unhappy and feel so out of control of your own life than I just feel sorry for you. Your a victim and you always will be with that attitude. If you let people take advatage of you and ruin your day/life then thats your fault. Instead of trying to "make partner" balls up and start your own practice. Even if you switched careers I am certain most unhappy med students/residents would bitch about their new career, taxes, boss whatever your always a f'ing victim. I probably should have STFU a long time ago but for the pre meds out here I just wanted to post. If you want it you should go for it. There are a lot of stressed out people that come to vent - thats cool - but there are also a lot people like me that lead pretty decent lifes outside the hospital and enjoy medicine too. Good luck to those students interviewing I hope to see some of you at Colorado!

 

[T.S.garp]

Oh ok.

i know you posted this awhile ago but the main difference i've found between NP and PA is NP's follow the nursing model and PA's follow the medical model...PA's also have more clinicals than NP's....i don't think that means one is better than the other ...they just have different perspectives...also what state you live in really makes a difference...where i am they don't use PA's at all...only NP's in offices/clinics and CNS's (clinical nurse specialists) in hospitals...so if anyone is interested i would really check what the deal is in your area.... ask hospital recruiters...i've gotten tons of info from them. By the way if you prefer going into a specialty and like the nursing model check out being a CNS...they focus on med/surg and you can specialize in every area of medicine.

 

[T.S.garp]

Poety,

Quick question. With all this talk of NP vs. MD, where would you say PA fits into all this??? If it were NP vs. PA vs. MD, which of the three would you chooose?? Would you still pick NP, or would you pick PA? Why? Just curious.

Sorry this was the qoute i was refering to

 

[Mara]

No. Because you only get to live your 20s once, and there are so many other amazing things to do, and great ways to help people than going into medicine. Medical school has been fascinating and fun (most of the time), but I would have preferred to travel and explore other options before selling my soul to medicine. Medicine is all-encompassing, it takes over your life and you don't even realize it. If you still want to be a doctor 5 years from now, go for it. For now, explore other options, and then consider being a PA or NP (you can help ppl, get good education, etc) before MD.

 

[NRAI2001]

Ok I will give you some insight into my whole experience. Before going into Medical School I was the sort of person who had gone through a lot of BAD THINGS through life. I lost my Mom at age 5 and my Indian Dad didn't carry quiet a well the job of raising me. The only thing he taught me was study, study, study as if that were the only important thing to strive for in life. There is no question that I totally lacked proper social skills because of the environment I was raised. In addition, he was the kind of person who always scorned me if I got B's or C's during elementary, junior and high school. Even when I got the A's he would say that I had to get perfect and strive to be #1 in my class. He always downplayed my achievements because I never was #1. Can u believe this BS? He has always treated me like a small child even through undergrad. I was pushed into Medical School by him. It was a way of he trying to fix the mistakes he made in his life of not having studied medicine. Before going into Med school I was the sort of person that was very sensitive to criticism because also I had been bullied a lot in High School. As a consequence, I suffered from a lack of self-esteem and even ended up taking Antidepressants several times during college. Medschool was the catalyst that definitely made me crack up. During the 2nd year of Medical School it came to a point that I couldn't take it anymore because of the grades I was getting, being always criticized and humiliated by Faculty members, and having the constant backstabbing of your fellow classmates. Oh believe me it is literally the survival of the fittest. My severe anxiety and constant stress led me to the point of retaliating against the faculty and I almost thought of dropping out. In my personal opinion, many Medical Doctors are only in for the prestiege and money that the profession brings. They think that they are better than the rest of the people in the world. Yeah right. I was able to barely make it through Med School just passing everything with average and slightly above average gradess. Today I am a Medical Graduate who still doesn't have a job because I didn't match last year. In other words, after having busted my butt for 4 years, sometimes only sleeping 2-3 hours or being completely sleep deprivated I can definitely say it was all for a VANE purpose. Just as the war taking place today in which Billions of Dollars are wasted and thousands of lives are lost for a VANE purpose. We have all become slaves of this capitalist sytem which makes us waste our lives making money to then consume it in Big Houses, Fancy Cars, etc. Is it all worth it? I don' t think so. This has been the worst nightmare in my life. I still don't have a girlfriend, I still am not earning money, and even when I get into residency it will be like another 4-5 before I start earning a decent salary. All this experience has been hell for me. I hate my Dad, I hate my family, I hate our government, I hate my life. If I could make one wish come true It would definitely be to not have been born in this world.... I could keep going on, but I think that what I have written is depressing enough... Flames as always are welcomed. You can give me your best shot.

But would you have still gone to med school? How old are you? Did you go to a US school?

 

[jeffsleepy]

I was able to barely make it through Med School just passing everything with average and slightly above average gradess.

If you received "average and slightly above average grades" in everything, then you were far from BARELY making it through. The vast majority of people who want residencies get into residencies so 50th+ percentile should have been solid. Was it a super competitive specialty or are you an FMG?

 

[roja]

Wow, its good to see a few positive posts!!

Well, I, and I know lots of people love our jobs. Medicine is difficult. If you don't really really love it, then youw ill hate it as a career. It really is a calling. because if you don't lov eit, the hassles will drive you crazy and the sacrifices will seem like a waste.

However, I love my job and the sacrifices I made were well worth it. I love my job.

 

[bennyhanna]

i know you posted this awhile ago but the main difference i've found between NP and PA is NP's follow the nursing model and PA's follow the medical model...PA's also have more clinicals than NP's....i don't think that means one is better than the other ...they just have different perspectives...also what state you live in really makes a difference...where i am they don't use PA's at all...only NP's in offices/clinics and CNS's (clinical nurse specialists) in hospitals...so if anyone is interested i would really check what the deal is in your area.... ask hospital recruiters...i've gotten tons of info from them. By the way if you prefer going into a specialty and like the nursing model check out being a CNS...they focus on med/surg and you can specialize in every area of medicine.

Though this post is slightly off topic, so will be this reply. PA and NP programs vary by state, and training. My brother-in-law just became a PA, 1 full year of clinicals. My wife is becoming an NP, 3 full years of clinicals.

Practice authority varies by state as well. For example, in Colorado, NPs can practice independantly. PAs cannot.

Neither really matters though, both have about the same 'level' of training in a given specialty, both are used by physicians, both make similar salaries and both are becoming more in demand because they cost less to insure. Hospitals and practices love 'em because they still get to bill as if you were seeing a 'real' dr. meaning more $ for the group.

 

[Jambi]

My wife is becoming an NP, 3 full years of clinicals.

Did this include her RN clinicals as well? Was it a direct program? The average NP program has 500-800 hours of clinical time. The average PA program has 2200 hours of clinical time. I also believe that PA education is fairly consistent across the board. If she really had 3 years of clinicals (assuming full time clinicals, at least 2000 hours a year) that where dedicated only for her NP program then good for her. She should make a great NP.

 

[bennyhanna]

Did this include her RN clinicals as well? Was it a direct program? The average NP program has 500-800 hours of clinical time. The average PA program has 2200 hours of clinical time. I also believe that PA education is fairly consistent across the board. If she really had 3 years of clinicals (assuming full time clinicals, at least 2000 hours a year) that where dedicated only for her NP program then good for her. She should make a great NP.

2 years full time, 1 year part time.

Well, I think you're implying that the 2000 PA hours somehow make for a good medical provider, whereas NP's program does not? Lets not forget, many PA's do not major in a health field. You can major in basket weaving, and take the additional entrance classes and get in. Nurses have 2 years of undergrad, 2 years of nursing with several hundred hours of clinicals before they can initially practice as a nurse, and in this state, must practice for at least a year in an accute care setting before they can apply to NP school, and usually can't practice in accute care unless they've been a nurse for at least one year. Meaning, in this state at least, RNs entering NP school have 2 years of the basics before nursing, 2 years of nursing education, several hundred hours of clinicals, and at least 2 years of nursing.

I personally think the two fields are pretty equivalent in overall training... physicans, groups and practices must too or their would be a larger difference in pay and autonomy which in this state is one sided... only np's can practice independantly... pa's cannot. I'm not sure about other states, but am aware that it differs from state to state.

And, for my healthcare needs, PA,NP, MD all work fine. This, like anything in life comes down to the individual... there are brilliant MDs,NPs and PAs, and there are those who I wonder how they got in.

 

[EctopicFetus]

I have NO regrets being an MD is awesome!

 

[NRAI2001]

I have NO regrets being an MD is awesome!

👍

 

[Sivastraba]

If you received "average and slightly above average grades" in everything, then you were far from BARELY making it through. The vast majority of people who want residencies get into residencies so 50th+ percentile should have been solid. Was it a super competitive specialty or are you an FMG?

I went to an accredited AAMC Med School. I think it had to do with the sucky automutilating PS I had written the last year. This year I have already received more than 5 interviews from Good programs (ie., NYU, UPenn, etc.) I will have more luck this year and will hopefully match in the specialty of my interest.... I would still not recommend anyone to go into the field for the sake of "intellectual stimulation, help others, prestiege or money..." There are many other ways you could achieve those...

 

[NRAI2001]

I went to an accredited AAMC Med School. I think it had to do with the sucky automutilating PS I had written the last year. This year I have already received more than 5 interviews from Good programs (ie., NYU, UPenn, etc.) I will have more luck this year and will hopefully match in the specialty of my interest.... I would still not recommend anyone to go into the field for the sake of "intellectual stimulation, help others, prestiege or money..." There are many other ways you could achieve those...

What school did you go to? What field are you thinking of?

 

[tupac_don]

I would definitely do it over again. No profession in the world gives you the autonomy and the trust that a physician gets. Nor the fulfillment of actually making a difference. As I just got through the process of getting a mortgage, I never appreiated medicine more, not only because of the fact that I could get a 240k mortgage making only 41k a year (a non-physician could not even get half that), but also the fact that I sat on the phone for hours witnessing mortgage people vomit up numbers to me and do nothing more than act liek a robot that talks on the phone and reguritate numbers to try and make that .5% interest on me. Sick. Yes, my business friends were out partying all day while I was studying, but when I did go out, I went out more hardcore than all of them combined and I knew as I was going out those fewer nights, that I was doing something noble instead of trying to make a 3% commision on selling some product or exaggerrating my hours to make 45K that year instead of 44K. Granted the drive does have to naturally be in you to withstand 4 years of longer schooling, but it is so worth it when you actually get that diploma and are a doctor at age 26 when others are on their 4th year of a job and had a 4K raise and are applying to another job because they are bored and unhappy. Good luck!

I thought that a profession in "human waste management" gave you much more autonomy, than medicine.

 

[Dr.Dijlah]

Yessssssssss! 😛
i used to hate medicine so much during the basic sciences course ,
but when i joined hospital i started making more effort and i started loving
what i am doing!

i don't know if anyone got the same feeling , but observing and dealing with what god has created have made changes in my life that might not have been achieved if i had done any other study.

i'm starting my residency program soon , and then i'd know how is it really like when i am handling the responsibilites..
but seriously medicine is an experience that i would repeat again..

 

[NRAI2001]

Ok I will give you some insight into my whole experience. Before going into Medical School I was the sort of person who had gone through a lot of BAD THINGS through life. I lost my Mom at age 5 and my Indian Dad didn't carry quiet a well the job of raising me. The only thing he taught me was study, study, study as if that were the only important thing to strive for in life. There is no question that I totally lacked proper social skills because of the environment I was raised. In addition, he was the kind of person who always scorned me if I got B's or C's during elementary, junior and high school. Even when I got the A's he would say that I had to get perfect and strive to be #1 in my class. He always downplayed my achievements because I never was #1. Can u believe this BS? He has always treated me like a small child even through undergrad. I was pushed into Medical School by him. It was a way of he trying to fix the mistakes he made in his life of not having studied medicine. Before going into Med school I was the sort of person that was very sensitive to criticism because also I had been bullied a lot in High School. As a consequence, I suffered from a lack of self-esteem and even ended up taking Antidepressants several times during college. Medschool was the catalyst that definitely made me crack up. During the 2nd year of Medical School it came to a point that I couldn't take it anymore because of the grades I was getting, being always criticized and humiliated by Faculty members, and having the constant backstabbing of your fellow classmates. Oh believe me it is literally the survival of the fittest. My severe anxiety and constant stress led me to the point of retaliating against the faculty and I almost thought of dropping out. In my personal opinion, many Medical Doctors are only in for the prestiege and money that the profession brings. They think that they are better than the rest of the people in the world. Yeah right. I was able to barely make it through Med School just passing everything with average and slightly above average gradess. Today I am a Medical Graduate who still doesn't have a job because I didn't match last year. In other words, after having busted my butt for 4 years, sometimes only sleeping 2-3 hours or being completely sleep deprivated I can definitely say it was all for a VANE purpose. Just as the war taking place today in which Billions of Dollars are wasted and thousands of lives are lost for a VANE purpose. We have all become slaves of this capitalist sytem which makes us waste our lives making money to then consume it in Big Houses, Fancy Cars, etc. Is it all worth it? I don' t think so. This has been the worst nightmare in my life. I still don't have a girlfriend, I still am not earning money, and even when I get into residency it will be like another 4-5 before I start earning a decent salary. All this experience has been hell for me. I hate my Dad, I hate my family, I hate our government, I hate my life. If I could make one wish come true It would definitely be to not have been born in this world.... I could keep going on, but I think that what I have written is depressing enough... Flames as always are welcomed. You can give me your best shot.

I am Indian and both of my parents are docs, so I know the pressure you had. I had it for a while also, but u got to push back. Dont take it from them. In this country you aren't dependent on your parents, you could have gotten loans for yourself and taken the time you really needed.

Funny story: i actually told my parents i was gonna drop out of school and that I was gay (i am not really gay). You should have seen the shock in their eyes. I let it sit with them for a few days and then later i told them i didnt really mean it. Ever since then, they re happy with whatever i do.

Before it was like u got to finish undergrad in 3 years and go straight to carribean like ur cousin. Dont talk to any girls on your way to the library!!!! Now its like take a year off son thats a good idea, heres some money. So any gfs lately.

Dont feel bad though. Dont think of the past, you cant change it. Just be that pimp doctor you always wanted to be, you owe it to yourself. 👍

 

[EctopicFetus]

Medicine ROCKS! 👍

 

[bennyhanna]

To everyone who responded to the original post, thanks. You've all given me much to think about. I have several years of medical experience, yet, even working in a hospital or ambulance doesn't give the insight that you who are there or have been can give.

Thanks for your responses, good and bad. They've given a realness to my research into my future.

~BB

 

[8744]

Intern year is by far the worst year of my life and if I had known what it was going to be like I would have stayed an engineer, not because I don't like being a doctor but only because it would have scared me away from the profession. With that being said, this too shall pass and the good thing is that you actually do learn a lot if you pay attention.

The major problem with intern year is that you seem to spend the whole time as an ignoramous. Every month you rotate to a new service where you must learn even the most basic administrative procedures from the ground up. I'm not even talking about learning the relevant medical knowledge here, I'm talking learning how to wrangle the paperwork.

 

[letmein!please?]

In response to some of the more bitter posts...

Every career has unhappy people in it. As a pre-med student, I am not
swayed by the unhappy comments above, because I hear comments like these all the time in both of my jobs that are completely non-medical. I think
the sad truth is that most Americans are unhappy with their jobs, and this applies to every field, not just medicine. The grass is always greener...doctors think they would have been happier and just as successful in another profession, but almost everybody feels this way in most professions. As far as medicine not being an "intellectual" or "creative" field...I think you really need to take a closer look at other fields and see just how creative they really are. Unless you are an artist or an entrepreneur, I can't think of a job that lacks a definite, everyday routine. The problem is, I think these common feelings become magnified in medical practitioners because their jobs are so demanding, and they are left with little else outside of their work.

Call me naive, but the way I see it...you might have had more fun drinking beer with your friends or watching football games, but at the end of your life,
would you really feel more fulfilled? It sounds cheesy, but its true. I spent the first half of college doing just that, and when I came to my senses I realized that it was all a bunch of b.s. What a waste. I feel the same way about all these other non-sense jobs that, at the end of the day, have really done nothing for anybody except put money in people's pockets. You might look back on your twenties and see it as a waste of your "best years", but I think that you would feel the same way if you had not pursued medicine, probably even more so.

It's easy to look down from the top and say how bad it is, but I would be interested to see just how happy some of these people would be if they pursued what they might think is a more "flexible" or "intellectual" career. I'm not trying to point fingers or start an argument, but I can't help but think that (and my psychology degree is the culprit here), unhappiness is internal, not external. In other words, statistically speaking, if you are unhappy in medicine, you might just be unhappy anywhere. Of course, this is just the way I feel, and I have absolutely no way of backing this up because I am not a doctor. Maybe I am just unwilling to believe that the career I am working so hard to pursue turns people into angry, unhappy, bitter people. Perhaps I am just not in a position to see the truth...I hope not..

 

[A. Melanoleuca]

In response to some of the more bitter posts...

Every career has unhappy people in it. As a pre-med student, I am not
swayed by the unhappy comments above, because I hear comments like these all the time in both of my jobs that are completely non-medical. I think
the sad truth is that most Americans are unhappy with their jobs, and this applies to every field, not just medicine. The grass is always greener...doctors think they would have been happier and just as successful in another profession, but almost everybody feels this way in most professions. As far as medicine not being an "intellectual" or "creative" field...I think you really need to take a closer look at other fields and see just how creative they really are. Unless you are an artist or an entrepreneur, I can't think of a job that lacks a definite, everyday routine. The problem is, I think these common feelings become magnified in medical practitioners because their jobs are so demanding, and they are left with little else outside of their work.

Call me naive, but the way I see it...you might have had more fun drinking beer with your friends or watching football games, but at the end of your life,
would you really feel more fulfilled? It sounds cheesy, but its true. I spent the first half of college doing just that, and when I came to my senses I realized that it was all a bunch of b.s. What a waste. I feel the same way about all these other non-sense jobs that, at the end of the day, have really done nothing for anybody except put money in people's pockets. You might look back on your twenties and see it as a waste of your "best years", but I think that you would feel the same way if you had not pursued medicine, probably even more so.

It's easy to look down from the top and say how bad it is, but I would be interested to see just how happy some of these people would be if they pursued what they might think is a more "flexible" or "intellectual" career. I'm not trying to point fingers or start an argument, but I can't help but think that (and my psychology degree is the culprit here), unhappiness is internal, not external. In other words, statistically speaking, if you are unhappy in medicine, you might just be unhappy anywhere. Of course, this is just the way I feel, and I have absolutely no way of backing this up because I am not a doctor. Maybe I am just unwilling to believe that the career I am working so hard to pursue turns people into angry, unhappy, bitter people. Perhaps I am just not in a position to see the truth...I hope not..

You are naive. You are not in a position to see the truth. And if you think that as an intern you will be "looking down from the top" you are going to be disappointed, especially if you do your residency at a big academic medical center.

I am not trying to discourage you from applying to medical school. I think it will be a good career once you clear the hurdles, i.e. residency. With that being said I guarantee that you will, on some days, wonder what the heck you were thinking. Medicine is not at all like you probably imagine it. It has its moments, it is stimulating intellectually, and you are definitely going to feel like you earn your money in whatever specialty you pursue. On the other hand there is a lot to residency which is pretty pointless and would not be tolerated by any reasonable person in any other career. I have quit jobs for a lot less then what I regularly tolerate as a resident.

In short, you will probably like medicine. I do, on the whole, but I just think you have an overly idealistic notion of the profession which is not going to wear well over the next several years.

 

[A. Melanoleuca]

...unhappiness is internal, not external. In other words, statistically speaking, if you are unhappy in medicine, you might just be unhappy anywhere. truth...

Whoa. I can think of a lot of external influences that can make an otherwise happy person unhappy, most of them to do with being an intern. I am pretty level-headed so I don't get too pissed off at anything but if you think working six days a week with q 3 call is for a whole month is not going to have an effect on your happiness then you, my friend, have a surprise coming.

I was pretty pissed to have to work through the entire Thanksgiving holiday. I do have a family, you know, but it was just a normal work week here. At least I didn't have call on Thanksgiving but I do have it today.