Is anyone on SDN actually happy with their decision to go to medical school?

[MW1985]

All,

I've been reading through the topics on this forum and all I can say is...wow this is depressing lol. Forgive my possible naivety, but is anyone on this forum actually happy and excited about their career choice? I was recently accepted to medical school and all of the med students I personally know are very happy (on the surface, at least). I know the education and training are grueling, but is anyone genuinely happy with their current experience?? I am confident that I am getting into medicine for the right reasons, but the litany of negativity surrounding some of the topics in this forum is quite disheartening.

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[SouthernSurgeon]

Yes

 

[Aubrey Graham]

Nope. We all hate it so much so that we work our asses of to gain an acceptance then politely turn them down out of spite.


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[CherryRedDracul]

I still am. I do think I made the right decision going down this path despite all the negative stuff you hear.

 

[MW1985]

Nope. We all hate it so much so that we work our asses of to gain an acceptance then politely turn them down out of spite.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lol. Perhaps time to head back to degrassi then?

 

[username456789]

Yes, but I imagine my answer might be slightly different if I ended up in one of quite a few other specialties.

 

[touchpause13]

Med school has its moments.

I wouldn't say I'm happy every day but I wouldn't say I'm sad every day either

 

[PREMED1992]

Yes. I think part of preparing yourself for med is realizing the advantages and disadvantages of the career. There is no perfect career, so id be naive to think i won't have my moments of frustration with the field. Overall though, I look forward to being a doctor. I think a lot of people sort of get frustrated and depressed with the career when they build up unrealistic expectations - sort of like when you marry someone and unconsciously expect them to be perfect. For a career where I get to help some people (unfortunately it won't be all) and learn some amazing stuff while getting decently compensated - why not?


EDIT : Just realized this was not in the pre-med thread ...take my sentiments with a grain of salt since i havent started yet...thought you were asking about feelings thus far about choosing the career

 

[Apoplexy__]

Yes. MS3 here.

Bitching about everything is the med student's favorite pastime, that's all.

 

[colbgw02]

I am, with the caveat that I don't think I would be nearly as happy in another specialty. Especially in retrospect, medical school and internship were a grind. My career didn't begin until PGY 2.

 

[Doctor Strange]

The disgruntled always shout the loudest.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Sure.

 

[mcloaf]

Absolutely.

 

[touchpause13]

Bitching about everything is the med student's favorite pastime, that's all.

QFT

 

[Entadus]

I consider myself blessed and I know I wouldn't be happy doing anything else. Does it suck sometimes? Yeah absolutely. But overall I am happy with my decision.

 

[Flamen04]

This is funny. A lot of pre-meds put medical school on this high pedestal, thinking it is the greatest thing ever. Newsflash, being a doctor doesn't mean you can't say anything bad about medicine. Life isn't all perfect, and neither is medicine. So yes, doctors/medical students bitch about their life/job just like any other working person bitches about their life/job. Just because someone bitches about their life/job doesn't mean they hate it and would rather die...

 

[notbobtrustme]

I enjoy med school more than working.

 

[giantswing]

Yes, hands down. Having the best job ever doesn't mean it won't suck at times, which i think is what people grapple with.

 

[PatsyStone]

I'm glad I took time off between college and med school because it gave me perspective on how much the real world sucks.

Physicians work terrible hours, but so do lawyers, businesspeople, engineers, and basically anyone else who has a career. Physicians often feel like they are not respected, overworked, and not fairly compensated, but then again, so do all of the above fields.

Although I had many, many reservations about going to med school once I got my first acceptance, looking back as a fourth year, I am super happy with my decision (then again, I'm going into derm, so things tend to have more positives than negatives)

 

[BruceWilly]

Yes.

Doing anything for 20-30 years is probably going to get old after awhile. At least medicine offers security and a decent paycheck.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

All,

I've been reading through the topics on this forum and all I can say is...wow this is depressing lol. Forgive my possible naivety, but is anyone on this forum actually happy and excited about their career choice? I was recently accepted to medical school and all of the med students I personally know are very happy (on the surface, at least). I know the education and training are grueling, but is anyone genuinely happy with their current experience?? I am confident that I am getting into medicine for the right reasons, but the litany of negativity surrounding some of the topics in this forum is quite disheartening.

Since coming out to med school, I've had my hard times for sure, and there's days where I have my doubts, but despite all of that, I'm still here. For the time being (I can't predict what I'll be feeling years down the road, but right now), I am happy to be here and for all the difficult times, I've had some amazing experiences as well, made some great friends, and learned a lot about myself. So I have no regrets about my decision to attend med school.

Just keep in mind, the negative people are often the loudest, and the happy people are probably out going about their lives, not on a message board complaining. That's how it is with anything. SDN is no different. Many posters here are probably just blowing off steam/venting from their daily lives, it's partly why I ignore 90% of the things on here. SDN=/=reality, take a lot of what you read here with a grain of salt, and after some time you'll know which users are the honest good ones and worth listening to.

Best of luck starting med school, it's gonna be a challenge, but you'll find yourself growing a lot and meeting some amazing people along the way.

Edit: Just noticed all the "it' s" are being changed to Tis automatically for the holidays, that's cute.

 

[Essee]

I have no regrets. Very happy (though I'm just an M1, but so far so good).
There are worse things in life than studying.

 

[anaesthetic]

.

 

[Laufcra]

I'm an M1, studying basic sciences isn't bad at all. We'll see how I feel next year...

 

[operaman]

I'm finishing med school this spring and I have to say I've had a blast. Sure, there are things here and there that aren't all roses and unicorns, but overall I've had a great time, learned a ton, made a lot of great new friends, seen and done things I never thought I would, and found a specialty (hopefully - match day yet to come) that ties together all my interests with people I genuinely click with.

I think mindset is huge. There are many situations where you really can chose to focus on the part that sucks or the part that's really cool; whichever you chose will largely determine your perception of that experience.

How you determine your self worth is big too. People whose identity is tied to their academic performance may have a more negative experience, especially if they are no longer the class superstar. Deriving your worth and identity from something other than your GPA is a big help.

Along those lines, having a strong support system is important. Family, friends, religious groups, etc. -- surrounding yourself with positive people who support you is great for keeping perspective.

Most of all, remember that complaining becomes an art in medical school. Maya Angelou has a famous quote that goes something like, "For many people, complaining is just their way of bragging about how much they can take." There's a lot of truth to this.

In reality: 2 years of studying some pretty interesting stuff, 1 year of clinicals where, if you work hard and have a good attitude, you can get to do a lot of cool stuff and learn a lot too, and then 1 year of more laid back dabbling where you do a lot of electives (your choice) and interview for residency. Not too bad overall with lots of opportunity for great experiences, and at the end of it you're a doctor.

 

[Amygdarya]

Yes. Granted, I'm only one semester in, but I've been happy in medical school despite the fact that I have to study more than I ever did in all my years of schooling. Will I be happy as a practicing physician? I don't know, I'm not there yet. But based on how much I enjoy interacting with patients (I had a lot of opportunities to interact with patients this semester) I think I made the right choice.

To be a happier medical student, it helps to:
- expect to work (study) hard and not to expect to be automatically at the top of the class; some of the most miserable medical students I know are college "geniuses" who never had to study hard to be on top of their class, but who now find that they have to work a lot harder just to be in the middle;
- not compare oneself to others; seriously, do your best and don't worry about what other students say about their grades and study habits - they often downplay study time and/or exaggerate their successes;
- make some friends; you don't need to be the most popular person in the class, but it helps to have a few trusted friends to help each other with studying and b*tch about life;
- do something other than studying, be that school extracurriculars or other hobbies;
- have friends outside medical school;
- explore medical specialties with an open mind;
- in general, keep an open mind; I expected to hate anatomy but ended up (mostly) loving it;
- seek help as soon as you need it, be that a consultation with a faculty, a tutoring session, seeing a therapist - the sooner you solve your problems, the sooner you can be happy again

Medical school is challenging, but it's not unbearable. As long as you're going into medicine for the right reasons, have realistic expectations and a good attitude, you'll be fine.
Good luck!

 

[MedWonk]

All,

I've been reading through the topics on this forum and all I can say is...wow this is depressing lol. Forgive my possible naivety, but is anyone on this forum actually happy and excited about their career choice? I was recently accepted to medical school and all of the med students I personally know are very happy (on the surface, at least). I know the education and training are grueling, but is anyone genuinely happy with their current experience?? I am confident that I am getting into medicine for the right reasons, but the litany of negativity surrounding some of the topics in this forum is quite disheartening.

Yes. It can be draining, and there have been times where I've asked myself why the hell I decided to this, but I've never found myself really regretting my decision to attend. The preclinical classroom environment kind of sucks because it's fairly dry, but the clinical experiences make up for it, especially when I can actually relate something I learned in class to the patients I've seen, although a lot of times when I present to my preceptor it basically goes like this:

 

[tpn89]

I'm not happy with my choice to go to medical school. I really struggled along the way, getting poor/mediocre grades, and having to repeat step 1. Now as a 4th year, I'm still struggling, likely not going to match and won't have anywhere to go for residency next year .

Don't just make sure you have the right attitude, make sure you have the aptitude too. That was my mistake.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

All,

I've been reading through the topics on this forum and all I can say is...wow this is depressing lol. Forgive my possible naivety, but is anyone on this forum actually happy and excited about their career choice? I was recently accepted to medical school and all of the med students I personally know are very happy (on the surface, at least). I know the education and training are grueling, but is anyone genuinely happy with their current experience?? I am confident that I am getting into medicine for the right reasons, but the litany of negativity surrounding some of the topics in this forum is quite disheartening.

The prevailing sentiment here is that if you want to do primary care, there is less painful way to do that... I don't necessarily agree with the rosy picture that these people paint about PA/NP in primary care... I worked with PA/NP and I have a two of my former classmates who are NPs and it does not seem like they are having a blast like people are portraying it here... There are often two camps in that group (PA/NP)... One that has physician's envy; always complain about that they are doing the same job and have the same knowledge but often making less than half of physicians' pay; the other one regrets not going to med school. Almost all think physicians get better treatment in the workplace than them... I guess it"s a case of the grass is greener... Often people who had a FT job before going to med school usually put things into perspective. Most jobs out there suck! Med school is not that bad IMO, but it"s not like undergrad where you have all the time in the world to do your own stuff. I am just a MS1 and maybe my opinion will change as a get deeper into that grinding machine...

 

[Psai]

The prevailing sentiment here is that if you want to do primary care, there is less painful way to do that... I don't necessarily agree with the rosy picture that these people paint about PA/NP in primary care... I worked with PA/NP and I have a two of my former classmates who are NPs and it does not seem like they are having a blast like people are portraying it here... There are often two camps in that group (PA/NP)... One that has physician's envy; always complain about that they are doing the same job and have the same knowledge but often making less than half of physicians' pay; the other one regrets not going to med school. Almost all think physicians get better treatment in the workplace than them... I guess it"s a case of the grass is greener... Often people who had a FT job before going to med school usually put things into perspective. Most jobs out there suck! Med school is not that bad IMO, but it"s not like undergrad where you have all the time in the world to do your own stuff. I am just a MS1 and maybe my opinion will change as a get deeper into that grinding machine...

lol please. They definitely do not have the same knowledge; it's not even close

 

[tpn89]

lol please. They definitely do not have the same knowledge; Tis not even close

They don't have it but oftentimes they think they do.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

I'm finishing med school this spring and I have to say I've had a blast. Sure, there are things here and there that aren't all roses and unicorns, but overall I've had a great time, learned a ton, made a lot of great new friends, seen and done things I never thought I would, and found a specialty (hopefully - match day yet to come) that ties together all my interests with people I genuinely click with.

I think mindset is huge. There are many situations where you really can chose to focus on the part that sucks or the part that's really cool; whichever you chose will largely determine your perception of that experience.

How you determine your self worth is big too. People whose identity is tied to their academic performance may have a more negative experience, especially if they are no longer the class superstar. Deriving your worth and identity from something other than your GPA is a big help.

Along those lines, having a strong support system is important. Family, friends, religious groups, etc. -- surrounding yourself with positive people who support you is great for keeping perspective.

Most of all, remember that complaining becomes an art in medical school. Maya Angelou has a famous quote that goes something like, "For many people, complaining is just their way of bragging about how much they can take." There's a lot of truth to this.

In reality: 2 years of studying some pretty interesting stuff, 1 year of clinicals where, if you work hard and have a good attitude, you can get to do a lot of cool stuff and learn a lot too, and then 1 year of more laid back dabbling where you do a lot of electives (your choice) and interview for residency. Not too bad overall with lots of opportunity for great experiences, and at the end of it you're a doctor.

QFT, 100% agree.
The experience is what you make of it, your personal goals/values, and how you perceive it. I'm fortunate to be in a rather relaxed class, most of us look out for each other and it's been a good atmosphere overall which made med school better.
And of course, just like this site, some folks in your class AND the classes above, will unnecessarily stress you out, it's good to be able to tune all of them out and do what's best for you.

 

[PhillyMed777]

I am "happy with my decision," but I am NOT "happy." Two different things for me.

 

[operaman]

Often people who had a FT job before going to med school usually put things into perspective. Most jobs out there suck! Med school is not that bad IMO, but it"s not like undergrad where you have all the time in the world to do your own stuff.

This.

If you have worked FT before, then you know this is true. This will keep you from looking enviously at your non-med friends who are working and making money while you study and go into debt. Once you realize how much suckage they have/will have in their jobs, that envious feeling goes away. Yes, even for those friends who have those lucrative finance/I-banking jobs that look good now but for many are a whole different story 5-10 years down the road. Once you've seen it all play out, you can just focus on what you're doing without feeling like you're missing out on something.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

All,

Forgive my possible naivety, but is anyone on this forum actually happy and excited about their career choice?

Yes, and I am delighted that I have children who have chosen to follow in this path as well. Today I got to surprise a set of parents by telling them that their baby would be able to go home this afternoon for Christmas instead of having to stay a few more days as they had expected. What a wonderful sight to see their expressions. Not all of medicine is such experiences, but there are a lot of them and have been throughout. I got a nice note recently from a patient whom I'd cared for while I was a resident. It was her 30th birthday and she wanted to thank me for saving her life when she had been born very prematurely (her parents obviously thought I was really her doctor....). I knew better of course but it shows how people can appreciate what you do, even while in training.

 

[starstarie]

YESILOVEITITISWAYBETTERTHANANYTHINGELSETHATYOUCOULDPOSSIBLYDO.

No but it all seriousness, it's great.

1. People like to complain because its something they have in common when they get together with other med students
2. The grass is always greener on the other side.

 

[Eye Applicant]

Yes. MS4 applying to ophthalmology. I think the field will be a very good fit for me.

 

[Mountaineer12]

MS2 is largely considered the hardest year at my school and I'm half way through it so I'm not completely loving my decision to go to med school right now. I loved it this time last year, but the grind of studying all day everyday is getting old and with Step 1 right around the corner it's a little daunting. I still think medicine is worth it though and am definitely looking forward to working in the hospital/clinic next year. I think I'll act much more favorably towards med school when I'm not teaching myself 4 lectures a day + studying for boards.

 

[giantswing]

MS2 is largely considered the hardest year at my school and I'm half way through it so I'm not completely loving my decision to go to med school right now. I loved it this time last year, but the grind of studying all day everyday is getting old and with Step 1 right around the corner Tis a little daunting. I still think medicine is worth it though and am definitely looking forward to working in the hospital/clinic next year. I think I'll act much more favorably towards med school when I'm not teaching myself 4 lectures a day + studying for boards.

Lol. Third year is so much worse.

 

[Mountaineer12]

Lol. Third year is so much worse.

That's not at all what I've heard at my school. I've heard hours suck sometimes, but other than that it's way better than second year. This seems to be a lot different at my school.

 

[DrBowtie]

We'll see how I feel once the big checks start to clear.

 

[Awared]

Make sure you spend more time off of these forums than you do on them. It's super easy to become pessimistic from being on here in your free time

 

[compstomper]

All,

I've been reading through the topics on this forum and all I can say is...wow this is depressing lol. Forgive my possible naivety, but is anyone on this forum actually happy and excited about their career choice? I was recently accepted to medical school and all of the med students I personally know are very happy (on the surface, at least). I know the education and training are grueling, but is anyone genuinely happy with their current experience?? I am confident that I am getting into medicine for the right reasons, but the litany of negativity surrounding some of the topics in this forum is quite disheartening.

I'm mostly unhappy being in medical school. The paper work, the bureaucracy of school/hospital administrators, the litany of PhDs teaching grad school material to professional school students, being on the bottom of the totem pole in clinic, etc, etc. That being said, this is the price I have to pay in order to get what I want, and I still think it's a great trade off as I expected all of this and more.

It definitely helps to have realistic expectations. Burnout often happens upon the realization of a growing gap between one's expectations and reality.

P.S. the student ambassadors you see during interview time were not necessarily coached by the school administration (although some are), but many are "selected" to represent the respective schools. Although their advice is certainly helpful and often insightful, it'd be wise to take it with a grain of salt.

 

[SilentSoldier]

If this was something I didn't want to do or knew I'd end up hating, I wouldn't have reapplied after being let off the waitlist 2 years ago. I freaking love medical school

 

[Frazier]

It's aight.

 

[xffan624]

We'll see how I feel once the big checks start to clear.

You mean the ones you're writing to the loan companies?

 

[AMEHigh]

I agree with everyone who said that working before med school definitely puts things in perspective.

I worked for 3 years before going back to school and I remember a guy complaining during anatomy who had never worked before. I vividly remember thinking that he doesn't know how much worse the "real world" sucks that school (especially the 1st two years).

I've definitely had some tough moments during school and shed tears, but overall I'm happy and look forward to my career.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

....

 

[Armadillos]

Medschool itself isn't bad, this time of year I'm reminded it was nice to have an extra 4 years in a row where you got like 3 weeks off for Christmas. Obviously residency is a whole different beast

 

[BurghStudent]

Hell yes. Twas the best decision I made.

Seriously, there's nothing like medicine.