Is it worth it?

[whitesoxfan2000]

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I'm having second thoughts on being premed. Is it worth it to go through all of that schooling (12 years after high school) and all of the problems associated with being a doctor (malpractice, managed care, etc.) when you could be an engineer or another kind of doctor such as an optometrist or a businessperson without the same level of stress and you can begin your career sooner? Am I the only one having second thoughts?

 

[GeoLeoX]

For me it didn't seem like I had much of a choice. I could be miserable working in a job that I knew wasn't fulfulling. I have had many opportunities for alternate careers in engineering, computers, or biotech. But none of them held for me the promise of medicine. There's a difference between the stress of doing a job that you love and doing a job that you hate. I'd take the former any day. Don't get me wrong I don't think that there is a person here who hasn't had misgivings at one time or another. There's nothing wrong with that. Many schools now require that you have had some exposure to what the job of a physician entails so that you can make a decision. It's not a decision to be taken lightly.

Geo

 

[tristate]

It all really depends upon what you want. The career you want the most, which you think will give you the highest degree of satisfaction, will always be the hardest task. And if it's not worth fighting for, it's not worth having. Everything comes with challenges, risks, and even failures. But that doesn't mean that you should be discouraged. Many have thought the way you have (even me at one point), but I love medicine too much to turn back now.

Just remember that even engineers, executives, and optometrists have their steps to climb too.


"If you are looking for love, you have chosen the hardest task of all. The work for which all other work is but preparation."

-Rasa Davi, "Kama Sutra"

 

[Nanon]

If you want to know whether it's worth it to you, make sure that you explore a lot of different options while you're in college. I'm older, and I've already tried a variety of different careers. I was a dancer, a computer programmer, a reporter, and a waitress. Medicine is the thing I like the best, the thing that makes my trains run on time.

I'm not saying that you need to take the long and winding road that I took. But if you want to see if it's right for you, volunteer, take an EMT course at your community college, or at the very least, take a Basic Life Support class at your local Red Cross. If you become obsessed, then pursue it. If not, then choose something else.

We're all meant to do something. If medicine is what you're meant to do, then 12 years, or even more, won't matter. Follow your bliss, you can't go wrong.

 

[whitesoxfan2000]

Thanks for all the advice and responses

 

[bullyman]

If you unsure the best thing to do is get a job at hospital and experience it for yourself. I worked in a large hospital for three years. It was the experiences I had while working that made the decision for me. You will get to see the worst and the best of medicine.

 

[Doc Holliday]

A lot of the books out there describing clerkships, internships, and residencies are convincingly negative about the hardships endured by physicians in training. One of the strange attractions I have to medicine is the passion that many have against it's brutality (training, residency, etc). I worked in a hospital for about a year and a half and met MD after MD that clearly lost a lot of their compassion in pursuit of their board certification. A lot of what is missing is just basic respect for other people. These values really strike a chord in me and I'm hoping that many of us have the opportunity to make a difference from the inside...

With regard to the original post, if you want something bad enough you will make it happen. Like many of the other posters I discovered my desire for medicine almost by process of elimination. I've tried my hand at several hats, none fit better than the surgical cap at 3am with an attending ripping me a new one. The dream is still alive!

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"You're a daisy if you do."

 

[jetgirl0527]

"Am I the only one having second thoughts?"

HA! I am in my fourth year of med school and I probably said I'd drop out about every other day of my 3rd yr - okay a but of an exaggeration - but the answer to you question is NO. Yes, med school is tough, the path to get there is tough and the road after is also tough. But I could not imagine a better thing to do with my life. Personally, I'm sure I'd be more miserable working 9-5 and making tons more $ in a job that was less meaningful to me. But this does not mean you should go to med school. What I am trying to say is even though I know this is what I want to do, I still had a tough time with it. So I think you should be pretty dedicated to the idea before starting med school. Think about your motivations for becoming a doctor. Could another career fulfill you just as well? There are definitely faster and easier ways to make $ and docs often do not have the respect and prestige they once did. But if you feel this is your calling, then go for it! I have not regretted my decision, and I still have several yrs of training ahead of me.

Jet

 

[limit]

God, time after time I hear this bull**** about faster and easier ways to make more money. How about some examples to back it up next time. IT / Computer Science ? Business ? Law ? Bio tech ? Engineering ? Think again. Either of those jobs if you want to even come close to a physician's salary you'll be pushing 80 hour weeks working on a law case, or on an IT website, or whatever it is.

There are of course other ways to climb the corporate ladder, but the ways are by no means easier OR faster. Money will continue to always be an incentive for becoming a doctor, and that doesn't mean that you can't become a good one just because you are motivated by eventually getting a good salary.