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To whom it may concern, regarding becoming a physician,
As opposed to all those "Is it worth it" threads, I thought I'd give another perspective.
I'm turning 34 this week, I'm a fourth year medical student who came to medicine after 9 years as a cop, and I submitted my residency application for Anesthesia last month (Already got interviews at my top 2 choices!!).
This road has been long and unimaginably hard. In undergrad I worked full time as a cop spending 40-60 hours a week getting shot at, watching people commit suicide in front of me, arresting people for abusing their children, and hundreds of other heinous things. I took 16-20 credits a semester. I owned and managed my own rental property. And somehow, I got into a top medical school .
Even given all that I had done before medical school, I was still blow away at the increase in stress and work load every year. 1st year was a huge stretch, 2nd year was insanity compared to 1st, and 3rd year was face-melting compared to 1st and 2nd year combined.
The road has also been hard on my family. My wife had to move her career, and endure starting at the bottom of the totem poll after 12 years in her field. It was also a huge strain on our relationship, which I'm still surprised we made it though (the same can't be said for several spouses in our class that were divorced during 2nd year).
My body and mind have also taken a toll. I've gained weight, lost fitness, and I am scatterbrained as ever. (I actually couldn't remember my own birthday a few weeks ago after a huge final.)
All of that being said, I am very proud of what I have accomplished and I am STOKED about my career going forward. It has been HARD but it has also been worth it.
If you are asking yourself "is it worth" understand that the road is very hard and very long. The choice is very individual and there is no right or wrong answer. Also know that lots of us have gone before you and we have enjoyed the rewards of our endeavors.
One Tyme
P.S. This is a busy time for me, I probably won't have time to respond to this thread…. ever.
As opposed to all those "Is it worth it" threads, I thought I'd give another perspective.
I'm turning 34 this week, I'm a fourth year medical student who came to medicine after 9 years as a cop, and I submitted my residency application for Anesthesia last month (Already got interviews at my top 2 choices!!).
This road has been long and unimaginably hard. In undergrad I worked full time as a cop spending 40-60 hours a week getting shot at, watching people commit suicide in front of me, arresting people for abusing their children, and hundreds of other heinous things. I took 16-20 credits a semester. I owned and managed my own rental property. And somehow, I got into a top medical school .
Even given all that I had done before medical school, I was still blow away at the increase in stress and work load every year. 1st year was a huge stretch, 2nd year was insanity compared to 1st, and 3rd year was face-melting compared to 1st and 2nd year combined.
The road has also been hard on my family. My wife had to move her career, and endure starting at the bottom of the totem poll after 12 years in her field. It was also a huge strain on our relationship, which I'm still surprised we made it though (the same can't be said for several spouses in our class that were divorced during 2nd year).
My body and mind have also taken a toll. I've gained weight, lost fitness, and I am scatterbrained as ever. (I actually couldn't remember my own birthday a few weeks ago after a huge final.)
All of that being said, I am very proud of what I have accomplished and I am STOKED about my career going forward. It has been HARD but it has also been worth it.
If you are asking yourself "is it worth" understand that the road is very hard and very long. The choice is very individual and there is no right or wrong answer. Also know that lots of us have gone before you and we have enjoyed the rewards of our endeavors.
One Tyme
P.S. This is a busy time for me, I probably won't have time to respond to this thread…. ever.
