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Hi, it's unlikely that many of the current non-trads know me but I used to be a regular on this board. The SDN community, especially on the non-trad community, is a great resource to help you along your journey. I want to create this thread as I sporadically get messages from people that run into my old threads asking me various questions and what became of me which I'm going to address here. I wish all the new non-trads all the best on their journey and know that, if this is something you really want to do, by all means give it a shot as it'll be hard to be put it to rest without trying. Below are a few tips and a potential career route if things don't go as planned you end up dropping out of medical school like I did.
If you've run into my old threads you'll know I'm a medical school drop out and here is a recap:
- I was determined to go to medical school and attended a D.O. school (I was admitted to three D.O. schools and no M.D. schools. Albany Med was my top choice school overall and I was interviewed and rejected there. PCOM was my top choice D.O. school and I was wait listed and then rejected there). I wanted to stay in the northeast as I had a good support system in place but didn't get admitted in that region.
- My first semester in medical school was hampered with issues. My main one, that I was unaware of at the time, is that I had a medical condition that was misdiagnosed as anxiety/depression (I had another condition that wasn't properly diagnosed until two years after I dropped out of medical school when I had a repeat brain MRI. I was started on medication, which will be lifelong, and almost immediately felt like a whole different person).
- Given the above, I'm not sure I'd have been successful; however, that wasn't my only issue. I had a roommate that, while a good person, was a horrid roommate (think loud television, loud music, loud noises late at night etc.). I tell everyone, unless it's family, live alone while in med school. There isn't time to address roommate issues. The other issue I had was that I got an older car to try and save money which broke down multiple times (including in an intersection the night before an exam and I had to spend hours of potential study time addressing it). So, add a reliable car to the list of must haves. I would most likely have financed something like a Honda HR-V if I were to re-do it.
- The final thing I would have done differently to give myself the best chance of success is move to the city of the med school at least 3-6 months in advance of the start date. I moved less than a week ahead and it wasn't enough time especially since it was an area where I didn't have any support system in place.
So, what became of me:
- I landed a contract job with a big Clinical Research Organization after I dropped out of medical school. I was paid by the hour which was fantastic as the more I worked the more I go paid. The first year after I dropped out I experienced episodes of depression and a sense of failure that was hard to overcome. I didn't see a clear path to turn this around.
- Thankfully, I dropped out early on med school fairly early (first semester) so the medical school loans I had to pay off were minimal and I did that fairly quickly.
- Two years after dropping out, I wasn't feeling o.k. and found an excellent physician who referred me out to a lot of specialists - endocrinology, urology, cardiology, pulmonology etc. It's in these series of tests where a Brain M.R.I. revealed a I had a chronic condition. Interestingly, I had a brain M.R.I. while in med school and it seems they overlooked this.
- Over the course of the next few years, I built expertise as a Clinical Research Associate focused in oncology. I built my knowledge in certain areas in oncology (I'd hoped to go into pediatric oncology after medical school). While I don't have much patient contact the work is fulfilling.
- I discovered the F.I.R.E. movement (I was aware of it before but took more time to research it) and that replaced my med school ambitions. I had a good financial knowledge base and used that to allow me to save money.
- Over the course of the five years, since I dropped out of medical school, my health issues were addressed and I worked hard in my job and grew my overall net worth to beyond a million dollars (and I plan to retire when I hit 3 million which I should do within the next decade - couple of years before my 50th birthday).
I have to say that going to medical school was the best thing to happen to me even though I wasn't successful. It allowed me to give it a shot and put it to rest and the only time I think about it now is when I get messages from people on SDN. I used the drive and ambition needed to be successful in medicine and applied it to finance. As someone that enjoys learning, I'd love to gain additional medical knowledge and plan to contact a local school when I retire to see if I can pay to audit classes that interest me but, unless life takes a drastic and unexpected turn, I think my ambitions to be a physician are behind me. Auditing classes would allow me to learn at my own pace and focus specifically in what I'm interested in.
So, that's what became of me. I want to say a big thank you to those that supported me along the way and I hope everyone's dreams come true. It's unlikely I'll be posting much more but know that there's a life beyond medical school (both if you drop out or are successful). Strive to lead the best life you can. I still respond to messages sent to me on SDN so feel free to reach out if you think I can be of help.
If you've run into my old threads you'll know I'm a medical school drop out and here is a recap:
- I was determined to go to medical school and attended a D.O. school (I was admitted to three D.O. schools and no M.D. schools. Albany Med was my top choice school overall and I was interviewed and rejected there. PCOM was my top choice D.O. school and I was wait listed and then rejected there). I wanted to stay in the northeast as I had a good support system in place but didn't get admitted in that region.
- My first semester in medical school was hampered with issues. My main one, that I was unaware of at the time, is that I had a medical condition that was misdiagnosed as anxiety/depression (I had another condition that wasn't properly diagnosed until two years after I dropped out of medical school when I had a repeat brain MRI. I was started on medication, which will be lifelong, and almost immediately felt like a whole different person).
- Given the above, I'm not sure I'd have been successful; however, that wasn't my only issue. I had a roommate that, while a good person, was a horrid roommate (think loud television, loud music, loud noises late at night etc.). I tell everyone, unless it's family, live alone while in med school. There isn't time to address roommate issues. The other issue I had was that I got an older car to try and save money which broke down multiple times (including in an intersection the night before an exam and I had to spend hours of potential study time addressing it). So, add a reliable car to the list of must haves. I would most likely have financed something like a Honda HR-V if I were to re-do it.
- The final thing I would have done differently to give myself the best chance of success is move to the city of the med school at least 3-6 months in advance of the start date. I moved less than a week ahead and it wasn't enough time especially since it was an area where I didn't have any support system in place.
So, what became of me:
- I landed a contract job with a big Clinical Research Organization after I dropped out of medical school. I was paid by the hour which was fantastic as the more I worked the more I go paid. The first year after I dropped out I experienced episodes of depression and a sense of failure that was hard to overcome. I didn't see a clear path to turn this around.
- Thankfully, I dropped out early on med school fairly early (first semester) so the medical school loans I had to pay off were minimal and I did that fairly quickly.
- Two years after dropping out, I wasn't feeling o.k. and found an excellent physician who referred me out to a lot of specialists - endocrinology, urology, cardiology, pulmonology etc. It's in these series of tests where a Brain M.R.I. revealed a I had a chronic condition. Interestingly, I had a brain M.R.I. while in med school and it seems they overlooked this.
- Over the course of the next few years, I built expertise as a Clinical Research Associate focused in oncology. I built my knowledge in certain areas in oncology (I'd hoped to go into pediatric oncology after medical school). While I don't have much patient contact the work is fulfilling.
- I discovered the F.I.R.E. movement (I was aware of it before but took more time to research it) and that replaced my med school ambitions. I had a good financial knowledge base and used that to allow me to save money.
- Over the course of the five years, since I dropped out of medical school, my health issues were addressed and I worked hard in my job and grew my overall net worth to beyond a million dollars (and I plan to retire when I hit 3 million which I should do within the next decade - couple of years before my 50th birthday).
I have to say that going to medical school was the best thing to happen to me even though I wasn't successful. It allowed me to give it a shot and put it to rest and the only time I think about it now is when I get messages from people on SDN. I used the drive and ambition needed to be successful in medicine and applied it to finance. As someone that enjoys learning, I'd love to gain additional medical knowledge and plan to contact a local school when I retire to see if I can pay to audit classes that interest me but, unless life takes a drastic and unexpected turn, I think my ambitions to be a physician are behind me. Auditing classes would allow me to learn at my own pace and focus specifically in what I'm interested in.
So, that's what became of me. I want to say a big thank you to those that supported me along the way and I hope everyone's dreams come true. It's unlikely I'll be posting much more but know that there's a life beyond medical school (both if you drop out or are successful). Strive to lead the best life you can. I still respond to messages sent to me on SDN so feel free to reach out if you think I can be of help.
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