Med school: To go or not to go? that is the question....

[nkg123]

Hello everyone.
I am posting this message because I have an upcoming decision that I have to make regarding my future career.
Currently I have been accepted into medical school, and am due to start this September, however, I am unsure whether I actually want to go or not. I have already deferred one year to work in the software industry for a year (something I've always wanted to do). I have grown to like it very much over this past year, however med school is looming ahead. I've worked very hard throughout college to ultimately get accepted into a great medical school, however, if I decide not to go, I'll feel like I'm throwing it all away.
So, what I am asking is not advice on what I should do, it's about figuring out whether personally I should go into medicine or not. I have volunteered at hospitals and followed doctors around, and I liked it however I am afraid that a doctor's work eventually would become very repetitive unless he/she goes into academic medicine.
Regardless, I am seeking advice and any personal anecdotes out there that helped you make that ultimate decision to go into medicine..Thanks a lot!

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[DrStacey69]

All I can suggest is that you do some serious soul searching about what you want to do for the next 40 years. The med school experience is one which you should not put yourself through unless you are very, very sure that you want to be a physician. You will be putting in longer days (and nights) than you ever imagined and there will be times when you wonder if it's all worth it. You have to be willing to devote literally 95% of your waking hours to medicine, both in school and in residency. I'm not trying to scare you out of it (really!)- personally, I have not regretted my decision to go to med school, but it seems that you have a greater interest in the work you have been doing in the software field. Just follow your heart and remember, if you wind up doing something that you love doing you won't be throwing ANYTHING away. Consider your pre-med years as ones which prepared you to work hard and excel in any field. Good luck to you!

 

[imtiaz]

Originally posted by nkg123:
I am unsure whether I actually want to go or not. I have volunteered at hospitals and followed doctors around, and I liked it however I am afraid that a doctor's work eventually would become very repetitive unless he/she goes into academic medicine.
Regardless, I am seeking advice and any personal anecdotes out there that helped you make that ultimate decision to go into medicine..Thanks a lot!

The reason many people choose medicine as a career is for the challenge and dynamic nature of the work. Doctors don't do repetetive work at all. Where did you volunteer? I think you answered your own question when you said "I'm not sure whether to go or not" and when you said working in the software industry is "something i've always wanted to do." Don't worry about your place in the medical school, it will be given to someone who really wants to become a doctor. The issue is whether or not you really want to do it, if you're not 100% then don't. You will be very very very very very unhappy later on in life. You have to be 100% sure that you want to be a doctor. If there's any doubt, and I sense that there is within you, then think about it long and hard before you lock yourself in a position that you can't get out of later. Don't try to look for other people's reasons, what are YOUR reasons? That's what matters. Hope this helped!

 

[nkg123]

thanks for your replies..
I'd like to follow up with another question.

some of you expressed that you questioned whether all the work and hours medicine requires is worth it. What convinced you that it was? I know this an open-ended question, but I'd very much like to hear your perspectives...thanks!

 

[mvalento]

you know, i don't think that a person need be 100% sure that he/she wants to be a physician to go into medical school. granted, it does take a definite interest and knowledge of the work and a sense of the sacrifice involved, as well as knowing that the education will be grueling and will leave you heavily in debt. however, not all that go into medicine end up as practitioners. many go into research as well as academic medicine, and with the dual degrees that are available (MD/PhD, MD/MBA, MD/JD, MD/MPH) one could envision a great variety of careers. i know that i am still a pre-med student and my opinion is not as educated as those who have been through med school, but, to be honest, i am not terribly concerned with the fact that the life of many doctors (clinical practitioners) does not hold the greatest appeal for me. but i am fascinated by the science behind medicine, especially as we enter new frontiers in this field, and i love the challenge, dynamics, and responsibility that the medical field seems to have. i will have a great deal of thinking to do in the years ahead but i am still confident that i am making the right decision. so i guess the bottom line for myself is that it is ok to have a few doubts when you enter a new career- i think it would seem strange not to. anyway- just my two cents. good luck with whatever decision you make!