Moving on if medicine doesn’t work out

[deleted421268]

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How personally should one take it if medicine doesn’t work out for them or someone gets no acceptances? Like if they have to find another career or thing to do they shouldn’t take it personally right? I know friends that wanted to be medical doctors but it didn’t work out for them doing something else but they’re still happy.

 

[deleted967981]

How personally should one take it if medicine doesn’t work out for them or someone gets no acceptances? Like if they have to find another career or thing to do they shouldn’t take it personally right? I know friends that wanted to be medical doctors but it didn’t work out for them doing something else but they’re still happy.

Your worth as a person isn’t tied to what you achieve, or it shouldn’t be. There are many people making a difference in the world who aren’t doctors, and many doctors who are in the business for the wrong reasons.

When I applied this cycle, I felt that the odds of me not getting accepted were greater than getting an acceptance, so I had several alternate plans: how many times I was willing to reapply, and a disaster scenario if I never got in. It made me feel more secure to know there were other things I could do.

 

[Goro]

How personally should one take it if medicine doesn’t work out for them or someone gets no acceptances? Like if they have to find another career or thing to do they shouldn’t take it personally right? I know friends that wanted to be medical doctors but it didn’t work out for them doing something else but they’re still happy.

A healthy person wouldn't take it personally. Getting into med school isn't a validation of your life or self-worth.

 

[deleted947265]

How personally should one take it if medicine doesn’t work out for them or someone gets no acceptances? Like if they have to find another career or thing to do they shouldn’t take it personally right? I know friends that wanted to be medical doctors but it didn’t work out for them doing something else but they’re still happy.

I'm gonna go to law school to become a really vindictive medical malpractice attorney if this doesn't work out.

 

[el799]

I'm gonna go to law school to become a really vindictive medical malpractice attorney if this doesn't work out.

you wrote this as a joke but I actually have met a practicing and relatively distinguished malpractice attorney who voiced similar sentiment about his current career to me. People really do hold long grudges

 

[deleted421268]

A healthy person wouldn't take it personally. Getting into med school isn't a validation of your life or self-worth.

Very well said sir!

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

You shouldn’t take it personally because it’s not personal. Unless you’ve somehow managed to severely offend people at 30-odd (or however many) schools you applied to.

 

[deleted585480]

Consider yourself lucky if medicine doesn’t work. It sucks

 

[Rachapkis]

Rejection usually feels like a personal affront. However, time heals all wounds. What’s more, in hindsight, people often discover that the path they ultimately took is better than the path they initially sought. If medicine is your dream, try like hell to make it happen. If it doesn’t work, lick your wounds and move on. The right destiny awaits you if you’re willing to work to find it.

 

[OraclePL]

It happens. It's part of the nature of any competitive field with a relatively high barrier to entry. It's not tied to you as a person or your value in society. In fact the opposite may be true; I realize there's a bias because these people tend to get articles written about them, but you can go find a number of success stories (CEOs, entrepeneurs, etc.) who failed at their first few endeavors. I know many people who are still in healthcare (nutritionists, etc) and very happy with their lives. I know doctors who are unhappy. Life is what you make of it.

 

[sargon2123]

It happens. It's part of the nature of any competitive field with a relatively high barrier to entry. It's not tied to you as a person or your value in society. In fact the opposite may be true; I realize there's a bias because these people tend to get articles written about them, but you can go find a number of success stories (CEOs, entrepeneurs, etc.) who failed at their first few endeavors. I know many people who are still in healthcare (nutritionists, etc) and very happy with their lives. I know doctors who are unhappy. Life is what you make of it.

It’s a little different with medicine because each failure = doors closed for good. Don’t get in one cycle? You’re damaged goods for the next and less likely to get in *from an aggregate standpoint* at most schools. Fail or score low on step? Lots of specialties and residency programs are out of the question. Fail to match? All sorts of issues that it would pain me to list out.

To be fair though, all these "cuts” make for a clearer path to success. Hopefully stakes don’t get even higher with more med schools opening up and step changing, because I have a bad feeling about what’s to come for US med programs in the near future

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

How personally should one take it if medicine doesn’t work out for them or someone gets no acceptances? Like if they have to find another career or thing to do they shouldn’t take it personally right? I know friends that wanted to be medical doctors but it didn’t work out for them doing something else but they’re still happy.

I believe from the people entering college freshman year only like 5-15% of premeds at most undergrads actually end up going to medical school and become doctors. It's highly competitive and no one should take it personally. Honestly, everyone should have a backup plan throughout college and the application process. Most of my friends and acquaintances throughout college ended up doing something else primarily because they couldn't get in or get good grades. Then there is the MCAT which is another weed out.

It's just competitive, nothing personal. Can it be disappointing? Sure. But most everyone I know found something else that made them happy. The good thing about being premed is you've done all the courses needed for podiatry, physical therapy, physician assistant, anesthesiologist assistant, occupational therapist, nurse practitioner, RN, etc. So if you still want to do something in healthcare you can.

 

[OraclePL]

It’s a little different with medicine because each failure = doors closed for good. Don’t get in one cycle? You’re damaged goods for the next and less likely to get in *from an aggregate standpoint* at most schools. Fail or score low on step? Lots of specialties and residency programs are out of the question. Fail to match? All sorts of issues that it would pain me to list out.

To be fair though, all these "cuts” make for a clearer path to success. Hopefully stakes don’t get even higher with more med schools opening up and step changing, because I have a bad feeling about what’s to come for US med programs in the near future

I don't disagree, but is it worse than the alternative? I had a classmate who couldn't graduate medical school in 7 years. There were some extenuating circumstances, but he clearly was not equipped to become a physician or handle the rigors of medical school. They let him continue to retake entire years of med school until he finally crossed some imaginary threshold and was let go.

There's definitely too much emphasis on 1 exam (at multiple stages) in our process. Should we instead emphasize med school grades when the trend is towards P/F and there's a lot of inter-school variability in grading? I'm already in a specialty where most applicants have similar scores; I've seen firsthand how hard it is to separate students based on "other" factors - looking for a well-rounded applicant isn't as easy as it sounds. The days of one-dimensional robots are fading; most students have interesting hobbies and with non-trads on the rise, many residency applicants have interesting life experiences.

Agreed with your last line - sometimes the cuts are necessary. There are medical specialties which didn't control their numbers well and are struggling with oversaturation more than other specialties.

But to the OP - not getting into medical school does not determine how successful you will be in the future. Remember the resourcefulness of people who failed in their first attempt (at anything) and ended up finding success later in life, often in a peripherally related or unrelated field. It's hard to have that perspective when you're 21 and your dream is to be a doctor, but not getting in does not invalidate you as a person.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

It is not so much about your success but how you respond to failures that defines you.

 

[deleted421268]

Consider yourself lucky if medicine doesn’t work. It sucks

Everything happens for a reason not everybody is meant for medical school maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that someone may not be meant for medical school and they would be happier doing something less rigorous because everyone has there academic capacity.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Too many people define their lives based on the work they do. Life starts to suck when you do this, and then end up trying to make a lot of money top buy a bunch of useless crap to impress a whole lot of people that you don't like and don't like you. Once you can detach yourself from that, you'll be much happier, regardless of what you do in life. If medicine doesn't work out, find something else. I know people who spent a bit too long in the pre-med game, and have ended up underemployed in some kind of "medical" job. The ones I know personally are unhappy. The ones who called it quits early enough and did something else are doing well and satisfied with their lives.

 

[deleted421268]

I feel happier when I’m open to other careers if medicine doesn’t work out as compared to having all my emotions tied into becoming a doctor.

 

[NITRAS]

I feel people are happy working where they can monetize where their talents and passion coincide.

If we woke up tomorrow and I couldn’t support my family as a physician, I’d do something else where I could make money using my talents and passion.

It’s a bad idea to pigeonhole yourself...especially in a job that you’ve never done. Lots of good people don’t get into med school.

 

[The REAL Doc McStuffins]

How personally should one take it if medicine doesn’t work out for them or someone gets no acceptances? Like if they have to find another career or thing to do they shouldn’t take it personally right? I know friends that wanted to be medical doctors but it didn’t work out for them doing something else but they’re still happy.

Look at PA, NP, dentist, nurse, etc. Med school isn’t the only option. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise...

 

[deleted421268]

Basically the main idea I’m getting is ones job doesn’t define there happiness rather it’s more intrinsic. If medicine doesn’t work out so be it and find something else to do. Life doesn’t work out the way we want it lot of times and that could be a blessing in disguise. Everything happens for a reason.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@Fuarky No. Just because you can attribute a reason to everything in life does not mean everything in life "happens for a reason". This is an example of converse error due to its logical structure of: If p then q, therefore q then p [e.g.] If the lamp is broken, then the room is dark, the room is dark therefore the lamp is broken. The room being dark could be due to a variety of reasons, just because you're failing right now doesn't mean determinism or Calvinism or a higher power are at play here. It simply means that you are not competitive at this point in time and have to accept that there is a possibility in which you will never be accepted.

You used the idiom, "blessing in disguise" because these occurrences ought to be connected to a bad situation leading to a good outcome. However, you're still currently in free fall by looking at master's programs that you have to perform in just to be competitive for medical school admission. That's not a "blessing in disguise" moment, that's still very much a "I'm going to burn X income and Y opportunities in a strong employment market in order to get into medical school" rather than using that time to reconsider other healthcare alternatives or doing something else that might lead to an alternative career path e.g. a 6 month coding bootcamp.

For clarification, I don't know your stats and this is not to direct you towards giving up on medicine, but these statements are at odds with your current goals. When you apply the first time, it should be with the strongest application possible to the extent that if you are rejected from all schools your first cycle you should be astonished and surprised. No one will else will be as impacted by a failed cycle as you will be. This thread in conjunction with your MCAT/DO cycle post makes me concerned that this is you burning through your first shot and attempting to equivocate it with #whatisthemeaningoflife #alternativehealthcarejobs #wanderlust. You're right. People do fail at getting into medicine and they still have lives, but they aren't living the life of a physician.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Being content with your life I think is the goal. Set realistic goals, work hard to achieve them, learn the hard lessons from the setbacks, use honest self reflection on why you had setbacks, then make the necessary changes to achieve your goals. Reaching said goals brings contentment. Medicine, like football, is not for everyone. I can think of many careers where I would feel like I'm making an impact. Health, family, community and financial security are what I focus on.

 

[deleted421268]

I feel this varies from person to person some people have an easier time moving on while others struggle. All my friends I’ve known that started off as pre med/pre dental and couldn’t get in med/dental school are still happy and doing other things in life but they’re still happy