MS0 inquiry: class / SES tensions between rich and poor in medical school

[Epicenter]

so I kind of low key regret making this thread because it was originally to vent about an ongoing real life situation. The advice here has been enlightening, nevertheless. I suppose the takeaway is that for much of my life I’ve been yes bitter and resentful of wealthy peers because I’ve been locked out of educational / intellectual opportunities since childhood for being too poor and/or having a dysfunctional home.

i would like to ask a clarification for one thing:
i also actually truly truly do not understand why the wealthy feel so defensive / weird about the MCAT. I know there’s a whole hardcore test prep culture around it. but i see no reason to treat that test prep culture seriously (as a student and as a tutor) when it is driven by money and caters to the wealthy.

for me getting a 519 was not difficult. the MCAT was a joke to me. that’s the simple truth.

and if obtained this score with so few resources at my disposal — on medicaid, no parental support, putting myself through school while working full time, while only recently stably-housed, then surely wealthy students who have every advantage multiplied tenfold compared to me who are taking the MCAT should be getting 52x unless they were incompetent. I am worthless; lowest of the low; spit out by society. Until recently I literally thought I was going to die as a survival s__ worker. I don’t understand. 99% of wealthy people see themselves as better than people like me. Why does society think that’s okay but somehow it’s a heinous crime to mock the sanctity of some basic science book knowledge test ?

and i’ve been therapy for ptsd for years through from a famous teaching hospital program though the pandemic disrupted this a lot. and that’s the other thing: my old resident psychiatrist/therapist was really cool and would empathize with me and even would laugh with me (almost in implied solidarity) when I would vent about dealing with wealthy colleagues and students, almost like he dealt with similar issues in his own professional life (but professionally couldn’t tell me ofc). He was even promoted to chief resident. But then he graduated. The subsequent psych resident assigned to me uncomfortably winces / doesn’t acknowledge whenever I vent about having to deal with spoiled, wealthy premeds (and their parents) as my students. and you have to understand, entitled wealthy premeds are exhausting to teach (compared to much less entitled, much more grateful, much more refreshingly spongelike poorer students I teach for free.) Who else am I supposed to vent to now?

I don't get why you venting about money is a CONSTANT thing for you? Is your whole identity being poor/disadvantaged? No, so talk about something else! I'm an M0 who just finished a pre-matriculation program for my medical school. Some students drove a brand new Range Rover to class, some drove a 20 year old Honda. You see it, note it, and move on to talk about how difficult classes are etc. You legit have no life if the only thing you talk about with your rich AND poor friends is money. Get a hobby.

You can't afford to go out for dinner? No problem, I'll meet you all for drinks afterwards. Can't afford a ski trip? Let's go on a hike tomorrow. Geez, stop using being poor as a crutch for having no personality.

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[mrbreakfast]

Oh boy.

People go into medicine because they want to help people. We all do our best to help whoever comes to us, no matter their backgrounds or beliefs. The guy with a swastika tattoo or the heroin user who spends their hospitalization screaming at me probably won't be my favorite patients, but I'll still treat them with kindness and give them the best medical care I can. The fact that you have such disdain and lack of compassion for a large subset of the people who come to you for help is beyond alarming.

You're asking people on a medicine-directed forum to explain empathy to you. You admit you are resentful for the circumstances in which you were born, but then ask why you're not "allowed" to openly deride others for their own circumstances, which they had no control over. You talk about discrimination, but casually ignore that the concept of resenting a group because of the belief that they are innately and unfairly wealthy, privileged, completely dissimilar to you, and immune to the struggles you experienced by way of their birth alone is one of the pillars of modern antisemitism. Replace your "the wealthy" with "the Jews" if you don't see why people here are concerned - you're just aiming wider.

If you came to SDN for sympathy, you probably aren't going to get any, and you probably aren't going to get it anywhere else in medicine. The former psych resident you liked probably did exactly what you struggle to understand - he sympathized with and supported you despite having a dissimilar background. That's what physicians are supposed to do.

You should work on this, for your own sanity - you're going to get instantly burned out. You might want a new therapist, because it's not clear to me the current one is helping you. But beyond medicine, this anger is going to make you miserable your whole life if you don't change your perspective.

Who else am I supposed to vent to now?

If you instead ignore all the above advice, there are entire internet communities on twitter and reddit who will read that you are a trans, working class, ethnic minority immigrant former sex worker and agree with whatever you have to say, although they won't care what you actually say as much as what you identify as. But those people aren't in medicine, and they aren't in medicine because their real, offline lives are full of anger and hatred. But it's your call.

 

[RangerBob]

Thank you for your service to humankind.

Lol, you’re welcome?

I’m actually not sure how to read the comment... Where I live 50% of people think having an Tesla makes you a world savior, and the other 50% can’t stand Tesla owners.

My brother bikes everywhere, and you can reimburse him in cookies and peanut butter sandwiches. He’s not a toddler—he’s my age. And he’s a climate scientist. But if we all lived like him we’d probably save the planet.

 

[deleted1139416]

and the other 50% can’t stand Tesla owners.

I'm one of them

 

[candbgirl]

Jeeze, the hate, jealousy and resentment is just dripping off of you.

Get into therapy, stat. This is NOT giving medical advice.

This person has been ranting or trolling for several years. The hate is unbelievable. The jealousy is over the top. I can’t even imagine working with this person. This is so sad for OP and anyone that is subjected to the ranting.

 

[wysdoc]

The debate in this thread has become so aggressive that I am going to close it to further comments.