MS3/4s: if you could go back in time would you go to med school?

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alwaysaangel

alwaysaangel

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If you could go back in time 5 years before you applied to medical school...would you still go to medical school? If not, what do you think you would be doing.

I've had this conversation with tons of my own classmates and residents and haven't heard too many "yes" answers, so I thought I would see what the average SDN Med student says.
 
And I'll give my answer. (and hopefully this thread won't turn into a bunch of pre-meds complaining that "anyone who regrets it shouldn't have taken a spot someone else could have had!")

Now that I'm in my 4th year and finally doing mostly what I want to....I still wouldn't do it again.

If I could go back to my senior year of college I wouldn't have gone to medical school. I think I would have just gotten a plain old boring, well-paying 8-5 job (had an offer for a 50k/year). I could live very comfortably on 50k/year. No weekends, no being thrilled when I get out of work at 4pm when I started at 6am. I would have hobbies, maybe I'd be married. I wouldn't have 200k in debt, I wouldn't have stalled my life for 4 years.

Its not that I regret being in medicine. Its not that I'm unhappy with my life. My life is fine. I actually met my bf in med school.

But if I knew then, what I know now - its just not worth it. Time investment is too great for the satisfaction and payment received.
 
alwaysaangel said:
If I could go back to my senior year of college I wouldn't have gone to medical school. I think I would have just gotten a plain old boring, well-paying 8-5 job (had an offer for a 50k/year). I could live very comfortably on 50k/year. No weekends, no being thrilled when I get out of work at 4pm when I started at 6am. I would have hobbies, maybe I'd be married. I wouldn't have 200k in debt, I wouldn't have stalled my life for 4 years.
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I'm not an MS3/4, but I currently am in the "well-paying 8-5 job (>50k/yr)" scenario, and to be honest it definitley has its own drawbacks. For one, no other industry has job security like medicine, except tenured academics/teachers. That's not to say you can't lose your job as a physician, but there will ALWAYS be a need for good physicians. Can't really say the same about the majority of the 8-5 jobs out there...

Also, most 8-5 jobs that aren't in "dead-end" career paths will never actually have 8am -5pm hours. If you have a career in finance, engineering, science, business administration etc... working 8-5 will put you in with the low-performers, and then the question of job security comes up again... In my current industry (biotech), many non-PhD's are working 50-60 hrs/week (almost all PhD's do 55+hrs/wk not counting working at home. I'd say 1 in 4 are working 70-80 hrs/wk. ). Please take note, most post-residency physician's are working 50-60 hrs a week as well. (according to: http://residency.wustl.edu/medadmin/resweb.nsf/WV/62353A93C5C35CB186256F850071BD86?OpenDocument). So are you really missing out on anything lifestyle-wise by skipping med school?

At the end of the day, I think any career worth having will be time consuming. Expect to work hard for the rest of your life, unless you're good at gambling. Just my 2 cents.
 
the grass is always greener on the other side
 
MS4 here.

Truth be told, I NEVER wanted to be a doctor growing up. I grew up on the PBS shows NOVA, and NATURE.. I LOVED THAT ****!!! Likewise, I ALWAYS wanted to be a research scientist, or a biologist of some sort. And consequently, in undergrad, I EXCELLED at my major (biology) by virtue of this fact. While most bio majors were pre-med and couldn't stand learning about crap that had NOTHING to do with medicine, I GENUINELY LOVED the material..

Anyways, during my sophomore year of college, I discovered salary.com

I typed in wildlife biologist --> 😱
I typed in Ph.D. researcher/zoologist/vet/professor --> 😱
I typed in pharmacist --> 👍
Then I typed in physician --> 😍 😍 😍

End of story.

That said, YES I WOULD DO IT OVER AGAIN. IN A ****ING SECOND! Even though it's been a painful anxiety ridden journey at times, I'm VERY GLAD I made the decision I did. I look back at times and think.. Damn, where would I be if I chose research? THIS thread answered my question, plus some. :laugh: Thank GOD I avoided that path.
 
I'm just a second year, but I was an engineer for 5 years. By the time I left, I was making ~$80k/yr and made my own hours (with the limitation that I had to work at least 40 hrs/week). But, I worked in a cubicle where I might talk to one of my coworkers once/day and I just didn't feel inspired by the kind of work that I did.

As far as putting your life on hold is concerned, I'm not sure I feel that way. The major drawback for me is holding off on having kids for a few more years. But, I've found that the first two years are enjoyable with a winter break, spring break, and a huge summer break that I didn't get working as an engineer. That's not to mention the incredible things I've already seen and done--dissecting an actual human being, seeing a C-section first hand, immunizing children. Furthermore, my social life is way better in school than it was working.

Of course, there is third year but then fourth year things are going to be pretty chill again. Perhaps residency will be the stage where I feel my life is on hold--but I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty stoked about the incredible crap I'll get to see.
 
Speaking as an M4, I would absolutely do it again! When I think back I realize how much time I have sacrificed for the sake of learning as opposed to my non-medical friends. I also remember suffering through a bunch of bullcrap in my third year that I would never wish on anyone. But when I put things in perspective, I really enjoying learning this material and applying it on the wards. I really enjoy reading up on diseases and learning about diagnosis and management. I really liked first year, I thoroughly enjoyed second year and I loved third year. All the stupidity and bureaucratic nonsense rolls easily off my back because I can honestly say I am having the time of my life. I also really enjoy passing on my (limited) knowledge to the M1, 2 and 3's and watching their own progress with the medical world.

To the OP, I am sorry to hear that you would not do it again. I vaguely remember you from around the time I started browsing SDN and how happy you were to get into the school you are currently in. Hopefully 4th year will show you the light and you change your mind.
 
SuperHiro said:
To the OP, I am sorry to hear that you would not do it again. I vaguely remember you from around the time I started browsing SDN and how happy you were to get into the school you are currently in. Hopefully 4th year will show you the light and you change your mind.
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Don't be sorry. 🙂 Like I said, I'm not unhappy. I just wouldn't do it again. I like medicine, I love working in the ED and I look forward to my residency. I just don't think putting my life on hold was worth the enjoyment I get out of it though.

This thread wasn't supposed to be about hating medicine, more - was medicine everything you thought it would be and was the time contribution worth it to you. Which it sounds like for a lot of people here, it was.
 
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I don't mind the 'putting my life on hold' aspect. I don't see that as a waste of time.

WHAT IS a waste of time AND money, though, is undergrad school. What a SCAM that was.

I wish I could've just went straight from HS to Med School, as is done in many parts of the world.
 
Knicks said:
I don't mind the 'putting my life on hold' aspect. I don't see that as a waste of time.

WHAT IS a waste of time AND money, though, is undergrad school. What a SCAM that was.

I wish I could've just went straight from HS to Med School, as is done in many parts of the world.
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:laugh: So true.

To answer the original question, I guess my decision to go into general surgery and comitting to another long, hard path says that I would do it again. Like others have said, I don't think of it as putting my life on hold. It is true that I missed out on a bunch of social events over the past few years, but at the end, we all turn 30 (and then 40, 50 etc). I'd like to feel like I accomplished something. No one can take that away from you.
 
I most likely would've been an engineer or gone down the astronomy path. So much of med school just seems like something to slog through. I don't even know how many times the class ahead of me has said "x really sucks, but it's just for y amount of time. You can do it." Well, if you add up all that time, it's a substantial portion of the last 3 years. It's not like the other time is all that much better, either. I think the pancake analogy holds quite true: Pancakes are awesome. Being force-fed huge amounts of pancakes every day is not so awesome.
 
Knicks said:
I don't mind the 'putting my life on hold' aspect. I don't see that as a waste of time.

WHAT IS a waste of time AND money, though, is undergrad school. What a SCAM that was.

I wish I could've just went straight from HS to Med School, as is done in many parts of the world.
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Funny you say that since I would NEVER give up my 4 years of undergrad for anything. Yes, educationally it may or may not have been efficient but it really was the best 4 years of my life so far. The ups and downs, and the life lessons I've learned (in my short time here on planet earth) has helped me tremendously both in medical school and in life.

I guess it may depend on what school you went to and how your experience was at that school. Saturday morning tailgating and afternoon football games, formals, random events that happened at random times are things that I will cherish forever.

To answer the OPs question, I am an M3 and I would DEFINITELY do medical school again. 1st year really sucks but to me 2nd year was infinitely better...even with Step 1 at the end. I'm not one of those people that once M3 year hits feels as if "this is what I got into med school wanting to do". In fact, clinicals has made me not like the wards too much and REALLY hate rounding and sometimes even seeing patients. However, I LOVE the science behind everything and the thinking that goes on after you see patients and get their info. Yes there's the annoying paperwork that M3's are beginning to understand we have to do and that we see 4th years and interns/attendings do, which is unfortunate, but being able to use your brain and apply medical science is amazing. I love being a constant learner and I believe that's something medical schools need to figure out a way to screen for when they are interviewing/reviewing applicants. Without the urge to learn, I can definitely see how being in the medicine would be a pain.

So to all the doubters, there ARE people who love the field of medicine and would do it again in a heartbeat. Ask me in 10 years? I can't say what my answer is but my father is also a physician and after close to 30 years in practice as a general internal medicine doctor, he still LOVES what he does and always tells me, "it's not WHAT you tell your patients, its HOW you tell them that makes the different...and keeps you from being sued."
 
Also, I don't think life's been put on hold for me either.

I've been able to maintain a semi-long distance relationship with another medical student. Made great friends and keep great friends from the past and present. Been able to travel to Europe and Asia. Maintain playing golf when the weather is amiable and workout/play basketball. And watch my Lakers win 2 NBA championships all the while studying and acing STEP 1 (I watched every game including 2 that took place in the 5 days before my test).

I've been able to go out to bars/clubs with friends and enjoy dinners at restaurants all around the city that I am in. My life doesn't feel like its on hold. I haven't done surgery or IM yet and I know that I will be busy when those hit. But I also know that I work like hell Monday through Friday and sometimes Saturday and Sunday, but when I do get free time I utilize it well. I think that's the key. TIME MANAGEMENT.
 
alwaysaangel said:
If you could go back in time 5 years before you applied to medical school...would you still go to medical school? If not, what do you think you would be doing.

I've had this conversation with tons of my own classmates and residents and haven't heard too many "yes" answers, so I thought I would see what the average SDN Med student says.
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Medical school is four short years of education. It's the practice of medicine that one needs to love and certainly medical school is NOT medical practice. If you don't understand and love the day to day "job" of medicine, no amount of money in the world is going to be enough to do it.

I have a great practice and love what I do. I also work extremely long hours under often difficult conditions where people's lives (and limbs) depend on my decisions. If you can't thrive in that sort of environment, medicine isn't going to work. I wouldn't have my practice any other way. I get a "rush" with every case that I do and no case is ever something that I don't love and give my best work. In short, I thoroughly enjoy all aspect of my practice from operating to patient care to helping my patient's keep the best lifestyle that they can.

When I look back on medical school, it was by far, the easiest part of my training. The "love" of medicine (surgery) was solidified during residency and into fellowship. I would also say that third and fourth year medical school is very limited in terms of the experience of what medical practice entails. Your job during those medical school clinical years is to learn. If you are having regrets at the third and fourth year level, you may still enjoy medicine once you actually practice it and get out of the "school" mode.

Essentially, the most unhappy people in medicine are the ones who had an unrealistic idea of what the profession entails. Other unhappy folks are the ones who entered a specialty that they actually didn't love because of lifestyle (ease of training) or perceived prestige. Neither prestige or lifestyle makes much difference if you hate to go into your job every morning.

I can tell you that I did well enough in medical school to be able to choose what I wanted to do and to have received great post-graduate training in order to do what I do very well. I also mastered the business of medicine in order to have the lifestyle that I wanted while building my practice (no easy task in today's world of diminishing reimbursements). In short, medical school is the easy part. The hard part (and often the drudgery) is making your career work for you.
 
YellowEmu said:
Funny you say that since I would NEVER give up my 4 years of undergrad for anything. Yes, educationally it may or may not have been efficient but it really was the best 4 years of my life so far. The ups and downs, and the life lessons I've learned (in my short time here on planet earth) has helped me tremendously both in medical school and in life.

I guess it may depend on what school you went to and how your experience was at that school. Saturday morning tailgating and afternoon football games, formals, random events that happened at random times are things that I will cherish forever
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The bolded part is all that matters. Instead of wasting that time, I could've been more productive AND STILL experience all those nice things you mentioned.


That's just me, though.
 
Well, I'm not an M4 any more, but I figured I'd weigh in anyways. I would still do it again, but I would definitely caution other people against jumping into it "just because." It's hard. It takes a lot out of you. It just gets harder and takes more and more of your time.
 
I enjoy medicine particularly in Surgery. While I made good grades in college I wasn't a great MCAT taker. I went to SGU and grew up in the southeastern US. AS a result I got placed in the worst rotation schedule. I slipped on the Step 2CS ince but only made 209 and 211 on the others first attempt and it pretty much has ended my career since I didn't match. The good news is the banks can't squeeze blood out of a lemon.

I wouldnt do it again though. Its too risky wiht no reward.
 
alwaysaangel said:
If you could go back in time 5 years before you applied to medical school...would you still go to medical school? If not, what do you think you would be doing.

I've had this conversation with tons of my own classmates and residents and haven't heard too many "yes" answers, so I thought I would see what the average SDN Med student says.
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I'm a current third year, and absolutely I would still come to medical school. I love what I'm doing. The first two years were a little droll, but they beat the heck out of the two years I spent in the "real world" before going back to school.

People gripe all the time about our lot in life, but we've got it pretty good. I'm able to lead a reasonably balanced life while doing work that I love. I go out with friends, take climbing trips across the country, and get about as much time off as my friends who are working do, although I do work many more hard hours than them during the week.

Having held a crappy full time job before, medical school beats the hell out of that any day of the week.
 
I am a current fourth year student. I do recall when the OP was applying during my application cycle and how excited she was when she was accepted to the med school that she now attends.

Yes, I would do it again, although it has been tough at times. I have been fortunate in receiving a significant amount of need based financial aid so my debt load is reasonable - it will be about $100,000 when I graduate next May. I am very grateful for that.

I am applying for a surgical residency that will involve 5 years of training - when I reflect on a 5 year residency, it is rather daunting. I will do what I always do - keep my head down and push forward and get through it.

Four of my friends from my college days are either lawyers or in law school - law seems to be a default career these days for many people. I also have friends who are going into academia. When I am 40 (I currently am 27), it will be interesting to compare notes about career satisfaction with my buddies who took a different fork in the road.

I do have concerns about time constraints and developing and maintaining a meaningful personal life outside of medicine - I am trying to be optimistic that I will be able to create some kind of balance after surviving residency. We shall see.
 
Um, with the economy the way it is these days, hell yes.
 
Yes, I would have made the same decision. I came into this process pretty cynical (thanks Panda!) but I went anyway because I honestly couldn't think of another career path that even had the slightest chance of ending well for me. I didn't have a better plan when I graduated college and I still don't. Also I'm not going to pretend I would have had an amazing life if I hadn't gone to medical school. I would have had a WoW account.
 
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I would do it again 10,000 times. I had one of those secure >$50,000 jobs ( was a public school teacher). I was ready to pull my hair out. Medicine, like any other jobs, has its drawbacks. Like ANY other job. But the privilege of helping someone else the way medicine allows you to do is priceless.
 
MS3 here, and yes, without reservation. All of the long hours and piling debt and frustrating hospital bureaucracy is worth it for the chance to be at the bedside with my patients. I love their stories, I love learning and teaching from them, and most of I love the feeling of walking out of a patient's room knowing they're feeling more confident and hopeful and good about their illness than when I walked in.

It's pretty much the best job in the world.
 
As an MS3/MS4, I would have said, "Yes, definitely."

As a PGY-2, I have to say, "Probably not."

Don't get me wrong. I like my job. I like taking care of patients.

But it gets frustrating at times. It's frustrating to have to fight with insurance companies who will try to block you from doing what is right for your patient. It's frustrating to be surrounded by wonderful resources that are too expensive for your patients to use. I'm still idealistic enough where I get sad and frustrated that nice, "good" people die from horrible, painful diseases. And still inexperienced enough to feel a twinge of guilt, like maybe I didn't do enough to save them.

Last week, it took 5 phone calls and 2 letters to get a patient's cholesterol medication approved. No wonder patients just stop taking their meds.

To be honest, it is very funny to me to look back and think how much I talked about how "hard" I worked as an MS3 and MS4. Yeah, the hours are long, but the mental work was not nearly as hard. And once all the patients were seen, that was it! No paperwork! No endless charts to do! No stack of dictations to finish!

Of course, I could have the med students do some of this paperwork for me. But that would be "mean" and "scut" and I don't have the heart to ask them to do it, to be honest. Even though I know perfectly well that, in 3 years time, they will be forced to do a lot of that same work.

In that sense, being an MS3 IS a lot better than being a resident, except you don't get paid.
I loved being an MS3. Being a resident....well....that's a tougher question.

I think that healthcare IS a good field. I just don't know if being a physician is worth it, in the end. Being a PA, or a nurse, with better hours and good pay, looks attractive on some days.
 
yeah i'd do it again.

those of you that enjoy third year - do you not take shelf exams at your school?

shelf exams single handedly ruin third year imo
 
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
 
J DUB said:
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
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If you could live without medicine don't do it. If your mind is constantly obsessed with the idea of being a doctor and you really think you would just never be happy any other way then go for it.

But like the resident who responded above said - there is so much crap to deal with. Medicine lets you "help people" but it also beats you down and makes you cynical, makes you hate people, makes you hate insurance. Its 50% wonderful and 50% disheartening. Its just like any other job, but it costs 7-10 years of your life depending on your specialty. So unless you can't live without it - stick with what you have!

If I were in your situation knowing what i know now - no way I would go to medical school. But I always I could live without medicine. When I applied I knew I would only do it once and then I would find something else if I didn't get in. I've had a lot of jobs. I was happy in all of them. I thought I would be happier in medicine because of the challenge, the patients, the science - but in the end its just like any other job. Just cost a lot more.
 
J DUB said:
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
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No, I wouldn't. I'm not envious of your job compared to what mine will be, but having already gone through all the hoops that you have to become a pharmacist, there's no way I'd go through a whole new layer of crap and hoops to be a physician afterwards. Not to mention the ungodly amount of debt. If you owe a substantial amount for pharmacy school, don't be an idiot and go to med school too.

Oh, and I just noticed that you "actually like going to work each day." Keep doing what you're doing. It would be a huge mistake to get an MD now, IMO.
 
J DUB said:
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
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I would definitely go to medical school rather than pharmacy school, but I'm really not sure I would go to medical school after pharmacy school. There's only so much of life you can spend getting ready for life, you know? Ultimately it's a personal decision.

I guess the real question is, why do you want to switch if you like going to work each day? That's a pretty rare gift in any profession.
 
I think yes. It's a pretty uneasy yes, though. It's scary to see my life funneling in one direction, and it sucks giving up my personal freedom so thoroughly (I can't take even a week to go to the beach this summer, but hey, I can always go on my Thanksgiving break right?). I really like a lot of what I am learning but I am also hitting this point of drudgery where I tend to get most excited when I find out that a given clinic or activity is cancelled and I can go do something else. I generally have a good time on rotations but I certainly don't wake up exhilirated about going in the mornings, and the thing I look forward to most in life right now are the weekends where I can just forget about school for a while.

Then again if I were in, say, a 50k a year HR job or something that I didn't enjoy and did not see changing I think I would be a lot more bummed about it. I do have some specialties in mind that I think I will actually enjoy on a day to day basis. If I rotate through those and find they are as 'meh' as most of what I have done so far I will be in trouble.
 
Bartelby said:
I think yes. It's a pretty uneasy yes, though. It's scary to see my life funneling in one direction, and it sucks giving up my personal freedom so thoroughly (I can't take even a week to go to the beach this summer, but hey, I can always go on my Thanksgiving break right?). I really like a lot of what I am learning but I am also hitting this point of drudgery where I tend to get most excited when I find out that a given clinic or activity is cancelled and I can go do something else. I generally have a good time on rotations but I certainly don't wake up exhilirated about going in the mornings, and the thing I look forward to most in life right now are the weekends where I can just forget about school for a while.

Then again if I were in, say, a 50k a year HR job or something that I didn't enjoy and did not see changing I think I would be a lot more bummed about it. I do have some specialties in mind that I think I will actually enjoy on a day to day basis. If I rotate through those and find they are as 'meh' as most of what I have done so far I will be in trouble.
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this is pretty much how i feel.

I really am expecting to enjoy anesthesia and critical care a lot more than these other rotations, but if i get there and find i dont like it then i think i will be in deep ****.
 
J DUB said:
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
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Do it if you can't live without it. Otherwise, enjoy the life you have. You only get so many years on earth, no need to waste an unnecessary number of them in preparation for a career.
 
ITT: just how myopic and insular 2-3 yrs of med school can make a person.
 
J DUB said:
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
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Sounds like you have a great thing going. You are earning good cash and you love your job. Plus you're not breaking your neck doing it. Why go to med school?
 
J DUB said:
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
Click to expand...

You make me want to apply to pharm school.
 
I'm about 75% done with "3rd" year, and I would absolutely choose this path again. I had the opportunity to work and do other things before med school so I know without a doubt what the other side is like. Though I only worked 40 hours a week and had plenty of time to do what I wanted, I spent every minute that I wasn't at work thinking about how I dreaded going back to work the following day. It was miserable.

While medicine is hard and there are sacrifices, I take a lot of pride in how far I've come and the fact that not everyone gets to do this job. I also genuinely like taking care of patients. Luckily, I have a husband that understands why I need to do this and I support him in his endeavors equally.

Stories like the OP's lead me to believe that people need to work other jobs and explore other options before they jump on the medicine bandwagon. At 21, you know nothing. Heck, a lot of people have never had a single job by then. Of the non-trads I know, most are much more sure of this path once they've started on it than the folks that come straight from undergrad.
 
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Jolie South said:
I'm about 75% done with "3rd" year, and I would absolutely choose this path again. I had the opportunity to work and do other things before med school so I know without a doubt what the other side is like. Though I only worked 40 hours a week and had plenty of time to do what I wanted, I spent every minute that I wasn't at work thinking about how I dreaded going back to work the following day. It was miserable.

While medicine is hard and there are sacrifices, I take a lot of pride in how far I've come and the fact that not everyone gets to do this job. I also genuinely like taking care of patients. Luckily, I have a husband that understands why I need to do this and I support him in his endeavors equally.

Stories like the OP's lead me to believe that people need to work other jobs and explore other options before they jump on the medicine bandwagon. At 21, you know nothing. Heck, a lot of people have never had a single job by then. Of the non-trads I know, most are much more sure of this path once they've started on it than the folks that come straight from undergrad.
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I very much agree with this. I did the engineer thing for 3 yrs and while I had a great gig (good salary, good hrs, benefits, etc.), I just couldn't imagine being 50 yrs old and wondering what I did with my life. I'm only an MS-1, but after after orientation this week I can't begin to describe how excited I am to start anatomy next week. I'll check back in 2 yrs and then 4 yrs and let you know if I still feel the same, lol 😀.
 
MS4 here. My answer is a definite yes. Only 1 change: I only took 1 year off after undergrad; I wish I had taken 2-3 years off to travel and explore my hobbies a bit more. 🙂 That's the only thing I regret about med school, the fact that I feel like my interests outside from medicine are pushed back into the indefinite future.
 
As an M2...I probably would have given you a reluctant "yes" I'd do it again...but I would have had to think about it.

Now, as a resident...Absolutely! I love my job. Going to the hospital is a joy. Certainly there are certain months that make me want to bang my head against the wall, and I know that as I go on to fellowship the hours will actually get worse for a time, but, all in all, even with the loans, the time spent, the difficulty I've had in some relationships because of the expectations of being a trainee, and everything else, it's been worth it, totally.
 
Well, if I had to do it all over again, I'd be a trust-fund kid with $20 million in the bank and a F430 Scud in the garage. But, since that didn't exactly play out in real life like it did in my head...a definite yes for me.

Waking up at 4AM sucks just a little, but I enjoy myself once I'm in the hospital. I also feel like I'm being pushed and challenged by my fellows/attendings, and I feel like I'm able to pull it off reasonably well. Couple of ****-eating days here and there, but by and large I've enjoyed it a hell of a lot.
 
J DUB said:
Would you still go to med school if you were a pharmacist making around 125K/yr and actually like going to work each day....I work around 45-50 hrs/wk and dont even feel tired....

I got a consultant role right out of school and work with my best friend.....

I got a car to drive, laptop, gas card, and free health insurance.

I deferred a yr to make some money and get a mental break.....along with some great experience...

I would love to know what everyone thinks....would you settle on a pretty sweet life or go for a dream you know that will be hard and probably not worth it in comparison to what you have to give up......
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ya, man, if you are happy, why chase medicine? grass just appears greener on the other side.
 
The whole pharm thing is a really tough decision. I make 100k in the hospital (was making 120k retail, but wanted to blow my brains out on a regular basis) for a 40 hour week. I mean...it's not bad...definitely wouldn't trade to do a lot of jobs, but it's also a curse not knowing if you could've done it (med school and what follows). My 40-hour week tends to be pretty boring and I get home and I'm still bored. Doesn't seem like there's a lot of middle ground. Boring vs. hellishly busy. It's good to hear that most of the MS3/4's would do it all over again...does that mean that I'll at least still like the next several years of my life? 🙂
 
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