not sure if i can continue med school

[medstudent9154]

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hi so my story is that in the year before med school i was under a lot of stress and my health went down the drain. I started having to sleep in really late like over 9 hours (throughout high school I got less than 6 and in college i slept just 7 1/2). I just thought it was depression or something that would go away by the time i started med school, so i didn't think it would get in the way of my medical education.

however flashforward 2 years I've managed to pass all my classes (in some cases barely), I'm going to take step 1, but I still sleep 9 and 1/2 hours and it's not even restful sleep. I've sought professional medical on and off (including a psychiatrist and a sleep study) to help try and figure out what I have these past few years but I'm not totally confident that any answer will be found. Also before anyone suggests it, I've tried cutting back on my sleep even just by 1 hour but everytime I do I eventually just feel really sick after a week or so.

so my major concern is that assuming i pass step 1, i'm really scared I'll just fall apart during the difficult rotations like surgery and obgyn. I mean we're talking about 12 hour shifts. Is there any chance that I can still get enough sleep and get a passing grade?

 

[RafaTech]

Did you get a sleep study yet? Maybe you have sleep apnea. Not all sleep apnea patients are 65 yo obese men.

 

[medstudent9154]

yeah i had a sleep study. i have a possible hypothesis about what might be causing my sleeping problem and I'm going to really start seeing doctors about this. The last 2 years you know nothing has been mandatory so I've been able to sleep in as late as I wanted and I kept thinking it would just get better. In any case, I'm not really looking for a diagnosis on this forum.

 

[Doctor D]

Pick a field with good hours like family medicine or psych and you will be fine. 3rd yr is only 1 year and 4th yr is a breeze.

 

[DocHawk117]

you'd be surprised at how many doctors and other professionals actually have a sleep disorder. i say it's definitely not a reason to quit medicine, especially if you get a diagnosis and help that you need. Sure, a few specialties would be more challenging and not as friendly towards it, but there are definitely specialties out there that will allow you to get the sleep that you need and take care of your own health.

another thing you can do is download apps on your phone to aid you in studying during your down time at the hospital. that way, when you get home you have already studied a bit for the day, and can spend more time relaxing/sleeping.