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Opinions about medical school?

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Sofia Ahmed

Sofia Ahmed

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Hey guys!

I am looking for some advise. It would be great if you guys could give me your opinions about attending medical schools. Inmean, i know its going to be intense, but would still like to hear from real people. Recently I've come across discouraging YouTube videos and articles about medical school. 🙁 So if you can give me some advise, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you so much!
 
Sofia Ahmed said:
Hey guys!

I am looking for some advise. It would be great if you guys could give me your opinions about attending medical schools. Inmean, i know its going to be intense, but would still like to hear from real people. Recently I've come across discouraging YouTube videos and articles about medical school. 🙁 So if you can give me some advise, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you so much!
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Yeah, it's going to be intense. Study hard and behave yourself.
 
in all honesty, medical school is more about perseverance than smarts. if you can get a bachelors degree from a reasonable university, you can graduate from medical school. it just depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice in the short term to make long term gains.
 
drinking water from a fire hydrant.
 
It is a lot of work but very very doable. You just have to keep going. In undergrad you could get away with procrastinating something just because you didn't feel like doing it then. That won't fly at this level. Usually you hear bad things from the people who complain more about the work than actually studying...stay away from them!
 
Doctors diaries is great although a bit depressing. I think everyone should watch escape fire as well that was fantastic.
 
Hunterthekidd said:
Doctors diaries is great although a bit depressing. I think everyone should watch escape fire as well that was fantastic.
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I don't mean to hijack this thread (by a pre-med, no less), but that film was simply remarkable. That truly put pen to paper on a lot of the ideas of what I thought has been wrong with healthcare (from the perspective of a prehospital care provider), and did it in an exquisite manner.

ETA - I was referring to Escape Fire..
 
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Great documentary. It's sad what happened to Tom Tarter.
 
I'm just going to repeat something I heard time and time again before applying: if there is anything else you could see yourself being happy and successful doing, do that instead. If that's enough to sway you, you'd be much better off not going to med school (and that is a good thing).
 
Dharma said:
I'm just going to repeat something I heard time and time again before applying: if there is anything else you could see yourself being happy and successful doing, do that instead. If that's enough to sway you, you'd be much better off not going to med school (and that is a good thing).
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I totally second this. I don't regret my decision but I give the above advice to anyone who asks me about medicine.

Things to consider:

Its LONG! Total time to become a doc is a minimum of 7 years post undergraduate education.

Its hard! You will cover in 2-3 weeks the amount of material covered in an entire semester sometimes a whole year in undergrad (drinking from a fire hose); good news is you will adjust.

Its expensive! Most/everyone I know has to take out loans to live on in addition to school tuition, this results in MANY people owing 300K+ upon graduation, that amount will be considerably higher by the time you can actually start paying them back because interest accumulates from the moment the loan money is given out. Also consider that even after year 1 of medical school its not uncommon to owe 65K or more from tuition and living expenses. This means that even if after the first year of school you figure out that medicine isn't for you your still stuck with a pile of debt. Many people in med school have typical bio pre-med degrees. How much do you think that degree is worth if you decide to quit medical school and "do something else"? Hello Starbucks!

You have a target on your back! Many in society will see you as a rich and privileged doc regardless of the amount of hours you work (oh yea docs work A LOT of hours) or the time, effort and sacrifice you put into becoming a doc. Many will blame YOU for healthcare being so expensive after all your rich (in the public's eyes). Many people (patients) will look for any reason to sue you. Ask any doc if fear of getting sued is a real legitimate thing to worry about and see what they say. Even our own president has made comments publicly about docs being greedy and doing procedures just for money. There is a perpetual force at work looking to DECREASE doctor pay.

Don't get me wrong medicine is a great career but its not without CONSIDERABLE downside. That's why myself and others say that if you can see yourself doing ANYTHING else and being happy then do that. If medicine is your love and your ok with the above then welcome to the club! However if you start down the road to becoming a doc and you're not honest with yourself and then find that medicine is making you miserable YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! No one will feel sorry for you, NO ONE!
 
Word. I feel like I'm wasting my life sometimes and I wish I chose something else
 
cliquesh said:
Word. I feel like I'm wasting my life sometimes and I wish I chose something else
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I don't understand this sentiment. You're working and making good money. Sure, you sacrificed a lot of time, but do you think you'd have become very successful in the business world with less time commitment?
 
Back 5 said:
I don't understand this sentiment. You're working and making good money. Sure, you sacrificed a lot of time, but do you think you'd have become very successful in the business world with less time commitment?
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I think he's an intern. Could explain the current sentiment. I mean, I would think a lot of people have those tough moments where they second their choice, kick some dirt, kick themselves in the ass and get over feeling sorry for themselves. I've had a few of those.
 
Back 5 said:
I don't understand this sentiment. You're working and making good money. Sure, you sacrificed a lot of time, but do you think you'd have become very successful in the business world with less time commitment?
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Money doesn't equal happiness.

I assume your a doc so you know the amount of time it takes to become a doc. Many people in there early 20's have no frame of reference to understand what putting in that many hours for that many years means. Studying/working 60-80+ hrs/week for most of your 20's isn't something a lot of people can really wrap there mind around. Its hard to imagine at that age what it means when you say that they will work/study MOST weekends and many holidays for almost a decade just to finish training. Its hard for many when reality sets in that a lot of friendships and relationships will be strained because of the time they will HAVE to dedicate to learning medicine. Like I said in an above post I don't feel sorry for anyone but I do recognize that many start down this path without truly knowing what they are getting themselves into. That's why I give the above advice.
 
You're right. A lot of the younger people starting medical school directly from college lack the perspective to understand they'd have worked just as hard to achieve similar results in any other field. Perhaps their time wouldn't have been spent in a classroom, but a new MBA is still going to work 80 hours a week trying to climb the ranks.

There is bureaucracy in every field. Medicine is not immune to pettiness and difficulty as an intern/resident.
 
There is a higher risk in medicine. If you get fired as a resident, you're screwed.
 
costales said:
There is a higher risk in medicine. If you get fired as a resident, you're screwed.
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This statement is absolutely ridiculous in that it makes it sound like getting fired as a resident is common. You really must do something extraordinarily negligent, egregious or unprofessional to get fired. And you usually have to do it several times before you get the boot. On the other hand in business you can be fired simply because you got downsized or the economy tanked, things that are completely out of your control. Once you get into US MD school you have a 95% chance of getting to residency and once you are in residency you are basically guaranteed that you will become an attending and, in most specialties, be in a pool of professionals where demand greatly outpaces supply.
 
I said IF.

If you get fired/laid off as an accountant or an engineer, you can find another job in a matter of weeks or months.

A fired medical resident? Good luck finding another residency - or getting into PA school.

And where did I say it was common?
 
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Back 5 said:
There is bureaucracy in every field. Medicine is not immune to pettiness and difficulty as an intern/resident.
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Oh, the pettiness and difficulty does not stop in residency. I have had worse situations as an attending/employee than I ever did in residency. Good things about being an attending is you have the option to resign and move on, residency you have to hold your tongue and suffer through.

Where should I start?
Job 1 - I loved, family hated location. Resigned and moved on
Job 2- Verbally attacked by nurse manager, she made up false accusations about me that the hospital admin believed. Work environment became increasingly hostile against me. They breeched my contract. Resigned. Nurse manager later fired for lying. Found out later that I was the 8th doc to go through there in 15 months.
Job 3- Lost the use of my hands from excessive typing. Employer declined to provide transcription help. Short staffed by 2 chronically. Uncovered medical malpractice against former patients. Was asked to leave due to being whistle blower.
Job 4- Dream job. Employer tells me "you can't cut it" when in reality the hospital was bankrupt due to embezzlement and the doctors before me were not getting paid. I moved on but not without a fight about getting my last paycheck in hand. Hospital now closed due to EMTALA violations and Medicare fraud.
Job 5- Urgent care job where I was told you cannot do procedures or OMT. You can only write Rx. Any issue that needs sutures, cast, etc you are to send to the ER. Right. That is NOT urgent care, that is lazy, doing nothing. Resigned so I wouldn't lose my skill set.

So I have had so many ugly situations I think I will forever be locums.
 
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cabinbuilder said:
Oh, the pettiness and difficulty does not stop in residency. I have had worse situations as an attending/employee than I ever did in residency. Good things about being an attending is you have the option to resign and move on, residency you have to hold your tongue and suffer through.

Where should I start?
Job 1 - I loved, family hated location. Resigned and moved on
Job 2- Verbally attacked by nurse manager, she made up false accusations about me that the hospital admin believed. Work environment became increasingly hostile against me. They breeched my contract. Resigned. Nurse manager later fired for lying. Found out later that I was the 8th doc to go through there in 15 months.
Job 3- Lost the use of my hands from excessive typing. Employer declined to provide transcription help. Short staffed by 2 chronically. Uncovered medical malpractice against former patients. Was asked to leave due to being whistle blower.
Job 4- Dream job. Employer tells me "you can't cut it" when in reality the hospital was bankrupt due to embezzlement and the doctors before me were not getting paid. I moved on but not without a fight about getting my last paycheck in hand. Hospital now closed due to EMTALA violations and Medicare fraud.
Job 5- Urgent care job where I was told you cannot do procedures or OMT. You can only write Rx. Any issue that needs sutures, cast, etc you are to send to the ER. Right. That is NOT urgent care, that is lazy, doing nothing. Resigned so I wouldn't my skill set.

So I have had so many ugly situations I think I will forever be locums.
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This was throughly depressing. 🙁
 
cabinbuilder said:
Oh, the pettiness and difficulty does not stop in residency. I have had worse situations as an attending/employee than I ever did in residency. Good things about being an attending is you have the option to resign and move on, residency you have to hold your tongue and suffer through.

Where should I start?
Job 1 - I loved, family hated location. Resigned and moved on
Job 2- Verbally attacked by nurse manager, she made up false accusations about me that the hospital admin believed. Work environment became increasingly hostile against me. They breeched my contract. Resigned. Nurse manager later fired for lying. Found out later that I was the 8th doc to go through there in 15 months.
Job 3- Lost the use of my hands from excessive typing. Employer declined to provide transcription help. Short staffed by 2 chronically. Uncovered medical malpractice against former patients. Was asked to leave due to being whistle blower.
Job 4- Dream job. Employer tells me "you can't cut it" when in reality the hospital was bankrupt due to embezzlement and the doctors before me were not getting paid. I moved on but not without a fight about getting my last paycheck in hand. Hospital now closed due to EMTALA violations and Medicare fraud.
Job 5- Urgent care job where I was told you cannot do procedures or OMT. You can only write Rx. Any issue that needs sutures, cast, etc you are to send to the ER. Right. That is NOT urgent care, that is lazy, doing nothing. Resigned so I wouldn't my skill set.

So I have had so many ugly situations I think I will forever be locums.
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How about starting your own practice?
 
happypremed1 said:
How about starting your own practice?
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Heck no.

#1, I am already $500,000 in debt between condo, students loans, and my house. Don't want to accrue anymore
#2 Your own practice means you are FOREVER tied to one spot, location. It's like having a child. You have to deal with staff, billing, insurance, finding a building, call coverage, vacation coverage, CME coverage. I am totally happy with locums, make my own schedule, I am off when I want to be, etc. Just don't see it. Will NEVER happen.
 
My two cents: it helps if you go into it with the right mentality. At my undergrad, medical students would come in and talk up how difficult it was going to be to survive medial school. To be honest, it's been easier than I expected, partly due to that. I felt that it was going to be impossible to keep up no matter how much effort I put in and I would never get a day off to relax or hang out with friends. That isn't the case. You will have free time to do what you want as long as you're using your study time adequately. While you will likely have to make many sacrifices in your life for med school, if it's something you're passionate about, you should pursue it
 
Back 5 said:
I don't understand this sentiment. You're working and making good money. Sure, you sacrificed a lot of time, but do you think you'd have become very successful in the business world with less time commitment?
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It's not about money. It's about enjoying life and spending time with my wife. I make $50k a year as a resident and it's more than enough. I'm never home to spend any of it, anyway.
 
cabinbuilder said:
Sorry, don't mean to depress you but understand that just because you survive residency and are out there does not mean that you are immune from ugly and you generally are not the boss of anything - admin is.
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Yea, just having some reality doses. Office politics can go wrong so fast...! Always appreciate the perspective.
 
cliquesh said:
It's not about money. It's about enjoying life and spending time with my wife. I make $50k a year as a resident and it's more than enough. I'm never home to spend any of it, anyway.
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That's exactly my point. Any other field, where you would need to dedicate vast quantity of time in order to be successful, would result in the same feeling of it "not being worth it."

I didn't mean you specifically, I was speaking in general terms.
 
Back 5 said:
That's exactly my point. Any other field, where you would need to dedicate vast quantity of time in order to be successful, would result in the same feeling of it "not being worth it."

I didn't mean you specifically, I was speaking in general terms.
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I think you may be missing his point. There are plenty of fields out there that don't require you to dedicate vast quantities of time like medicine. The trade off, however, is that you will most certainly not make as much money as you would in medicine. Of the few physicians that I know that aren't happy, the issue isn't money, it is time.
 
cliquesh said:
It's not about money. It's about enjoying life and spending time with my wife. I make $50k a year as a resident and it's more than enough. I'm never home to spend any of it, anyway.
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Like I said in another thread, I have yet to meet a doc that enjoyed 1st year. Most questioned why they went into medicine and simply hated it, but with each subsequent residency year they got closer to what they enjoyed doing and obviously had more time off. I hope next year is better than this one for you.
 
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