Paralyzed

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smmed

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So, I'm in my mid/late twenties and have thought about med school for years and years. I started off pre-med in undergrad, but got a bit sidetracked with a double major, study abroad, etc. and never finished all of my pre-reqs. I took a bit of a detour after graduation (taught, and have worked in business for the past couple of years), and applied (and was accepted) this cycle to some of the smaller competitive postbac programs thinking this is it, finally I'm going to do what I've been thinking about for so long.

And now? I'm paralyzed. Absolutely terrified to make this commitment, now that the chance is mine for the taking. Can anyone else relate? Is having strong feelings of fear (enough to make me question the decision to go ahead with a postbac and eventually med school) enough of a reason NOT to do this? My fear boils down to a number of things, among them:

A) The money
B) The time commitment, seeing as how I am female and almost 28, and would love to have family one day
C) The fear that I will become "trapped" if I decide medicine isn't it for me, in that I'll be saddled by debt which will force me to continue even if I decide I don't want to

At the same time, this is something I've thought about for a LONG time. This whole medicine thing is not some crazy idea I came up with last week. In fact, I actually took my current job (at a healthcare company) so as to position myself for this eventual move. But I'm terrified to take the leap! Any advice from others who may have been in a similar situation?

thanks. 🙁
 
If this is a vague ambition, let it go. If you couldn't imagine being happy in any other line of work, do it. You'll figure everything else out along the way.
 
When you apply to medical school you will be asked a few key questions:

1) Why do you want to be a doctor
2) As a non-traditional student why have you chosen to follow this path at this point in your life?

Try to sit down and answer these questions for yourself. Be specific, as though you had to write an essay on the topic. if you're not sure, wait to make your mind up as to what to do until you are sure. This is a big life change you are facing so it is understandable that you are scared. And it is hard. And expensive. If you are completely sure that you want to go into medicine, you will be able to make it work. You will get through all of the work, you'll find a way to finance it, you'll manage to have a satisfying personal and family life and so on. It is my belief that we can do ANYTHING if we are committed to it. In my opinion, however, full commitment generally requires that you fully believe in what you are doing. Having fear and or doubt is fine so long as you are sure about what you want.
 
i am in the same boat as you. i am twenty eight, trying to pay a mortgage (got about 1500$ in my bank account right now). but i gave up work (as an RN) to go back to school for med pre-reqs.
I think the deciding factor should be "can i look myself in the mirror in ten years and not regret trying for medicine" if the answer is yes than maybe think of something else, but if you have any doubts you have to go for it. U get one chance to live while your down here, so you may as well take some risks. If nothing else, you can be confident in the fact that you tried your hardest, and gave it a shot.
believe me you can always work and make money later, go for it now while you are still young.
 
I was thinking the same thing just yesterday... kind of.

Right now I'm waiting for acceptance/rejection to some post baccs. I'll be graduating from undergrad in May with no debt. I was questioning whether I should take on the big committment to med school. If I go through with post-bac, I will have to go through with all the hard work and debt. I would then have no choice but to continue on, finish med school, and start paying off those loans. I was considering going to Asia for 1-2 years to teach English and to study another language, but that wouldn't really help in my pursuit towards medicine.

Anyways... the bottomline is that I know that I want to become a doctor and nothing else. If I waste my time beating around the bush, I will probably regret it in the end...especially if it was fear that held me back.

If I get accepted to a post-bac, I will take it and go with the flow. What else is there to do?

You said you thought about med school for years, so are you going to keep thinking about it or are you going to go and take the first few steps!
 
Hey girl 🙂

I'm a 31 year old, just finishing off an SMP. So, there are others, as you know by this very forum you're posting in.

Go to a psychotherapist/psychologist, someone who has a good reputation for dealing with life change issues. whether they are cognitive behavioural (the randomized control scientific darling) or humanistic like gestalt or art-based therapy etc. Whoever it is, make sure they are reputable. Then sit down, and take the time now to work through whatever needs working through, so that you can free up your energy to commit to a decision. i.e. either way, get to a place where you are less likely to regret things. So go!
If you go once a week, or twice a week, for the next month, you will likely have made a decision that is right for you and that gives you enough time to pursue this option if that is your choice. Of course, lots of people get all on the fence about therapy too. In the interests of time, book the appointment, and do that when you get there 🙂 really, many people are professionally trained to guide you through this. take advantage of that. this is one of those times, i.e. you've got some tough decisions to make that involve emotions and fear, and that anyone could use an experienced travelling companion to get through.



smmed said:
So, I'm in my mid/late twenties and have thought about med school for years and years. I started off pre-med in undergrad, but got a bit sidetracked with a double major, study abroad, etc. and never finished all of my pre-reqs. I took a bit of a detour after graduation (taught, and have worked in business for the past couple of years), and applied (and was accepted) this cycle to some of the smaller competitive postbac programs thinking this is it, finally I'm going to do what I've been thinking about for so long.

And now? I'm paralyzed. Absolutely terrified to make this commitment, now that the chance is mine for the taking. Can anyone else relate? Is having strong feelings of fear (enough to make me question the decision to go ahead with a postbac and eventually med school) enough of a reason NOT to do this? My fear boils down to a number of things, among them:

A) The money
B) The time commitment, seeing as how I am female and almost 28, and would love to have family one day
C) The fear that I will become "trapped" if I decide medicine isn't it for me, in that I'll be saddled by debt which will force me to continue even if I decide I don't want to

At the same time, this is something I've thought about for a LONG time. This whole medicine thing is not some crazy idea I came up with last week. In fact, I actually took my current job (at a healthcare company) so as to position myself for this eventual move. But I'm terrified to take the leap! Any advice from others who may have been in a similar situation?

thanks. 🙁
Click to expand...
 
Okay, here's another opinion.

I decided I wanted to be a doctor halfway through college, and started a post-bacc immediately after graduation (I didn't want to do my prerequisite classes my last two years of college).

I did 2.5 years of post-bacc. It was very expensive, but I was sure I wanted to be a doctor. Then I took a year off, because I had been in school for 20+ years straight and needed some time to relax.

I loved it. As much as I like school, I also like having time to spend with family and friends.

I just got accepted into med school. I'm 28, female. I don't know if I want to go anymore. At this point, I've done everything I needed to do to get here,I've spent a lot of money, given up lots and lots and lots of time, I've sacrificed some relationships etc. I also want to have a family, and a life, and I'm not sure how much more I'm willing to sacrifice.

Everyone says "If you want to be a doctor and can't imagine doing anything else, then go for it". But in the past few years, I feel like maybe I've become too focused on becoming a doctor-there are other things in life. And right now I'm trying to figure out of not going to medical school means giving up or getting out.

Think hard about what you want to do. Really hard. Your concerns are valid, and don't let anyone convince you that you're a quitter or a coward if you decide med school isn't for you. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
 
I'm in the same boat. I fell in love with medicine half-waythrough college, now I'm looking at post-baccs. So, I have at least another five years of school, then residency yada yada yada. I am pretty sure that i want to be a docor eventually, but I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I'm forty and never back-packed through europe or lived as a ski bum.
Taking time off is totally Ok with me and my significant other, but my parents are really being butt heads about it...
😕
 
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