re-thinking acceptance to med school

[prehealth4]

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hi all, i posted this on the 'premed forum,' but was instantly bashed as a troll; someone suggested i post here, so here it is:

i'd appreciate any input from people on here--i've recently been accepted to a US med school with a reasonably low tuition compared to other places. i started working as a cna at a psych hospital a few months ago, and have gotten to see a lot of what nurses do--i really like the fact that they spend so much time with patients (though at the psych hospital, most of them push meds, but still). most of the docs i've seen and shadowed, not just psychiatrists, do not spend much time with each patient because they don't have the time; most of what they do is diagnose and prescribe..for the past few years i thought i was certain on wanting to go to med school--i finished prereqs, studied for the MCAT exam almost full-time for over a year, was an active volunteer in various hospitals, and did all that i needed to do. now i'm just confused--i've shadowed nurses in the past and thought at the time that i did not want to become one, that i wanted more book knowledge and the ability to diagnose and treat the way a doctor does. however, at this time, i've been very satisfied with my role even as a cna in terms of getting to know the patients well, having them thank me when they get discharged, and really trying my best to 'take care' of them in a much more tangible way than i have seen doctors do..

also, i have a SO with whom i plan to settle down in the next few years, hopefully, but the med school i've been accepted to so far is very far away from where we live currently; we would likely have to be long-distance for at least 4 yrs. this would be very difficult because we've lived together in the same place for over 5 yrs, and i don't think we would function well being long-distance. he would not be able to move anywhere close to the med school due the lack of jobs in his area over there. the only way we could live in the same place would be if i transferred to a different med school in an area where he could get a job (of course this is very difficult to do). additionally, i know that if we wanted to have a family in the future, it would be easier to do this as a nurse in terms of having enough time--if i became a doctor, unless i started having kids as a resident (and i've heard this is brutal) i wouldn't be able to start my family until at least the age of 36-37...

of course my family would think i am crazy if i say no to med school and opt for nursing instead, and because of all the hard work i've put into trying to get INTO medical school i'm not sure how i would emotionally deal with saying no and starting over with nursing prereqs and a whole new career (nursing prereqs do not overlap with premed prereqs much). i also know that many nurses are dissatisfied with the level of respect they get and they income they have (though income is not everything to me--i'd like to be financially stable, but a high salary has never been the biggest motivation for my wanting to become a doctor).

if i did pursue medicine, i'd like to be in a specialty where i have a lot of time with my patients, and not just diagnose and prescribe all day long without being able to form a solid relationship with my patients. any ideas from current med students/doctors? i have heard that primary care docs do the most of this, but i don't know if it's to the level which i would be happy with..

anyway, so sorry for the novel, but I'm wondering if i'm just being disillusioned, or if all my concerns are valid.

thanks so much, everyone!

 

[tryp]

I think that if I've learned anything in medical school thus far, it seems to be that there are about as many ways to practice medicine as there are doctors. I have worked with doctors who spent five minutes per patient (this was an ob/gyn with a busy outpatient practice and mostly f/u stuff - she just flew through her patients) and I worked with a child psychiatrist for whom doing an intake on a child took three hours and was basically a multidisciplinary circus act.

Personally, I think along the same lines you do, and I would like to go into psychiatry, though I reserve the right to change my mind. Some psychiatrists do a lot of med checks and consults and high throughput stuff, but my psychiatrists have always been psychotherapists as well and have spent hours with me over the course of years. I think that is the kind of practice I would enjoy.

In the end, you have to decide what is most worthwhile for you and what matters most. And if I were you, I would also factor in the extra time spent re-doing pre-requisites and putting off being able to actually launch your career. A few years isn't much if you really believe that you will be much happier in nursing, but if you think that either thing could make you happy, why not go with something that you can get started on now with much less uncertainty?

 

[DrMidlife]

Of course your concerns are valid. They're yours, not anybody else's, and you get to pick what's important to you.

My take on this is that you need more time to get your brain around what medical practice can be, and whether it's right for you or not. The only good reason to go to med school is that there's no other job you want than to be a physician.

If you'd be happier as a nurse, then go be a great nurse and don't look back. If it turns out you prefer nursing, then anybody who gives you crap about walking away from a med school acceptance is projecting their crap onto you. Their crap. Not your crap.

Be responsible and considerate about taking a seat away from somebody else while you figure this out. I recommend that you pursue a deferral on your med school acceptance. Take a year to further investigate your career options.

It's none of my business, but if your SO isn't willing to make compromises to support your career, that's bad, regardless of the career you choose. Don't set yourself up to regret, at age 30/40/50, giving up something you really wanted, at age 22-24, for a guy that isn't good enough for you.

Best of luck to you.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Be careful though. I started my CNA class thinking it was BS, by the end of it I had completely changed my outlook. You start seeing how patients need care and you get a lot of fulfillment from it. You have only been working a few months so you might be at that stage. What sold me not to go into nursing was that the hospital I was in didn't have many care techs, so the nurses did all the care tech work. I am sure this is not the same as all hospitals, but I am sure some are like that. And my personality wasn't for nursing.

Basically my point is, definitely think about what you really want, but don't get blinded by the novelty of it. Try to look 5 years down the road.