Rough time - not sure if I want to start medical school

[auguy13]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey all,

I posted something similar earlier but have yet to come to any conclusions (and time is ticking). Needless to say I have had a really rough final semester of school. I was in an accident and been injured, unable to exercise (my once daily stress coping mechanism), and in chronic pain (went to pt and all that) and have gotten clinically depressed (and anxious about it) (runs in the family and I have struggled with it on and off but definitely at its worse- working on that too but it isn't a quick fix either - literally functioning is at minimal going through the motions (still making A's somehow - lighter load than normally)). I guess my main concern is my perspectives on life have changed. Feeling this way makes me prioritize family and relationships above all else. That's what makes me happy in life. Suddenly I have no desire to go to medical school (I got in) and have been seriously seriously beating myself up about not applying to vet school like I had originally planned. I don't know if that is me being depressive and not wanting change as all my friends are headed to vet school (and my entire family life is veterinary medicine) or if it seriously what I really want deep down career wise. Just wondering if anyone had any input. I know what each job entails (vet more since I have never worked in a hospital or human clinic). I thought I had made a decision but since things have gotten more real I'm concerned and feeling more like I don't belong.

1) Should I defer a year and apply to vet school and take some more time to soul search? Would I be able to do that? I would feel like a failure for holding myself back a year, but I don't wanna dive into unnecessary debt or a career in which I may not fit. (I like animals and people and medicine)

2) If so - Are there any jobs in the human medical field that I could work in (medical assistant or phlebotomist) during that gap year to see if I really feel like I belong in that setting, or I could just work in the vet field where I am comfortable and have a stable job lined up?

3) Should I hope this gets better and dive into medical school (with the intent on dropping out if I continue to feel this way)?

I feel like I have suddenly hit a wall in my life at a very inopportune time and have lost my sense of self. I had a great opportunity to join the family business (after vet school) and turned it down to go to medical school because I thought overall job security for physicians is more stable during any kinda economic strain and that I was more interested in studying human pathology. But I am recently and seriously questioning where my heart lies.

 

[darkjedi]

If you are having hesitations about medical school, you should definitely consider deferring your acceptance for a year. Medical school is an incredibly stressful time and you seem to be an a particularly vulnerable spot at this time. I hope you are seeing or talking to someone someone to share your thoughts with.

It is absolutely not a failure to wait a few years to gather some other experiences before deciding for sure you want to do medicine. Don't feel rushed to make a decision that can potentially determine your career path.

 

[Ohyeah]

I agree. I would defer an take some time to think things over. I'm sorry you're going through all that. Your experience sounds very frustrating, especially since you can no longer turn to your typical coping mechanism (exercise -- which is mine too). I personally also find music to be a great outlet and therapeutic experience. If there's an instrument you've always wanted to learn to play, now could be a great time to start!

I understand the desire for family and relationships in a career, but remember that medicine doesn't necessarily preclude this. You will definitely find physicians who maintain very active roles in their family and nurture very rewarding relationships with patients and their families. You don't want to start down a new career path and realize, later, that you prefer medicine (and end up jumping through all the hoops necessary to get an acceptance somewhere again).

Definitely defer for now and take some time to reflect on all of this. Like you said, maybe consider working/shadowing around particular specialties of interest that reflect your preferences.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

I would defer if I were you. Take some time to "soul search," get help if you feel that you need it, and then re-evaluate after enough time has passed. Don't do #3. That could lead to a potential disaster. Good luck.

 

[solitarius]

Just hold off on making any decisions until your emotions/depression/hit-the-wall situation passes.

 

[bigdogrob4284]

With the financial burden associated with attending medical school, I wouldn't matriculate until you are absolutely certain that being a physician is what you want to do with your life.

 

[Aerus]

I'm curious how you got accepted to medical school without any experience dealing with human patients. The "Why Medicine?" question would be difficult to answer without so.

Regardless, you should definitely defer. Take care of your situation and find out whether this is really for you or not. You don't want to find out $300k later.

 

[red7]

I personally also find music to be a great outlet and therapeutic experience. If there's an instrument you've always wanted to learn to play, now could be a great time to start!

This is great advice. I had a friend in high school who was a star athlete before he hurt his back - he started spending all his spare time playing guitar, joined a couple of bands, and ended up finding a new passion that he still enjoys today.

I'm not saying your thing has to be music, but maybe it will help you to find something else to blow off steam, at least until you can exercise again.

 

[sinombre]

So you've started two other practically identical threads recently, but I'll chime in anyway.

I also think you should defer. It's somewhat surprising that you managed to get an acceptance without having any real clinical experience (aside from shadowing 2 pediatricians and an ID doc, according to one of your other threads). If I were you I would try and shadow and talk to physicians in different specialties to try and see what working as a physician is actually like. Vet med has obvious similarities, but it's very, very different (I'm in a long term relationship with a vet student, all of my room mates are vet students, and I have several friends that are practicing vets).

Probably most importantly, from one of your other threads:

When I say I swapped for "personal reasons" I mean I was worried about working with/"under" my control freak older brother and we have several siblings and cousins who have/will be lining up to get their DVM. So I worried the family clinics may get a bit too crowded in the years to come, which lead to economic concerns. So I bailed on my childhood dream to seek out similar interests, but all I can think about now is seeing my friends and cousin starting vet school in the fall and wondering if I should be sitting with them.

It's kind of a big deal that your childhood dream was to become a vet. Did you bail on this idea purely because you were anxious about the potential lack of job security in the future? Most vets find jobs without any sort of family connections, so I can't imagine this was the only reason you decided to change career paths. You stated that you find human medicine somewhat more "intriguing," which may or may not be important. What do you think you would find more personally rewarding/potentially enjoyable on a day-to-day basis?

Edit: sorry to hear you're struggling OP. On the bright side, there's a good chance you'll be able to defer and figure things out. Trust me, a year off can be an amazing thing, especially at your age. When you actually start, you have to try and enjoy the entire process as much as possible, because it's way too long to view it purely as an investment and be miserable the entire time. If you have any questions you're not comfortable asking in a thread, feel free to PM me.

 

[nysegop]

You're starting a medical school?