Should i quit medicine?

[lmay0001]

Hi

I am a Pharmacy Graduate (MPharm) and just finished my 1st year of Medical school. My results are exceptionally good (All As and Bs). However when it comes to dealing with patients and seeing the suffering they go through and the lack of help you can provide disheartens me to continue perusing medicine. Many people dont realise the shock a person can end up in after they recieve the news. Some patients end up flipping. at that pont i realized that what i was doing might not the best choice.

I worked as a pharmacist, and i enjoy the medical subjects at med school and diagnosis, but when you are face to face with a case where no treatment works and the end result is suffering and death its horribly depressing.

you can just go on working as if nothing happened. although a second year i was shocked when i saw the state of one of the patients and the way he suffered for months before passing awway.

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[deleted763299]

when you are face to face with a case where no treatment works and the end result is suffering and death its horribly depressing.

There are plenty of extremely depressing cases out there, that's a given. Sometimes a patient's illness basically destroys their life, and it's extremely sad. How you deal with these facts of life is up to you, and some people are better at it than others. The majority of people will develop some kind of adequate coping mechanism.

Are you asking us if you should quit medicine because you haven't developed an adequate coping mechanism to deal with patient suffering? If that is your question (and perhaps it is not, and I am misunderstanding you), my answer would be that I don't think so. You'll get there. What your coping mechanism looks like is up to you.

As a side note, you could consider specialties that don't have to deal with much sadness. For example: radiology or pathology.

 

[osckey]

You could try toughing it out for a specialty which involves the least patient contact (radiology, anesthesia, etc.).

 

[mymembernames]

Pathology, radiology

 

[MrChance2]

I don't think most specialties deal with actively suffering people as the majority of their patients.

Family practice, ENT, Derm, pediatrics, radiology, path, to name a few. Working all day in an ICU full of dying people in their 80's day in and day out isn't for everyone I don't think its a reason to quit medicine at all as long as you're OK with it sometimes especially during training.

 

[Psai]

You could try toughing it out for a specialty which involves the least patient contact (radiology, anesthesia, etc.).

Probably not good for a premed to be giving out advice like this.

 

[ProfMD]

How much clinical exposure have you had as a first year to make this determination? There are plenty of patients and can and do help. Also, as noted above, there are non-clinical specialities.

 

[Warderino92]

Honestly OP if your heart isn't in medicine toughing out another 3 years of medical school and 3-7 years of residency just to get to the attending level isnt going to be very enjoyable. I'd recommend seeing if there is possibly any other career you want to do (pharm industry development, etc) and compare it to a career in medicine to see what you really want to spend the next 30-40 years of your life doing.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I don't think most specialties deal with actively suffering people as the majority of their patients.

Family practice, ENT, Derm, pediatrics, radiology, path, to name a few. Working all day in an ICU full of dying people in their 80's day in and day out isn't for everyone I don't think its a reason to quit medicine at all as long as you're OK with it sometimes especially during training.

This. There are many, many (possibly the majority?) of avenues in medicine that don't involve dealing with a dying population.

Also, OP might try digging in and actually working with the dying patients as well. I find palliative care to be oddly satisfying.

 

[ACSurgeon]

Hi

I am a Pharmacy Graduate (MPharm) and just finished my 1st year of Medical school. My results are exceptionally good (All As and Bs). However when it comes to dealing with patients and seeing the suffering they go through and the lack of help you can provide disheartens me to continue perusing medicine. Many people dont realise the shock a person can end up in after they recieve the news. Some patients end up flipping. at that pont i realized that what i was doing might not the best choice.

I worked as a pharmacist, and i enjoy the medical subjects at med school and diagnosis, but when you are face to face with a case where no treatment works and the end result is suffering and death its horribly depressing.

you can just go on working as if nothing happened. although a second year i was shocked when i saw the state of one of the patients and the way he suffered for months before passing awway.

- What you describe is a combination of someone with inexperience AND compassion. As you gain experience, retaining your compassion will make you strong enough to handle these difficult cases while caring enough to help patients and their families. Too many doctors become emotionless and thus seem less compassionate in these situations, so this could be your unique contribution.

- Palliative treatments are crucial and underutilized in western medicine. Everybody wants to live forever is the default assumption. That's why you see people suffering for a prolonged period of time before they finally die.

- A perfect state of health should never be taken for granted. Most people will suffer at some point in life. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you come to terms with your own mortality and the better you are dealing with these situations.

- There are fields where the majority of patients and cases are uncomplicated and satisfying. Even in general surgery (a field with many sick patients), developing a niche in endocrine surgery or bariatric surgery will result in dealing with very very few encounters of delivering bad news or having bad outcomes (although when it happens it probably hurts everyone involved that much more).

Leaving medicine because of what you describe is perhaps from a desire to shield yourself from the pain and suffering that other people go through. You can live a life of ignorance is bliss (until something happens to you or a loved one) or you can accept that bad things happen and not let it paralyze you. Time and experience certainly help. I don't believe anyone is incapable of learning to cope. Some just don't want to. You have to decide for yourself.

 

[osckey]

Probably not good for a premed to be giving out advice like this.

The student's complaint was that they didn't think they could handle the patient contact very well. With good grades, why not pursue a specialty with low patient contact?

 

[TBV]

There are a few specialties out there that don't commonly have situations that you have described.

 

[Redpancreas]

Hi

I am a Pharmacy Graduate (MPharm) and just finished my 1st year of Medical school. My results are exceptionally good (All As and Bs). However when it comes to dealing with patients and seeing the suffering they go through and the lack of help you can provide disheartens me to continue perusing medicine. Many people dont realise the shock a person can end up in after they recieve the news. Some patients end up flipping. at that pont i realized that what i was doing might not the best choice.

I worked as a pharmacist, and i enjoy the medical subjects at med school and diagnosis, but when you are face to face with a case where no treatment works and the end result is suffering and death its horribly depressing.

you can just go on working as if nothing happened. although a second year i was shocked when i saw the state of one of the patients and the way he suffered for months before passing awway.

I want to advise, but I just can't relate to this post. Yes, there's some level of getting used to tragedy that will occur that you will likely become desensitized to and yes, there's shock, but if you didn't expect this, then what exactly did you expect entering medical school?

Anyways, it sounds like you're doing quite well. I don't advise just limited yourself to Radiology or Pathology because I feel like there's a certain wholeness that comes to being a physician and that while you may never deal with patients, you'll still be in close proximity to this.

My gut feeling is to advise you to stick it out and see how real patient care is since you're only a first year but that's only because that's the advice I'd give myself. On the other hand, if you decide then that you're not happy come third year, you've wasted a ton of $$$ just to go through the torture that is known as MS2.

 

[Redpancreas]

The student's complaint was that they didn't think they could handle the patient contact very well. With good grades, why not pursue a specialty with low patient contact?

Because that's limiting OP to two specific fields which he or she may not even be interested in. Asking OP to continue the process for something that's not even certain is not the wisest idea.

 

[kmp0410]

You'll be fine. Nobody enjoys those situations. Some are better at them than others. But it's not supposed to be fun or easy. There are a lot of career options where you are almost never in those scenarios as well. Not just the "no patient contact" fields either. Doesn't sound like you are the "I hate working with people" type so I wouldn't limit yourself so severely.


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[Doctor-S]

- What you describe is a combination of someone with inexperience AND compassion. As you gain experience, retaining your compassion will make you strong enough to handle these difficult cases while caring enough to help patients and their families. Too many doctors become emotionless and thus seem less compassionate in these situations, so this could be your unique contribution.

- A perfect state of health should never be taken for granted. Most people will suffer at some point in life. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you come to terms with your own mortality and the better you are dealing with these situations.

Leaving medicine because of what you describe is perhaps from a desire to shield yourself from the pain and suffering that other people go through. You can live a life of ignorance is bliss (until something happens to you or a loved one) or you can accept that bad things happen and not let it paralyze you. Time and experience certainly help. I don't believe anyone is incapable of learning to cope. Some just don't want to. You have to decide for yourself.

Well-stated, lazymed ... and very true.

I still feel some pangs of helplessness when I am unable to provide a 100% successful treatment for a seriously-injured patient - especially if the patient is presenting with severe intractable pain. By my own admission, I experience those types of feelings because I care about living things (including people); and I am not an automaton (nor do I want to become an automaton in the future).

However, over the years (and due to experience, coping skills and compassion), I have accepted the fact that there is no "Harry Potter magic cure-all wand" in the medical sciences. Instead, it is my job to provide optimal care to everyone - as if each patient was my own Mom or Dad, or my sister or brother, or my son or daughter. At times, I will not be able to mitigate or eliminate pain, distress, agony or despair: it will be beyond my control, and that's real life for every health care provider. Many health care providers feel (or have felt) the same way that you feel ... it's a common occurrence. However, no matter what happen, I can confidently say, I truly love my work.

 

[Stagg737]

The student's complaint was that they didn't think they could handle the patient contact very well. With good grades, why not pursue a specialty with low patient contact?

In addition to what @Backtothebasics8 said, it sounds like OP has little exposure to clinical medicine (which can be extremely different from clinical pharm), so there's no way to know if he would like those fields. If he ended up hating that too, then he just wasted minimum half a decade of his life.

I'd tell OP to get in contact with some physicians, residents, and 4th years who've done a variety of rotations and try and get some exposure to a variety of fields ASAP. At the very least he'll be able to get some perspectives on what to expect in practice. I also think this is one of the few cases where dropping out could be the better choice. It sounds like OP had a good job before school and has a solid degree to fall back on, which makes dropping out with a year of debt far more feasible and less stressful in the long run. Why force yourself through 2-3 more years of paying to do something you don't think you can handle when he has something he did enjoy to fall back to?

 

[Psai]

The student's complaint was that they didn't think they could handle the patient contact very well. With good grades, why not pursue a specialty with low patient contact?

Because a) you don't know what you're talking about and b) you're wrong

 

[TheFutureFatMan]

Seek better advice than SDN.

Three generations of docs, I will (assuming I survive school) be the fourth. Get into some fields where the outcomes are different. OB is a great example.

In the mean time, slug it out. Find some hobbies, get your head out of the depressing gutter. People die. Doctors fight disease. Disease kills people. You're going to see the crap. Take a harden up pill, and focus on the good you can do.

If that's not enough for you, if you can't find fulfillment then I truly don't know what to tell you. I can say that medical school isn't accurately representative of what it's like to be a doctor. I may not know that from personal experience but I'm basing that on what my friends, who all are in residency and beyond, have told me.

Best of luck to you, man. I know it can be depressing, but it can also be amazing.

 

[Stagg737]

In the mean time, slug it out. Find some hobbies, get your head out of the depressing gutter. People die. Doctors fight disease. Disease kills people. You're going to see the crap. Take a harden up pill, and focus on the good you can do.

I don't think Viagra is going to solve his problems. Then again...

 

[meurotic]

Some people are never able to get over what you're feeling. Some are. However, there is a lot of variation in the average levels of patient suffering between specialty options. If your grades are already stellar, I'd suggest you stick it out until you're exposed to more clinical work. You might just find a specialty that fits you well enough to where you'll still get to practice medicine (which it seems you're genuinely fascinated by) but won't see very many disheartening cases.

Don't give up. You can do this.

 

[bc65]

Almost everyone either gets used to it and develop coping mechanisms, or find a field that has fewer bad outcomes or patient contact. You have to learn to focus on the ones whose lives you extend. Remember, everyone dies eventually. No one gets out of here alive.

Almost every field can have a cancer or other bad diagnosis, but some fields have less than others. Derm is mostly free of that, but there's plenty of melanoma to deal with. OB can have bad outcomes, with problem births and congenital defects.

Diagnostic Radiology and pathology are mostly free of patient contact, I believe. There are probably other fields you could go into. But really, it will probably get better. And if you really want to leave clinical medicine, I suggest that you keep going, finish med school, and use your combined degrees to get a great job with an investment bank or a drug company . .You'll earn more than any of your classmates with that background.

 

[lmay0001]

Thanks guys much appreciated. I will continue as my results came in and i got a good streak !! With my Pharmacy background studying Medicine is no problem. I also have Clinical Pharmacy background. The only problem is that as a doctor you are on the front line an sometimes you can't do much just look (which sucks) but yeah medicine is not perfect and we try do our best. Hopefully i move into drug development as i'll have a better understanding of disease. I wish to target main diseases, i already did a research thesis in medicinal chemistry so i guess the MD can help me with understanding the Pathophysiology that needs to be targeted.

 

[SphereGlobe]

Consider how you'll feel in three years. The shock and trauma of this situation, which looms so large now, will have mitigated over time. By quitting, you may lose out on many of the things about medicine that drew you to the field in the first place. (Surely something compelling drew you to the field?) Don't make the mistake of basing life-changing career choices on single incidents and their temporary emotions. Let the feelings sit. See if these disappointments actually have lasting power. You don't have the perspective and expertise that more time will bring. You'll lose nothing by quitting later versus quitting now.

All physicians have to deal with being on the front lines. Other highly demanding professions, including airplane pilots and policemen, have systems for post-encounter debriefs. Policemen are allowed to take time off after traumatic incidents. Pilots can do the same. Physicians have no such systems in place. Maybe this is a time for you to get deeper and find a way to manage how the front lines affect you. You may soon discover that the work is worth it after all. Don't get all trigger-happy and throw the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[kcmd]

As an MD who quit clinical medicine early on in the game, here are my two cents:

1. If these are new feelings, I agree with all of the above comments saying give it a try. You really only start experiencing 'true' medicine once you reach the clinical years. Working heavy with patients in the medical system can either be the most rewarding experience or most draining experience. But you're not going to know unless you give it a go!

2. If you absolutely hate it right now, I would still take a step back and see if there are any fields that you *may* consider - job shadowing, electives etc. in pathology, radiology, anesthesiology etc. may help you determine whether you fall in love with one of these fields or convinced that this is not the way for you to go. You also meet some incredible doctors who can spur you on and motivate you to slog out the pre clinical years until you get the clinical years. (Personally, I preferred the pre clinical years to the clinical years, but that's another story!)

3. If you've made your decision that medicine is really not for you (after going through the above two options), there are a whole heap of opportunities available in this wide world. There are *hundreds* of non-clinical opportunities, switching your degree to a masters in public health, medical management or international health, or even pursuing a career not related to health - owning your own business, finance, culinary school, writing etc. - the world is out there, and all the experience you've gained to date will only help you find your true purpose.

 

[Slytheryn]

Hi

I am a Pharmacy Graduate (MPharm) and just finished my 1st year of Medical school. My results are exceptionally good (All As and Bs). However when it comes to dealing with patients and seeing the suffering they go through and the lack of help you can provide disheartens me to continue perusing medicine. Many people dont realise the shock a person can end up in after they recieve the news. Some patients end up flipping. at that pont i realized that what i was doing might not the best choice.

I worked as a pharmacist, and i enjoy the medical subjects at med school and diagnosis, but when you are face to face with a case where no treatment works and the end result is suffering and death its horribly depressing.

you can just go on working as if nothing happened. although a second year i was shocked when i saw the state of one of the patients and the way he suffered for months before passing awway.

The way you see the world is a responsibility and it's your own choice how you make it. For me, this responsibility is about not burying my head in the sand and look away when ugly things happen, because that is escapism. Escapism is a form of egoism - you're not going through the pain, because you focus only on your own well-being. You'd go through the pain if you'd focus on others well-being as well - this is why people who live for other people feel themselves invincible. It gives you a feeling of power, because it's no longer about you and you are exactly the person who has to get out of the way of yourself.

Think of the possibilities that you have if you are able to face pain : you can analyze the problems and make the world better. But no one can solve a problem if they can't face it in the first place.

Sometimes you have to let go of comfort in order to evolve.

 

[Alienman52]

There are plenty of extremely depressing cases out there, that's a given. Sometimes a patient's illness basically destroys their life, and it's extremely sad. How you deal with these facts of life is up to you, and some people are better at it than others. The majority of people will develop some kind of adequate coping mechanism.

Are you asking us if you should quit medicine because you haven't developed an adequate coping mechanism to deal with patient suffering? If that is your question (and perhaps it is not, and I am misunderstanding you), my answer would be that I don't think so. You'll get there. What your coping mechanism looks like is up to you.

As a side note, you could consider specialties that don't have to deal with much sadness. For example: radiology or pathology.

Perfectly well said


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[y123]

You are from Europe? Do physicians get paid a lot more than pharmacists in your country?

 

[Haybrant]

Hi

I am a Pharmacy Graduate (MPharm) and just finished my 1st year of Medical school. My results are exceptionally good (All As and Bs). However when it comes to dealing with patients and seeing the suffering they go through and the lack of help you can provide disheartens me to continue perusing medicine. Many people dont realise the shock a person can end up in after they recieve the news. Some patients end up flipping. at that pont i realized that what i was doing might not the best choice.

I worked as a pharmacist, and i enjoy the medical subjects at med school and diagnosis, but when you are face to face with a case where no treatment works and the end result is suffering and death its horribly depressing.

you can just go on working as if nothing happened. although a second year i was shocked when i saw the state of one of the patients and the way he suffered for months before passing awway.

Choose a field where you actually treat something tangible, with tangible results. Dont treat something chronic that you can only manage. That leaves you with procedural fields (surgery and a few other specialties). If you dont like those, then ya maybe time to get out. Unfortunately someone decided that non-proceduralists would be in charge of medical education so you're kind of stuck with that during med school.

Im rad onc, i love being able to cure the patient. That feeling never gets old. Few others understand a patients prognosis so you hit em with that first and change their perspective then you cure them. The results are amazing for all involved.