Thoughts on quitting medical school

[mrslackalot]

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Already in my first year I started to seriously dislike med school, and have recently been thinking about quitting altogether. I'm currently starting my second year. I would like to give some of my reasons for why I feel this way, and would love if you could give me some feedback and/or share thoughts of your own regarding some of my points.

*First off, I feel like medicine will get more boring as you progress. It feels great to learn new complex things every day, but once you're done, i feel like it's going to be assembly line-work for the rest of my life. Research is overrated, since any contribution you will make as an individual is a drop in the ocean.

*Second, in medicine you work ALL THE TIME. I'm not talking about hours, but the intensity of those hours. You have appointments and in between there's the paperwork. In other lines of work, you have a lot of breaks, time to talk to colleagues over coffee, leave the office to grab lunch, etc. It leaves you much more relaxed once you're done working, and you have more time to pursue whatever it is you like to do.

*Third, hospitals are not fun places to work. Even when you get used to body fluids and all the drama etc. (not a big deal for me really), it's still not a great environment. People are stressed and take it out on you, buildings usually not that great, etc.

*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.

*Fifth, no offense to anyone, but I don't find people in medicine that exciting. People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working. One guy was in a band, another worked on a novel, another wrote for a travel magazine, etc. In med school people study and work out and that's pretty much it. Not a diverse crowd and not really living their lives. Also, a lot of med students feel like medicine is the only thing worth doing in life, even if they hate it.

I may add some more points later on.

PS I have no debt (mentioning it since it's always an issue in these posts)

PS2! Just a note to some of the people commenting: I worked for two years after college. And it was not a position where I could procrastinate or slack. It was demanding and well paid (100K). Had prestige as well. Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. I would go back in a heartbeat, except that the position got cut back in '09 and there aren't many like it.

 

[ccmonopolies]

Already in my first year I started to seriously dislike med school, and have recently been thinking about quitting altogether. I'm currently starting my second year. I would like to give some of my reasons for why I feel this way, and would love if you could give me some feedback and/or share thoughts of your own regarding some of my points.

*First off, I feel like medicine will get more boring as you progress. It feels great to learn new complex things every day, but once you're done, i feel like it's going to be assembly line-work for the rest of my life. Research is overrated, since any contribution you will make as an individual is a drop in the ocean.

*Second, in medicine you work ALL THE TIME. I'm not talking about hours, but the intensity of those hours. You have appointments and in between there's the paperwork. In other lines of work, you have a lot of breaks, time to talk to colleagues over coffee, leave the office to grab lunch, etc. It leaves you much more relaxed once you're done working, and you have more time to pursue whatever it is you like to do.

*Third, hospitals are not fun places to work. Even when you get used to body fluids and all the drama etc. (not a big deal for me really), it's still not a great environment. People are stressed and take it out on you, buildings usually not that great, etc.

*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.

*Fifth, no offense to anyone, but I don't find people in medicine that exciting. People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working. One guy was in a band, another worked on a novel, another wrote for a travel magazine, etc. In med school people study and work out and that's pretty much it. Not a diverse crowd and not really living their lives. Also, a lot of med students feel like medicine is the only thing worth doing in life, even if they hate it.

I may add some more points later on.

PS I have no debt (mentioning it since it's always an issue in these posts)

Do you have a concrete field that you want to pursue once you leave medicine? Have you done internships in said concrete field?

Being in a band doesn't count. Unless you have your own youtube channel of course.

You will need to work medicine level hard in EVERY field to break 100k when you are working as an employee. I speak the truth.

If you want to start your own business and if you want to actually generate revenue for the business, you will not be sitting around taking coffee breaks. I speak the truth.

If you want an average job that is comfortable, it will likely not exist in the future when a recession hits and your boss decides that "hey, Joe can do what he and Jane did before by himself, he has lots of free time." It would suck to be Jane.

 

[sylvanthus]

Your vast experience in one year of medical school has taught you all of this eh? Seriously, we are not going to convince you to stay with it if you want to quit. If you don't like it, by all means get out while you can.
I could go through and try to refute every point, but quite frankly it isn't worth it.

 

[mrslackalot]

Do you have a concrete field that you want to pursue once you leave medicine? Have you done internships in said concrete field?

Being in a band doesn't count. Unless you have your own youtube channel of course.

You will need to work medicine level hard in EVERY field to break 100k when you are working as an employee. I speak truth.

Yeah, I was writing prior to entering medicine. 40K a year is guaranteed if I quit today, but that's not good enough in the long run. And to be frank, I'm not sure anything better will turn up in today's market.

Agree on medicine level hard point.

 

[ccmonopolies]

Yeah, I was writing prior to entering medicine. 40K a year is guaranteed if I quit today, but that's not good enough in the long run. And to be frank, I'm not sure anything better will turn up in today's market.

Agree on medicine level hard point.

re-read my post, I added stuff.

 

[Guillemot]

These are all legit things you said I think.

Personally, I find clinical work more enjoyable than the first half of school. I also will probably pick a specialty with a reasonable amount of free time so that I can pursue other interests outside of medicine.

Maybe you can do something similar.... Just something to think about.

 

[DrBowtie]

Go for it. You're too cool for school.

 

[Morsetlis]

Go for it. You're too cool for school.

Mean! 🙁

 

[willen101383]

OP are you some sort of n00b? Clearly have never had a job before. I hate to break it to you but EVERY JOB SUCKS. Medicine just happens to suck less and you get paid fairly well. Anyways good luck with your future career. Back to studying I go...since thats all I do.....aside from shooting various forms of weaponry from my extensive arsenal up to 3 times a week during the school year.

 

[DrBowtie]

Mean! 🙁

Why? If they don't want to finish, they dont have to.

 

[colbgw02]

*First off, I feel like medicine will get more boring as you progress. It feels great to learn new complex things every day, but once you're done, i feel like it's going to be assembly line-work for the rest of my life.

I think you will find this is true of many, if not most, professions. Things will get routine; it's just a fact of life. I feel like in medicine, one at least occasionally gets stumped. If you can find a job that continuously piques your interest AND pays the bills, then take that job and hold on for dear life.

Research is overrated, since any contribution you will make as an individual is a drop in the ocean.

I agree. It's just strange to hear this from someone who is apparently an MD/PhD student.

*Second, in medicine you work ALL THE TIME. I'm not talking about hours, but the intensity of those hours. You have appointments and in between there's the paperwork. In other lines of work, you have a lot of breaks, time to talk to colleagues over coffee, leave the office to grab lunch, etc. It leaves you much more relaxed once you're done working, and you have more time to pursue whatever it is you like to do.

*Third, hospitals are not fun places to work. Even when you get used to body fluids and all the drama etc. (not a big deal for me really), it's still not a great environment. People are stressed and take it out on you, buildings usually not that great, etc.

*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.

There's a lot of truth in this, especially at university hospitals. Regarding attidutes, private practice isn't necessarily like this. However, a lot of this is just the price of doing business. If it's not for you, then fair enough, but I don't see a way around it. We're not in the business of just doing "OK".

*Fifth, no offense to anyone, but I don't find people in medicine that exciting. People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working. One guy was in a band, another worked on a novel, another wrote for a travel magazine, etc. In med school people study and work out and that's pretty much it. Not a diverse crowd and not really living their lives. Also, a lot of med students feel like medicine is the only thing worth doing in life, even if they hate it.

Again, I think this is - at least partially - an observance of someone exposed principally to residents and other medical students. Medical school and GME are huge sacrifices, requiring us to put many outside interests on the back burner. That doesn't mean we don't return to those interests eventually, however.

PS I have no debt (mentioning it since it's always an issue in these posts)

Screw the debt, even if it were an issue. Being a physician isn't for everyone. If it's not for you, get out and don't look back. There's no need to apologize to anyone. Just don't ever start a sentence with, "I could have been a doctor, but..." at a cocktail party 20 years from now.

 

[J ROD]

Just go to law school........

 

[willen101383]

I think you will find this is true of many, if not most, professions. Things will get routine; it's just a fact of life. I feel like in medicine, one at least occasionally gets stumped. If you can find a job that continuously piques your interest AND pays the bills, then take that job and hold on for dear life.



I agree. It's just strange to hear this from someone who is apparently an MD/PhD student.



There's a lot of truth in this, especially at university hospitals. Regarding attidutes, private practice isn't necessarily like this. However, a lot of this is just the price of doing business. If it's not for you, then fair enough, but I don't see a way around it. We're not in the business of just doing "OK".



Again, I think this is - at least partially - an observance of someone exposed principally to residents and other medical students. Medical school and GME are huge sacrifices, requiring us to put many outside interests on the back burner. That doesn't mean we don't return to those interests eventually, however.



Screw the debt, even if it were an issue. Being a physician isn't for everyone. If it's not for you, get out and don't look back. There's no need to apologize to anyone. Just don't ever start a sentence with, "I could have been a doctor, but..." at a cocktail party 20 years from now.

THIS THIS THIS. Bc no matter what you say everyone is going to just assume you failed out even if you were AOA. Funny how many "I could have gone to med school but..." sayers there are out there in the population. Ive come across this quite frequently. Usually its like "oh I was going to go to med school but (insert dumb easily overcome-able thing like "i dont like blood/feces/bile/semen"). Sure buddy alright!

 

[rigid]

Did you seriously not think about these things before you started medicine? Geez i can only feel sorry for the person who really wanted to do medicine and wasn't able to because you took their spot.

Also not all avenues of medicine have the negatives you speak of. You could easily become a head in pharmaceuticals and have all the coffee breaks and biscuits you want.

 

[NickNaylor]

OP are you some sort of n00b? Clearly have never had a job before. I hate to break it to you but EVERY JOB SUCKS.

This concept really is lost on people that have never had a real job. OP, none of those complaints is really all that unique to medicine. Every job is going to become routine, in every job you're going to be expected to work while you're at work, cubicles aren't fun places to work, you're certainly not going to keep your job if you consistently suck, and almost every field is going to become boring at some point.

Sure, medicine is no doubt unique in some ways and more difficult/demanding than the average job, but the roots of your complaints are going to be found in almost every job.

 

[willen101383]

This concept really is lost on people that have never had a real job. OP, none of those complaints is really all that unique to medicine. Every job is going to become routine, in every job you're going to be expected to work while you're at work, cubicles aren't fun places to work, you're certainly not going to keep your job if you consistently suck, and almost every field is going to become boring at some point.

Sure, medicine is no doubt unique in some ways and more difficult/demanding than the average job, but the roots of your complaints are going to be found in almost every job.

For every student that does well coming right from undergrad to med school without any gaps and is humble and what not....17 more have no clue what its like working and act like a bunch of entitled babies. This is why everytime I read a thread where people get all anxious about the fact that they have a gap year; I advocate taking that year (or more). When you grow as a person and work full time like an adult it really gives you a TON of perspective on how lucky you really are to have gotten into med school.

 

[RapplixGmed]

You basically are saying that you want a job that will:
1) entertain you continuously
2) have an easy and relaxed lifestyle
3) be able to work in a very pretty building and have a hot secretary
4) get by with medicre performance
5) be surrounded by people you find "interesting"

Not to be mean but what have you accomplished that makes you think you deserve all this at this point in your life? If you think you can easily get that in another field, then you have already made your decision . Remember as a MD/PhD the school or NIH is paying you the income equivalent of 50-80k per year (more like 70 to 100+K if you consider that scholarships are untaxed) to become a medical researcher. Your PhD is a waste of their money and your time if you don't intend on doing research. If there is really any doubt, withdraw.

 

[mrslackalot]

To all the people commenting on my lack of work experience:

I worked for two years after college. And it was not a position where I could procrastinate or slack. It was demanding and well paid (100K). Had prestige as well. Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. I would go back in a heartbeat, except that the position got cut back in '09 and there aren't many like it.

 

[Jack is Back]

This concept really is lost on people that have never had a real job. OP, none of those complaints is really all that unique to medicine. Every job is going to become routine, in every job you're going to be expected to work while you're at work, cubicles aren't fun places to work, you're certainly not going to keep your job if you consistently suck, and almost every field is going to become boring at some point.

Sure, medicine is no doubt unique in some ways and more difficult/demanding than the average job, but the roots of your complaints are going to be found in almost every job.

Agreed.

Most traditional students haven't had difficult full time jobs, they just know the freedom and ease of college. Med school is closer to a really difficult full time job.

The grass isn't greener bro. But honestly, out of all the stuff you said, what was the surprise. I think about 3 hours of research on SDN or a sitdown with a few docs could have told you all "challenges" of this field.

Most everything is hard. Find a lifestyle specialty if you stick around and you'll be fine.

 

[Jack is Back]

To all the people commenting on my lack of work experience:

I worked for two years after college. And it was not a position where I could procrastinate or slack. It was demanding and well paid (100K). Had prestige as well. Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. I would go back in a heartbeat, except that the position got cut back in '09 and there aren't many like it.

Again, you can't compare a job like that to medicine. Medicine is a guaranteed job for life. Which does mean you will have to work hard, but I can't imagine this was a surprise for you.

 

[thepoopologist]

To all the people commenting on my lack of work experience:

I worked for two years after college. And it was not a position where I could procrastinate or slack. It was demanding and well paid (100K). Had prestige as well. Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. I would go back in a heartbeat, except that the position got cut back in '09 and there aren't many like it.

Take a leave of absence if it bothers you so much. You'll have a year to mull it over.

Becoming a physician takes a long time, and you can do a lot in that time if you've got the balls and resources for it. It's ultimately up to you.

 

[colbgw02]

To all the people commenting on my lack of work experience:

I worked for two years after college. And it was not a position where I could procrastinate or slack. It was demanding and well paid (100K). Had prestige as well. Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. I would go back in a heartbeat, except that the position got cut back in '09 and there aren't many like it.

Were you a real estate agent, perchance?

 

[mrslackalot]

Were you a real estate agent, perchance?

Correspondent, major newspaper.

 

[miui]

People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working.

Having some "exciting" things going on does not depend on your major, it depends solely on you and the people you hang around with. Heck, I was a "premed" once, and by all means I found time for these so-called "exciting" things. So just because you are a premed, it doesn't mean you can't exactly have fun and simply find time for yourself, it's all in time management.<br><br>Also, who says you can't hang out with people outside of your field? I still keep in contact and even go out sometimes with friends that pursued other majors.<br><br>I understand what you mean, it takes some adjusting to this work/lifestyle and trying to balance the two, but it's not impossible.<br>

 

[Jack is Back]

.

 

[Jack is Back]

Oh, and all I do is workout, study, socialize, and watch sports.

And I love this ****. Throw in a skill set that will allow me to serve individuals in need, provide me an excellent and stable income, well that makes it all worth it.

It seems like you want an easier job and somehow entered medicine with the misconception that it was a 40 hr a week job.

 

[colbgw02]

Correspondent, major newspaper.

Was it anything like the last season of The Wire?

 

[giantswing]

To all the people commenting on my lack of work experience:

I worked for two years after college. And it was not a position where I could procrastinate or slack. It was demanding and well paid (100K). Had prestige as well. Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. I would go back in a heartbeat, except that the position got cut back in '09 and there aren't many like it.

For serious? I worked after college too, for longer than two years, and it was not a cake job like that at all. Thing is, jobs like that don't exist cuz they see people like you taking an hour off getting paid to "do whatever you like." Maybe if you worked once and a while your position wouldn't have gotten cut. This really makes me mad when I see interviewees filtering through, and all I can think is how glad/grateful/lucky I am to be in medical school, versus working the horrid, thankless, low paying long hour job I had before.
Sure, quit med school, but good luck finding a nice job like that again, or any decent paying job with benefits. Hell, there are so many people who are unemployed that would kill to find a job that would pay half so much with twice the work.
Suck it up. Or grow up.
ETA: Oh, and yeah as a doc your expected to do well, better than "okay". If you don't like that then GTFO cuz I don't want you anywhere me or even my dog with a sharp object or Rx.

 

[mrslackalot]

Was it anything like the last season of The Wire?

Hah! As the rest of the series, it was actually pretty accurate. Though I don't remember how that season ended, was the paper shut down? My old paper is still doing (relatively) good.

 

[michaelrack]

Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. .

that describes my current position, except for the (while getting paid) part. Seriously, I have a lot of freedom, but I am not making much $ when I am not reading sleep studies.

 

[NancyNancy]

Join the American Medical Women's Association . You will meet other medical students there. Go over the reasons you joined medical school in the first place. If you are an MD Phd student , is your wanting to quit, because you are more science oriented and want to pursue a pure science field instead?

Make informed opinions. There are many stories about people who dropped out from one field only to make a mark in another. And then there are stories about those who nearly dropped out of medical /law or whatever school , only to have stayed and made a mark too!

You may not be alone - you just need to meet others like you. I think you should stay the course. 🙂

 

[tiedyeddog]

Kinda having trouble figuring out why OP decided on medicine in the first place? Even worse, you're a mud phud? How did you become a mud phud without getting a pretty good look at what medicine is like?

 

[mrslackalot]

Kinda having trouble figuring out why OP decided on medicine in the first place? Even worse, you're a mud phud? How did you become a mud phud without getting a pretty good look at what medicine is like?

I registered in a hurry, just an MD student here.

Decided because I've always been drawn to it. Dad is a doctor, though no pressure there. It's an interesting field, and I still feel that way about it. I'm ok with it when I'm studying, but there are all those other things - some of them are mentioned in the first post.

A fresh cup of coffee and a neurology book on a crisp winter morning is awesome. I love learning. The prospect of seeing flu patients or pushing one of four MS drugs that hardly does anything, not so much.

 

[rigid]

I find it REALLY hard to believe you are only dawning on these realisations into 2nd year when your father is a doctor.

 

[mrslackalot]

I find it REALLY hard to believe you are only dawning on these realisations into 2nd year when your father is a doctor.

Haven't seen him in 15 years.

 

[steveo1012]

Most things pertinent to your post have already been said, but I'm calling total BS on you making 100K in 2 years out of college as a correspondent at a "major newspaper." You certainly don't start there, and you weren't in long enough to see that kind of money. And by chance you did, why on earth did you give it up??

 

[bucks2010]

This concept really is lost on people that have never had a real job. OP, none of those complaints is really all that unique to medicine. Every job is going to become routine, in every job you're going to be expected to work while you're at work, cubicles aren't fun places to work, you're certainly not going to keep your job if you consistently suck, and almost every field is going to become boring at some point.

Sure, medicine is no doubt unique in some ways and more difficult/demanding than the average job, but the roots of your complaints are going to be found in almost every job.

For every student that does well coming right from undergrad to med school without any gaps and is humble and what not....17 more have no clue what its like working and act like a bunch of entitled babies. This is why everytime I read a thread where people get all anxious about the fact that they have a gap year; I advocate taking that year (or more). When you grow as a person and work full time like an adult it really gives you a TON of perspective on how lucky you really are to have gotten into med school.

Agreed.

Most traditional students haven't had difficult full time jobs, they just know the freedom and ease of college. Med school is closer to a really difficult full time job.

The grass isn't greener bro. But honestly, out of all the stuff you said, what was the surprise. I think about 3 hours of research on SDN or a sitdown with a few docs could have told you all "challenges" of this field.

Most everything is hard. Find a lifestyle specialty if you stick around and you'll be fine.

For serious? I worked after college too, for longer than two years, and it was not a cake job like that at all. Thing is, jobs like that don't exist cuz they see people like you taking an hour off getting paid to "do whatever you like." Maybe if you worked once and a while your position wouldn't have gotten cut. This really makes me mad when I see interviewees filtering through, and all I can think is how glad/grateful/lucky I am to be in medical school, versus working the horrid, thankless, low paying long hour job I had before.
Sure, quit med school, but good luck finding a nice job like that again, or any decent paying job with benefits. Hell, there are so many people who are unemployed that would kill to find a job that would pay half so much with twice the work.
Suck it up. Or grow up.
ETA: Oh, and yeah as a doc your expected to do well, better than "okay". If you don't like that then GTFO cuz I don't want you anywhere me or even my dog with a sharp object or Rx.

QFT

signed,
workingFTduringgapyear

 

[mrslackalot]

QUOTE: Most things pertinent to your post have already been said, but I'm calling total BS on you making 100K in 2 years out of college as a correspondent at a "major newspaper." You certainly don't start there, and you weren't in long enough to see that kind of money. And by chance you did, why on earth did you give it up??


I was editor-in-chief in college, did internships every summer, got good recs. 100K is including overtime, which was plenty. Quit because all the major papers were downsizing (still are), saw no challenge in the smaller ones. Though maybe I should have thought it through a little better...

Correction: I didn't quit, my contract was not renewed

 

[steveo1012]

I did not intend for my post to be abrasive, so I apologize if it came off that way. My point was just to make it clear that that is not typical money right out of college. I've read plenty of posts on here from traditional med students without work experience that think everything besides medicine pays wonderfully, is 9-5, stable, and a cake walk. It's just not the case. It seems like you get that. Perhaps you could leverage your experience for a similar online publication?? Certainly plenty of those around these days. Best of luck to you.

 

[Salient]

I registered in a hurry, just an MD student here.

Decided because I've always been drawn to it. Dad is a doctor, though no pressure there. It's an interesting field, and I still feel that way about it. I'm ok with it when I'm studying, but there are all those other things - some of them are mentioned in the first post.

A fresh cup of coffee and a neurology book on a crisp winter morning is awesome. I love learning. The prospect of seeing flu patients or pushing one of four MS drugs that hardly does anything, not so much.

Radiology?

 

[KaplanKrackers]

Quit and go straight for the PhD with no MD. That's what I'm doing, although I made the choice before going to medical school. But with no debt you're pretty much in the same spot.

I think I am similar to you in that I love learning, and being intellectually stimulated. You get to do that with a PhD. Just find an area that you're really interested in, and even if your contribution is a drop in the ocean, you'll still enjoy what you do. Plus, there's always the possibility that you will make a major contribution, you never know. The money may not be great, but you can go into industry, rise up the management chain, and find money there if you really want that.

If you're smart and you find the right advisor, you can have a pretty decent life as a grad student too.

 

[officedepot]

you're MD/PHD? dude, people like you take up spots for those who would actually enjoy it or make something of it.

just quit now and save yourself the time if that's what you really want. Your past work experience should help you land a job somewhere.

And I actually agree with a lot of your post about breaks and hard work, etc. But it is what it is. There are fields out there that are less demanding fyi. Outpatient medicine is not so bad. path. etc. Stick to private practice and you won't be as stressed as you might think. 3rd year will be rough but you'll survive.

 

[NancyNancy]

Medicine needs scientists too, to find cures , to go that extra mile in search of exact etiologies /pathophysiology like ALS,Multiple Sclerosis,Alzheimer's,Parkinson's. You could make a difference someday.

Talk to MD,s and PhD's in neuroscience or whatever field you are drawn to.Each group often wish they had that extra edge of the other. You really need to talk to others like you. Medicine is v vast , and has so many options after you train well. Dont quit . A bird in hand is worth two in the bush .

Read Bradley's book ''Brain -what the best doctors know''. There is so much disease out there , waiting for a cure - for bright minds, perhaps an MD-PhD of the next generation to find it. Cheer up and get back on track !🙂

 

[DrCoffeeBean]

Well, medicine does require a lot from you, it offers long hard working hours, stressed out colleagues and years of studying. But dont forget the rewards either. It is what it is, and you either accept it and get on with it, or you don't accept it and go find something else.

 

[seelee]

Most of the good advice has been stated. This is the sage advice I am going to give you.

"All jobs have parts that suck. What you have to figure out is what sucky parts can you tolerate best".

I have a friend who is an anesthesiology resident. Prior to medical school he was..get this...a fighter pilot in the Air Force. He literally had the coolest job that there is, and it, like everything else, became routine and boring. He said that he decided to go to medical school because he got tired of sitting around all the time and flying only one mission a week.

The point is that the sucky parts of medicine were more tolerable to him than the sucky parts of flying planes.

Another thing you have not considered is that there are many, MANY different fields within medicine, and a few alternate career paths that are accessible with an MD degree. Each of these differ in lifestyle, compensation, patient contact, day to day routine, etc. You shouldn't paint "medicine" with such a broad brush. There may be a particular field that you find you are more suited too.

Bottomline: If you hate it that much, then quit. If you really can't stand it then you are doing yourself a disservice to try and force yourself into a career that you don't like. On the other hand, I doubt you really know what medicine is like. There is a huge difference between 2nd and third year, and maybe you need to wait until then to make a final decision.

Alternatively, you could take a LOA and try to figure your **** out.

 

[shadowfox87]

Already in my first year I started to seriously dislike med school, and have recently been thinking about quitting altogether. I'm currently starting my second year. I would like to give some of my reasons for why I feel this way, and would love if you could give me some feedback and/or share thoughts of your own regarding some of my points.

*First off, I feel like medicine will get more boring as you progress. It feels great to learn new complex things every day, but once you're done, i feel like it's going to be assembly line-work for the rest of my life. Research is overrated, since any contribution you will make as an individual is a drop in the ocean.

*Second, in medicine you work ALL THE TIME. I'm not talking about hours, but the intensity of those hours. You have appointments and in between there's the paperwork. In other lines of work, you have a lot of breaks, time to talk to colleagues over coffee, leave the office to grab lunch, etc. It leaves you much more relaxed once you're done working, and you have more time to pursue whatever it is you like to do.

*Third, hospitals are not fun places to work. Even when you get used to body fluids and all the drama etc. (not a big deal for me really), it's still not a great environment. People are stressed and take it out on you, buildings usually not that great, etc.

*Fourth, you're expected to do very well in every situation. And anything below that is not good enough. In other lines of work, doing ok is the equivalent of very well in medicine. And if you actually do very well, you will get rewarded. Don't know if this one makes sense.

*Fifth, no offense to anyone, but I don't find people in medicine that exciting. People that did other majors than pre-med in college, always had some exciting things going on, and still do now that they're working. One guy was in a band, another worked on a novel, another wrote for a travel magazine, etc. In med school people study and work out and that's pretty much it. Not a diverse crowd and not really living their lives. Also, a lot of med students feel like medicine is the only thing worth doing in life, even if they hate it.

I may add some more points later on.

PS I have no debt (mentioning it since it's always an issue in these posts)

PS2! Just a note to some of the people commenting: I worked for two years after college. And it was not a position where I could procrastinate or slack. It was demanding and well paid (100K). Had prestige as well. Yet, there was always time for a break, always time to grab lunch out of the office, always 30-60 minutes here and there where you could do nothing but wait (while getting paid) and do whatever you liked. I would go back in a heartbeat, except that the position got cut back in '09 and there aren't many like it.

1. That's true, but most jobs do have an assembly-line component. You will have some opportunities to be creative though depending on your specialty and other factors.
2. I don't know about you, but I enjoy being busy. Again, this depends on you and the specialty that you pick, but I still plan to have time with family and I feel like I have deserved my relaxation at the end of the day. Hobbies can be pursued, it's just a matter of time management.
3. In what environment in a job don't you have stress? You will be classically conditioned to hate the place where you work.
4. Yes, the standard of care is very high and malpractice cases happen all the time. This is one of the risks that come with the package. Pick your specialty wisely again. As for being rewarded, that's its own sense of satisfaction after you help someone.
5. That's a pretty big assumption. If you were to find out about everyone's background in med school, they all have some exciting hobbies, but they are temporarily limited to pursue them. This doesn't mean they are boring people. You gotta do what you gotta do.

The only reason I replied is b/c I myself have contemplated quitting med school since I have a passion for something else, but I'm too far in and I just want to finish now.

 

[clifftacopter]

Please get out. I personally love medical school, and even when really stressed out, I get a tremendous sense of satisfaction and enjoyment from what I'm doing/learning. There are people clamoring to get into your position (especially as an MD/PhD). Let them have a shot if your heart is not in it.

Also, maybe you just need to find better friends. At least at my school, there are students with tons of really cool and diverse interests (that they still do, no less!).Your broad assertion about med student personalities is pretty baseless.

 

[JLum]

Work sucks, outside of dentistry. 😀
But really, the economy sucks, and being a doctor will allow you many opportunities. People would kill to be in your shoes; stick it out and find your happiness outside the classroom for the next few years, or quit.

Best of Luck

 

[Bartelby]

Just putting this out there: I felt a lot like you in my first year. Now I'm in my fourth year and I'm actually quite happy. I have found a field I like and even the things I didn't like about medicine in general are starting to grow on me as I keep learning. I have also given up a lot of things I loved like traveling and I feel like medicine has taken up most of my time and energy for the past several years, drawing me away from developing other interests.

Would I be happier if I had quit? Will my having continued make me happier ten or twenty years from now? Honestly I don't think anyone going through the decision you are making now can know, but I think your view (and my old view) is heavily negative and unrealistic.

My advice would be to stick it out. Also consider whether you are depressed and whether anything is contributing to that (substance abuse, lack of exercise, lack of social support, etc.). Whatever you decide follow through and don't look back, obsessing over hypethetical alternate life paths sounds like a recipe for feeling crappy about yourself.

 

[Beta Cell]

This concept really is lost on people that have never had a real job. OP, none of those complaints is really all that unique to medicine. Every job is going to become routine, in every job you're going to be expected to work while you're at work, cubicles aren't fun places to work, you're certainly not going to keep your job if you consistently suck, and almost every field is going to become boring at some point.

Sure, medicine is no doubt unique in some ways and more difficult/demanding than the average job, but the roots of your complaints are going to be found in almost every job.

This.