Unsure about being Premed

[s432000]

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

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[Kardio]

"I couldn't see myself doing anything else." It's become a somewhat trite expression, but true for me.

 

[M&L]

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

my friend was dying from cancer and i could not help him. And i felt so angry at myself, and so helpless. After he died i started medical school prereqs.

 

[KnightDoc]

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

The serious, honest answer is that you really have to have an honest conversation with yourself, and try to figure out whether or not you really love it. If so, the answer will be obvious. If not, while the attractions are obvious (money, prestige and job stability), there are far easier ways for a smart young person to make way more money.

Making it as far as you have indicates you have what it takes to be successful in many different fields. Your doubts are either the result of the imposter syndrome many of us suffer from, or an early indication that, now that you have proven you CAN do it, maybe it's not for you. I'm just a premed like you, but I have wanted to do it since I was a kid, and nothing else has spoken to me yet, so I am fully committed to going forward, although I haven't spent several gap years confirming my decision.

 

[stickgirl390]

Med school is extremely challenging, and the career is definitely a calling. I feel like these forums like to focus on the rigor of education required to enter the profession, but few talk about what it means to be a physician. As an MS3, I’ve had the chance to observe many doctors across almost every field, all of which are equally smart and passed the same boards. At the end of the day, those that treat the patient as a person, and not as their disease, are the ones that I feel “belong” in medicine. You have to truly desire helping people from every background you can think of; it isn’t just about being good at passing science tests.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I tried to do other things, and I kept feeling the pull to medicine. Eventually I realized it wasn’t going away, and that’s when I decided I needed to follow it.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Take a job as a CNA. I did. You will learn how a hospital works. You will take care of patients when they are vulnerable. You will bathe them, brush dentures, clean them if they are soiled, feed them, etc.. You will make a difference by offering smiles, kind words, or just making them feel better with with fresh clothes and linen. Sick people are often crabby and depressed. See if you like being around them. Get an idea of what it's like to serve those less fortunate. It might help you decide.

 

[jhmmd]

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

This sounds like a secondary question lol

 

[Bored_Conscious]

1. I got a chronic illness and wanted to be able to spread the same kind of empowerment that I obtained through proper treatment and care from a physician.

2. Started working a healthcare job and unlike all the other **** retail jobs I had, I actually didn't mind waking up at 6:00 a.m. to go work. I remember waking up at 9:00 a.m. to go work at the GAP and man...8 hours felt like an eternity.

 

[PhillyMed777]

If you are unsure at this point, absolutely do not go until the feeling consistently and entirely subsides (if it does that is). If the length of training scares you now, the fear and resentment will only amplify. For me it really started setting in PGY2 year, when it was clear that my buddies were doing very well and leaving me in the dust.

 

[Bored_Conscious]

1. I got a chronic illness and wanted to be able to spread the same kind of empowerment that I obtained through proper treatment and care from a physician.

2. Started working a healthcare job and unlike all the other **** retail jobs I had, I actually didn't mind waking up at 6:00 a.m. to go work. I remember waking up at 9:00 a.m. to go work at the GAP and man...8 hours felt like an eternity.

@jhmmd what's up with the reaction? Did you not think my response as appropriate?

 

[s432000]

I really appreciate all the answers! I realized that it's not that I’m unsure about being premed, but it’s just me kind of on a roller coaster ride regarding motivation since COVID started. It’s not that I’m unmotivated due to the difficultly of my classes, but I’m just tired of learning through a computer screen. I have made it this far, and I’ve been working on getting a patient care tech position that I hope to start working this upcoming January and during my planned gap year. I have decided to continue being premed and to continue building on my weaknesses and strengths. Thanks to everyone who contributed and feel free to post what motivated you to pursue medicine if you’d like!

 

[longhaul3]

The serious, honest answer is that you really have to have an honest conversation with yourself, and try to figure out whether or not you really love it. If so, the answer will be obvious. If not, while the attractions are obvious (money, prestige and job stability), there are far easier ways for a smart young person to make way more money.

Making it as far as you have indicates you have what it takes to be successful in many different fields. Your doubts are either the result of the imposter syndrome many of us suffer from, or an early indication that, now that you have proven you CAN do it, maybe it's not for you. I'm just a premed like you, but I have wanted to do it since I was a kid, and nothing else has spoken to me yet, so I am fully committed to going forward, although I haven't spent several gap years confirming my decision.

I disagree that there are far easier ways for a smart young person to make way more money. There are not really many realistic ways to make more money than a well paid physician, period, and I doubt they're easier. Other common pathways for smart young people, like tech, finance, business, law, etc. are not necessarily easier and don't necessarily pay better.

Med school is extremely challenging, and the career is definitely a calling. I feel like these forums like to focus on the rigor of education required to enter the profession, but few talk about what it means to be a physician. As an MS3, I’ve had the chance to observe many doctors across almost every field, all of which are equally smart and passed the same boards. At the end of the day, those that treat the patient as a person, and not as their disease, are the ones that I feel “belong” in medicine. You have to truly desire helping people from every background you can think of; it isn’t just about being good at passing science tests.

I doubt that all of the doctors you've seen are equally smart. Passing board exams is the bare minimum requirement. I'd say there's a pretty wide variation in the intelligence of physicians, and there's definitely a wide range in the of rigor in residency training. Being caring and treating the patient as a person is not enough to be a good doctor. You're right that it's not just about being a good test-taker, but there's more to it than wanting to patients.

There are plenty of doctors who people would say generally treat disease rather than the patient. It's not a bad thing. Trauma patients are often GCS 3, undifferentiated, near death. Same goes for someone coming in with a left main STEMI or nec fasc in extremis. It doesn't really matter who they are as a person unless we know they don't want life-saving intervention. We treat the disease and hope we can meet the patient as a person if he/she wakes up. It's hard to say that doesn't "belong" in medicine.

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

I would also suggest branching out from psychiatry because it's too unique of a basket to put all your shadowing eggs in. Someone who has only shadowed a psychiatrist would come out with a distinctly incomplete understanding of medicine (through no fault of shadower or shadowee, but still).

 

[s432000]

I tried to do other things, and I kept feeling the pull to medicine. Eventually I realized it wasn’t going away, and that’s when I decided I needed to follow it.

I see that you are/were in Navy and I’ve been extremely interested in military medicine due to my desire to serve. It’s not on the top of my mind right now because I want to focus on undergrad right now. However, the majority of posts on SDN regarding military medicine have been negative and I was curious what your experience with the Navy was?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I see that you are/were in Navy and I’ve been extremely interested in military medicine due to my desire to serve. It’s not on the top of my mind right now because I want to focus on undergrad right now. However, the majority of posts on SDN regarding military medicine have been negative and I was curious what your experience with the Navy was?

Keep in mind that people are more likely to complain than they are to talk about positive experiences. There are definitely downsides to military medicine, but I have overall had a great time in the Navy for the past 8 years. As someone who was enlisted first, I might have a different perspective from someone just joining through HPSP with no prior experience.

But I don’t want to derail the thread. If you want to know more about my thoughts, feel free to shoot me a PM.

edit: I forgot this is your thread. If you want more details, just let me know and I’ll post a longer post about it.

 

[s432000]

I disagree that there are far easier ways for a smart young person to make way more money. There are not really many realistic ways to make more money than a well paid physician, period, and I doubt they're easier. Other common pathways for smart young people, like tech, finance, business, law, etc. are not necessarily easier and don't necessarily pay better.


I doubt that all of the doctors you've seen are equally smart. Passing board exams is the bare minimum requirement. I'd say there's a pretty wide variation in the intelligence of physicians, and there's definitely a wide range in the of rigor in residency training. Being caring and treating the patient as a person is not enough to be a good doctor. You're right that it's not just about being a good test-taker, but there's more to it than wanting to patients.

There are plenty of doctors who people would say generally treat disease rather than the patient. It's not a bad thing. Trauma patients are often GCS 3, undifferentiated, near death. Same goes for someone coming in with a left main STEMI or nec fasc in extremis. It doesn't really matter who they are as a person unless we know they don't want life-saving intervention. We treat the disease and hope we can meet the patient as a person if he/she wakes up. It's hard to say that doesn't "belong" in medicine.


I would also suggest branching out from psychiatry because it's too unique of a basket to put all your shadowing eggs in. Someone who has only shadowed a psychiatrist would come out with a distinctly incomplete understanding of medicine (through no fault of shadower or shadowee, but still).

Thanks for the advice! I’ve only been able to shadow a psychiatrist in this environment because every other doctor I’ve asked has asked me to email them around January due to COVID spikes but I’m definitely planning on shadowing other specialties when I get the chance

 

[KnightDoc]

I disagree that there are far easier ways for a smart young person to make way more money. There are not really many realistic ways to make more money than a well paid physician, period, and I doubt they're easier. Other common pathways for smart young people, like tech, finance, business, law, etc. are not necessarily easier and don't necessarily pay better.

If you say so. None of the examples you provided require 7+ years additional school/training, impose the opportunity costs of not only having to pay for an education (other than MBA/JD, which are both shorter than MD), but losing income during school/residency, and, quite frankly, have higher upsides. Maybe not as compared to the person who is going to go on to run a drug company or a hospital chain, but compared to many of us who are going to go into practice working for someone else, many in primary care, or into academics.

I'm not a huge JD fan, but finance, tech, consulting, etc. are all significantly easier and often more lucrative than MD. I'm not talking about the hours, which are pretty intense anywhere when good money is involved, but the training necessary to get to the point of making money. Computer folks right out of UG make significantly more than residents will after spending around $400K to pick up the required MD. That's way easier in my book. Same for Wall Street or consulting, with or without the MBA. If you don't agree, we'll just have to agree to disagree, but I'm pretty sure most people, both in and out of medicine, would agree with me.

Medicine is a calling that can be lucrative. For people who don't hear the calling, it's a grind that often leads to regret and burnout, especially since there are more lucrative fields with significantly lower bars to entry, particularly for people smart enough and driven enough to be accepted to med school.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

If you say so. None of the examples you provided require 7+ years additional school/training, impose the opportunity costs of not only having to pay for an education (other than MBA/JD, which are both shorter than MD), but losing income during school/residency, and, quite frankly, have higher upsides.

I'm not a huge JD fan, but finance, tech, consulting, etc. are all significantly easier and often more lucrative than MD. I'm not talking about the hours, which are pretty intense anywhere when good money is involved, but the training necessary to get to the point of making money. Computer folks right out of UG make significantly more than residents will after spending around $400K to pick up the required MD. That's way easier in my book. Same for Wall Street or consulting, with or without the MBA. If you don't agree, we'll just have to agree to disagree, but I'm pretty sure most people, both in and out of medicine, would agree with me.

Medicine is a calling that can be lucrative. For people who don't hear the calling, it's a grind that often leads to regret and burnout, especially since there are more lucrative fields with significantly lower bars to entry, particularly for people smart enough and driven enough to be accepted to med school.

Do you have experience in these fields? The only people I ever see saying this are premeds/med students/physicians. I’ve yet to meet anyone actually in these fields say it’s much easier and more lucrative.

 

[KnightDoc]

Do you have experience in these fields? The only people I ever see saying this are premeds/med students/physicians. I’ve yet to meet anyone actually in these fields say it’s much easier and more lucrative.

Personally, no. But I have friends already making good money in tech and consulting, and my family knows many people, both in and out of medicine. As I said, anyone with a good job is working their butt off, but my friends who graduated two years ago working in tech, aerospace, Wall Street, etc. are all making $100K+ NOW, not $50K+ four years from graduation and several hundred thousands of dollars in debt. Easier way to make more money. Many of them will go on to great things, others won't. Just like us.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Personally, no. But I have friends already making good money in tech and consulting, and my family knows many people, both in and out of medicine. As I said, anyone with a good job is working their butt off, but my friends who graduated two years ago working in tech, aerospace, Wall Street, etc. are all making $100K+ NOW, not $50K+ four years from graduation and several hundred thousands of dollars in debt. Easier way to make more money. Many of them will go on to great things, others won't. Just like us.

Those professions are not as stable and guaranteed. Also you can easily make 3-4 times that as a physician, which is basically guaranteed unless you choose to do something less lucrative. It isn’t difficult to pay off your loans quickly and then build wealth, and you will easily pass them even though they started making money earlier.

 

[longhaul3]

If you say so. None of the examples you provided require 7+ years additional school/training, impose the opportunity costs of not only having to pay for an education (other than MBA/JD, which are both shorter than MD), but losing income during school/residency, and, quite frankly, have higher upsides. Maybe not as compared to the person who is going to go on to run a drug company or a hospital chain, but compared to many of us who are going to go into practice working for someone else, many in primary care, or into academics.

I'm not a huge JD fan, but finance, tech, consulting, etc. are all significantly easier and often more lucrative than MD. I'm not talking about the hours, which are pretty intense anywhere when good money is involved, but the training necessary to get to the point of making money. Computer folks right out of UG make significantly more than residents will after spending around $400K to pick up the required MD. That's way easier in my book. Same for Wall Street or consulting, with or without the MBA. If you don't agree, we'll just have to agree to disagree, but I'm pretty sure most people, both in and out of medicine, would agree with me.

Medicine is a calling that can be lucrative. For people who don't hear the calling, it's a grind that often leads to regret and burnout, especially since there are more lucrative fields with significantly lower bars to entry, particularly for people smart enough and driven enough to be accepted to med school.

Personally, no. But I have friends already making good money in tech and consulting, and my family knows many people, both in and out of medicine. As I said, anyone with a good job is working their butt off, but my friends who graduated two years ago working in tech, aerospace, Wall Street, etc. are all making $100K+ NOW, not $50K+ four years from graduation and several hundred thousands of dollars in debt. Easier way to make more money. Many of them will go on to great things, others won't. Just like us.

$100k+ is not comparable to a physician's salary. I acknowledge there is a great cost in terms of tuition and lost salary associated with medical training, but they will probably be making about the same when they reach mid-career, while an attending physician will make several times more than that for an entire career. Furthermore, the more lucrative firms and industries have up-or-out structures and nothing is guaranteed.

It is also not easy to get those jobs with blue-chip firms. There are a handful of companies in a handful of industries that pay as well as medicine. Entry into those fields is generally less meritocratic than admission to medicine, and those doors are closed to a lot of people. Not everyone who wants to go to medical school, or even everyone who gets into medical school, could get a job in those industries, which is why I disagree that it's easier. (I don't really care how much they work, I will never say that the work itself in any other field is as rigorous. Edit: that's not true, there are a number of jobs in medicine that are relatively easy.)

So that's why I disagree on both counts that there are more lucrative fields with significantly lower bars to entry.

 

[Bloobury]

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

Date around before you get married. What interests you about medicine? What concerns you? What other things do you find fun and fulfilling? What do you value?

Do you crave stability (and if so, what kind)? Medicine offers financial stability - but only after a lot of instability (moving around, uncertainty about where you'll match, what speciality you'll enter, where you'll find a job after, with a big pile of loans to pay off). Does your desire to "help people" extend to a non-clinical field? (I personally found that bartending at a small craft brewery satisfied some of my urge to help/serve - being an "expert" who's able to help give people the beer experience they want while making GREAT money; I also loved working a gig where I helped kids learn outdoorsy things... but at the end of the day, I felt underutilized and wanted to use my big ole' sciency brain to help people on a whole different level, that involves solving tough puzzles and occasionally stabbing people with sharp instruments).

When you're in school, you can't really fathom what it's like to work 8-5 in a cubicle, staring at a computer with no human interaction. For some people, that might be heaven. For others, it's a living hell. Do you want a job where you can work from home and take days off whenever you want? Do you value work/life balance? Do you need to be constantly challenged/learning, or do you want a job where you can settle in and skate by without needing to work your ass off all the time? Figuring out these things is hard, and I think for a lot of people it only comes through experience or close exposure. Think about what interests you about Psychiatry, medicine, and other things you find fascinating and look for those elements in other jobs/careers. That will give you a starting point for considering the pros and cons of some of the infinite paths available to you.

And remember, you don't have to have it all figured out right now!

 

[MD.Loading]

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

Well for one I encourage you to shadow As much as possible! The discipline I'm interested in now wasnt even on my radar until someone invited me to shadow and now I'm so intrigued! So please please do ample shadowing with all types of specialties and diversity so shadow some in hospital, shadow some with their own practices, shadow some with partners so you really know all the possibilities. But as far as solidifying that I want to put myself through this, I have a very specific and deep passion. As an African american, I have witnessed many of my family members struggle with illness for many reasons such as ignorance, lack of access to health care and insurance and I've seen my family ravaged by debilitating diseases so I wanted to make myself apart of the solution for all of course but I have a specific desire to give back to my community (African american) and to other disadvantaged communities. And I have done research on stats of minority women with issues during pregnancy and even infertility and I want to be apart of that journey with them so I am interested in ob/gyn and infertility and endocrinology.

 

[getknittywithit]

I've actually have pretty decent stats overall, and I've made it through most of the weed-out classes like organic chemistry and I've also been on an upward GPA trend. However, I am unsure whether or not I actually want to pursue medicine. I've been fortunate enough to shadow a psychiatrist these past few weeks and while I find medicine extremely interesting, I'm not sure if I would like to spend another 7+ years in order to make a stable income. I'm sort of curious, what solidified your decision to pursue medicine? Thanks in advance!

I would say if you're unsure don't do it, but also take time. Keep trying to shadow and learn more. If there's anything else you're interested in learn more about that too and try to decide which is more interesting to you. I don't know when you would apply but if it would be soon, I would take a gap year to reflect and make sure you're doing what's best for you.

 

[jhmmd]

Well for one I encourage you to shadow As much as possible! The discipline I'm interested in now wasnt even on my radar until someone invited me to shadow and now I'm so intrigued! So please please do ample shadowing with all types of specialties and diversity so shadow some in hospital, shadow some with their own practices, shadow some with partners so you really know all the possibilities. But as far as solidifying that I want to put myself through this, I have a very specific and deep passion. As an African american, I have witnessed many of my family members struggle with illness for many reasons such as ignorance, lack of access to health care and insurance and I've seen my family ravaged by debilitating diseases so I wanted to make myself apart of the solution for all of course but I have a specific desire to give back to my community (African american) and to other disadvantaged communities. And I have done research on stats of minority women with issues during pregnancy and even infertility and I want to be apart of that journey with them so I am interested in ob/gyn and infertility and endocrinology.

This came off as insulting, just FYI

 

[MD.Loading]

This came off as insulting, just FYI

Lol huh? What is insulting about telling someone I've seen how my family being ignorant to medicine and certain medical needs and healthy habits insulting? Maybe you think ignorance is stupidity? It isn't. Ignorant = not knowing something....so....what's offensive about not knowing something? And how is me discussing the facts of MY family an insult to you?

 

[MD.Loading]

Here's the definition of ignorant for you as well so the statement is referring to a lack of KNOWLEDGE, not intellect and of course you're not going to know things unless you learn them so....:

lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing.
"they were ignorant of astronomy"

This came off as insulting, just FYI

 

[jhmmd]

Lol huh? What is insulting about telling someone I've seen how my family being ignorant to medicine and certain medical needs and healthy habits insulting? Maybe you think ignorance is stupidity? It isn't. Ignorant = not knowing something....so....what's offensive about not knowing something? And how is me discussing the facts of MY family an insult to you?

Here's the definition of ignorant for you as well so the statement is referring to a lack of KNOWLEDGE, not intellect and of course you're not going to know things unless you learn them so....:

lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing.
"they were ignorant of astronomy"

I am well aware of the definition of the word "ignorant." Your tone implied that all African-American people are ignorant. Don't want to get into a back-and-forth argument about whether or not your family is ignorant and that's what you meant. That's the way that your post read.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Lol huh? What is insulting about telling someone I've seen how my family being ignorant to medicine and certain medical needs and healthy habits insulting? Maybe you think ignorance is stupidity? It isn't. Ignorant = not knowing something....so....what's offensive about not knowing something? And how is me discussing the facts of MY family an insult to you?

I am well aware of the definition of the word "ignorant." Your tone implied that all African-American people are ignorant. Don't want to get into a back-and-forth argument about whether or not your family is ignorant and that's what you meant. That's the way that your post read.

Keep the thread on topic please.

 

[MD.Loading]

I am well aware of the definition of the word "ignorant." Your tone implied that all African-American people are ignorant. Don't want to get into a back-and-forth argument about whether or not your family is ignorant and that's what you meant. That's the way that your post read.

Well given the fact that I said MY FAMILY of course that's what I meant. You definitely put your own spin on that lol

 

[jhmmd]

Well given the fact that I said MY FAMILY of course that's what I meant. Your interoretation of implications aren't indicative of my actual words lol How can I speak for all African Americans lol yeah you really stretched on that but anyway yeah let's just drop it

Ok

 

[s432000]

I would say if you're unsure don't do it, but also take time. Keep trying to shadow and learn more. If there's anything else you're interested in learn more about that too and try to decide which is more interesting to you. I don't know when you would apply but if it would be soon, I would take a gap year to reflect and make sure you're doing what's best for you.

Yep, I'm definitely taking a gap year to work on my weaknesses, but also to decide whether or not I do want to pursue medicine. I'm looking to shadow more specialties, and I also am actively looking for a patient care technician position to get more direct patient experience.

 

[s432000]

What other careers would you consider pursuing? Everything has its pros and cons. Saying it's a "stable" income is quite modest

I've always been interested in the military so being an officer for 4 years, then leaving to pursue an MBA is an idea, and I know three people who went that route and it helped them a lot. Being a military pilot is another option, though that is a much longer commitment. However, if I find that I truly want to pursue medicine (which I I'm getting closer to even with COVID setting me back), then military medicine is definitely a route I would like to pursue.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

It’s the only job I’ve ever wanted to do. Since a did a bunch of other things that I didn’t like, I knew it was the right choice for me. I love my job.

 

[s432000]

Keep in mind that people are more likely to complain than they are to talk about positive experiences. There are definitely downsides to military medicine, but I have overall had a great time in the Navy for the past 8 years. As someone who was enlisted first, I might have a different perspective from someone just joining through HPSP with no prior experience.

But I don’t want to derail the thread. If you want to know more about my thoughts, feel free to shoot me a PM.

edit: I forgot this is your thread. If you want more details, just let me know and I’ll post a longer post about it.

Hey, I don't go on this website that often but I sent a PM.

 

[hmockingbird]

I agree about shadowing but would also add to look into allied health fields. For example, since you like psychiatry, I’d look into clinical psychology and masters level therapist.