What the heck!

[Law2Doc]

IMO this is part of becoming an adult. Any professional field you go into will be the same. And you will realize it's really not that bad.

Agree it's becoming an adult to some extent, but I disagree that it's the same in all professional fields. Having worked in one already, I have to say that medicine has it a bit harder (especially with more time consuming schooling, and insane residency call schedules). You give up your "prime" far more on this path if you start it as a traditional student.

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[sirus_virus]

What is this 'prime' we so much speak of on this thread? and what is someone's prime supposed to be used for?

 

[Tired]

What is this 'prime' we so much speak of on this thread? and what is someone's prime supposed to be used for?

Doin' it with lots of ladies.

Preferably lots at the same time.

 

[Law2Doc]

What is this 'prime' we so much speak of on this thread? and what is someone's prime supposed to be used for?

Prime is the period of time when you are still young enough to do wild and foolish things without looking like an old guy trying to do wild and foolish things. It usually ends in folks late 20s, about the same time many here will be finishing up residency.

 

[badasshairday]

Agree it's becoming an adult to some extent, but I disagree that it's the same in all professional fields. Having worked in one already, I have to say that medicine has it a bit harder (especially with more time consuming schooling, and insane residency call schedules). You give up your "prime" far more on this path if you start it as a traditional student.

What else do you want me to do during my prime of 22-30 years of age? Get drunk and party all the time? I don't look at it as giving up my prime, i made the decision to take this route so... aw f*ck I guess i am giving up my prime!

 

[badasshairday]

Prime is the period of time when you are still young enough to do wild and foolish things without looking like an old guy trying to do wild and foolish things. It usually ends in folks late 20s, about the same time many here will be finishing up residency.

Residents do pretty wild things, I mean think of an opthal resident, he/she is freakin cutting a persons eyeball! Thats pretty wild to me.

 

[Law2Doc]

What else do you want me to do during my prime of 22-30 years of age? Get drunk and party all the time? I don't look at it as giving up my prime, i made the decision to take this route so... aw f*ck I guess i am giving up my prime!

It's not about what I want you to do (I really couldn't care either way). Giving up his prime is what the OP is lamenting about, not me. But yeah, you are going to have less time for a lot of things if you go the medicine route, and some people do feel they should be out enjoying themselves more and living it up at 20 because it's lame to try to do some of the same stuff when you are older.

 

[Law2Doc]

Residents do pretty wild things, I mean think of an opthal resident, he/she is freakin cutting a persons eyeball! Thats pretty wild to me.

If you equate that to twins in a hot tub, then you've made the right choice.

 

[Tired]

What else do you want me to do during my prime of 22-30 years of age? Get drunk and party all the time? I don't look at it as giving up my prime, i made the decision to take this route so... aw f*ck I guess i am giving up my prime!

Your post screams "Promise Keeper".

 

[kirschwasser37]

I read this post and heard the voice of the templar knight from Indiana Jones.

I thought the same exact thing.

 

[45408]

If you equate that to twins in a hot tub, then you've made the right choice.

Do tell. There must be a story behind this one. And people wonder if L2D is a woman

 

[mjl1717]

Prime is the period of time when you are still young enough to do wild and foolish things without looking like an old guy trying to do wild and foolish things. It usually ends in folks late 20s, about the same time many here will be finishing up residency.

Great definition! --In addition testosterone is still at a good level..But the guy may or may not be adept in seduction..

 

[NonTradMed]

I hate it when people say that you are sacrificing your prime for medical school. Our life is not over after age 30. It just means we enter a new stage in our development.

Ok, I did the college-->job route. I partied and dranked and went clubbing until 4am....for about six month before it got old.

Yes, it's nice to have money and free time and be single, but after a few months of this, I realize it's all empty and meaningless. After a while, all the night clubs seem like they blare out the same loud music. Every bar seem to serve the same overpriced beer. After the initial thrill of partying it up, I realize I wanted to grow up and be an adult.

I decided on medical school after I got the partying out of my system, and while I feel a certain distance from my younger peers, I feel much more mature when it comes to handling medical school. I treat the four years as a job and I look forward to residency as another period of extended training.

Is the doctor route hard? Yes.

Will I get yelled at by my superiors? Absolutely (in fact, already done!).

Will I feel overworked and underappreciated? God, yes.

But is this unique to medicine. Hell, no.

To the OP, what you are experiencing is called reality.

Most people with who want to make real money (i.e >$80k) find that they have to deal with crappy bosses, long hours and sometimes an ardous path to that mythical promotion.

The unique thing with medicine is that it forces each "worker" through a standardized path to upward promotion. Therefore, I think of 3rd/4th year and residency as me working myself up the corporate ladder. My friends from college/work who want to see promotions and hit that six figures before age 30 have to work 60-70 hours/week. Many are forced to put up with frustrating bosses, and do scutwork. And while the upside is they get paid throughout this, there is also no guarantee that they will get that promotion (or maintain that promotion/paycheck indefinitely).

Medicine is harder than many other professions, but it also has its rewards. It sounds to me like you are perhaps not emotionally ready to accept the responsiblity that the route will force upon you. I don't say that in a mean way. I think I had the same problem when I was fresh out of college. But I got the partying out of my system in my job.

So maybe you should take a leave of absence and get a 'normal' job and enjoy your sabbatical. Perhaps after a year of traveling/clubbing/drinking, you will be more focused on medical school. I know my tenure in the work world made me a better student.

 

[prepremed]

I feel compelled to write to you because your post reminds me of my train of thought about a year ago. This is what I realized, maybe this will help you.
I picked this career before I had all the info. I don't have any family members in the field so I really didn't know how it worked. I thought that you went to medical school, then got a job where you get a ton of respect and a ton of money. Haha WRONG! I found out about not making much money right away and stuff like that slowly, usually when people were trying to discourage me, so I pretended I already knew and was fine with it. But really, as I thought more about it, it doesn't bother me. I hate boring jobs and I could never imagine myself doing one. If I lived for the weekend, I'd need a waaambulance every five minutes. It's because this career is challenging that its rewarding.
Also, I'm not a psychologist or anything, but you seem like the type who is always waiting for life to start. I'll be happy when I'm done studying for this midterm, or when I get accepted to school, or when I start making lots of money. Congratulations, you just realized that "I'll be happy when..." doesn't work. That's good news, now you don't have to have midlife crisis when you've realized that you are never happy and don't know how to be! The sooner you have this realization, the better and I don't think the other posters gave you enough credit for that. It's a hard concept, especially when you don't have much time to just think about things...
What are you expecting to happen when you finally "get there?" You are a well-established doctor. You are making money, and your house is paid off. But the guy who graduated from Harvard in the office next door does more procedures than you. He gets published more often. He has a better receptionist. You keep getting screwed out of things at work because of office politics, and also because your receptionist keeps forgetting to remind you about meetings, unlike Dr. Harvard's receptionist. Your house needs repainting - they screw it up and overcharge you. Your child has a learning disability. Do you see where I'm going with this? There is no such place as "there" except to be satisfied and fulfilled with where you are now.
I realized this when I was studying for an ochem test. People were running through the halls screaming "Thirsty Thursday!!!! Kegger on 3!" , and I was on my third latte, doing aldol condensation problems. And I thought to myself, my God it doesn't get better than this...and it never will. And when I say it doesn't get better, I mean that I was already as happy in that moment as I ever could be, because I love what I do. Even right now, I told my best friend I'd call her back an hour ago, but instead I'm writing this ridiculously long post to a complete stranger in hopes that I can help you. I might not be happy (because I'm kind of hungry and have to pee) but I'm satisfied.
So, what is it going to be, aldol condensations or kegger on 3? Your satisfaction with life is a mindset, not a set of favorable conditions.

great post - it really spoke to me

 

[Occams Razor]

i think the terrible decision thread addressed the OP's frustrations well. One of my favorite threads.

the beauty of forums like these lies in the ability to vent. Families, S/Os, friends all get tired of hearing our gripes and pessimistic whining. We've all done it. Just offer support and let him/her vent.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

This is definitely a "grass is greener" type situation.

For all of us looking enviously at our peers in their twenties pullling in six figures, clubbing and drinking all ours of the night with Russian models, and living the "good life", a good percentage of them look back at us with some envy as well.

They think "Jeeze, look at my life. I just put together reports and spreadsheets so the bosses can make multi-millions while I make less than a tenth. What does it really matter? I want to make a difference in someone's life, like a doctor".

The rub is that neither of us sees the negative in one another's job and focuses only on the positives.

Don't believe me? Look at the nontrads who give up great jobs in engineering and law and business to pursue medicine.

Now, I'll admit I definitely say I think this attitude is waning a bit due to better realitization of the pains moden medicine puts us through by the general public, but it's still there.

However, that being said I think it is crucial that you find a field in medicine where you feel like you're both enjoying what you're doing and feel you're making a difference. There are so many fields in medicine that I can't believe people can't find one that suits them. The ones who don't are chasing money and not happiness or giving up to early ("I dunno what I wanna do. I'll probably just do Internal Medicine I guess")

 

[Doctor D.]

delete...

 

[Doctor D.]

delete...

I feel compelled to write to you because your post reminds me of my train of thought about a year ago. This is what I realized, maybe this will help you.
I picked this career before I had all the info. I don't have any family members in the field so I really didn't know how it worked. I thought that you went to medical school, then got a job where you get a ton of respect and a ton of money. Haha WRONG! I found out about not making much money right away and stuff like that slowly, usually when people were trying to discourage me, so I pretended I already knew and was fine with it. But really, as I thought more about it, it doesn't bother me. I hate boring jobs and I could never imagine myself doing one. If I lived for the weekend, I'd need a waaambulance every five minutes. It's because this career is challenging that its rewarding.
Also, I'm not a psychologist or anything, but you seem like the type who is always waiting for life to start. I'll be happy when I'm done studying for this midterm, or when I get accepted to school, or when I start making lots of money. Congratulations, you just realized that "I'll be happy when..." doesn't work. That's good news, now you don't have to have midlife crisis when you've realized that you are never happy and don't know how to be! The sooner you have this realization, the better and I don't think the other posters gave you enough credit for that. It's a hard concept, especially when you don't have much time to just think about things...
What are you expecting to happen when you finally "get there?" You are a well-established doctor. You are making money, and your house is paid off. But the guy who graduated from Harvard in the office next door does more procedures than you. He gets published more often. He has a better receptionist. You keep getting screwed out of things at work because of office politics, and also because your receptionist keeps forgetting to remind you about meetings, unlike Dr. Harvard's receptionist. Your house needs repainting - they screw it up and overcharge you. Your child has a learning disability. Do you see where I'm going with this? There is no such place as "there" except to be satisfied and fulfilled with where you are now.
I realized this when I was studying for an ochem test. People were running through the halls screaming "Thirsty Thursday!!!! Kegger on 3!" , and I was on my third latte, doing aldol condensation problems. And I thought to myself, my God it doesn't get better than this...and it never will. And when I say it doesn't get better, I mean that I was already as happy in that moment as I ever could be, because I love what I do. Even right now, I told my best friend I'd call her back an hour ago, but instead I'm writing this ridiculously long post to a complete stranger in hopes that I can help you. I might not be happy (because I'm kind of hungry and have to pee) but I'm satisfied.
So, what is it going to be, aldol condensations or kegger on 3? Your satisfaction with life is a mindset, not a set of favorable conditions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for taking the time to write this post (in spite of your hunger and urge to pee)...You may have intended this message for the OP, but it was certainly well received here

 

[mjl1717]

I feel compelled to write to you because your post reminds me of my train of thought about a year ago. This is what I realized, maybe this will help you.
I picked this career before I had all the info. I don't have any family members in the field so I really didn't know how it worked. I thought that you went to medical school, then got a job where you get a ton of respect and a ton of money. Haha WRONG! I found out about not making much money right away and stuff like that slowly, usually when people were trying to discourage me, so I pretended I already knew and was fine with it. But really, as I thought more about it, it doesn't bother me. I hate boring jobs and I could never imagine myself doing one. If I lived for the weekend, I'd need a waaambulance every five minutes. It's because this career is challenging that its rewarding.
Also, I'm not a psychologist or anything, but you seem like the type who is always waiting for life to start. I'll be happy when I'm done studying for this midterm, or when I get accepted to school, or when I start making lots of money. Congratulations, you just realized that "I'll be happy when..." doesn't work. That's good news, now you don't have to have midlife crisis when you've realized that you are never happy and don't know how to be! The sooner you have this realization, the better and I don't think the other posters gave you enough credit for that. It's a hard concept, especially when you don't have much time to just think about things...
What are you expecting to happen when you finally "get there?" You are a well-established doctor. You are making money, and your house is paid off. But the guy who graduated from Harvard in the office next door does more procedures than you. He gets published more often. He has a better receptionist. You keep getting screwed out of things at work because of office politics, and also because your receptionist keeps forgetting to remind you about meetings, unlike Dr. Harvard's receptionist. Your house needs repainting - they screw it up and overcharge you. Your child has a learning disability. Do you see where I'm going with this? There is no such place as "there" except to be satisfied and fulfilled with where you are now.
I realized this when I was studying for an ochem test. People were running through the halls screaming "Thirsty Thursday!!!! Kegger on 3!" , and I was on my third latte, doing aldol condensation problems. And I thought to myself, my God it doesn't get better than this...and it never will. And when I say it doesn't get better, I mean that I was already as happy in that moment as I ever could be, because I love what I do. Even right now, I told my best friend I'd call her back an hour ago, but instead I'm writing this ridiculously long post to a complete stranger in hopes that I can help you. I might not be happy (because I'm kind of hungry and have to pee) but I'm satisfied.
So, what is it going to be, aldol condensations or kegger on 3? Your satisfaction with life is a mindset, not a set of favorable conditions.

$$ post here:

I think one of the things that Nells post alludes to is:
"Success can be elusive. Because once you have some success you want more!"

 

[sirus_virus]

One of the things I like about medicine is how it completely takes you by surprise.

 

[8mile]

so medicine is hard, OP, what would you rather do and still be successful at?

just get into a ROAD specialty, i don't think those doctors complain as much.

 

[Mah]

I feel compelled to write to you because your post reminds me of my train of thought about a year ago. This is what I realized, maybe this will help you.
I picked this career before I had all the info. I don't have any family members in the field so I really didn't know how it worked. I thought that you went to medical school, then got a job where you get a ton of respect and a ton of money. Haha WRONG! I found out about not making much money right away and stuff like that slowly, usually when people were trying to discourage me, so I pretended I already knew and was fine with it. But really, as I thought more about it, it doesn't bother me. I hate boring jobs and I could never imagine myself doing one. If I lived for the weekend, I'd need a waaambulance every five minutes. It's because this career is challenging that its rewarding.
Also, I'm not a psychologist or anything, but you seem like the type who is always waiting for life to start. I'll be happy when I'm done studying for this midterm, or when I get accepted to school, or when I start making lots of money. Congratulations, you just realized that "I'll be happy when..." doesn't work. That's good news, now you don't have to have midlife crisis when you've realized that you are never happy and don't know how to be! The sooner you have this realization, the better and I don't think the other posters gave you enough credit for that. It's a hard concept, especially when you don't have much time to just think about things...
What are you expecting to happen when you finally "get there?" You are a well-established doctor. You are making money, and your house is paid off. But the guy who graduated from Harvard in the office next door does more procedures than you. He gets published more often. He has a better receptionist. You keep getting screwed out of things at work because of office politics, and also because your receptionist keeps forgetting to remind you about meetings, unlike Dr. Harvard's receptionist. Your house needs repainting - they screw it up and overcharge you. Your child has a learning disability. Do you see where I'm going with this? There is no such place as "there" except to be satisfied and fulfilled with where you are now.
I realized this when I was studying for an ochem test. People were running through the halls screaming "Thirsty Thursday!!!! Kegger on 3!" , and I was on my third latte, doing aldol condensation problems. And I thought to myself, my God it doesn't get better than this...and it never will. And when I say it doesn't get better, I mean that I was already as happy in that moment as I ever could be, because I love what I do. Even right now, I told my best friend I'd call her back an hour ago, but instead I'm writing this ridiculously long post to a complete stranger in hopes that I can help you. I might not be happy (because I'm kind of hungry and have to pee) but I'm satisfied.
So, what is it going to be, aldol condensations or kegger on 3? Your satisfaction with life is a mindset, not a set of favorable conditions.

wow, I have to say this.

Even though I hope to never regret my decision about medical school, you drove home a very good point in a very motivating manner. Hope it helps the OP as well

 

[Law2Doc]

This is definitely a "grass is greener" type situation.

For all of us looking enviously at our peers in their twenties pullling in six figures, clubbing and drinking all ours of the night with Russian models, and living the "good life", a good percentage of them look back at us with some envy as well.

They think "Jeeze, look at my life. I just put together reports and spreadsheets so the bosses can make multi-millions while I make less than a tenth. What does it really matter? I want to make a difference in someone's life, like a doctor".

The rub is that neither of us sees the negative in one another's job and focuses only on the positives.

Don't believe me? Look at the nontrads who give up great jobs in engineering and law and business to pursue medicine.

Nah they really don't. It's the very very rare individual that looks over the fence at medicine from, say, law, and says "hey, that could be me". You should hear the number of folks who told me I was being foolish or crazy making this career change, giving up my "life" to go back to a classroom setting. The grass isn't greener on the medicine side. It's a murky bog that very few folks dare wade into from the comfort of that other side of the fence. There won't be more than one or two lawyers in any med school class; I'm actually always surprised by the number you find on SDN. Because for many of us, we gave up very cushy lifestyles and a job we could do quite well and (depending on your level of seniority) fairly painlessly, and a weekly paycheck, to muck around with sick folks. Doesn't mean the grass is greener here at all (unless we're smoking it), it just means we aren't wired up the same as everyone else.

 

[incubate6times]

OP, don't watch this, you might get really scared of life.
[YOUTUBE]http://youtube.com/watch?v=mTkp9UqVVHs[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Blesbok]

Doin' it with lots of ladies.

Preferably lots at the same time.

What sounds more impressive to girls? I'm an accountant and I have my own cubicle or I am a doctor and I saved someone's life today.

 

[Blesbok]

It's not about what I want you to do (I really couldn't care either way). Giving up his prime is what the OP is lamenting about, not me. But yeah, you are going to have less time for a lot of things if you go the medicine route, and some people do feel they should be out enjoying themselves more and living it up at 20 because it's lame to try to do some of the same stuff when you are older.

Ya, but with a few hundred thousand dollars it is much easier to live it up than trying to buy a house and a car and have fun on $60k like you would be making for the first few years out of college.

 

[Blesbok]

Nah they really don't. It's the very very rare individual that looks over the fence at medicine from, say, law, and says "hey, that could be me". You should hear the number of folks who told me I was being foolish or crazy making this career change, giving up my "life" to go back to a classroom setting. The grass isn't greener on the medicine side. It's a murky bog that very few folks dare wade into from the comfort of that other side of the fence. There won't be more than one or two lawyers in any med school class; I'm actually always surprised by the number you find on SDN. Because for many of us, we gave up very cushy lifestyles and a job we could do quite well and (depending on your level of seniority) fairly painlessly, and a weekly paycheck, to muck around with sick folks. Doesn't mean the grass is greener here at all (unless we're smoking it), it just means we aren't wired up the same as everyone else.

A successful lawyer is one thing, but if you are one of those thousands of lawyers making $50-60k and working more than a resident, I bet it is a little different. And that is only one career path, I am sure there are thousands of people working dead end jobs making $70-80k for the rest of their life that are jealous of the doctor with the paid off house and the nice car who gets to wear pajamas to work and do something that they love every day.

 

[mjl1717]

Nah they really don't. It's the very very rare individual that looks over the fence at medicine from, say, law, and says "hey, that could be me". You should hear the number of folks who told me I was being foolish or crazy making this career change, giving up my "life" to go back to a classroom setting. The grass isn't greener on the medicine side. It's a murky bog that very few folks dare wade into from the comfort of that other side of the fence. There won't be more than one or two lawyers in any med school class; I'm actually always surprised by the number you find on SDN. Because for many of us, we gave up very cushy lifestyles and a job we could do quite well and (depending on your level of seniority) fairly painlessly, and a weekly paycheck, to muck around with sick folks. Doesn't mean the grass is greener here at all (unless we're smoking it), it just means we aren't wired up the same as everyone else.

True, I even tell my folks, in general most people do not want to go into medicine.
This is no surprise given the myriad of reasons why one may NOT want medicine(Im not even going to go list them)

Bottom which many do not know about.. You have got to be able to "TAKE IT", possibly bow down(at least for a while), dont open your mouth too much..

L2D that was well said, vivid and Shakespeare like:--- "murky bog that very few folks dare wade into"
Word up!!

 

[mjl1717]

A successful lawyer is one thing, but if you are one of those thousands of lawyers making $50-60k and working more than a resident, I bet it is a little different. And that is only one career path, I am sure there are thousands of people working dead end jobs making $70-80k for the rest of their life that are jealous of the doctor with the paid off house and the nice car who gets to wear pajamas to work and do something that they love every day.

People always get jealous... But can they "TAKE IT"..Remember people are getting weeded out even before premed is completed..

I actually think its a "murky bog that very few people dare wade into" as said by L2D.. Whether one is previously successful or unsuccessful!