What to do After Medical School

[aricena318]

As a third year medical student, I'm conflicted on what I should do in the future. I was a premed but didn't want to continue to medical school, but my parents felt that I had already invested so much time and effort that I should continue. I don't inherently hate medicine, I just lost any passion/interest as I went through undergrad, and the amount of work and sacrifice just isn't worth it to me. To be honest, I've been OK with being in outpatient rotations because they were so chill, but I know my PCP preceptors are way busier than I am as a medical student, and that residency is mostly inpatient anyway. I have hated inpatient rotations with a passion and have had exhaustion and mental breakdowns during them. At the end of my first year of medical school, I went to a really loud party and developed hyperacusis, tinnitus, and facial nerve spasms as well, and had to take a year off because I couldn't study well to pass Step 1. I continue to suffer from it, and public settings like hospitals/clinics bother my hearing, so I have to wear earplugs. As I continue, I dread residency as I've seen a slice of it through third year rotations. I'm far more interested in public health (I have an MPH and have a couple published papers as well as a couple of posters) and I am interested in doing the CDC EIS, which would require me to go through residency to get my medical license (all the federal budget cuts to the CDC will make this highly competitive program even more difficult to get into though). I've also seen a couple of similar programs offered by states like California and Florida, which appear more geared towards MPH grads straight out of school. The reality of public health is that it does not pay well, so I was considering dropping that as well. I was considering Preventive Medicine/Occupational Medicine residency, but since I already have an MPH that seems kind of redundant as you get an MPH in this residency. Preventive Medicine is also a competitive residency, and I'm not a great medical student (barely passed most of my blocks/rotations). I've also heard people talk about pathology, or even going into consulting (although that is super taxing and time-consuming as well). I just don't know if there are good options after medical school if I don't do residency. I'm curious if anyone has thoughts about my situation.

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[operaman]

If you can get trained and board certified in anything, you will have infinitely more options than if you don’t. Would try and find something you can tolerate - path, rads, family med, etc. Those would minimize your hospital inpatient time substantially.

Making a move into non-clinical work is much easier once you’re board certified and especially after some experience. It’s that perspective and experience that makes you valuable, not the MD degree. At this point you’re only a little over a year to the finish line, so might as well graduate. Would focus more on getting that board cert - much easier to get another degree in a few years than to go back and get a residency slot.

 

[ACSurgeon]

As a third year medical student, I'm conflicted on what I should do in the future. I was a premed but didn't want to continue to medical school, but my parents felt that I had already invested so much time and effort that I should continue. I don't inherently hate medicine, I just lost any passion/interest as I went through undergrad, and the amount of work and sacrifice just isn't worth it to me. To be honest, I've been OK with being in outpatient rotations because they were so chill, but I know my PCP preceptors are way busier than I am as a medical student, and that residency is mostly inpatient anyway. I have hated inpatient rotations with a passion and have had exhaustion and mental breakdowns during them. At the end of my first year of medical school, I went to a really loud party and developed hyperacusis, tinnitus, and facial nerve spasms as well, and had to take a year off because I couldn't study well to pass Step 1. I continue to suffer from it, and public settings like hospitals/clinics bother my hearing, so I have to wear earplugs. As I continue, I dread residency as I've seen a slice of it through third year rotations. I'm far more interested in public health (I have an MPH and have a couple published papers as well as a couple of posters) and I am interested in doing the CDC EIS, which would require me to go through residency to get my medical license (all the federal budget cuts to the CDC will make this highly competitive program even more difficult to get into though). I've also seen a couple of similar programs offered by states like California and Florida, which appear more geared towards MPH grads straight out of school. The reality of public health is that it does not pay well, so I was considering dropping that as well. I was considering Preventive Medicine/Occupational Medicine residency, but since I already have an MPH that seems kind of redundant as you get an MPH in this residency. Preventive Medicine is also a competitive residency, and I'm not a great medical student (barely passed most of my blocks/rotations). I've also heard people talk about pathology, or even going into consulting (although that is super taxing and time-consuming as well). I just don't know if there are good options after medical school if I don't do residency. I'm curious if anyone has thoughts about my situation.

The time required to learn a new career and build your way towards a decent income would be significantly more than finishing the path your on and becoming a board certified physician.

Residency can suck at times, but most non-surgical residents have an ok work life balance most of the time. Sure, they can be tired on call or have a difficult rotation or a toxic attending here and there, but by and large it’s a job that opens a lot of doors for you.

If you tried to switching to something tech or finance or a non-clinical job that wants an MD etc you’d start at the bottom and need to hustle for years and work very hard without knowing for sure if you’ll make it to a physician salary.

 

[m1redsox]

There are definitely some family med residencies out there (usually less academic programs) that have a way more reasonable inpatient/outpatient ratio (some much closer to 25/75). And family med is in such high demand that you could probably work 3.5 days/week if you wanted. Of course, you wouldn’t make as much, but depending on the area, I would guess still $150k+. And like others have mentioned, path and rads are also nice quiet specialties. Of course, you’ll have to do well on boards for rads, but I do think it’s worth just riding it out at this point.

 

[Splenda88]

There is no good option if you don't do a residency. As others above have said, you should finish and get yourself into a pathology or non academic FM residency.

A medical degree will not take you far in the job market if you don't have a medical license. I can tell you that from 'personal' experience. One of my good friends went from working as a PCA for a few years making $14-15 with a medical degree to making 200k+/yr as a general practitioner (only 1-yr internship) working for Indian Health Service (IHS). Good luck.