whats the point of going to med school?

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imthedoctor

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Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
 
I did it primarily for the job security. I also have a tolerable interest in science.

Given a choice at 18 years old, I wouldn't have done it again.
 
Medicine is tough, demanding, physically and emotionally draining, and incredibly competitive. That being said, I generally believe that to achieve a similar measure of success in any career path requires a comparable (perhaps slightly less) number of hours put in, competition, and devotion. Sure, you may not have to pull as may all-nighters while on call, or be expected to have as wide and great a depth of knowledge as an investment banker, but from what I hear those guys rack up 80-100hour weeks as well.

In the end, I feel like the people who don't love what they're doing day in and day out are the ones to burn out and are ultimately dissatisfied with their career. Moreover, whereas a corporate individual can probably earn quite a more than your average doctor, they have to deal with the pressure of job-cuts and corporate down sizing. You may not always have the exact job you want as an MD, but you're likely to not be out of work.
 
imthedoctor said:
Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
Click to expand...
What job would you want to do instead that you think would be less agonizing and painful? As the saying goes, there's a reason why it's called work. You cannot achieve anything worth achieving in life without some investment of blood, sweat and tears. If being in this career isn't worth that kind of effort to you, best to find something else to do with your life. As you pointed out, it's certainly not worth doing for the financial paybacks, especially for a nontrad.

In the ideal circumstances, medicine is a calling as well as a job. There should be some streak of altruism in you that wants to leave the world a little better than how you found it. There will be many days and many patient interactions where this does not happen. But whenever it does, it reminds you why the effort was, and continues to be, worth it.
 
QofQuimica said:
What job would you want to do instead that you think would be less agonizing and painful? As the saying goes, there's a reason why it's called work. You cannot achieve anything worth achieving in life without some investment of blood, sweat and tears. If being in this career isn't worth that kind of effort to you, best to find something else to do with your life. As you pointed out, it's certainly not worth doing for the financial paybacks, especially for a nontrad.

In the ideal circumstances, medicine is a calling as well as a job. There should be some streak of altruism in you that wants to leave the world a little better than how you found it. There will be many days and many patient interactions where this does not happen. But whenever it does, it reminds you why the effort was, and continues to be, worth it.
Click to expand...

👍
 
imthedoctor said:
Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
Click to expand...

I think that most everyone who is trying to get into medical school has already answered this for themselves. You said you are "trying really hard to be even considered for med school." So at one point you must have thought it would be a rewarding profession. I think you may have a bit of sour grapes if things aren't working out the way you wanted. That's okay. If that helps ease the disappointment of not getting in, then so be it. Whether you choose to continue down the arduous path towards medicine, choose to find another way, or have the decision taken from you by adcoms, I hope you find something that fulfills you.
 
imthedoctor said:
Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
Click to expand...

Based on your financial argument, it makes sense if you go straight to medical school from college. You will complete residency (and fellowship) by 30 and make really good money the rest of your life in a profession where, depending on which specialty, you can work well into your 70s and even 80s. So do the math -- 30-40 years of great income, no worry of losing a job, it makes a lot of sense.
 
Medical school is not agonizing or painful. The people who complain about medical school are people who lack perspective. "Why medical school?" is the wrong question to me. The real question is "What else am I going to do with my life?" Looking down my career path at the time, my answer was "I sure as hell am not programming for 30 years." So I took the fork in the road.
 
imthedoctor said:
Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
Click to expand...

I do it because I enjoy learning, the medical field, and will have a career to throw my passion into.

I got lucky with the debt thing and will have less than 100k, so that worked out nicely. BUT, before it worked out I had already chosen the field. Why? I don't think you'll ever feel like you know it all in medicine and the field changes rapidly, completely different from my last field. It is definitely hard work and will limit social times, but there are plenty of specialties one can do after school than have you working less than 50 hrs a week.

Heck, if you become an emergency physician, you could earn 100k working only ~2 days a week.

So, you work hard upfront, but you get job stability for life and work in an interesting field. It feels good to achieve also, doing something challenging is great.

Don't go into medicine for prestige, money, and (somewhat pessimistically) to find your dream job. I thought like that at first, but if you just treat it as a job, I think that is a better perspective. WHY? Because jobs have challenges and things you can't stand, dream jobs usually don't. You have to realize quick there will be business things you don't like in medicine, politics, etc. It's a huge machine and there is lots of $ involved, so there is bound to be politicians and greedy people after the pie.

Understand all this, and I think it's the best career on the planet! Lol, I'm biased but other than being an NFL QB, I don't know what else I would want to do.🙂

It's not all bad, but I do think having some altruism streak inside of you is helpful. Talking about how virtuous you can be is lame, but I do believe if you feel good helping people, that's a psychological income boost right there. The trick is feeling good about helping people REGARDLESS of how they react to it (grateful or not).
 
QofQuimica said:
What job would you want to do instead that you think would be less agonizing and painful? As the saying goes, there's a reason why it's called work. You cannot achieve anything worth achieving in life without some investment of blood, sweat and tears. If being in this career isn't worth that kind of effort to you, best to find something else to do with your life. As you pointed out, it's certainly not worth doing for the financial paybacks, especially for a nontrad.

In the ideal circumstances, medicine is a calling as well as a job. There should be some streak of altruism in you that wants to leave the world a little better than how you found it. There will be many days and many patient interactions where this does not happen. But whenever it does, it reminds you why the effort was, and continues to be, worth it.
Click to expand...

could not have said it better myself 🙂
 
I am going to medical school because I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. I have done other things and they were underwhelming, at best.

I have been on the wrong side of the medical field (as a patient) and I truly saw it for what it is.

Yes, there are long hours, lots of studying, some sacrifice. But, I'd rather sacrifice those things and some hours a day in the short term, then spend 24 hours a day for the rest of my life wondering why I didn't go for my dream.
 
1. Can there be a better job out there?

2. If I don't go to med school, I might as well run down to the pawnshop and buy a set of toolbags so I can do construction. Again. For the rest of my life. Ugh.
 
I dunno, I had a solid MCAT score and I was working three crappy jobs just to make rent, after a year or so I kinda put two and two together... 😛
 
imthedoctor said:
Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
Click to expand...
I've enjoyed my time volunteering and learning all the science stuff in undergrad. I can only imagine enjoying the job when I get there, and I would disagree that there's no sleep/family/life/everything. Lots of doctors have lives.
 
QofQuimica said:
What job would you want to do instead that you think would be less agonizing and painful? As the saying goes, there's a reason why it's called work. You cannot achieve anything worth achieving in life without some investment of blood, sweat and tears. If being in this career isn't worth that kind of effort to you, best to find something else to do with your life. As you pointed out, it's certainly not worth doing for the financial paybacks, especially for a nontrad.

In the ideal circumstances, medicine is a calling as well as a job. There should be some streak of altruism in you that wants to leave the world a little better than how you found it. There will be many days and many patient interactions where this does not happen. But whenever it does, it reminds you why the effort was, and continues to be, worth it.
Click to expand...
Great point, Q. This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while. I'm applying this cycle as a chemistry Ph.D.-to-M.D. (also UF undergrad). I realized in my third year of grad school that as much as I loved my labmates, I really wanted to be interacting with people from all walks of life. Days would go by before I would interact with a nonscientist other than my wife.

Now, you don't have to be a doctor for that, but I do love the "bringing science to the people to help them get and stay healthy" side of the profession. Yeah, the training will be long, but I would have been doing a 3-4 year post-doc that I would have hated, so I'm glad I'll be training for a career I'll love.
 
Last edited:
eHombre said:
Great point, Q. This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while. I'm applying this cycle as a chemistry Ph.D.-to-M.D. (also UF undergrad). I realized in my third year of grad school that as much as I loved my labmates, I really wanted to be interacting with people from all walks of life. Days would go by before I would interact with a nonscientist other than my wife.

Now, you don't have to be a doctor for that, but I do love the "bringing science to the people to help them get and stay healthy" side of the profession. Yeah, the training will be long, but I would have been doing a 3-4 year post-doc that I would have hated, so I'm glad I'll be training for a career I'll love.
Click to expand...
What kind of chem do you do? I was an organic chemist--tambien de la Florida. 🙂
 
Yay chemists!!!!!111
 
QofQuimica said:
What kind of chem do you do? I was an organic chemist--tambien de la Florida. 🙂
Click to expand...
Undergrad was synthetic organic (really, supramolecular, you probably know the prof)... PhD has been mostly analytical biochemistry but with a focus on metabolic disease.

It's cool to see you as someone on the other end of the Ph.D.-to-M.D. spectrum as a resident. Still seems very far away... =)
 
eHombre said:
Great point, Q. This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while. I'm applying this cycle as a chemistry Ph.D.-to-M.D. (also UF undergrad). I realized in my third year of grad school that as much as I loved my labmates, I really wanted to be interacting with people from all walks of life. Days would go by before I would interact with a nonscientist other than my wife.

Now, you don't have to be a doctor for that, but I do love the "bringing science to the people to help them get and stay healthy" side of the profession. Yeah, the training will be long, but I would have been doing a 3-4 year post-doc that I would have hated, so I'm glad I'll be training for a career I'll love.
Click to expand...

Yay, another chemist 🙂 There seems to be few that have come on here. I'm happy to see more. I did medicinal chemistry and pretty much felt the same way as you.
 
I came back to give a longer answer after talking with an old friend (who is a MD) today

when I was told this was my path, that this had everything for me that I wanted, I revolted.
I looked into every other possible career out there that involved science and helping people. Bottom line is I was always missing something. Pure science left me without people interaction. Pure psychology left me with no hard science. There was no perfect mix. At the end of the day it was medicine or nothing.
every shadowing or volunteer experience I had from that point forward echoed that. I came out of each experience knowing I was on the right path. I had people (some here) tell me I could not, I would never make it because I had too many skeletons in my closet.
yet somehow I made it. I am still in absolute awe of the fact that I get to do this. I still get those little insights as to yes I am on the right path, yes this is what I am supposed to be doing, this is what I was meant to do.
in the end, as q said medicine is a calling, or at least it is for me. I would not trade a single path traveled nor a single obstacle overcome for anything. They have made me the person I am, and the doctor I will be.
look in your heart, if you can not imagine doing anything else that will make you happy then yes it is 100% worth it
 
It's a hell of a lot of fun.

Yes, I'm smart, and I like biology and I like people and I like psychology and I like helping people and I like earning a decent living, so really medicine is a good mix of all of those things. But the bottom line is that I really like it. I even like coming in at 4 AM to see an 82 year old with constipation. Honestly.

Sorry to be such a keener. 😛
 
Nothing else I want to do. Been a PA for 11 yr, had mostly good jobs, one great job, but could not stomach the idea of being "just the PA" for the rest of my working life. Too many limitations and all of them could be fixed by finishing what I set out to do when I started college at 17...become a physician. So I took a circuitous path and it was arguably more expensive, and I don't recommend it to most--I have given up a lot that is important to many people for the privilege of pursuing this dream. I'm having more fun in medical school and enjoying more free time than I've had in the past 5 yr...of course, the pay sucks, but I'll take it. I am absolutely sure that I appreciate the education much more now than I would have at 24. I will graduate at 40 and I anticipate working 30 more years, God willing--medicine is part and parcel of who I am, much more than what I do.
Without that assurance, I would not advise any other sane, healthy, childless, financially comfortable 37-year-old woman to undertake it....
😉
 
Why medicine? Because I'm not satisfied with what I'm doing and I'm ready to put my dream of being a physician back on track now. Even if it means I have to shed some blood, sweat, tears I'll do it.
 
imthedoctor said:
Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
Click to expand...

Wait, those are negatives?

I knew I had something wrong with me....

And please, really.."ur"? You can't say "you're"?
 
imthedoctor said:
Hello all the readers,
just to let everyone know, i am trying really hard to be even considered for med school, however i have one question to everyone , WHY GO TO MED SCHOOL?
throughout my 27 yrs of life, i have heard all kind of scary stories about how tough it is to go to med school. How life sucks because of continuous studies, no sleep, no life, no family, nothing what so ever? at the end of 4 yrs of undergrad, Studying for MCATs day and night for months, than volunteering, shadowing, than 4 yrs of intense crazy medical school studyn, well ur not done yet, now you have to go through residency, where you get paid so less? on top of everything you are over $200,000 dollar of Debt,
SO is it Worth ? WHY choose it, if it is so agonizing, painful? hopefully everyone will enjoy posting on this thread about their opinion and ideas.
THis thread is not to down grade anyones self steem, or de motivate anyone.
thanks everyone in advance.
Click to expand...

Because everyone who gets into medical school can write in standard English?
 
Some people didn't learn how to type 😉
 
imthedoctor said:
thanks for making me feel better
Click to expand...

Were you looking for sympathy from a bunch of would-be doctors because the road is tough? You must be joking! You think anyone commencing on this journey ever thought it would be easy? Everyone has their own personal struggles, some of which would boggle your mind. I am appalled that you would have the audacity to expect encouragement from this forum with a post of such poor quality, both in content, and in style. That being what it is, in the future I hope you thoroughly research the process of your next pursuit before beginning the journey.
 
imthedoctor said:
thanks for making me feel better
Click to expand...

If you're a long shot and you think that being a med student sucks and being a doctor sucks worse, then should we really be encouraging you? It's not like you said "I really like volunteering at the clinic, but..."

It sounds like you just want to make something of yourself, which is good, but that seems to be your only motivation. The horror stories are BS but judging from your other posts you are several years away from even having a small chance of getting in. Yes, there are mountains to climb, and they're meant to keep out the people who just want money and status. I had to spend three years after graduation with no life, no money, and no sleep to get in. During most of that time I was deeply depressed. The only thing keeping me going was that I knew someday I'd be at the top of my class and be a great doctor.

If you can't think of a single thing to look forward to as a medical student, then find something you do like, because otherwise you're just going to break yourself completely.
 
I want to be a doctor, because I came to a point in my life where I wanted to do something that really mattered. I had 10 years in accounting where I spent most of my time helping large corporation avoid paying taxes. There was nothing more draining in life than that for me, so spending some sleepless nights studying or doing what I love is no comparision to the soul crushing repetition that cubicle life can be.

Speaking of the hours I hae a funny story from the DO that I shadowed. She was a traditional student who had went from college to med-school and only knew what being a student and then a Dr. was. I'll couch this in the fact that she had just had her first child so that may have influenced her answer, but one day while shadowing she did the whole "don't know if I would do this over again" schpiel. She talked about how much time she was missing from her baby's life and how she worked so many hours. I asked her how many hours a week she worked and she said i kid you not. 40 or so. Also sho only worked 4 days a week. I had to stifle a laugh at that one. I wanted to say "in my 10 years of accounting I never worked less than 45 and if it was a closing week I worked the weekend." Sometimes I think folks are always going to think the grass is greener.

As far as this applies to the OP. Life is what you make of it. Any job or "career" is probably going to demand more of your life than you want, the key is to find what you love and worryless about money. I have lived on $120,000 (as an accountant) and $40,000 (as a pre-med), I am ten times happier now than I was at $120,000. I don't have as many nice toys, but I get up everyday more excited than the last to go to work.
 
not-sure-if-serious-or-if-trolling.jpg
 
Barfalamule said:
Medical school is not agonizing or painful. The people who complain about medical school are people who lack perspective. "Why medical school?" is the wrong question to me. The real question is "What else am I going to do with my life?" Looking down my career path at the time, my answer was "I sure as hell am not programming for 30 years." So I took the fork in the road.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. I tried courses in other fields and just couldn't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Believe it or not, I enjoyed studying for the MCAT(although I didn't do so hot haha) and realized how much I loved applying previous knowledge, namely biology/physiology(NOT verbal but it's not based on learned info anyway).

Clinical experiences will serve to further(or weaken) your interest in the field. If you haven't already, I would suggest volunteering at a hospital. It really isn't just another resume pad(though it certainly helps), because you will be able to gauge your feelings and determine if you can see yourself working in a hospital/clinically based setting in the long run. It also helps you become accustomed to the environment in general.

I think you can balance a family life(maybe not in med school) and even have spare time for hobbies depending on the field of medicine you choose to go into.

Edit: Sorry for the plethora of parentheses I swear I don't normally write like this haha
 
I almost always enjoyed myself through med school and no point have I regretted my path. To every one who is struggling - it gets better, a life choice worth taking.

You'll see things no one else has and your life will be full of stories. Much respect from the community. Intern life isn't that miserable if you pick well. And specialties exist where you won't burn out.
 
Hi
Can you please tell me those specialties where one will not get burnt out. Just curoius of the areas you have in mind.
Thanks.
 
mdod said:
Hi
Can you please tell me those specialties where one will not get burnt out. Just curoius of the areas you have in mind.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
People can get burned out in any specialty. The most important thing is to find a specialty that is a good fit for you, as well as the right work environment. Oh, and don't take advice from residents on whether or not to choose their specialty, because pretty much everyone will get burned out at some point during residency.
 
It's kind of an "all paths lead here" thing for me - that is, everything has led to a realization that I want to study medicine. I haven't felt that kind of clarity since I was 17 years old and signing papers to enlist as an infantryman in the army. I've been through lots of phases and dabbled in a few vastly different fields. A couple of years ago I took an EMT class and volunteered on a 9-11 ambulance while I worked security in an ER and taught personal technology classes part-time. Something just clicked, and voila! Here I am.

I read an interview in which Daniel Day Lewis spoke about being a cobbler and taking years off between roles - he, like many world-class actors, believes that the most important preparation for acting is simply to live - have experiences, get your heartbroken, and be poor, and your emotional toolkit will grow, along with your craft. As a non-traditional student (Communication Theory major), I consider my biggest asset as a future medical student to be the fact that this is the last thing I ever saw myself doing. Sure, I have plenty of catching up to do, but I am someone who considers the status of being a doctor secondary to the privilege of studying and eventually practicing medicine. That can't be forced, and despite my fantasies of having graduated high school with that kind of vision (and a 4.0 average), I am damn proud to be of a different breed. I think it's what will make me a solid candidate one day, and I know it will make me a good practitioner.
 
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