Who here regrets med school?

[ChEMD]

I'm going for internal medicine at this point, which I don't really like at all, but haven't got a lot of choice. The only thing to really look forward to is the paycheck at this point... Which I guess is true of most jobs out there. I don't think you're supposed to really "enjoy" medicine as much as tolerate it better than other jobs.

Edit: Of course I've never done another job, so I don't have much to compare...

There are plenty of people inside and outside of medicine that actually enjoy their jobs and don't just tolerate them as a means for a paycheck. You're probably going to spend around half the time you're awake working..there's no way in hell I would spend half of my life doing something I hate in order to support the other half, it's just not worth it.

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[DermViser]

I'm going for internal medicine at this point, which I don't really like at all, but haven't got a lot of choice. The only thing to really look forward to is the paycheck at this point... Which I guess is true of most jobs out there. I don't think you're supposed to really "enjoy" medicine as much as tolerate it better than other jobs.

Edit: Of course I've never done another "real" job (not including the transient jobs college kids and teens do), so I don't have much to compare...

Well most people subspecialize after IM anyways. Did you not find Rads or Anesthesia interesting?

 

[SilverCat]

I regret not working hard enough in undergrad to get merit scholarships; sometimes I regret not trying for MD/PhD, but overall, I enjoy what I study.

 

[DermViser]

It's important to remember that medical school is a means to an end. Medical school is not the entirety of your career as a physician. Medical school hasn't been the most pleasant and enjoyable experience, but it's a necessity to what I think will ultimately be a pleasant and enjoyable career.

Take that for what you will.

I think the thing is that after completing medical school, most med students see that the end isn't what they thought it would be. That's what I think is hard for many premeds to wrap their heads around.

 

[tdram]

Well most people subspecialize after IM anyways. Did you not find Rads or Anesthesia interesting?

I did, I liked Rads, but I don't have the scores to even bother trying to apply.

 

[tdram]

There are plenty of people inside and outside of medicine that actually enjoy their jobs and don't just tolerate them as a means for a paycheck. You're probably going to spend around half the time you're awake working..there's no way in hell I would spend half of my life doing something I hate in order to support the other half, it's just not worth it.

How many percent do you think actually enjoy it and aren't just there for the paycheck?

 

[DermViser]

I did, I liked Rads, but I don't have the scores to even bother trying to apply.

Highly depends on the Rads program, esp. as Rads (as a whole) is much less competitive now.

 

[DermViser]

There are plenty of people inside and outside of medicine that actually enjoy their jobs and don't just tolerate them as a means for a paycheck. You're probably going to spend around half the time you're awake working..there's no way in hell I would spend half of my life doing something I hate in order to support the other half, it's just not worth it.

I agree. Medicine is not a profession in which you can only enjoy payday and just tolerate the day-to-day activity. This isn't a normal job.

 

[tdram]

Highly depends on the Rads program, esp. as Rads (as a whole) is much less competitive now.

That's what I thought, but I talked to the radiology program director and he basically said it's not gonna happen...

 

[tdram]

I agree. Medicine is not a profession in which you can only enjoy payday and just tolerate the day-to-day activity. This isn't a normal job.

If you don't enjoy the day-to-day activity in medical school, does it get better in residency or later? I feel like I'm just not good at it and that's why I don't enjoy it. I'm hoping that once I get good at it and know what I'm doing, I will feel better about it. Is that how it works in your experience? Or did you enjoy it from day 1.

 

[DermViser]

That's what I thought, but I talked to the radiology program director and he basically said it's not gonna happen...

It depends I guess on how wide a net you cast. University Rads programs will obviously be more picky (and still full of themselves).

 

[Mskincer]

I agree. Medicine is not a profession in which you can only enjoy payday and just tolerate the day-to-day activity. This isn't a normal job.

maybe not as quite as stressful as some of the medical specialties but you can make a case that retail pharmacy is very stressful. My dad (Walmart pharmacy manager) comes home looking like someone stuck some cactus arm up his anus

 

[tdram]

maybe not as quite as stressful as some of the medical specialties but you can make a case that retail pharmacy is very stressful. My dad (Walmart pharmacy manager) comes home looking like someone stuck some cactus arm up his anus

I think any job where you have to constantly deal with members of the general public is stressful, whether that is pharmacist, doctor, waiter, cashier, whatever. I can imagine that being the situation at Walmart where I always see people complaining about everything.

 

[DermViser]

If you don't enjoy the day-to-day activity in medical school, does it get better in residency or later? I feel like I'm just not good at it and that's why I don't enjoy it. I'm hoping that once I get good at it and know what I'm doing, I will feel better about it. Is that how it works in your experience? Or did you enjoy it from day 1.

Again, I think that highly depends on specialty and the type of patients you have to deal with. There is no specialty in which you will enjoy it 24/7, 100% of the time, all day, every day. I also think it's heavily dependent on lifestyle. For example, I have yet to see an unhappy PM&R resident.

I think as everyone proceeds thru med school, often times what happens is a re-calibration of expectations. For some people, they can do this easily. For others, it's much harder and an inability to do so can lead to things like anxiety, depression, etc.

 

[DermViser]

maybe not as quite as stressful as some of the medical specialties but you can make a case that retail pharmacy is very stressful. My dad (Walmart pharmacy manager) comes home looking like someone stuck some cactus arm up his anus

I was referring to medical specialties in the allopathic world. I have no idea about the lifestyle of pharmacists (I doubt they have call responsibility but I could be wrong).

 

[Mskincer]

I think as everyone proceeds thru med school, often times what happens is a re-calibration of expectations. For some people, they can do this easily. For others, it's much harder and an inability to do so can lead to things like anxiety, depression, etc.

thats why as cliche as it sounds it is important to be somewhat modest, your potential is up. I never automatically assume my favorite teams will make it to the Super Bowl or national title so that when they do I am really happy and when they don't I am not upset (ugh sound like a bandwagon typing that)

 

[Kale01]

wishing to get into an Ivy League school is like me wishing I could marry Victoria Secret supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio.

If investment banking were so easy simple and direct students would scramble to get into it, like how people are heading towards health care and engineering (specifically computer science)

... the Ivy League (lower Ivies) is not that hard to get into. You guys are over-exaggerating. Cornell accepts ~20% of applicants.

But yes, finance is where the money is.

 

[Mskincer]

... the Ivy League (lower Ivies) is not that hard to get into. You guys are over-exaggerating. Cornell accepts ~20% of applicants.

But yes, finance is where the money is.

if it is not that hard to get into then you should have been admitted in the first place. That's like saying neurosurgery is a piece of cake.

Seems like you went into medicine just for the money, two different career paths.

medical students wished they went into finance
people into finance wished they were celebrities
celebrities wished they were a god
a god wishes he was Chuck Norris

 

[Frazier]

Is it because of loans, time, etc?

Back as an MS-1, yes there was regret in quite a few instances.

I realized it was largely all about time.

The thought of delaying gratification and "life will start as an attending" got to be pretty depressing when you are still 8+ years away and all your peers are already "enjoying life".

Then I realized that gratification didn't need delayed and life actually started a long time ago (and doesn't stop for medical education).

Less regret. More happy.

 

[SquatnOats]

Then I realized that gratification didn't need delayed and life actually started a long time ago (and doesn't stop for medical education).

Less regret. More happy.

Great way to think about it.

 

[metopic]

I did, I liked Rads, but I don't have the scores to even bother trying to apply.

are you US grad of some flavor? if so enjoy your 99.9% match rate to rads. it's not competitive anymore as long as you shoot for community programs you will get in somewhere.

university programs are still a bloodbath on the higher end, but srsly just matching somewhere = ez mode now

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Back as an MS-1, yes there was regret in quite a few instances.

I realized it was largely all about time.

The thought of delaying gratification and "life will start as an attending" got to be pretty depressing when you are still 8+ years away and all your peers are already "enjoying life".

Then I realized that gratification didn't need delayed and life actually started a long time ago (and doesn't stop for medical education).

Less regret. More happy.

Honestly, I really like this mentality, it's the only one that has kept me sane and willing to keep at this process.

My good friend said life won't stop with medical school and it certainly didn't. I was busier, more stressed and definitely compromised a lot, but somehow I still made friends, saw my family and had plenty of good fun moments, those moments kept me going. I really don't like it when classmates say, oh this is the last time we'll ever have fun, come September it will be the end of the everything we every enjoyed and held dear. They make med school seem like we're getting shipped off to Siberia for 10 years.
I'll be busier and it won't be easy, but I expect to have good things to look forward to this year too, just like I did last year.

 

[DermViser]

are you US grad of some flavor? if so enjoy your 99.9% match rate to rads. it's not competitive anymore as long as you shoot for community programs you will get in somewhere.

university programs are still a bloodbath on the higher end, but srsly just matching somewhere = ez mode now

That's what I thought too!

 

[Silent Cool]

if it is not that hard to get into then you should have been admitted in the first place. That's like saying neurosurgery is a piece of cake.

Seems like you went into medicine just for the money, two different career paths.

medical students wished they went into finance
people into finance wished they were celebrities
celebrities wished they were a god
a god wishes he was Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris rocks!

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/chuck-...s-greatest-flaw-americas-greatest-cost-part-1

 

[tdram]

are you US grad of some flavor? if so enjoy your 99.9% match rate to rads. it's not competitive anymore as long as you shoot for community programs you will get in somewhere.

university programs are still a bloodbath on the higher end, but srsly just matching somewhere = ez mode now

I've been told that going to ez community prog = no job... true?

 

[DermViser]

I've been told that going to ez community prog = no job... true?

Why would you have no job? They do fellowships too just like those in university programs.

 

[Señor S]

I don't regret it so far...but in the long run, who knows? Call no man happy until he's dead.

 

[Arkangeloid]

I sorta regret it. Tbh, my parents offered to let me run a 7/11 if the whole med school thing didn't work out. Some times I wish I would have accepted the offer.

I guess this way, I don't have to live my life with the shame of knowing that I did nothing to further the family legacy, but also that I would be living in my more accomplished and industrious brother's shadow.

 

[Silent Cool]

I've been told that going to ez community prog = no job... true?

Nonsense. All doctors who finish their training (assuming the absence of indiscretions!) will have a job. Going to a community program does often make it a bit harder to secure fellowships, but it is still very doable if you are a good resident.

 

[xffan624]

if it is not that hard to get into then you should have been admitted in the first place. That's like saying neurosurgery is a piece of cake.

Seems like you went into medicine just for the money, two different career paths.

medical students wished they went into finance
people into finance wished they were celebrities
celebrities wished they were a god
a god wishes he was Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris wishes he was Morgan Freeman

 

[TheRobin]

Morgan Freeman wishes he was Bruce Lee.

 

[Kahreek]

I sorta regret it. Tbh, my parents offered to let me run a 7/11 if the whole med school thing didn't work out. Some times I wish I would have accepted the offer.

I guess this way, I don't have to live my life with the shame of knowing that I did nothing to further the family legacy, but also that I would be living in my more accomplished and industrious brother's shadow.

not sure if serious

 

[GadRads]

No regrets so far, except for these loans despite a partial tuition scholarship. I enjoy most of it.

 

[NickNaylor]

I've been told that going to ez community prog = no job... true?

I'm sure this is true in other specialties, but in psych there are some community programs which undoubtedly have better reputations and training than some programs at academic centers. While community programs might generally have less rigorous training than their academic counterparts, that isn't universal and I certainly don't think that means "no job" - particularly if you, you know, want to practice in the community.

 

[mystical man]

It's important to remember that medical school is a means to an end. Medical school is not the entirety of your career as a physician. Medical school hasn't been the most pleasant and enjoyable experience, but it's a necessity to what I think will ultimately be a pleasant and enjoyable career.

Take that for what you will.

I concur with this response

 

[PsychPod]

Unless you actually enjoy medicine it'll suck only because it's a job you don't just do 9-5 and never have take home work.
You will work weird hours, and you will meet weird people, but if you like medicine then you'll love every minute of it.

With an MD you could try to get into medical sales/consulting/policy type jobs if you hate it so much.

Never met a doctor who you couldn't tell he was a doctor when he was outside the office.
That says a lot.

 

[Arkangeloid]

not sure if serious

Srs

 

[RJGOP]

So true. Medical school and residency can sometimes eat up at your soul. The level of delayed gratification and then being told upon graduation that the NP/PA is just as smart as you is insult upon injury. All the more reason to only do the MD route if you TRULY can't see yourself as doing anything else.

I think the best test is this: If you went thru premed and med school, and at the end you were only allowed to do Family Medicine (and not concierge/direct pay either), would you still invest 6 figures in student loans to do it?

Hell no, would you?

 

[Mad Jack]

So true. Medical school and residency can sometimes eat up at your soul. The level of delayed gratification and then being told upon graduation that the NP/PA is just as smart as you is insult upon injury. All the more reason to only do the MD route if you TRULY can't see yourself as doing anything else.

I think the best test is this: If you went thru premed and med school, and at the end you were only allowed to do Family Medicine (and not concierge/direct pay either), would you still invest 6 figures in student loans to do it?

Inpatient anything, I would say yes. In fact, anything except FP and path and I'd say yes.

 

[Kangal]

.

 

[Kangal]

.

 

[tdram]

I'm sure this is true in other specialties, but in psych there are some community programs which undoubtedly have better reputations and training than some programs at academic centers. While community programs might generally have less rigorous training than their academic counterparts, that isn't universal and I certainly don't think that means "no job" - particularly if you, you know, want to practice in the community.

I was specifically referring to radiology. I have encountered many radiologists telling me doing a residency at a community program is a bad idea because it's really hard to get a job.

 

[FIREitUP]

Holy smokes...step into any academic OR and tell me those people just "tolerate" their jobs. Academic docs spend nights and days busting ass, barely ever for more pay. I don't think you HAVE to enjoy your job. But damn, I love medicine. Love science. Love the OR. Love trivia days at round. Rather do that every day than have a drink with my buddies...because in the end, how long can you enjoy fun stuff if you don't feel pain. Idk, maybe I'm a workaholic masochist, but the more I work the better I feel. hmm. I'm in lab right now. Got here at 5 am. Did I need to wake up early to run this ELISA...no, but I did it anyway.

 

[DermViser]

I'm sure this is true in other specialties, but in psych there are some community programs which undoubtedly have better reputations and training than some programs at academic centers. While community programs might generally have less rigorous training than their academic counterparts, that isn't universal and I certainly don't think that means "no job" - particularly if you, you know, want to practice in the community.

I believe he was referring to Radiology community programs. I think Radiology has now become a field in which fellowship has become a defacto requirement so I think he was concerned about having a job either directly after DR or being able to compete in getting a fellowship. I still think he can get "a job". I don't think he will be jobless.

Psychiatry is a different ball game I believe to where being an excellent trained psychiatrist doesn't require being trained in the halls of academia or in the halls of a top tier medical school. There are excellent Psych programs out there in which Psych residents have excellent mentors, great quality of life during residency etc. and an excellent education.

 

[DermViser]

I was specifically referring to radiology. I have encountered many radiologists telling me doing a residency at a community program is a bad idea because it's really hard to get a job.

Realize you're also talking to university radiologists. Many times they don't know anything outside their own walls when it comes to the job market, etc. I think @shark2000 might be an excellent resource for you.

 

[haavingfun1]

I regret the loans, the lack of time outside the hospital, the fact that I'm still a student at my age.

 

[Trod]

Holy smokes...step into any academic OR and tell me those people just "tolerate" their jobs. Academic docs spend nights and days busting ass, barely ever for more pay. I don't think you HAVE to enjoy your job. But damn, I love medicine. Love science. Love the OR. Love trivia days at round. Rather do that every day than have a drink with my buddies...because in the end, how long can you enjoy fun stuff if you don't feel pain. Idk, maybe I'm a workaholic masochist, but the more I work the better I feel. hmm. I'm in lab right now. Got here at 5 am. Did I need to wake up early to run this ELISA...no, but I did it anyway.

I agree with you here, when you really get rolling with your work it feels damn good. Weekends off feel more like speed bumps than recovery time. It's important to spend some time with family and friends though, even if its just for their sake when you'd rather be planning your next ELISA.

 

[Slack3r]

No regrets. I've actually really enjoyed med school. The only part that kinda sucked was Step 1 studying, but even then it wasn't too bad.

For comparison, most of my friends from college are working desk jobs ranging from $40-80,000. All but 1 actively dislike their jobs, and <5 years out of college they're all already planning their exit strategies. It could be worse.

 

[tdram]

No regrets. I've actually really enjoyed med school. The only part that kinda sucked was Step 1 studying, but even then it wasn't too bad.

For comparison, most of my friends from college are working desk jobs ranging from $40-80,000. All but 1 actively dislike their jobs, and <5 years out of college they're all already planning their exit strategies. It could be worse.

At least they're getting paid....

 

[DermViser]

No regrets. I've actually really enjoyed med school. The only part that kinda sucked was Step 1 studying, but even then it wasn't too bad.

For comparison, most of my friends from college are working desk jobs ranging from $40-80,000. All but 1 actively dislike their jobs, and <5 years out of college they're all already planning their exit strategies. It could be worse.

Your friends will have more savings than you do when u graduate from med school.