Why did you become a doctor?/do you regret your decision?

[lazybutt26]

Hi,

A sad and undecided pre-med here about whether medicine is for me or not.
Now, people might say, "if you're not sure of your medical career, you shouldn't have been a pre-med in the first place" let me give you a little bit of my background.
Growing up, I was naturally so interested in how human body worked. I always had books with lots of pictures explaining the functions of organs, how food entered the digestive tract (Mind you, they were not detailed or anything like that. They were meant to be read by children). In high school, I took a lot of science courses and I loved every bit from physics, chemistry to biology. Now, I just graduated from college with 3.9 GPA. So, those of you who might be saying I am not qualified or not smart enough to become a doctor, please back off.
I've also taken MCAT and scored well above the average (32). I've shadowed physicians and volunteered at one of the best hospitals in the nation. But the volunteering experience was all bull**** in my opinion because I didn't really get to see what was like for physicians to interact with patients or practice medicine. I was in Emergency Department once and all I could do was transporting patients. Very restrictive hospital regulations/policies didn't allow anyone but licensed health professionals to touch any patients or observe anything that pre-med students could benefit from.

When I was shadowing lots of physicians from a variety of specialties, 80 percent of them said, "had I known that practicing medicine would be like today, I wouldn't have done it" or "20 years ago, had I known, I would have gone into dentistry, which offers more flexible hours, better life styles, and more autonomy"
They said the frustration that comes form dealing with insurance companies, less autonomy, long hours and
less pay were all not worth spending over 12-15 years of education and training.

Now, I am at a crossroads as I hear more and more negative aspects of practicing medicine today in America.
Residents are working 28-36 hours straight for a shift, not being able to spend any time with their families, which leads to high divorce rate, long hours, and little appreciation for their work from their patients.

I love science, I love learning about human body. I think it's the most amazing thing that ever exists on this planet. How neurons fire, how muscles contract, how tumors form. It's all by chemical reactions and it's utterly amazing.

But just loving learning about human body and helping others really worth sacrificing most of my 20s and 30s, a decade length of sleep deprivation, not being able to see my husband, bearing a baby during my residency?

Please, if you're a medical student, a resident, or an attending, will you please shed some light on the reality of being a physician today?

I really appreciate you reading this long thread and helping me out! Thanks!

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[Axes]

The way I see it, you have to do something. And since we're not great artists or ball players, or startup guys, you have somewhat limited options. If you like bio and want to help people, do medicine. If you can think of something you want to do more, do that. I'm in the same-ish situation as you btw. Although I'm just starting college so take with salt

 

[Goro]

The vast majority of my students, when asked after graduation (and have no impetus to lie) say that they would do everything the same all over again.

You can have children in med school and/or residency. It has been done and can be done.

You can always be a nurse, too.

And it's digestive "tract", not track.

 

[tortelliniboy]

I went in to help people. I do that, I'm still happy

 

[raiderette]

There are a lot of things you can do in healthcare that give you more flexibility. Nursing, CRNA, PA, optometrist, dentist, podiatrist. It sounds like you need to shadow other careers before making a commitment.

 

[MyNameWasUsed]

The good old "do you regret your life choices" thread. I don't think anybody would openly admit that they regret their life profession even if they do. It's just pretty depressing to be like "you know what? I hate my life". lmao

 

[gublagu3]

I think it depends a lot who you work for. For example, both of my parents work at a state hospital and they absolutely love their jobs. They work four days a week and even on the days they work, they have plenty of time to go for walks, socialize with co-workers etc on top of getting paid well.

I also there is a lot of flexibility in terms of how much you want to work in medicine. For instance, my uncle, who is a surgeon, is constantly on call and he makes A LOT of money. On the other hand, I have a cousin, who is an ophthalmologist, who only works one day a week, and still makes decent money. The point is, there is a decent amount of flexibility in medicine, at least from what I have seen.

In terms of dealing with insurance companies, you can always find work with large organizations that will take care of the business aspect of medicine.

 

[doc05]

Hi,
When I was shadowing lots of physicians from a variety of specialties, 80 percent of them said, "had I known that practicing medicine would be like today, I wouldn't have done it" or "20 years ago, had I known, I would have gone into dentistry, which offers more flexible hours, better life styles, and more autonomy"
They said the frustration that comes form dealing with insurance companies, less autonomy, long hours and
less pay were all not worth spending over 12-15 years of education and training.

you've heard this because it's all true.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

They should also require premeds to shadow a medical student and see what it takes to become a Physician in the first place.

As the great philosopher Ronnie Coleman once said "Everyone wants to be a bodybuilder, no one wants to lift heavy ass weight"

 

[lazybutt26]

They should also require premeds to shadow a medical student and see what it takes to become a Physician in the first place.

As the great philosopher Ronnie Coleman once said "Everyone wants to be a bodybuilder, no one wants to lift heavy ass weight"

So true. I wish there were more programs for pre-med students to engage in to really get a feel of what's like to be a medical student or a physician.
There aren't not enough programs for pre-meds to really gain insights into day to day duties physicians have to do.
We, pre-meds, try to gain some clinical experience by hopefully gaining employment at the hospital, which is extremely hard because most hospitals require you to have some sort of certificates or licenses to get near the patients, or volunteering at clinics or hospitals, but it's still hard to gain hands-on experience 🙁

 

[r7p3]

The good old "do you regret your life choices" thread. I don't think anybody would openly admit that they regret their life profession even if they do. It's just pretty depressing to be like "you know what? I hate my life". lmao

I wonder if there are a lot of people like that. Isn't depression quite common?

 

[fasteddie911]

There are pros/cons to every profession and it's best to investigate thoroughly before making a decision. A lot of doctors do like to complain, but many of them haven't had much experience outside of medicine, had different expectations when entering the field or just did it for the wrong reasons. There are challenges as you mentioned: long unpredictable hours, lengthy school/training, family concerns, high stress, insurance companies and bureaucratic nonsense. For all of this, though, you get rewarded with high pay (likely >$200k, easily more), job security and flexibility (doctors are always needed everywhere) and a rewarding career (doctors still provide a high value to society). Every profession has its BS and there are simply not many jobs out there that pay like a physician's does that are low stress or easy. However, being a female, the dynamics of a marriage come into play more and you have to make sure your husband is onboard as it seems physician husbands can be more difficult than physician wives. Despite what attendings like to think, the grass isn't always greener.

 

[bunchesonothing]

The good old "do you regret your life choices" thread. I don't think anybody would openly admit that they regret their life profession even if they do. It's just pretty depressing to be like "you know what? I hate my life". lmao

I've unfortunately heard a few doctors who said they did regret their profession. But I'm not sure if they were having a bad day, or would potentially would be equally frustrated with other professions or even more... just don't know it.

 

[The Buff OP]

They should also require premeds to shadow a medical student and see what it takes to become a Physician in the first place.

As the great philosopher Ronnie Coleman once said "Everyone wants to be a bodybuilder, no one wants to lift heavy ass weight"

Amen, brotha.

 

[marcelo12]

.

 

[willowedacorn]

The vast majority of my students, when asked after graduation (and have no impetus to lie) say that they would do everything the same all over again.

You can have children in med school and/or residency. It has been done and can be done.

You can always be a nurse, too.

And it's digestive "tract", not track.

@Goro I’ve seen you mention on another thread that you wouldn’t recommend your own kids to go into medicine? Not calling you out I’m just curious why. Is there something fundamentally different about med students?

 

[Goro]

@Goro I’ve seen you mention on another thread that you wouldn’t recommend your own kids to go into medicine? Not calling you out I’m just curious why. Is there something fundamentally different about med students?

The road to Medicine is a long hard slog. It takes one to their intellectual limits, and it's really stressful. I Don't think that it would have been a good journey for my kids.

For med students , it is a calling. Making bank is merely the baseline.

 

[willowedacorn]

The road to Medicine is a long hard slog. It takes one to their intellectual limits, and it's really stressful. I Don't think that it would have been a good journey for my kids.

For med students , it is a calling. Making bank is merely the baseline.

I know residency sucks, and will always suck, but does med school have to be stressful? Most med students I’ve spoken to study 40 hours a week or less, which doesn’t sound bad at all.

Is the experience different for people that have had a full-time job before med school?

 

[Goro]

I know residency sucks, and will always suck, but does med school have to be stressful? Most med students I’ve spoken to study 40 hours a week or less, which doesn’t sound bad at all.

Is the experience different for people that have had a full-time job before med school?

People have had a full-time job before Medical School tend to be better at time management, and bring more maturity to medical school then those who were just full-time students as undergrads..
Personally I think a year of employment should be a prerequisite for medical school

 

[Goro]

And med school is stressful because you are not merely drinking from the fire hose, you're drinking from the fire hose while running after the fire truck.

 

[deleted929944]

Well. It started when I was 10 and this cute girl Susie Derkins said, you can be my boyfriend when you become a doctor. So here I am. A neurosurgeon, and she's married to a guy selling hotdogs out of his pickup.

Man, I'm jealous. Hot dogs... yum.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

I know residency sucks, and will always suck, but does med school have to be stressful? Most med students I’ve spoken to study 40 hours a week or less, which doesn’t sound bad at all.

Is the experience different for people that have had a full-time job before med school?

Most of the people I've talked to that worked corporate or another serious job prior to med school said it has its moments but is largely less stressful than their previous career for M1-2, fairly stressful M3, and again less stressful than previous career during M4. These are primarily former engineers, finance people, etc.

I think a lot of 22 yos aren't ready for the realities of working in general. The stresses of doctoring probably compound that.

 

[troy&abedintheAM]

Well. It started when I was 10 and this cute girl Susie Derkins said, you can be my boyfriend when you become a doctor. So here I am. A neurosurgeon, and she's married to a guy selling hotdogs out of his pickup.

Man, I'm jealous. Hot dogs... yum.

did hobbes at least stay with you? or is he at susie's eating free hot dogs?

 

[willowedacorn]

Most of the people I've talked to that worked corporate or another serious job prior to med school said it has its moments but is largely less stressful than their previous career for M1-2, fairly stressful M3, and again less stressful than previous career during M4. These are primarily former engineers, finance people, etc.

I think a lot of 22 yos aren't ready for the realities of working in general. The stresses of doctoring probably compound that.

This is what I mean, it doesn’t seem that bad. Maybe I’m crazy but med school seems easier than the average new-grad job.

 

[LunaOri]

This is what I mean, it doesn’t seem that bad. Maybe I’m crazy but med school seems easier than the average new-grad job.

I went to med school after spending several years in a dead-end job (research lab). Med school was a joy in comparison to that. School is hard work, but there is an end goal, and every lecture/test/course brings you a step closer to being a physician.

 

[willowedacorn]

I went to med school after spending several years in a dead-end job (research lab). Med school was a joy in comparison to that. School is hard work, but there is an end goal, and every lecture/test/course brings you a step closer to being a physician.

@Goro I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this

 

[Goro]

I think that it's wonderful that good Dr Luna fulfilled her dream! Research isn't for everyone.

 

[LunaOri]

@Goro I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this

To be clear: this was a low-level job. I am not a PhD research scientist.

 

[operaman]

I went as a second career and absolutely loved med school. I definitely approached it like a job with a full time professional schedule and put in the hours. I’m not sure if I could have done that straight out of UG. But put in the time and stay focused and it’s not too bad and can actually be fun.

The volume of info takes some adjustment. Med school will mercilessly punish procrastination with hellfire and brimstone. I never really felt prepared for any exam I took; I just studied constantly and sometimes exams would happen. Then I would study something else. But at least it was interesting and relevant. The velocity is intense though. I remember getting 4-5 lectures in a day and studying them until bedtime and struggling to wrap my mind around the info only to walk in the next day to 4-5 entirely new lectures with just as much new info that was equally challenging. It just never stopped.

From 3rd year on it changes a bit - similar volume but less formal didactic teaching, yet still expected to demonstrate all that learning on standardized exams. Overall really liked this part of school, felt like really becoming a doctor. And if I think about it, my day to day hasn’t really changed too much from then til now. I get up every morning, round on patients, go to clinic/OR, do stuff, write notes, sometimes round again, then go home. Basically my typical day since M3, only now with more responsibilities and better pay.

Where I think med school differs from a typical entry level post grad job is that you combine a steep learning curve with cyclical ignorance. In med school (and residency early on), just when you start to feel comfortable with a subject or a rotation, you’re off to something new. Your working friends in regular jobs may be pulling long hours and feeling overwhelmed, but they’re usually doing the same job 6 months after starting. The med student has been expected to learn 4-6 different blocks of seemingly unrelated material in that timeframe.

If you enjoy learning and thrive on uncertainty and the challenge of cyclical ignorance then med school can be fun. But many people really need that place of comfort and competence, but I’m 3 years out from fellowship and only now really starting to find it. My mentors tell me 5 years out is when they felt it. Add to that lots of high stress and high stakes exams and boards and having to socialize well to get good evals and it can be a pressure cooker that destabilizes even seemingly strong resilient people.

But if you’ve got the heart and intellect and right temperament for it, it’s a pretty awesome gig.

 

[willowedacorn]

To be clear: this was a low-level job. I am not a PhD research scientist.

I’m aware. I think my point was misunderstood. I wanted to highlight that Med school doesn’t seem *that* challenging for people who have worked full-time jobs.

I wanted to hear @Goro ‘s thoughts on this since med school really doesn’t sound too bad from where I’m standing.

Wasn’t trying to make a point about research being unfulfilling/unfruitful!

 

[Goro]

I’m aware. I think my point was misunderstood. I wanted to highlight that Med school doesn’t seem *that* challenging for people who have worked full-time jobs.

I wanted to hear @Goro ‘s thoughts on this since med school really doesn’t sound too bad from where I’m standing.

Wasn’t trying to make a point about research being unfulfilling/unfruitful!

In our experience, my students who have a work history, or at least some type of life outside of academics that taught them responsibility (for lack of a better term) tend to do better.