Would You Do It Over

[deleted92121]

I thought this would be complimentary to the "If you could do it over would you.." thread.

I think readers, especially pre-meds, would be interested to see an actual percentage of those that would or would not do it over again.

I am after definitive answers of Yes or No, that is why there are no other options. If you are so inclined, post your answer but please include a brief summary of why or why not, and what you would've chosen as a career instead.

This is open to fourth year med students and graduates only, just because they have more experience.

Thank you,
dxu

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[erichaj]

I'm afraid what your looking for is for someone to tell you if you should go to medical school or not.

There was like 10 pages of posts on this topic. You should have realized that there is not yes or no answer.

 

[deleted92121]

I'm afraid what your looking for is for someone to tell you if you should go to medical school or not.

There was like 10 pages of posts on this topic. You should have realized that there is not yes or no answer.

Yes but that thread is more open-ended. I want a yes or no from respondents. Granted it may be yes now, but no later..I can deal with somewhat biased answers due to a certain situation or mindset.

And actually I have people telling me what to do all the time (PA, MD/DO, RRT) and i'm aiming for med school because I don't want anything else. I know there will be some miserable times but its all I ever wanted and I have got to quit pretending I want something else.

dxu

 

[Cougarblue]

Absolutely, 100% yes. It would be interesting to see the poll broken down into those who went directly from undergrad to medical school and those who took time off to work in the "real world" prior to medical school. Having worked for almost five years prior to medical school I can honestly say that my worst days during med school have been 10X better than my best days working prior to medical school. Are there days that suck? Sure, but most days sucked prior to med school and I will be making as much as a resident as I did working and 5-6X more when I finish. Not bad in my book.

 

[mike_rakhabit]

Yes, I would absolutely do it again.

I love what I do. I am still in residency though, so maybe my opinion will change once I get out into the “real world”. I doubt it. I had a year off between undergrad and medical school. I did research, tutored and t.a.’d during that year…but I really enjoyed that year too. Overall, I have been really pleased with most of my experiences in both med school and residency (pathology).

 

[Cuthbert]

Let me say this, if someone told me that I had to go back and repeat the first two years of med school to become a doctor, I don't think I would. Those years suck - tests every week to twice or three times a week, studying so much that you don't have a life, not knowing how to have a conversation that does involves anything other than medicine - NO WAY! And I still have the hell of residency to look forward to!

But with that said, I really am very happy with where I am now. I would repeat my first few years of med school if someone could just erase my memory of how demanding they were.

 

[Astrocyte]

Let me say this, if someone told me that I had to go back and repeat the first two years of med school to become a doctor, I don't think I would. Those years suck - tests every week to twice or three times a week, studying so much that you don't have a life, not knowing how to have a conversation that does involves anything other than medicine - NO WAY! And I still have the hell of residency to look forward to!

But with that said, I really am very happy with where I am now. I would repeat my first few years of med school if someone could just erase my memory of how demanding they were.

I don't even think about this question. I just keep going. I think you will find that you are likely get more 'yes' among attendings than residents.

 

[deleted92121]

As of right now, yes is at 63% and no at 37%.

I find it intriguing that the no is so high. People dream of being doctors, for many reasons of course. I wonder how many of the no answes had a skewed view of medicine. However, I find it easy to have naive thoughts of medicine because of being exposed to so much media and tv.

dxu

 

[waterski232002]

It's kind of funny... As a Medical student I would have said "HELL NO!". I hated it... every SECOND of it! But as a resident (PGY-2 Emergency Medicine) I love it. I have good days and bad days, but overall, it is awesome. I have a good lifestyle, and have a much cooler/exciting job than anyone I know. I always have interesting stories to tell, and people are always interested in what I do. At work, I get to do tons of procedures (yesterday I did a conscious sedation, an emergent intubation, placed 2 pts on BiPAP, placed 2 central lines for pressors, placed a quinton dialysis catheter, and pulled tissue paper our of a prostitutes vagina as a make shift tampon--all in 8hrs), and I basically get as much autonomy as I want.

As a med student it blows b/c you work your ass off, you're treated like you are in kindergarten, eveyone is talking down to you, you have no autonomy or responsibility, and you don't get to do what you want to do. Worst of all, you don't get to make any decisions--which is where all the fun is.

The key is to find the part of medicine is that you like.... and you can find happiness. There is a wide variety in medicine. Choose wisely....

 

[DebDynamite]

I am a med student in the pitts of my med school experience. I'm in third year and it is so incredibly lame- the above post is exactly right. It is like being in Kindergarten in an 'effin hospital. So, ask me again when I'm a second year resident. Maybe I'll feel differently. But right now it is about the worst EVER. I mean waiting tables is much better. Much.

 

[me454555]

might be a good idea to redo this poll w/catagories of yes and no for premeds, med students, residents, and attendings