You aren’t there to make friends or fit in or be popular (although you will make friends, everyone does... and you are a Med student, chances are we’re you never popular at any stage of life lol). Your number one goal or your mission is to get that piece of paper and match into the speciality you want. Keep doing well in school and thank yourself on match day
While you're not in med school to be popular, if you approach any part of this long, arduous journey with the attitude that it is just something to get through, you'll be miserable and miss out on some of the best years of life. I also have found that I'm much happier living a fulfilling life than I am racking up awards (though the two are not mutually exclusive).
I got caught up in the SDN prestige hype and turned down a lot of money to attend a highly regarded school. After hearing more and more that physician reimbursements are going to collapse I'm starting to regret my decision.
Way off topic, but worth noting a transition to single payer won't collapse physician salaries, though you could expect a 10-20% pay cut, most likely, and it's probably not even the best system for a country where half the government and the people are willing to cut just about any public service for a $100 tax break. The #1 thing people misunderstand about M4A or any other policy proposal to fix US healthcare is that the US healthcare system is fundamentally different from European healthcare systems beyond just insurance. So people like to make exaggerated claims about how we're going to be making German physician salaries as soon as universal healthcare goes through, but it's just not possible. This boils down to a few things.
1) Physician density is way lower in the US compared to Europe. This drives salaries far more than the reimbursement system.
2) The training pathway is longer, and you won't attract decent people to the field without high salaries (must overcome opportunity cost of debt + years of lost salary/investment capital).
3) American exceptionalism. Everyone wants the best care, even if it's more expensive. When it comes down to it, by the raw numbers Americans happily pay more for healthcare when they see it as better.
4) There is a large European vs. American salary gap in any field, even in countries with comparable GDP/capita.
5) Hospitals are very organized and growing more powerful. They have plenty of negotiating power with CMS.
IMO, what needs to change is the volatility of our current system. People don't like the idea that getting hurt could bankrupt you. I think that's a reasonable take. With an individual mandate, expanded medicare, and a better subsidy system for the middle class (like Obama wanted) and also with reforms on how/when insurance can deny coverage (e.g. surprise billing from out-of-network providers), most of people's actual qualms with healthcare will be placated. This seems far more doable and more likely to pass in the US, especially after lawmakers saw the disastrous results of Green Mountain Care in Vermont. Add in a public option to bring prices down to reasonable levels and we're golden.
As the title says.
3 months in, I just feel like I made the wrong choice for med school.
I know its a done deal for the next 4 years but if you've felt this, how did you make it work?
I feel like I don't fit in at all, I'm different (can't really elaborate or say the school as it may give up my identity... Maybe).
Had an intense bout of really hating it here 4 weeks ago, brought me to tears. I'm much better now but ever since then I've thought to myself every single day "Damn I fcuked up" about not picking the other school. Gets worse when I see posts of a friend who is in the other school.
I've made some friends.
Maybe its COVID isolation in addition to the med school isolation.
But I feel that its not just that... Can't put my finger on it.
My one solace is that I'm doing really well in my classes and hopefully will continue to do so.
But at the same time, is it just a grass is always greener on the other side and maybe I would feel the same if I had chosen the other school.
Just ranting.
OP, FWIW, if my program was the way it is now because of COVID, I would hate it. I loved my program prior to this ish, and I expect I'll love it again once society has returned to some semblance of normal.