Is anyone on SDN actually happy with their decision to go to medical school?

[Detective John McClane]

Sadly, I feel a lot of people think this >.>

I think you misunderstood. I enjoy medical school a lot. Medical students just really love to complain, and so do I. Thats why it's always doom and gloom here.

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[qtpai]

I really dislike complaining about medical school. I came to med school to succeed in life, not to be negative towards it. Whatever I can do to get myself off of the negative train of thinking, I do. Acknowledging the negative side of things is an essential part of progress and shouldn't be downplayed. But it is a means, not an end. When I cannot see the purpose of complaining, I try to reframe my criticism, or rethink my strategy, and move on to more constructive things. I don't like being miserable.

 

[xffan624]

I think you misunderstood. I enjoy medical school a lot. Medical students just really love to complain, and so do I. Thats why it's always doom and gloom here.

It's kinda sad when we all get together, half the time all we talk about is school. We really need get a life.

 

[Xerology]

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[Xerology]

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[Detective John McClane]

It's kinda sad when we all get together, half the time all we talk about is school. We really need get a life.

I actually tried to get a life a little while ago but everything is different now. Apparently "bae" means significant other and it is now common knowledge that you only live once. The trickle down of information from medical professionals to young laypeople is astounding.

 

[Psai]

I actually tried to get a life a little while ago but everything is different now. Apparently "bae" means significant other and it is now common knowledge that you only live once. The trickle down of information from medical professionals to young laypeople is astounding.

I thought it was annoying when I got called babe but I also found out about "bae" about a week ago and I think it's ridiculous

 

[IlDestriero]

It's kinda sad when we all get together, half the time all we talk about is school. We really need get a life.

Lack of balance is a huge problem in medical school and residency. You have to make an effort to make time for outside activities and exercise just like you make time for studying, sleep, etc.

 

[EMDO2018]

"Is anyone on SDN actually happy with their decision to go to medical school?"

Yeah.

 

[Roxas]

"Is anyone on SDN actually happy with their decision to go to medical school?"

Yeah.

Things are going better for you then?

 

[fancymylotus]

"Is anyone on SDN actually happy with their decision to go to medical school?"

Yeah.

Oh you've officially returned. Hello. How are classes

 

[circulus vitios]

Did it really suck that bad? At least you pulled out now. What's next for you? CRNA?

Applying for a masters degree in accounting.

edit: And yeah, it sucked. The ratio of interesting to godawful material was like 1:4. Every now and then I regret dropping out but then I think back to how much I hated it, and I'm okay with my decision.

 

[wjs010]

Not sure if you have already covered pharma, but learning about the vitamins and minerals is a joke compared to the list of drugs that I need to memorize over the next 3 days for my exam. These cephalosporins are driving me nuts!

I'm not sure if every school does this, but we are covering the bugs and drugs together as micro.. We are also just starting pharm so not sure if we will hit them again.

 

[pyrrion89]

Some hard days, but hard days no matter what you do in life. The good days are great and make it worth it. But I'm just an MS1... maybe I'll think differently when the heat gets turned up, haha

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I'm not sure if every school does this, but we are covering the bugs and drugs together as micro.. We are also just starting pharm so not sure if we will hit them again.

I see. At my school we have a 5 week block that covers immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, and some pathology. We continue to revisit the pertinent pharma and immuno as we go into systems.

 

[tantacles]

As someone who has finally made it to third year, I can confidently say that I made the best decision possible for my life; there is nothing I would rather do.

 

[OsteopathicHopeful]

I'm not happy with my choice to go to medical school. I really struggled along the way, getting poor/mediocre grades, and having to repeat step 1. Now as a 4th year, I'm still struggling, likely not going to match and won't have anywhere to go for residency next year .

Don't just make sure you have the right attitude, make sure you have the aptitude too. That was my mistake.

How does one know they have the aptitude?

 

[chasm-e-baddoor]

Loooool. As someone who started med school at damn near 30, I can assure you that you've got so many good years left. I'm a bit more tired at 30, but otherwise life is actually more awesome than when I was younger.

Darned, I'm more than two decades older than that and I thought I was just entering my prime? Did you have to tell me that? Really, you just might find that life as you get older isn't so bad. For sure things change, but it's hardly the case that being a bit older when you make more money is a bad trade-off for doing what you want to do and enjoy doing it for the next 30 or so years of your life. YMMV, but I speak from experience and what I've seen with lots of my colleagues who are as elderly as I am and even older.

I didnt say that the 30s/40s/50s/60s suck or anything and i look forward to being lucky enough to live that long (i dont take living for granted as freak accidents, crimes, etc do occur)

I'm just saying that in your 20s, you can physically do things you cant really do in the later decades. It's basically a timing thing, for me - I am spending the time that I am most physically capable sitting most of the time and not doing anything too strenuous. Then when I'm finally done and have the time to do those more strenuous activities, ill be a busy doctor in my 30s where, while i may still be physically robust, i wont be as robust as i was a decade from then. I'm not saying it will be bad, but it's not ....efficient?

 

[Mad Jack]

I didnt say that the 30s/40s/50s/60s suck or anything and i look forward to being lucky enough to live that long (i dont take living for granted as freak accidents, crimes, etc do occur)

I'm just saying that in your 20s, you can physically do things you cant really do in the later decades. It's basically a timing thing, for me - I am spending the time that I am most physically capable sitting most of the time and not doing anything too strenuous. Then when I'm finally done and have the time to do those more strenuous activities, ill be a busy doctor in my 30s where, while i may still be physically robust, i wont be as robust as i was a decade from then. I'm not saying it will be bad, but it's not ....efficient?

This is exactly why I feel I did things the right way- enjoyed my 20s and didn't start med school until 29. I get the best of both worlds- I got to enjoy the prime years of my life, and now I get to devote the rest of it to living a fulfilling life as a physician.

 

[Mad Jack]

Ended up dropping out. Sucks to flush one semester of tuition/COL down the drain, but whatever.

Sad to lose you, but at least you did what made you happy and didn't keep throwing good money after bad.

 

[chasm-e-baddoor]

This is exactly why I feel I did things the right way- enjoyed my 20s and didn't start med school until 29. I get the best of both worlds- I got to enjoy the prime years of my life, and now I get to devote the rest of it to living a fulfilling life as a physician.

I agree - your way is what I wish I had done.

 

[JM26]

This is exactly why I feel I did things the right way- enjoyed my 20s and didn't start med school until 29. I get the best of both worlds- I got to enjoy the prime years of my life, and now I get to devote the rest of it to living a fulfilling life as a physician.

I started me school at 27. It was a challenge to return to school after working, but I am glad I had some time to have fun - of course I didn't realize how much fun I was actually having until school started...

 

[fancymylotus]

I wish I had waited. I feel like there were things I would have liked to do or experience that I probably won't get to, now. ><

 

[Mad Jack]

I started me school at 27. It was a challenge to return to school after working, but I am glad I had some time to have fun - of course I didn't realize how much fun I was actually having until school started...

Yeah, I miss having a normal life sometimes. But at the same time, what the hell else would I rather be doing in 8 years for a living?

 

[Mad Jack]

I wish I had waited. I feel like there were things I would have liked to do or experience that I probably won't get to, now. ><

Do everything you can before babies happen fancy. You've still got a whole lot of freedom and money with which to enjoy it. Once babies happen, that's pretty much done.

 

[fancymylotus]

Do everything you can before babies happen fancy. You've still got a whole lot of freedom and money with which to enjoy it. Once babies happen, that's pretty much done.

Most of what I want to do involves travel and expeditions to locations currently not safe bc 1) ebola and 2) isis/terrorism/unsafe in general and 3) no one to go with. Majorly sucks. I wanted to be an archeologist badly before my parents shut that idea down, and I always sort of hung on to the interest so there are some places I would love to go and spend time in. Oh well

 

[Mad Jack]

Most of what I want to do involves travel and expeditions to locations currently not safe bc 1) ebola and 2) isis/terrorism/unsafe in general and 3) no one to go with. Majorly sucks. I wanted to be an archeologist badly before my parents shut that idea down, and I always sort of hung on to the interest so there are some places I would love to go and spend time in. Oh well

That really does suck. Africa and the Middle East are amazing, and full of awesome things to see. I wish I'd gotten there before SHTF myself. Hopefully things die down by the time I'm an attending so I can see the cradle of civilization while I'm young enough to enjoy it.

 

[SilentSoldier]

This second block is getting tough, pharm sucks, genetics sucks, endocrine sucks even more, micro is just a mess, but I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing. I still freaking love medical school.

 

[WinslowPringle]

M4. Interviews done. On a cushy radiology rotation. Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the decision to go to med school.


Just don't ask me at 2am 3 months into intern year...

 

[Kahreek]

Applying for a masters degree in accounting.

edit: And yeah, it sucked. The ratio of interesting to godawful material was like 1:4. Every now and then I regret dropping out but then I think back to how much I hated it, and I'm okay with my decision.

holy **** son, i remembered when we used to kick back around these forums a year ago.
You dropout made me flashback about a buddy i made during ms1 then he dropped out , i was like, damn it.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Most of what I want to do involves travel and expeditions to locations currently not safe bc 1) ebola and 2) isis/terrorism/unsafe in general and 3) no one to go with. Majorly sucks. I wanted to be an archeologist badly before my parents shut that idea down, and I always sort of hung on to the interest so there are some places I would love to go and spend time in. Oh well

I feel ya' fancy, and totally agree with Mad Jack on the time off thing.

I rushed into med school straight from college, and the burnout shows. I'm still happy to be here and don't regret being in med school, but sometimes I feel like a bit of time off might have done me some good mentally. I definitely don't feel at the top of my game, but working my way back up slowly now. Just hope I can get the old me back in time for Step 1.
My classmates talk about backpacking around Europe, or all the fun adventures they had and things they did, and I sometimes wish I experienced some of that too.

Still, it's never too late, for either of us. As Mad Jack said, no kids, no family, we're still young.
I'm seriously considering taking a year off after M4 to do an MPH or something in a fun city if I can.

 

[fancymylotus]

I feel ya' fancy, and totally agree with Mad Jack on the time off thing.

I rushed into med school straight from college, and the burnout shows. I'm still happy to be here and don't regret being in med school, but sometimes I feel like a bit of time off might have done me some good mentally. I definitely don't feel at the top of my game, but working my way back up slowly now. Just hope I can get the old me back in time for Step 1.
My classmates talk about backpacking around Europe, or all the fun adventures they had and things they did, and I sometimes wish I experienced some of that too.

Still, it's never too late, for either of us. As Mad Jack said, no kids, no family, we're still young.
I'm seriously considering taking a year off after M4 to do an MPH or something in a fun city if I can.

That's awesome that you can potentially study in a new city I made my Asian parents proud by graduating when I was 25 but the novelty of that wore off pretty fast. It also depends on where Kaus ends up for residency/where I have to move to/what his schedule is like. Maybe I'll drag him along on some expeditions. I want to go dig around the valley of the Kings and discover stuff

 

[zeppelinpage4]

That's awesome that you can potentially study in a new city I made my Asian parents proud by graduating when I was 25 but the novelty of that wore off pretty fast. It also depends on where Kaus ends up for residency/where I have to move to/what his schedule is like. Maybe I'll drag him along on some expeditions. I want to go dig around the valley of the Kings and discover stuff

For sure! I definitely think my south Asian upbringing played a role in me going straight through the process like I did. It still feels good to make my family proud, but I sometimes think I'm gonna look older than my non-trad classmates b/c of the burnout haha.

And best of luck on your excavations! That's the perk of having freedom a bit later in life, we have the money to actually pursue cool adventures and travel. Of course, if you find something really big, you could retire and explore the rest of your life. National Geographic Cover "Fancy discovers new civilization, the ones who actually built the pyramids!" We'd expect an SDN article of course, can't forget us if you get famous.

I'd like to learn to fly planes or gliders at some point, it's def on my list of future hobbies once I can afford it. I always wanted to be a pilot growing up.

 

[fancymylotus]

For sure! I definitely think my south Asian upbringing played a role in me going straight through the process like I did. It still feels good to make my family proud, but I sometimes think I'm gonna look older than my non-trad classmates b/c of the burnout haha.

And best of luck on your excavations! That's the perk of having freedom a bit later in life, we have the money to actually pursue cool adventures and travel. Of course, if you find something really big, you could retire and explore the rest of your life. National Geographic Cover "Fancy discovers new civilization, the ones who actually built the pyramids!" We'd expect an SDN article of course, can't forget us if you get famous.

I'd like to learn to fly planes or gliders at some point, it's def on my list of future hobbies once I can afford it. I always wanted to be a pilot growing up.

Yay for a fellow brown person
My nerd status passion is and was ancient Egypt, but my mother said that no child of hers was going to dig around in the desert for a living so, here I am. Actually getting to go would be awesome, let alone discovering something! Haha. I wonder if you can get flying lessons near wherever you are? Most airports even smaller ones have them I think..

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Yay for a fellow brown person
My nerd status passion is and was ancient Egypt, but my mother said that no child of hers was going to dig around in the desert for a living so, here I am. Actually getting to go would be awesome, let alone discovering something! Haha. I wonder if you can get flying lessons near wherever you are? Most airports even smaller ones have them I think..

Haha the shared brown experience is something special. Our avatars probably make more sense now too!

Aww man, I remember when I said I wanted to be a veterinarian and my grandma freaked out saying her grandchild is not going to spend his days working with animals.....I just kept thinking to myself "she says this, like it's a bad thing.."

I think I can, there's a couple small airports nearby, and my friend told me I could pretty easily get someone to take up with them so I can see what it's like. Only issues now, time and money is pretty limited. I think a flying lesson can cost a couple hundred dollars, and schools been eating up a lot of time.
You're giving me an idea though...I get a few weeks off after my Step 1 and I might be able to save up enough for at least a lesson or two to see how I like it, this could happen.

 

[vm26]

I've regretted the decision for medical school for a while now and luckily I was able to persuade my sibling from not going into medicine like me. Now I completely understand why older physicians are not sending their children to medical school. Think about it, if you are a smart young college graduated, why would you want to go through 4 years of rote memorization followed by 3-7 years of a hospital grunt to come out with 300k in debt and have the government and administrators dictated how you practice, with insurance companies cutting your reimbursement in every possible way?

The young bright students now a days are going into business, IT, computer science. Go work for Google, uber, facebook, etc that is where the future is, not rounding on your 12 patients as a hospitalist for the rest of your life. Next year, the hospital will want to increase your cap to 14 and then to 16 two years later, while you pay will get a decrease every year.

Stay away while you can.

I don't disagree but many other fields are hurting as well (law school, MBAs). Still think that many field in medicine are more of a sure thing of making a very good living than working for the companies that you mentioned

 

[EMDO2018]

All,

I've been reading through the topics on this forum and all I can say is...wow this is depressing lol. Forgive my possible naivety, but is anyone on this forum actually happy and excited about their career choice? I was recently accepted to medical school and all of the med students I personally know are very happy (on the surface, at least). I know the education and training are grueling, but is anyone genuinely happy with their current experience?? I am confident that I am getting into medicine for the right reasons, but the litany of negativity surrounding some of the topics in this forum is quite disheartening.

The science and learning is fun. The constant pressure to pass makes it less fun.

I only know about 25% of my classmates, 75% of that 25% are people I would never hang out with if I wasn't forced to.


Glad I'm in med school, wish I went to one of the other 3 school I got into, preferably one of the HBCUs.

 

[Psai]

The science and learning is fun. The constant pressure to pass makes it less fun.

I only know about 25% of my classmates, 75% of that 25% are people I would never hang out with if I wasn't forced to.


Glad I'm in med school, wish I went to one of the other 3 school I got into, preferably one of the HBCUs.

 

[TRP504]

I think all the people that really complain about it started right after undergrad. The students I've spoken to (age 25+) all say positive things, then always follow up with its a lot of work, but never negative things.

 

[EMDO2018]

That reminds me, I love how every time I say I deal with a lot of racism as a black medical student people's response is always , im being to sensitive about it. If only people could see past their front nose.

 

[Psai]

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[Pacna]

I find that people in higher education treat black people better than other colors, I assume due to some feeling that they need to make it clear to everyone that they aren't racist.

While certainly preferable, still racist. I don't have a solution; this is just my experience.

 

[Roxas]

Bumping cause I just started 2nd year and I'm still moderately happy.

That is all.

 

[Psai]

Bumping cause I just started 2nd year and I'm still moderately happy.

That is all.

That's great man keep it up

 

[W19]

Bumping cause I just started 2nd year and I'm still moderately happy.

That is all.

Good for you! My first path lecture today was a review of histo .

 

[olivarynucleus]

So depressed that school starts next week.

 

[Roxas]

Good for you! My first path lecture today was a review of histo .

Histo was hands down my least favorite subject in M1. I can't wait for path....

 

[SilentSoldier]

Bumping cause I just started 2nd year and I'm still moderately happy.

That is all.

6 weeks into 2nd year and the happiness that I had in 1st year is dwindling away. Maybe because I'd rather be spending time outside during this wonderful summer weather than studying.

 

[Chemdude]

I started being disappointed with my choice of going to medical school after the first couple months of third year. I loved the preclinical years. All I had to do was study for a week or two every month. I would see the direct [positive] results of my studying. Then I took step 1, and I was so happy. I felt like I knew everything. Then third year started, and I started to feel like ****. I have never felt more crappy than I did during my surgery rotation last December. I felt like I was a nobody. My friends in other fields were respected professionals, and here I was regurgitating random lab values every day at 5 am in the morning while being cut-off and disrespected by grumpy residents. The surgeon who gave me my final grade only worked with me a handful of times during the semester, and he didn't even know my name. There were a few moments where I felt extremely happy, but those moments were few and far between. Otherwise, I was disappointed by the lack of intellectual rigor in clinical medicine. I had no interest in writing BS notes that will never get read, and retracting for 2 hours straight as I watch the 20th hernia repair. I was disappointed with the daily grind of clinical medicine.

I now think that I would have been much happier as a PhD in an academic career path. I sometimes envy my engineer/business friends who have been making good money for the past few years. They have a comfortable life that seems to be much less stressful than that of an MD. It pains me to know that I will not have a comfortable life with a stable income until my late 30s...

 

[mimelim]

I started being disappointed with my choice of going to medical school after the first couple months of third year. I loved the preclinical years. All I had to do was study for a week or two every month. I would see the direct [positive] results of my studying. Then I took step 1, and I was so happy. I felt like I knew everything. Then third year started, and I started to feel like ****. I have never felt more crappy than I did during my surgery rotation last December. I felt like I was a nobody. My friends in other fields were respected professionals, and here I was regurgitating random lab values every day at 5 am in the morning while being cut-off and disrespected by grumpy residents. The surgeon who gave me my final grade only worked with me a handful of times during the semester, and he didn't even know my name. There were a few moments where I felt extremely happy, but those moments were few and far between. Otherwise, I was disappointed by the lack of intellectual rigor in clinical medicine. I had no interest in writing BS notes that will never get read, and retracting for 2 hours straight as I watch the 20th hernia repair. I was disappointed with the daily grind of clinical medicine.

I now think that I would have been much happier as a PhD in an academic career path. I sometimes envy my engineer/business friends who have been making good money for the past few years. They have a comfortable life that seems to be much less stressful than that of an MD. It pains me to know that I will not have a comfortable life with a stable income until my late 30s...

Maybe should have shadowed a little more as a pre-med...