Hello everyone, first post here.
Quick stats: 28 yrs old, 3.6 undergrad GPA at a competitive tech/science school, 4.0 grad GPA
I am a PhD student entering my last year of graduate school in a non-health-related, quantitative field. I am doing a lot of thinking about my career, and have decided that academia is not for me. I love learning, but I don't enjoy the open-endedness of academic research. The logical thing for me to do is look for teaching or industry jobs. However, none of them excite me when I think about doing them. On the other hand, the idea of practicing medicine has been worming its way into my mind and I find myself thinking and reading about it more and more. I've started volunteering at a local hospital, and hope to shadow some doctors and PA's too, if I can find the time as I try to graduate. PA is another option I am considering, weighing the pros (fewer years of school, less debt) and cons (glass ceiling?) against those of med school.
I love the idea of helping sick people get better, or at least holding off disease or pain. I get a thrill out of feeling helpful for that, even when I'm handing out water and blankets during my volunteer shift. I envy the doctors and nurses who get to do more than that to help. If there were a way to combine intellectual stimulation and that feeling... that would be becoming a doctor, right?
Lately I have been reading a lot of articles about why not to go to med school. My main concern is that I might not be clear on what I would be getting myself into, and that I'm being blinded by my idea of it, which might be completely different from reality. I'm terrified of jumping in blindly like that, and incurring a quarter million in debt. Once I make a decision like that, it's kind of irreversible, and I'd be paying that off for most of the rest of my life. Other concerns I have are that it might be bad for my marriage, that I wouldn't be able to take care of my dog properly, and that I wouldn't be flexible geographically. I am pretty set on living on the West coast. Finally, I like my hobbies. They keep me sane, and I'm worried I wouldn't have time to ride bikes or climb if I went to med school and became a doctor.
Realistically, I'm going to find an industry job for right after I graduate. If I love it, great, no more school for me. If I'm still dreaming of medicine, I can still take the prerequisites (I've taken lots of basic science but don't have genetics or anatomy or the more medicine-specific ones) and MCAT and all that once I'm working. Right now I'm just trying to gather all the perspectives, so I welcome any thoughts or advice. Thanks in advance!
Quick stats: 28 yrs old, 3.6 undergrad GPA at a competitive tech/science school, 4.0 grad GPA
I am a PhD student entering my last year of graduate school in a non-health-related, quantitative field. I am doing a lot of thinking about my career, and have decided that academia is not for me. I love learning, but I don't enjoy the open-endedness of academic research. The logical thing for me to do is look for teaching or industry jobs. However, none of them excite me when I think about doing them. On the other hand, the idea of practicing medicine has been worming its way into my mind and I find myself thinking and reading about it more and more. I've started volunteering at a local hospital, and hope to shadow some doctors and PA's too, if I can find the time as I try to graduate. PA is another option I am considering, weighing the pros (fewer years of school, less debt) and cons (glass ceiling?) against those of med school.
I love the idea of helping sick people get better, or at least holding off disease or pain. I get a thrill out of feeling helpful for that, even when I'm handing out water and blankets during my volunteer shift. I envy the doctors and nurses who get to do more than that to help. If there were a way to combine intellectual stimulation and that feeling... that would be becoming a doctor, right?
Lately I have been reading a lot of articles about why not to go to med school. My main concern is that I might not be clear on what I would be getting myself into, and that I'm being blinded by my idea of it, which might be completely different from reality. I'm terrified of jumping in blindly like that, and incurring a quarter million in debt. Once I make a decision like that, it's kind of irreversible, and I'd be paying that off for most of the rest of my life. Other concerns I have are that it might be bad for my marriage, that I wouldn't be able to take care of my dog properly, and that I wouldn't be flexible geographically. I am pretty set on living on the West coast. Finally, I like my hobbies. They keep me sane, and I'm worried I wouldn't have time to ride bikes or climb if I went to med school and became a doctor.
Realistically, I'm going to find an industry job for right after I graduate. If I love it, great, no more school for me. If I'm still dreaming of medicine, I can still take the prerequisites (I've taken lots of basic science but don't have genetics or anatomy or the more medicine-specific ones) and MCAT and all that once I'm working. Right now I'm just trying to gather all the perspectives, so I welcome any thoughts or advice. Thanks in advance!
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