Any regrets...would you do it over again?

[Guest satsumargirl]

Hello Everyone,

 

I have a similar post in the U of Ottawa site but thought there may be more people with experience here.

 

I am currently waiting to hear if I got into med school and I am taking this time to really think about whether that is the right decision for me. Med will be a second career choice for me...I've gone to grad school, have a good professional career, I help people and have lots of free time to pursue my outside interests (mainly horseback riding which is a huge time commitment and unlikely, therefore, to have a horse and be an MD).

 

I have good reasons for wanting to go to med school. But overall I am undecided whether the pros of a career change outweigh the cons. Going to med school does not come without sacrifice! I will have no income, and I'm not getting any younger and wonder how I will manage to have a family if I choose to want one. (I'm not there in my life yet, but I would hate to close that door for a career).

 

So I am wondering if there are any students/residents/docs out there who could shed some light on your experiences...everyone talks about the good, but there has to be some bad!

 

1) Was med school worth it?

2) Would you do it again? (especially interested in responses from people who gave up good careers to go back to school)

3) What is/was the worst aspect of med school/residency?

4) What are the major cons of working as an MD?

4) Do you feel you are able to have balance in your life? (this is important to me)

 

I can say that working in healthcare I often feel like a little piece of a big old rusty machine. I'm not sure how that will change as an MD....so I think some of my frustrations will remain even if I go to med school. Perhaps a PhD in Public health policy would allow me to fix some of the things that bother me. But, I would really miss physiology and interacting directly with people (although there are days where I would gladly like to be exempt from some family conferences!).

 

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts. Experiences of people who've been there are definitely helpful at this point. I do know of a couple MDs who said they would not do it over again.....they are older and seem pretty burnt out. Don't want that to be me!

 

Thanks

Sats

[Guest McMastergirl]

I don't have any regrets, but then again I didn't have an established career before meds. I just wanted to tell you that I just met a nephrologist who has 2 kids and rides horses. She seems very happy, even though she has to get up at 5 a.m. to do the barn chores, she told me it's worth it to have something outside of medicine and family to focus on. I guess the moral of the story is, for a few years life gets sorta put on hold during med school/residency, but there is life afterwards. And plenty of people get married, have kids, ride horses, run marathons, etc during those hectic years too. Balance is something you have to make for yourself.

[Guest ewon2003]

I am just a first year in UBC, so I haven't experienced much of med school yet. I was about to dive into software industry when I received admission. Even now, me and a few other students are not completely sure why we came to study medicine.

 

From talking to the older students in my class, I found that the worst thing about starting medicine is twofold:

 

(1) it's a minimum of 6 year commitment for family practice. Other specialties take longer. So... it's easy to see how much older you'll be by the time you start practice.

 

(2) older students tends to feel that they are limited as to the specialties they can choose for many reasons.

 

For example some feel they'll be too old by the time they finish a particular specialty (ie neuro or cardiac surgery will take > 10 years including the 4 years of medical school).

 

Also if they have family established in an area (ie spouse has a very stable job), and it's hard to justify moving away for residency after relying on spousal support for 4 years.

Also it's just plain difficult to get into the desired specialty in the desired location, especially if the specialty is competitive like radiology or dermatology. Thus people feel they have to choose family medicine because it's much easier to get in.

 

Lifestyle wise, PBL schools such as UBC or McMaster will tend to give much more free time to do what you want to do compared to traditional curriculum school in the first 2 years because there are lots of built-in "independent study time" or "self-directed learning" time. But clerkship is probably bad for your health and lifestyle everywhere across the country. Fouth-year I heard is like vacation if you choose electives that are easy on lifestyle.

 

If you are very concerned about age and lifestyle issues, I would recommend McMaster cuz they are on PBL curriculum and only takes 3 years.

[Guest 4EverRose]

Hey sats,

 

I am also just in my first year med but so far I have absolutely no regrets! I have been working full-time for several years before end up in school again and it doesn't come without sacrifice (finanical, delayed marriage, etc). However, I know this is the career I want so why bother with a few years of sacrifice in my life? Like McMastergirl said balance is really the key and so far I think I am doing a decent job maintaining it.

 

Well perhaps you will hear my regrets when the day of the wards come and I am losing all my sleep

[Guest satsumargirl]

Hey,

 

Thanks for your thoughts. They are helpful....although the thought of getting up at 5:00 to ride :\

 

I've been doing some research and it seems there are alot of options in medicine. Some with good/decent lifestyles and others not. So options make me feel better

 

I guess better to work 15 hrs a day doing something you like than 8 doing something you don't!

 

Sats