I do not want to be a doctor anymore

[leviathan]

Don't mistake a doctor who is highly trained but has poor bedside manners as one who is lazy. I have seen many highly trained people who are not so good at socializing but are keen observers and are passionate, not lazy about what they do....

OK, but that's not what the original discussion was pertaining to.

[masira]

I wanted to be a doctor since i was 5!

[thami]

I wanted to be a doctor since i was 5!

 

I always love hearing that because it makes me laugh - mainly because then I try to think back to when I was five and my only aspiration at that time was to be a ninja turtle! I don't remember too much other than that and snack time at preschool being the best time.

 

To the OP - I agree with the others who say you should stick it out. You're almost at the end, and you've already invested so much that I think it's worth it to just finish and snag that degree.

[leviathan]

I always love hearing that because it makes me laugh - mainly because then I try to think back to when I was five and my only aspiration at that time was to be a ninja turtle! I don't remember too much other than that and snack time at preschool being the best time.

 

To the OP - I agree with the others who say you should stick it out. You're almost at the end, and you've already invested so much that I think it's worth it to just finish and snag that degree.

 

When you're 5 you either want to be a doctor, a firefighter, or a pilot....or a ninja turtle. When you're 21/22, a lot of people who want to be doctors still don't have more of a clue than a 5 year old about what it entails.

[Wolvenstar]

OK, but that's not what the original discussion was pertaining to.

 

Not but you were the one who labelled the highly trained but jaded doctor as lazy.

 

 

I wanted to be a doctor since i was 5!

 

 

When I was five, I was playing doctor cause I wanted to see...well you know what happens when you play doctor

[leviathan]

Not but you were the one who labelled the highly trained but jaded doctor as lazy.

I labelled the highly trained by unempathetic/uncompassionate doctor as lazy. Jaded is another story all together.

[Wolvenstar]

I labelled the highly trained by unempathetic/uncompassionate doctor as lazy. Jaded is another story all together.

 

I labelled them as jaded (as did FFP), but that is another story. I was commenting because I don't see how uncompassionate equates to lazy. People can work like hell at something and feel pretty close to a completely emotionless state but that doesn't mean lazy.

 

Take my current job for example. I work as a bouncer at a bar to keep from going broke while in school. I don't give a rats ass what people feel when we are kicking them out of the bar, but I do work hard at my job, and I am not lax.

[Guest soaring_eagle]

hehe at 5 years old Mozart already showed a strong inclination to music and was already writing his own music

[leviathan]

I labelled them as jaded (as did FFP), but that is another story. I was commenting because I don't see how uncompassionate equates to lazy. People can work like hell at something and feel pretty close to a completely emotionless state but that doesn't mean lazy.

They can be lazy in the sense that they don't care to try to investigate a patient's problem properly and write off their complaints as histrionics.

[future_doc]

I've done very well academically. I just do not feel the passion for any particular area of medicine.

 

I went to medical school for all of the wrong reasons. It was the result of a 'fight or flight' response. I also hold a Masters in physics. I have always wanted to teach secondary school (physics & math). In my first year of grad school, I had an unfortunate experience with a professor who wanted to take our 'professional' relationship too far. As a result, after two years of looking over my shoulder (this was my choice after speaking with a confidential liaison), I could not get away from the area of study fast enough. Medicine was a complete change, & I was very lucky to have been accepted the first try - I chose 'flight'.

 

I am thinking of perhaps doing a rotational type internship next year. At that point, I would either continue into a residency or I would follow my initial pursuit & desire of Teacher's College.

 

Can someone offer their perspective of my situation?

 

Just to note: I have very minimal debt from my med school tuition. So money is not an issue.

Money is not the issue. Your life, fulfillment and happiness is the issue. Life is too short - go for your passion! We only have one go around, so do it right for you. Having come this far, continue so that you are entitled to practice - and then go to Teachers' College. It is not what family, friends or otehrs think about it, its your life and you should enjoy it. Good luck.

[HortonHearsAHoo80ca]

Money is not the issue. Your life, fulfillment and happiness is the issue. Life is too short - go for your passion! We only have one go around, so do it right for you. Having come this far, continue so that you are entitled to practice - and then go to Teachers' College. It is not what family, friends or otehrs think about it, its your life and you should enjoy it. Good luck.

 

Thanks so much for your very practical insight. That is my intention. It is exactly what I have needed to read from a peer. Short & sweet.

 

And 'thanks' to everyone else, as well... I especially enjoyed your post, ffp.

[allycat0303]

Horton,

 

I think there are a lot of people in medical school that feel the way you do. I know at least 6-7 people in my class (and I REALLY don't know a lot of people) That are taking a year off instead of applying to residency directly. They are going to travel, work etc. I think (and this is a suggestion because I don't know you at all) maybe the MSc., straight to med school can be taxing on a person as well. I did a MSc., but had a year off in between. The last 4 months, I've been especially sick of medical school, and wondering if I should feel a little more passion for the different aspects of medicine. It seems that so many of my fellow students are passionate about E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Even a conjunctivitis incites excitement.

 

I think you should do what makes you happy. If teaching doesn't make you happy, you can always go back and do residency later. And if your passion is teaching, remember that there are a lot of doctors that teach as well and make it a large part of their lives. It depends on how you want to organize yourself.

 

Good luck!

[bugette]

Hi Horton,

 

I think this is particularly acute during the fourth year - especially with the fiasco that is Carms. Unlike some classmates, I have not found an area that I am passionate about despite rotating through third year and electives. In fact, I am ambivalent over most specialties while I actively loathe others. Any idealism I may have had has gone out the window. I think I'm more cynical than most attendings sometimes. Sometimes I even feel that I have wasted 4 years, and have yet another 2 or 5 years to waste.

 

While I know of other classmates who feel the same way, I don't think any of us plan to leave medicine completely in the near future - financial obligations plus the fact that we are trained for little else now plus the current economic situation among other factors. I didn't dislike all of medical school. I'm hoping that during residency next year, I'll discover that this current ennui is part of some CC4/Carms-induced syndrome.

 

I know that I do not have any helpful things to say as I am currently in the same position as you. However I just wanted to let you know that your situation is not completely alien to the medical student population. Chin up - it's the holidays now, so at least you'll have ~2 week break from school.

[Guest soaring_eagle]

if your going to cop out as a fake applicant, please do not consider becoming a doctor

 

for anyone who followed what I wrote in this thread

[danyl]

How many more are out there?

 

bravo to the OP who posted here.

I fear that too many people get into medicine for motivations that don't last -- resulting in deprived medical care of patients down the road

 

lets face it --- we all know people who want to go into medicine for money and prestige --- and may bust their ass for the undergrad years to get a GPA and ec's to slide into medicine

 

but when it comes down to their careers...god imagine, those empty motivations no longer hold their power.

 

well maybe the ranking system based a lot on college grades(in québec) has something to do with it?

How many tims have I heard, I have the grades so lets try medical school!?!

[CAV13]

It's interesting how many people seem to be coming out of the woodwork who have done very very well academically and go onto medicine, that end up hating it.

 

I mean sure, medicine sounds great; A well paying, prestigious job, where you get to help people.

 

There is a lab tech down the hall from me who dropped out after realizing it wasn't for her too.

 

I'd really like to find out if there are statistics some where the research tries to draw a correlation between job/education satisfaction and MCAT/GPAs. It'd be interesting if people who are more dissatisfied with medicine are more like the OP, or if it's just a mish-mash.

[Guest soaring_eagle]

The part that scares me is those many people who don't drop it and stay in the system, silent poison. They scoot on

 

College of Physicians, try actually filing a suite against a doctor and you get slammed in the face. These poeple have the capacity to stay in the system and rarely are seeved out.

 

I get so happy when the truth prevails. The **** pathologist who sent so many parents to jail for "child abuse" finially got slammed. I understand how a mistake can be made, but **** how can you ruin so many families? God bless those who stood up for what is right.

[StreetballKing]

Take some time off and really think about it, maybe you are just tired of all the schooling right now. I feel like that sometimes as well.

[JoJod]

Yikes, Think of it this way. There are so many different areas for you to consider in medicine surely there must be something that interests you????

If after searching your soul you truly believe that you are not passionate about medicine then really you should seek other career choices. It is not fair to your patients who rely on you for their well being to not be 100% into it... I mean really would you want this in a physician? Also never let any person steer you from your dream again. You should have gotten that prof fired......in a big way..

[Guest soaring_eagle]

How long? Not long. Not long. Because no lie can live forever.

[todpose]

I'm just curious, but how did the OP manage to get accepted the first time he applied?

Aren't med schools usually successful in weeding out people who want to be doctors for wrong reasons?

That's what interviews are for, right?

[Mei_Mei_girl]

Fake it to make it.

 

Aren't ECs supposed to be an indication of what one will want to continue (motivations behind, etc.) in the future? But how true is that really when people just "do it" to put it down on that good old med school list?

[Icebox]

I'm just curious, but how did the OP manage to get accepted the first time he applied?

Aren't med schools usually successful in weeding out people who want to be doctors for wrong reasons?

That's what interviews are for, right?

 

Fake it to make it.

 

Aren't ECs supposed to be an indication of what one will want to continue (motivations behind, etc.) in the future? But how true is that really when people just "do it" to put it down on that good old med school list?

 

Or maybe, just maybe, he/she changed his mind over the course of med?

 

This is something you won't understand yet - med school is a completely different lifestyle, and you never know it until you actually do it yourself. It takes over completely - you sacrifice time, you sacrifice money, friends, even relationships and family. There are definitely times when you wonder why you bothered with it all in the first place, regardless of whether you decided to pursue it to become Mother Theresa or Warren Buffett. We can talk about it all you want, it doesn't matter until you experience it first-hand.

 

Nearly every one questions why they went into it at some point, and yes, many do question whether they should be continuing on with it (you'll hear the term 'Med-Life Crisis'). This is why the faculty at most schools are ridiculously supportive - because they know for even those that feel they were born to be doctors and want to 'do it for the right reasons', it gets hard ... the financial strain, the physical strain and the emotional strain - it's beyond easy to try to handle it sometimes.

[Guest soaring_eagle]

Or maybe, just maybe, he/she changed his mind over the course of med?

 

This is something you won't understand yet - med school is a completely different lifestyle, and you never know it until you actually do it yourself. It takes over completely - you sacrifice time, you sacrifice money, friends, even relationships and family. There are definitely times when you wonder why you bothered with it all in the first place, regardless of whether you decided to pursue it to become Mother Theresa or Warren Buffett. We can talk about it all you want, it doesn't matter until you experience it first-hand.

 

Nearly every one questions why they went into it at some point, and yes, many do question whether they should be continuing on with it (you'll hear the term 'Med-Life Crisis'). This is why the faculty at most schools are ridiculously supportive - because they know for even those that feel they were born to be doctors and want to 'do it for the right reasons', it gets hard ... the financial strain, the physical strain and the emotional strain - it's beyond easy to try to handle it sometimes.

 

 

Yeah but med school is something you pass or fail and can be quantified. What I'm saying is the strain comes in the profession too, and doctors are able to "loosen up" and not pull the weight, and the regulation against doing so is not there (or neglibily present). To actually pull the weight is harder, and who would want to do that? Oh, maybe someone who actually wants to be a doctor for the right reasons.

 

And a family member of mine is in medical school in a different city. This indivudual said it is alot easier than going to undergrad and dealing with the death of our father at home.

[Guest soaring_eagle]

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Reason Personal reasons/ not sure the setting will generate the understanding