Quitting?

[dashley]

Hey guys,

 

Just wondering if anyone in clerkship seriously began to question whether this was the right career choice... How did you handle it???

 

Thanks!

[rmorelan]

Hey guys,

 

Just wondering if anyone in clerkship seriously began to question whether this was the right career choice... How did you handle it???

 

Thanks!

 

I think that is relatively common - suddenly you are thrown into a higher stress environment where you are at the bottom of things. You are overworked, usually tired, and constantly bounced from one team to another just when you begin to get your footing. Most of the time you may be doing parts of medicine you really don't like at all. You have absolutely no control over your time - I think many find that the worst part of it - the lost of control.

 

Ha - that sounded bleak.

 

However clerkship is NOT really what it is likely to be a doctor. Nor is residency actually. You get a very skewed perspective and I think it is important to keep that in mind.

 

People in my class where very open about their fears and concerns, we met often to go over it, and many went to student affairs as well. Issues like that are normal, I would say even expected. Do not isolate yourself I think is pretty key.

[Renin]

Hey guys,

 

Just wondering if anyone in clerkship seriously began to question whether this was the right career choice... How did you handle it???

 

Thanks!

 

I think I thought this on every rotation except psychiatry.

 

I was fortunate to have a wonderful group of friends to talk to during this time, both inside and outside of medicine. If there are HELPFUL academic advisors, I suggest you look them up at this time; also if you had previous mentors that were helpful, I'd suggest you talk to them too.

 

A lot of the people I talked to, however, were NOT helpful and actively encouraged me to seek the exit door. Keep in mind jerks exist in every profession.

 

Clerkship is not a reflection of true practice (so I hear); nor residency (it is marginally better - at least you don't have exams every 6 weeks!).

 

If quitting is something you are considering seriously; I'd suggest you take some time off to re-evaluate if medicine is something you would like to pursue. There is no shame in needing time off.

[KennethToronto]

Hey guys,

 

Just wondering if anyone in clerkship seriously began to question whether this was the right career choice... How did you handle it???

 

Thanks!

 

There are lots of ways to deal with it.

 

One way, and not necessarily the one I recommend, is to grind it out, suck it up. It gets better in some ways and worse in others. I'm sure other people will suggest other things.

[Satsuma]

Hey guys,

 

Just wondering if anyone in clerkship seriously began to question whether this was the right career choice... How did you handle it???

 

Thanks!

 

I think almost everyone does at some point.

 

Pre clerkship there was one person who did leave my program. But don't think anyone left after that.

 

I would suggest you sit down and evaluate why you think this might not be the right career choice. Then ask yourself if those issues are temporary (ie part of being a clerk or a resident and so will resolve in some years) or permanent (ie are not going to go away even as staff).

 

If the issues are temporary then ask yourself whether then end point is worth the transient burden. If you think not or if you think the issues will not resolve then it may be a wise choice to find another path in life.

 

Keep in mind, when making your decision, that there are quite alot of options within medicine. eg path if you like science but don't like patients so much, community med if you don't like day to day clinical stuff, emerg if you don't like inpatients etc.

[coastalslacker]

If you're just starting clerkship I'd give it some time.

 

If you're well into clerkship I'd suck it up and finish - the MD is "quite the achievment" in the layperson's eyes - it'll open up doors and allow you easier access to whichever field you end up wanting to pursue instead.

 

I guess I'd recommend finishing med school if you've already gotten to clerkship, but not necessarily pursuing a residency if you don't think medicine is for you.

[NLengr]

If you're just starting clerkship I'd give it some time.

 

If you're well into clerkship I'd suck it up and finish - the MD is "quite the achievment" in the layperson's eyes - it'll open up doors and allow you easier access to whichever field you end up wanting to pursue instead.

 

I guess I'd recommend finishing med school if you've already gotten to clerkship, but not necessarily pursuing a residency if you don't think medicine is for you.

 

Just watch your debt level if you are thinking of quitting. If you have a huge debt you can end up locked into medicine because you might not be able to repay it otherwise.

[rogerroger]

One thing to point out...

 

Medicine is a very broad field. The spectrum of hours, intellectual demands, autonomy, compensation, colleagues, geography, control and work culture vary hugely... Compare the daily lives of the orthopedic surgeon, internist, family doctor, psychiatrist, laboratory medicine, public health and radiologist physicians. If none of the CaRMS specialties interest you business opportunities also exist for MDs in various roles which don't involve direct patient care etc.

 

I think almost everyone has a niche within medicine. It is just a matter of finding where you belong. In my opinion holding an MD will ultimately open more doors and possibilities for finding a career you enjoy than giving up would. Medicine as a field is just too broad not to have something for almost everyone.

 

Med school can suck. Clerkship can really suck. Residency can too. But once you get a glimpse of a field you like you can see where the road ends and it is hopefully someplace you belong and fit. Figuring this out can make the crappy things about training more tolerable. Finding a career fit which provides an end goal makes the annoying things have a purpose which tends to improve ones outlook on medicine in general.