Guest driedcaribou Posted November 1, 2003 Report Share Posted November 1, 2003 Does anyone get these feelings sometimes? THe fact that you actually have a lot less control over where you are going to work when you graduate is actually starting to get to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted November 1, 2003 Report Share Posted November 1, 2003 I'll admit it. I had tons of second thoughts in first and second year, when I was stuck in a lecture hall and hadn't really been in clinic and didn't know whether I'd really enjoy it. Now that I'm in third year and doing something closer to real medicine, I've realized most of those fears were unfounded. . . in short, I'm loving it. I think this is an experience shared by many med students. As for flexibility in where you end up. . . have you not thought about family medicine? There are few careers that offer the flexibility that family medicine offers: you can just as easily start a practice in Toronto as Swift Current as Inuvik. Particularly in this day and age of Family Medicine shortage. Many different types/options are also available in family medicine. I've met family docs who've worked emerg, worked in oncology, worked walk-in clinics, worked as locums or essentially 'supply' docs, worked for medevac or a similar organization that offers medical escort for Canadians who get sick abroad while covered by travel medical insurance, worked as hospitalists, worked for the CMPA, worked for insurance firms, and even the odd one working in an actual family practice. Sure you might not make the $$$ you might have made in Cardiology, Gastro, Cardiac SX, Nephro, PM&R, or Ophtho but you'll make an honest decent wage and have the flexibility you desire. That's not to say specialties aren't flexible in terms of location. But it is true you can't always have your area of academic interest AND location AND lifestyle AND wage. . . ie you can't ALWAYS have your cake and eat it too. Overall though, I can't think of many careers that have the flexibility medicine offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest driedcaribou Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 Hey there. Thanks for your advice. I'm not in Med school yet... but I did get accepted into Sydney's Medical Program.... I just applied to a school in Canada this year. I don't know if I want to wait for Canada or just take off on an adventure. I'm really hesitant about this career route... I have worked with doctors and nurses before and I know I would enjoy working in the medical field but it's just that nagging feeling that once I commit to this career.... that's it. I always wonder... did I try enough alternate careers yet? I prefer Family Medicine for the reasons you stated but also because it seems to me you get the most variety and you get to follow up on patient progress much more than other branches of medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 I am speaking only from my experience, but I think if you really want medicine then you won't have second thoughts before you even get in. I am loving med school, and I must say right now it is discouraging because we're in lecture all the time and I really don't like this block because I feel like I am in undergrad again (we're just being inundated with tons of information that we won't remember after our exam). I did a Masters and realized stuff about myself that lead me to choose medicine as a career. Sometimes when I am really tired, which is almost always now, and stressed, which again, is ALWAYS, I wonder how I will function like this when it gets worse, but I don't doubt that this is what I want. Maybe if you are unsure you should try working in a hospital for awhile, or try alternative careers. By working in a lab I realized what was really important to me in a career. I also have worked in the hospital for a year and a half and every day I work there I become more and more interested in medicine. Maybe I'm just lucky because I had that experience to ascertain that med school is right for me. But, you are right, it is a HUGE commitment, so make sure it will be right for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest driedcaribou Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 I have tried some other jobs and I have worked in hospital settings and health care settings for a few years now. What attracts me to medicine is the fact that you get to deal with people and the kind of knowledge you attain and will have to keep up with. No matter what path you choose in life you will always have a small amount of doubt- unless you're the type of person who doesn't look at all the pros and cons. When you begin to look at your decision as the right one, it's more of a coping mechanism to keep a positive outlook on things. I made this topic to see how people dealt with their own difficult decisions. Curious, what attracted you to do your Master's degree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 007 Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 Personally, I think it is healthy to have doubts. It shows that you have a greater understanding of the committment that medicine requires than most pre-med students. I think it is important to figure out whether it actually is the career for you rather than going into it blindly and then discovering later on that it wasn't the right choice. That being said, there is nothing to stop someone who is a doctor from changing professions or following some of the non-traditional paths that UWOMED brought up. There are lots of options for people with med degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 Commitment, eh? Oh god, I know exactly what you mean. Hanging out with my friends from UG my first year of medical was rather hilarious. Most of my friends did fairly general BAs and were complaining that they still had to figure out "what to do with the rest of their lives.' Meanwhile, I was having was having issues with the fact I'd committed myself for life to one path - or at the least with the debt I was accumulating and years of training I'd be about 40 before I could start again from scratch. I think every decision in life has its pluses and minuses. The key is to see whether for you personally the pluses outweigh the minuses, and then to remember the pluses (ie helping people) when you're facing the minuses (hospital politics.) It is important to remember there is a lot of flexibility in medicine, particularly family practice. Unless you find you truly don't enjoy helping ALL people (and that includes people whose physical, social and psychological help are NOT up to your personal standards. . . something that trips up some med students when they get to clinic - the pts don't always look like the ones in ER!) I'm sure you'll find some path to carve out of medicine that will make you happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LestatZinnie Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 i think it's normal to have doubts. every doctor who talked to us said they had doubts. every professonal student may have doubts sooner or later. one of our group leaders who is an anaesthesiologist (sp?) said that 3 of his classmates could not stand it anymore in their residency years (which is where most frustrations come in as the students go outside of the classroom into the real world). One of his friends left the country and had a completely different life, and two of them committed suicide. There is no 100% job satisfaction with any profession and that's life. if you get in medicine and find out you're not cut for it or just don't like it, you can always do something else- it's not the end of the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peachy Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 I think if you really want medicine then you won't have second thoughts before you even get inI think that's very much a personal characteristic - some people are the type to always have second thoughts about what they do, and some aren't. Just because you're the kind of person who doesn't tend to be sure of things doesn't mean you should avoid competitive careers or those that require a great deal of commitment, imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest macdaddyeh Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 Hi everyone: Interesting and introspective topic of study I might say up front! I think it is always a great idea to introspect, introspect, introspect. Ask yourself some deep questions: Do I want to do this? Do I like this? Do I want to move into a more "administrative/mgmt." position? I have stated this story before but I will say it again. A friend of mine is a physician and she became a physician in her mid 30's. She worked extremely hard to get to med school, but now she is an *extremely* bitter physician (internist). She is sickened by hospital politics and has told me over and over again to "stay away" from medicine. She says it looks and sounds challenging and glamorous and high paying (and at times it is all of that) but the cons greatly outweigh the pros (including utter, extreme exhaustion from her shift work). I decided to apply anyway.:lol Yes, I agree you should know what your getting into, but a good dose of doubt now and then I think is healthy, because if you move beyond your doubt your resolve is strengthened to continue in your studies/career. Do y'all follow? PS. In terms of one of the latter comments, are suicide stats among physicians truly high? Are there studies on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 Yes, there are stats on suicide and medicine. I can't remember them at the moment nor do I have time to track them down right now. But I remember the stats being somewhat surprising - physicians are either at or above the level of the general population, but I can't remember which. When I say "at" is surprising, it's only because our career is expected to be "challenging and glamorous and high paying," at least more so than other careers, and if so. . . then why are some physicians driven to such despair? I'll try finding some of those stats for you later. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LestatZinnie Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 i don't know about suicide rates...but the burn-out and job dissatisfaction rate are certainly very high in the Canadian health care system. hospital politics, lack of respect by other medical personnels, feeling of inadequate patient care, long hours, and lack of control are just some sources of frustrations (during residency, and sometimes beyond)mentioned by our leader. also i agree with you about having doubts is good...but sometimes people just continue even when they're in doubt because they feel they've come too far too back down or something...and unfortunately those are the kind of people that may end up killing themselves. :x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest strider2004 Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 The male suicide rate is slightly above the average. The FEMALE suicicde rate is at the MALE average, or 4x the female average. More attempts or more completions, I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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