If I'm Burnt Out In Undergrad, Should I Even Be Thinking About Med School?

[mew]

I'm in my 4th year of undergrad and I'm feeling so demoralized and burnt out. I have some complicated life circumstances that put a heavy load on my shoulders and I'm constantly feeling wrung out and overwhelmed, especially when I add school stress into the mix. Recently I've been really freaking out about how difficult medical school would be (if I ever got in) and the thought of carrying WORSE stress for the rest of my life is giving me anxiety attacks, like everything is futile and I'll never escape it. But at the same time I have no idea what else I should be doing. Has anyone been through this before? I tried to see a counsellor but there's a 5 week wait at my school.

[ralk]

I'm in my 4th year of undergrad and I'm feeling so demoralized and burnt out. I have some complicated life circumstances that put a heavy load on my shoulders and I'm constantly feeling wrung out and overwhelmed, especially when I add school stress into the mix. Recently I've been really freaking out about how difficult medical school would be (if I ever got in) and the thought of carrying WORSE stress for the rest of my life is giving me anxiety attacks, like everything is futile and I'll never escape it. But at the same time I have no idea what else I should be doing. Has anyone been through this before? I tried to see a counsellor but there's a 5 week wait at my school.

 

You'd hardly be the only 4th year undergrad to experience burnout, especially if there are other things going on in life besides school contributing to stress. Going to see a counselor is a good idea. If your school has other resources for stress-management, look into taking advantage of those too. If you feel like your anxieties are becoming overwhelming, particularly if your anxiety attacks are interfering with your day-to-day life, go see a physician.

 

Now, what does this mean for a potential future career in medicine? For the most part, nothing. Medical school is difficult, but in a very different way than undergrad. You may find yourself able to handle the change in circumstance better than you thought. Even if you do experience burnout in medical school, you'd be one of many, the vast majority of whom make it through training largely unscathed. Furthermore, once you find ways to manage your current experience with burnout, you may be better able to prevent or manage future burnout. Dealing with stress is a critical life skill and learning that skill before medical school is likely advantageous.

 

All that being said, while I'm confident that if you can get past your current episode, you could handle the difficulties of medical school, it does leave open the question of whether you want to handle the difficulties of medicine as a career. Some people thrive in high-stress environments while others don't enjoy that lifestyle. Everyone has a limit of what degree of stress they'd be happy managing on a regular basis. For example, I'm directing myself away from some specialties because I realize that the stress involved with those specialties would outweigh any advantages to going into them - I feel confident I could handle the stress, but that I wouldn't be happy doing so. Likewise, it's entirely reasonable to choose not to go into medicine because it is a career that involves a fair bit of stress, regardless of specialty. There are definitely times where I wish I could go back to my lower-stress career that I had before medical school. Keep in mind though, no career gets you away from stress entirely and the medical profession comes with its own upsides to justify that stress. Deciding whether to go into medicine is a balance of pros and cons that really only you can make. At this stage, I'd strongly suggest that you focus on working through the demoralization and burn out you're currently experiencing and then reflecting on whether medicine is worthwhile for you in terms of your own goals or priorities. To try to make that determination now, when you're experiencing an emotional low, probably won't provide the most robust answer moving forward.

[Bambi]

I can relate to the feeling of being burnt out during undergrad. This was me at the end of every semester.However, what kept me going was a strong motivation and I was not prepared to live with any regrets. Therefore, I slugged it out every year of undergrad, worked hard continuously. It paid off with my acceptance into medical school on my first attempt, although I was prepared to reapply year after year. The stress does not go away but you do develop coping strategies and skills. Actually, medical school was far less stressful. Stress management in whatever you ultimately choose is part of life.Try to see a physician.