I think one of the mistakes that I made when deciding to go to medical school was that I really didn’t know what to expect. I did the volunteer thing, I worked in hospitals, I transported patients, and I tried to shadow physicians as much as possible.
One thing was different, though. At the end of my “shift”, I went home. I didn’t really get to see what it was like to be a physician. At least not until I was junior medical student. It all became pretty clear at that point.
You need to realize that medicine isn’t simply a job. For the most part, it’s a lifestyle. You need to be ready to accept that if you plan on seriously pursuing medicine. Simply put, I wasn’t ready to give up my life for that.
With the exception of very few specialties, you’ll have to field pagers and phone calls after your normal work day is over. You’ll sacrifice weekends to round on patients that were admitted to the hospital, and you’ll have to get up out of bed at some ungodly hour to take care of someone no matter how tired you are.
Ask yourself if that’s where you want to be in 20 or 30 years, because unless you get really lucky you’ll still need that paycheck at the end of the month. If you love what you’re doing, it’s icing on the cake. But remember that even too much cake will get very old after many long, hard years.
Thanks for being honest. The AMCAS stronghold of “Personal Statements” is full of shit people wouldn’t dream of shoveling. I’ve shoveled, I’ve been hit, hit on, shit on, bled one, all other fluided-on, and I’m still here because this is where I need to be.
Not everyone can handle it, nor can everyone handle it on a daily basis.
So thank you for calling out the elephant on the collective sofa.
I was certainly one of those that couldn’t really handle the whole body fluid thing. It’s not that I’m “scared” of body fluids or have some weird phobia…I just don’t particularly care about somebody else’s shit on me or my clothes.
I dunno, it’s just the way I am and it’s a strong enough feeling to keep me out of patient care.
i didn’t know what to expect either, that was a very big mistake. and the lifestyle thing…is a depressing, true realization
Hey Stox,
I like your style. I’m starting med school next fall and while I hope to keep some of my idealism and compassion I know that I’ll be lucky to finish the whole process. It’s good to know that there are people like you in med school. Thanks for exposing us to the dark underbelly of modern medical education.
Keep up the good work.