Should I Continue Studying Medicine?

[confusedwithlif]

Hello everyone, sorry this is a very long post so there's a tl;dr at the end, highly appreciate any advice or input anyone has!

I am a second-year medical student studying in Australia, I've just turned 20 this year. I've been struggling for the past year to decide whether medicine is a path meant for me. I never had medicine in my mind until the final year of high school when I tried out prerequisites and tests (UMAT) to keep my options open. I did well in the UMAT so the only way I could get an interview offer was to put medicine as my first preference for uni, which I ended up getting the interview for and was accepted into the degree.

I always had engineering in mind (out of a lack of other options) as I've really enjoyed studying maths and physics in high school, as well as programming and other technology. But seeing as I got the offer to study medicine I thought I would give it a shot and transfer to engineering if I didn't find it right for me. I went into first year with an open mind but found myself really disinterested in the biology and the rote learning aspect of studying medicine in general. Like I do enjoy learning about how the human body works but the detail and sheer amount of content covered in medicine takes a lot of that enjoyment out for me.

A thought I always get is whether or not I'm good enough for medicine, in terms of the stress tolerance and confidence with interacting with people. I love the thrill of meeting new people and being able to help others, but I get a lot of social anxiety which greatly adds to the stress of studying medicine, especially with the actual clinical side of it. I know I'd probably get used to it and that the anxiety will diminish over time but it feels like such a long and hard road before I reach that and I really don't know if I can make it there, given that I don't find much enjoyment studying the material at all. The sheer amount of volume of work coupled with somewhat of a lack of passion and social anxiety surrounding clinical assessments and placements have made it really difficult to push through with my studies. I've seen a counsellor for the anxiety but not much has changed with how I'm ruminating about the future. I'm starting to notice that my mental health is deteriorating over this and I feel overwhelmed with having to decide the course of my life at such an early stage.

I find myself to be the least enthusiastic of my peers and the least keen to volunteer for extra learning opportunities and extracurriculars related to medicine, either because I've conditioned myself to take the easy path out of anxiety or because I can't find the passion within me. The only thing I know I will really like is the interaction with people, sharing a close connection with patients and doing all that I can to help them. That's what I'm holding to and I know that if I switch out now I will always be wondering what if and what I could have achieved if I kept going. I feel like burning the bridge now and leaving medicine behind forever would be a huge mistake in the far future when I'm seeking for that fulfilment and human interaction. It's pretty black and white thinking but I genuinely don't know what else I'd do that would give me that level of intellectual stimulation and sense of purpose.

I also find it way harder to study content in medicine as opposed to the maths and physics I was always generally gifted at. I may be holding onto medicine because I want to prove to myself that I can work hard, but I have doubts every day when I go through everything we are expected to know, it's neverending and I can't even begin to imagine how difficult later years will be. I get really stressed out thinking of what's ahead of me but I also get equally as stressed thinking about having to 'give up' the once in a lifetime opportunity and regretting it.

I'm the type of person who would want to have a balanced life at work, I can't see myself dedicating my entire life to medicine at the moment, so it's a constant battle between wanting to study something I'm good at, having a balanced life and doing something that I perceive as more fulfilling for me and better for my self-development.

As a temporary solution, I'm considering taking an intermission and volunteering at a hospital/shadowing doctors and hopefully get a placement or volunteer position in an engineering firm, just to gather more experiences about what both careers entail. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected my plans to do that later this year but I'm hoping I'll be able to do that end of this year or next year.

My main interests are still centred around technology, software development and physics, but I feel like on the inside I won't be satisfied with working in that field later on in life. I can't imagine working in an office job for the rest of my life, but what do I know about how I'll be 10 years down the road...

To be honest, I'm scared. I'm scared of waiting too long and being too far into medicine for me to decide that I want out. The more I invest into it the more obligated I feel to continue on. But the biggest fear I have is getting out and realising that I will regret that decision for the rest of my life, despite what pain and anxiety I might experience in medicine, I'm not sure if the risk of that is worth it.

I apologise for my rambling, it's way too late so this is all a mess. I just wanted to give a bit more context to see what you guys think or if anyone else has been in a similar situation? Thanks for taking the time to read!

TL;DR I'm a medical student not sure if I can make it through med school and residency due to anxiety and somewhat lack of passion, but I think medicine would be very fulfilling. I have an interest in maths, technology and physics but doubting that I'd feel fulfilled working an office job. Stuck between medicine and engineering atm.

 

[Cathay]

To be honest, I'm scared. I'm scared of waiting too long and being too far into medicine for me to decide that I want out. The more I invest into it the more obligated I feel to continue on. But the biggest fear I have is getting out and realising that I will regret that decision for the rest of my life, despite what pain and anxiety I might experience in medicine, I'm not sure if the risk of that is worth it.

I apologise for my rambling, it's way too late so this is all a mess. I just wanted to give a bit more context to see what you guys think or if anyone else has been in a similar situation?

Hello, welcome to MSO, and let me preface this by saying I struggled with the same "should I keep going or not" dilemma in my 4th and 5th years, and ultimately quit medicine 3/4 of the way through 5th year (out of six) in pursuit of my various childhood dreams, first driving buses, and now driving trains.

Yes, it certainly makes you feel "more committed" the further along you get, and it becomes harder to justify leaving (and perhaps more consequential in terms of student loan debt, real or perceived social stigma, etc) as you get further in, but I don't think it's truly impossible at any stage. I think part of me is glad I stayed in medicine till almost the big exams*, having seen and experienced some of the clinical sides of things, and experienced some of the parts I really struggled with (e.g. paeds), which allows me to say with a high degree of certainty that I can't see myself actually being a doctor, and therefore not look back. On the other hand, had I gotten the bus job earlier and gotten out earlier, I might not have $50k of a $70+k student loan still to pay off.

(* context: Otago year 1 is competitive-entry year, 2-3 are pre-cinical, 4-5 are clinical years, and 6th is a pre-intern or "Trainee Intern" year, with the big "exit exams" at the end of 5th year.)

I must admit, there had been times as a bus driver where I was a little unsure. Times where, despite knowing that I don't want anything to do with medicine, my mum's inherent nagging got under my skin. Times where I sort of wondered where I was going in life. I don't think regret came into it, though.

PS: If you think your post is long and rambly, wait till you see approximately 10,000 words on my story, over in my MSO article

(It's late at night and my brain is fried, so feel free to ask about any and all things I haven't addressed, and I'll be back in the morning before work.)

 

[govpop]

Do yourself a favour and pursue something maths/physics related that you actually enjoy. It sounds like the only thing keeping you in medicine is the perception that the end product is a ‘once in a life time opportunity’.

Its not. It’s a satisfying job but at the end of the day I don’t come home and marvel at how I’m living out a once in a lifetime opportunity. Fulfilment comes from outside interests, from family and friends and relationships. There are days that kick my ass even though I enjoy the job.

Believe me you will get much more professional fulfilment from pursuing something where you truly enjoy the subject material. And you can find plenty of opportunities in engineering type jobs to help and interact with people.

Lastly there is no point holding out for the ‘final product’. I will tell you this secret now.. there is no final product. There’s always another hurdle to climb, another exam to pass, another position to obtain. You have to enjoy the process. Stop and smell the roses along the way. Don’t be the leprechaun chasing the non existent pot of gold under the rainbow.

This is just my opinion and take the time to listen to many perspectives. But were you my brother or friend this is the advice I would give. Plenty of satisfaction to be found in medicine, but plenty of satisfaction elsewhere too.

 

[Fili]

The way I think about it and what many of my med student friends say is, "only do medicine if it's the only career you see yourself doing".

Choosing the right career is definitely a tough choice but honestly if, after giving it a lot of thought, that medicine is not for you, then that is fine.

 

[confusedwithlif]

Hello, welcome to MSO, and let me preface this by saying I struggled with the same "should I keep going or not" dilemma in my 4th and 5th years, and ultimately quit medicine 3/4 of the way through 5th year (out of six) in pursuit of my various childhood dreams, first driving buses, and now driving trains.

Yes, it certainly makes you feel "more committed" the further along you get, and it becomes harder to justify leaving (and perhaps more consequential in terms of student loan debt, real or perceived social stigma, etc) as you get further in, but I don't think it's truly impossible at any stage. I think part of me is glad I stayed in medicine till almost the big exams*, having seen and experienced some of the clinical sides of things, and experienced some of the parts I really struggled with (e.g. paeds), which allows me to say with a high degree of certainty that I can't see myself actually being a doctor, and therefore not look back. On the other hand, had I gotten the bus job earlier and gotten out earlier, I might not have $50k of a $70+k student loan still to pay off.

(* context: Otago year 1 is competitive-entry year, 2-3 are pre-cinical, 4-5 are clinical years, and 6th is a pre-intern or "Trainee Intern" year, with the big "exit exams" at the end of 5th year.)

I must admit, there had been times as a bus driver where I was a little unsure. Times where, despite knowing that I don't want anything to do with medicine, my mum's inherent nagging got under my skin. Times where I sort of wondered where I was going in life. I don't think regret came into it, though.

PS: If you think your post is long and rambly, wait till you see approximately 10,000 words on my story, over in my MSO article

(It's late at night and my brain is fried, so feel free to ask about any and all things I haven't addressed, and I'll be back in the morning before work.)

Thanks for your reply Cathay, I read your post and it is really inspiring to see you following your dream now despite the long journey you went through in med.

So from my understanding, you were glad that you stuck out til 5th year because you were more certain that you wanted out; you mentioned that you were in a rough state of mind towards the end - a thought I get often is 'what if my current state of mind is clouding my decision making' and if it forces a rash decision that I'll look back on differently when I've had more time to mature or mentally recuperate. Did you ever have those thoughts?

And also do you know how it would have panned out if you were more unsure about your interest in heavy transport?

Do yourself a favour and pursue something maths/physics related that you actually enjoy. It sounds like the only thing keeping you in medicine is the perception that the end product is a ‘once in a life time opportunity’.

Its not. It’s a satisfying job but at the end of the day I don’t come home and marvel at how I’m living out a once in a lifetime opportunity. Fulfilment comes from outside interests, from family and friends and relationships. There are days that kick my ass even though I enjoy the job.

Believe me you will get much more professional fulfilment from pursuing something where you truly enjoy the subject material. And you can find plenty of opportunities in engineering type jobs to help and interact with people.

Lastly there is no point holding out for the ‘final product’. I will tell you this secret now.. there is no final product. There’s always another hurdle to climb, another exam to pass, another position to obtain. You have to enjoy the process. Stop and smell the roses along the way. Don’t be the leprechaun chasing the non existent pot of gold under the rainbow.

This is just my opinion and take the time to listen to many perspectives. But were you my brother or friend this is the advice I would give. Plenty of satisfaction to be found in medicine, but plenty of satisfaction elsewhere too.

Thanks for the insight, everything you said makes perfect sense but I find it hard to specifically tell myself that. Even though I'm currently not enjoying the process much I find myself thinking what if a lot, what if I end up enjoying clinical more than I expected, or what if I end up disliking engineering later down in the line since I've never been continuously super passionate about.

Sorry if I'm being really repetitive, I think I've been uncertain about many things in general most of my life and uncertainty paralyses me.

 

[chinaski]

or what if I end up disliking engineering later down in the line since I've never been continuously super passionate about.

So what if you do? It's not the end of the world to discover a career isn't for you. You don't get just one shot at getting it right - if you make a mistake, then it's up to you whether you continue making that mistake, or if you stop and do something else instead. You're incredibly young and you've got time on your side - you can try on a lot of things before you decide what's right for you. When I was 20, I had NFI what I wanted to do with my life.

You should also consider that what you do as a job needn't be a "passion". Most people do a job the enjoy, but it's not a burning passion that defines them. For me, medicine is far from a "passion". It's a job that I get paid to do. There's way more to life than my job.

 

[Robertson]

Hello everyone, sorry this is a very long post so there's a tl;dr at the end, highly appreciate any advice or input anyone has!

I am a second-year medical student studying in Australia, I've just turned 20 this year. I've been struggling for the past year to decide whether medicine is a path meant for me. I never had medicine in my mind until the final year of high school when I tried out prerequisites and tests (UMAT) to keep my options open. I did well in the UMAT so the only way I could get an interview offer was to put medicine as my first preference for uni, which I ended up getting the interview for and was accepted into the degree.

I always had engineering in mind (out of a lack of other options) as I've really enjoyed studying maths and physics in high school, as well as programming and other technology. But seeing as I got the offer to study medicine I thought I would give it a shot and transfer to engineering if I didn't find it right for me. I went into first year with an open mind but found myself really disinterested in the biology and the rote learning aspect of studying medicine in general. Like I do enjoy learning about how the human body works but the detail and sheer amount of content covered in medicine takes a lot of that enjoyment out for me.

A thought I always get is whether or not I'm good enough for medicine, in terms of the stress tolerance and confidence with interacting with people. I love the thrill of meeting new people and being able to help others, but I get a lot of social anxiety which greatly adds to the stress of studying medicine, especially with the actual clinical side of it. I know I'd probably get used to it and that the anxiety will diminish over time but it feels like such a long and hard road before I reach that and I really don't know if I can make it there, given that I don't find much enjoyment studying the material at all. The sheer amount of volume of work coupled with somewhat of a lack of passion and social anxiety surrounding clinical assessments and placements have made it really difficult to push through with my studies. I've seen a counsellor for the anxiety but not much has changed with how I'm ruminating about the future. I'm starting to notice that my mental health is deteriorating over this and I feel overwhelmed with having to decide the course of my life at such an early stage.

I find myself to be the least enthusiastic of my peers and the least keen to volunteer for extra learning opportunities and extracurriculars related to medicine, either because I've conditioned myself to take the easy path out of anxiety or because I can't find the passion within me. The only thing I know I will really like is the interaction with people, sharing a close connection with patients and doing all that I can to help them. That's what I'm holding to and I know that if I switch out now I will always be wondering what if and what I could have achieved if I kept going. I feel like burning the bridge now and leaving medicine behind forever would be a huge mistake in the far future when I'm seeking for that fulfilment and human interaction. It's pretty black and white thinking but I genuinely don't know what else I'd do that would give me that level of intellectual stimulation and sense of purpose.

I also find it way harder to study content in medicine as opposed to the maths and physics I was always generally gifted at. I may be holding onto medicine because I want to prove to myself that I can work hard, but I have doubts every day when I go through everything we are expected to know, it's neverending and I can't even begin to imagine how difficult later years will be. I get really stressed out thinking of what's ahead of me but I also get equally as stressed thinking about having to 'give up' the once in a lifetime opportunity and regretting it.

I'm the type of person who would want to have a balanced life at work, I can't see myself dedicating my entire life to medicine at the moment, so it's a constant battle between wanting to study something I'm good at, having a balanced life and doing something that I perceive as more fulfilling for me and better for my self-development.

As a temporary solution, I'm considering taking an intermission and volunteering at a hospital/shadowing doctors and hopefully get a placement or volunteer position in an engineering firm, just to gather more experiences about what both careers entail. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected my plans to do that later this year but I'm hoping I'll be able to do that end of this year or next year.

My main interests are still centred around technology, software development and physics, but I feel like on the inside I won't be satisfied with working in that field later on in life. I can't imagine working in an office job for the rest of my life, but what do I know about how I'll be 10 years down the road...

To be honest, I'm scared. I'm scared of waiting too long and being too far into medicine for me to decide that I want out. The more I invest into it the more obligated I feel to continue on. But the biggest fear I have is getting out and realising that I will regret that decision for the rest of my life, despite what pain and anxiety I might experience in medicine, I'm not sure if the risk of that is worth it.

I apologise for my rambling, it's way too late so this is all a mess. I just wanted to give a bit more context to see what you guys think or if anyone else has been in a similar situation? Thanks for taking the time to read!

TL;DR I'm a medical student not sure if I can make it through med school and residency due to anxiety and somewhat lack of passion, but I think medicine would be very fulfilling. I have an interest in maths, technology and physics but doubting that I'd feel fulfilled working an office job. Stuck between medicine and engineering atm.

I feel much the same as you. Anxious, overwhelmed, not really into it, hoping it gets better, definitely no passion. I'm in final year. It has not gotten better. I suggest taking a year off next year and trying something you say you have an aptitude towards such as physics. If you stay in med you can always leave after any number of years, 2, ten, 20. You're so young. Its normal to have multiple careers now. You're not stuck with it for life if you finish your degree or finish intern year. I totally understand the pressure to finish medicine. I feel it myself and it's the main reason I'm still going. I've decided to try to get through to the end of intern year. I enjoy thinking about what my next career will be after medicine. You're absolutely not alone in your scenario. But you have options. Medicine is not for everyone and it's okay to leave.

 

[Sherlock]

Our careers advisor back in HS constantly reminded us all that the workforce dynamics is ever changing and we were reminded that over a lifetime, people on average change from one career to another up to 7 times, updating or adding new qualifications along the way and that this figure is likely to increase with time due constantly evolving workforce in addition to the fact that people have a lot of opportunities and different interests that develop over time.

I completed high school in 2016 and thought I knew exactly what I wanted around that time - to study medicine. So since 2016, I kept trying and eventually got accepted into grad med and have started this year. Only 10 weeks in, but now that I've actually made it finally, I am constantly questioning whether med is it for me. I think I have strong foundations for my reasons to study med, but at the same time, over the years I also started developing other interests while aiming to get into med and that has come in conflict with my current trajectory. Truth be told, so far, I really am not enjoying whole heap of biochem and physiology thrown at me.

I genuinely find it overwhelming to think about the fact that I'll have to grind for many, many years to eventually get to a point where things may feel a little more stable. Heck, I even find it overwhelming, thinking about the fact that I have to grind every day for another four years to finally graduate. One way that I currently tackle this overwhelming feeling is by focussing on the small picture, the here and the now. Getting through one week, and the next and so on. I guess for me at the moment, I will keep going because it is obviously too early to really know whether I can persevere for long periods but also that no learning is wasted learning. I am still young, and if I find that I really do not enjoy this in a few years time, I still have time to think about alternatives and make change. It is such a difficult thing to know! I completely understand where you are coming from.

I am sure this is something that many others go through though - the best understanding of your future career is based off reading and talking to others who've experienced it, and at the end of the day, I am informed by that. But in many ways, I also think about how our individual experience may be completely different.

This does not serve as any kind of suggestion or advice... I guess I am just writing this to say that many of us go through similar feelings and that you're definitely not the only one.

biom may be able to offer some insight into engineering, and perhaps if there are pathways wherein you're not required to be in an office all day, everyday.

 

[Cathay]

So from my understanding, you were glad that you stuck out til 5th year because you were more certain that you wanted out;

Well, I don't know if I expressed myself properly last night (at 3-4am my time), but as per my blog/article, I actually really enjoyed the pre-clinical years, and was fascinated by all the stuff we were learning - whether it be the anatomy/physiology or the more human side in clinical skills, "Healthcare In the Community (HIC)" etc. Yes, I was still fascinated with buses, trucks and trains, and often fantasized about looking for a bus/truck/train driving job, but by and large I was happy and content at med school during pre-clinical years.

Even in clinical years it wasn't until the novelty of the "clinical environment" (hospital) and the "surgical environment" (operating theatre) wore off that it started dawning on me, that medicine may not be the career I want. Even then, my first response was "maybe I'll do something non-clinical like pathology" (I found anatomical pathology quite fascinating after attending a post-mortem where the pathologist gave me a tour of the pathology labs afterwards), and went down that line of thinking for months. It wasn't until I got the bus driving job (and absolutely loved it) that I started seriously questioning whether I should bother carrying on with medicine.

Between friends and family thinking I had lost my marbles (from "future doctor" to "bus driver" is perhaps just too abrupt a transition for most people to process), and second guessing myself and trying to "just hang in there", it took until things got much worse before I finally found the courage (or desperation) to pull the plug.

you mentioned that you were in a rough state of mind towards the end - a thought I get often is 'what if my current state of mind is clouding my decision making' and if it forces a rash decision that I'll look back on differently when I've had more time to mature or mentally recuperate. Did you ever have those thoughts?

Absolutely. I saw a clinical psychologist recommended by the med school GP, initially during the rough period in the lead up to my leaving medicine; for the next two years I continued to have sessions with her irregularly - when things weren't good, or when I wanted some reassurance at big life decisions to make sure I was weighing up the options and thinking about things clearly.

The other thing was that (as mentioned in my blog) initially my withdrawal from medicine was a 1-year withdrawal (as my Associate Dean of Student Affairs negotiated with me, even though I wasn't particularly interested in going back - she asked me to leave the door open), followed by a second 1-year withdrawal, and after 2 years away I was given a binary choice between returning in 2018 and withdrawing permanently and receiving an exit degree.

I think you should also take into account how you arrived at your current state of mind - if med school is a large contributor to your current state of mind, then you can't necessarily untangle the decision to leave medicine from the state of mind. I try to evaluate my past decisions in the context they were made, to avoid historian's fallacy (where you judge a past decision using information not known at the time); and my thoughts on the matter is that, in my state of mind in 2015, there was no way I could've gone on to do TI in 2016 in a safe and competent manner, let alone House Officer in 2017, so any question of "what if I didn't leave in 2015" would be moot.

And also do you know how it would have panned out if you were more unsure about your interest in heavy transport?

In all honesty, I was pretty unsure until I tried my hand at bus driving, and saw the contrast between how much I enjoyed that and how much I didn't enjoy med school. I had let my parents persuade me that my interest in transport is either "just a phase" or "just a childish interest", and I tried doing more to see if I'd get sick of it. I didn't. Over that first Christmas and New Year, I did pretty much full-time hours, and saw the payslips and realized I could live on it.

In other words, it took me some actual hands-on experience to realize that it wasn't just a childish fantasy, that I could see myself doing it much more than I could see myself as a doctor.

I did still find it useful to see a careers counsellor later on though, when med school asked me to see one. The careers counsellor scrutinized my motivations, examined what sort of work environment I want, and suggested possible career developments for me - one of them, "how about trains" resonated with me a lot, and made me remember that my high school career plan was to somehow drive buses for a while then go into trains. I wonder if you would benefit from seeing a careers/guidance type person, if one is available at your uni?

 

[aspiringlol]

Hi everyone, I am not sure where to pos this, so please forgive me if this is inappropriate for this forum. I have just started my first year of Medicine and I am not enjoying it. I find I keep having to ask myself why I care about all science, clinical skills and case learning. However, I enjoy studying the social and lifestyle influences on health. I am not sure whether I should continue the course, as although I would love to work with people, but I don't think I would be very happy interviewing/analysing patients for a career.
I also want to add that I recognise I am very lucky to have received a place to study medicine, and I had volunteer/work experience and truely thought that being a doctor was my calling and that I would be miserable doing anything else.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi everyone, I am not sure where to pos this, so please forgive me if this is inappropriate for this forum. I have just started my first year of Medicine and I am not enjoying it. I find I keep having to ask myself why I care about all science, clinical skills and case learning. However, I enjoy studying the social and lifestyle influences on health. I am not sure whether I should continue the course, as although I would love to work with people, but I don't think I would be very happy interviewing/analysing patients for a career.
I also want to add that I recognise I am very lucky to have received a place to study medicine, and I had volunteer/work experience and truely thought that being a doctor was my calling and that I would be miserable doing anything else.

Ooh, you’re in an interesting position (assuming your first year has panned out like the first year at UTAS) in that your intro to Medicine will have been cut very short and shifted to online learning only a few weeks into your very first semester.

I honestly can’t imagine how tough I’d have found that, and I think it could be quite easy to become disillusioned very quickly.

Do you know if your uni offers careers counselling? It might be useful to see if you can organise a Skype or Zoom call with them.

Given your unusual start and the fact you’ve done work experience and loved it (obviously recognising that work experience definitely tends to be a santitised experience consisting mostly of ‘the good bits’ of course - the work experience really just tells me Med was on your radar and not a course you fell into), I’d definitely be encouraging you to think through things very carefully before pulling the pin. The first 8 weeks of first year are not a good representation of the bulk of Med school in my experience (I can’t comment on what being a doctor is like as I’m only in third year myself).

Can you take a gap year?

What career alternatives have you considered and have you had work experience in any of them?

Are you under any pressure to keep doing Med/choose something else?

 

[aspiringlol]

Ooh, you’re in an interesting position (assuming your first year has panned out like the first year at UTAS) in that your intro to Medicine will have been cut very short and shifted to online learning only a few weeks into your very first semester.

I honestly can’t imagine how tough I’d have found that, and I think it could be quite easy to become disillusioned very quickly.

Do you know if your uni offers careers counselling? It might be useful to see if you can organise a Skype or Zoom call with them.

Given your unusual start and the fact you’ve done work experience and loved it (obviously recognising that work experience definitely tends to be a santitised experience consisting mostly of ‘the good bits’ of course - the work experience really just tells me Med was on your radar and not a course you fell into), I’d definitely be encouraging you to think through things very carefully before pulling the pin. The first 8 weeks of first year are not a good representation of the bulk of Med school in my experience (I can’t comment on what being a doctor is like as I’m only in third year myself).

Can you take a gap year?

What career alternatives have you considered and have you had work experience in any of them?

Are you under any pressure to keep doing Med/choose something else?

Hi LMG,
Thanks for your response. The start of the year has definitely been a weird one.
My uni does offer a sort of careers counselling, so I might look into that more.
I totally agree with you and I understand that 1st year (and even all of the years) won't give me a proper insight into what being a doctor would be like. However, I was previously a very diligent student and enjoyed what I was doing, but am sorely lacking any motivation currently due to my lack of interest.
I could take a gap year, but I really don't want to be a year behind (which I know is not a big deal) and I don't think it would solve anything, I would likely still be in a similar position.
I have actually thought about a lot of different careers, I did work experience for physio, nursing, teaching, law and med (a bit of an overkill I know) and out of them I really loved med and law. So my other option would be law. I know that many people will likely think that my interests are superficial and based on perceived 'prestige' but what I really enjoyed about both of those career options is the high level of analytical thinking. However, I do find that med seems to be a lot more rote learning than analytical thinking (I'm not saying that being a doctor doesn't requrire a high level of analytical thinking because it obviously does). I also really enjoy all the nitty gritty details of law etc.
And no, no one in my family was a lawyer/doctor and absolutely no pressure to move any which way. However, I do think my family would be a bit disappointed/worried if I dropped out of med, but more because it was what I was so sure I wanted for so long.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi LMG,
Thanks for your response. The start of the year has definitely been a weird one.
My uni does offer a sort of careers counselling, so I might look into that more.
I totally agree with you and I understand that 1st year (and even all of the years) won't give me a proper insight into what being a doctor would be like. However, I was previously a very diligent student and enjoyed what I was doing, but am sorely lacking any motivation currently due to my lack of interest.
I could take a gap year, but I really don't want to be a year behind (which I know is not a big deal) and I don't think it would solve anything, I would likely still be in a similar position.
I have actually thought about a lot of different careers, I did work experience for physio, nursing, teaching, law and med (a bit of an overkill I know) and out of them I really loved med and law. So my other option would be law. I know that many people will likely think that my interests are superficial and based on perceived 'prestige' but what I really enjoyed about both of those career options is the high level of analytical thinking. However, I do find that med seems to be a lot more rote learning than analytical thinking (I'm not saying that being a doctor doesn't requrire a high level of analytical thinking because it obviously does). I also really enjoy all the nitty gritty details of law etc.
And no, no one in my family was a lawyer/doctor and absolutely no pressure to move any which way. However, I do think my family would be a bit disappointed/worried if I dropped out of med, but more because it was what I was so sure I wanted for so long.

Re. the enquiry about gap year possibility. I was asking (along with the other questions) in order to gauge whether there might be some scope for you to have some time out and do something else for a while (work, work experience, etc), to expand your career horizons, not just for the sake of having a year off. There’s not many situations where I’d recommend a gap year in which you did nothing but get a year ‘behind’

That said, I think you’ve done enough work experience!!

There was someone in my year who was struggling a bit and able to put Med ‘on hold’ for a year and do something else at Uni before deciding if they wanted to continue, so it might worth chatting to your Uni about the possibility of doing that and maybe giving first year law or similar a go before you withdraw completely from Med.

ETA: I meant to mention; given you’ve talked about how much you enjoyed study etc during high school and did so much work experience, it sounds like your year 12 was pretty full on (even if you enjoyed it at the same time). Is there any possibility that you’re a bit burned out on study and that maybe it wouldn’t really matter what you were studying at the moment, it’d struggle to interest you? Something to consider maybe...

 

[aspiringlol]

Re. the enquiry about gap year possibility. I was asking (along with the other questions) in order to gauge whether there might be some scope for you to have some time out and do something else for a while (work, work experience, etc), to expand your career horizons, not just for the sake of having a year off. There’s not many situations where I’d recommend a gap year in which you did nothing but get a year ‘behind’

That said, I think you’ve done enough work experience!!

There was someone in my year who was struggling a bit and able to put Med ‘on hold’ for a year and do something else at Uni before deciding if they wanted to continue, so it might worth chatting to your Uni about the possibility of doing that and maybe giving first year law or similar a go before you withdraw completely from Med.

ETA: I meant to mention; given you’ve talked about how much you enjoyed study etc during high school and did so much work experience, it sounds like your year 12 was pretty full on (even if you enjoyed it at the same time). Is there any possibility that you’re a bit burned out on study and that maybe it wouldn’t really matter what you were studying at the moment, it’d struggle to interest you? Something to consider maybe...

that does sound too good to be true!
Yeah, I definitely considered burn out, as I did work hard in year 12, but I had a great summer and felt really ready to study/get back into routine. I have also been reading up more about economics/law (obviously in a very layman fashion) but that doesn't seem to be causing the same issues. However, they always say the grass is always greener...

Also, I should probably add that me saying I 'enjoyed' studying was probably not entirely accurate. I would rather have been out with friends but when compared to now, it was enjoyable.

 

[Cathay]

I could take a gap year, but I really don't want to be a year behind (which I know is not a big deal) and I don't think it would solve anything, I would likely still be in a similar position.

Re not wanting to be a year behind: I wouldn't think of it that way. Now that you've finished high school, there isn't a linear age-based expectation of where you should be at, the way that an 18-year-old attending year 10 would be considered "behind". Now that you've finished high school, all you are is "somewhere along the life journey" - and at your early stage of the journey, a year or two is hardly consequential. For one thing, the grad entrants and high school direct entrants won't be the same age, and especially after graduation, people take time to figure out what they want, or take time to get onto competitive training programmes (e.g. surgical ones), take extra time to finish specialty training, take time out to pursue higher qualification (like a PhD) or start a family, etc. Heck, people even change directions completely and start anew in a different field! One might even say that for an 18-25 year old, an extra year's worth of maturity is a valuable thing for being a doctor.

A gap year would be an opportunity to try another course as LMG suggested, alternatively other common things include travel or work (admittedly both could be tricky at this point in time with the whole COVID thing going on) - epiphanies happen in the strangest of places, and in any case your mind not being in study mode for a year allows you some space to think and offers what could be a different perspective.


My overall thought, and this goes for confusedwithlif too, is that (based on being in 1st and 2nd year, respectively) I assume you are both in the pre-clinical years, and are not yet spending most of your time in the hospital. The clinical years are a bit different and can change how you feel about medicine (as per my blog/article thingy, I quite enjoyed med school in its pre-clinical form, but once the novelty of clinical years wore off I stopped seeing myself working in the profession).

I would say definitely chat with a careers counselling person, if you can access one in the current state of the world.

If, once you've chatted with careers counselling, you still find yourself unsure (i.e. there's not something that jumps out as something you want to pursue instead of medicine); AND if you are in the right space to continue (i.e. you are just unsure about the long term things, and are not struggling to keep up with the immediate content or suffering in your mental health), it could (emphasis on "could" - I'm not making a recommendation here) be an option to try and stick it out until clinical years and then re-evaluate; on the other hand, sticking it out may end up just being "doubling down on a mistake", and it definitely has its downsides if you end up withdrawing further down the line anyway, in that you've spent more money and/or racked up a larger student loan / HECS debt. (I have refrained from calling it a "waste of time" as I think medical education, like other education, is inherently perspective-broadening, and I am pleased to have done 4.75 years of med school. You may feel differently.)

 

[aspiringlol]

Re not wanting to be a year behind: I wouldn't think of it that way. Now that you've finished high school, there isn't a linear age-based expectation of where you should be at, the way that an 18-year-old attending year 10 would be considered "behind". Now that you've finished high school, all you are is "somewhere along the life journey" - and at your early stage of the journey, a year or two is hardly consequential. For one thing, the grad entrants and high school direct entrants won't be the same age, and especially after graduation, people take time to figure out what they want, or take time to get onto competitive training programmes (e.g. surgical ones), take extra time to finish specialty training, take time out to pursue higher qualification (like a PhD) or start a family, etc. Heck, people even change directions completely and start anew in a different field! One might even say that for an 18-25 year old, an extra year's worth of maturity is a valuable thing for being a doctor.

A gap year would be an opportunity to try another course as LMG suggested, alternatively other common things include travel or work (admittedly both could be tricky at this point in time with the whole COVID thing going on) - epiphanies happen in the strangest of places, and in any case your mind not being in study mode for a year allows you some space to think and offers what could be a different perspective.


My overall thought, and this goes for confusedwithlif too, is that (based on being in 1st and 2nd year, respectively) I assume you are both in the pre-clinical years, and are not yet spending most of your time in the hospital. The clinical years are a bit different and can change how you feel about medicine (as per my blog/article thingy, I quite enjoyed med school in its pre-clinical form, but once the novelty of clinical years wore off I stopped seeing myself working in the profession).

I would say definitely chat with a careers counselling person, if you can access one in the current state of the world.

If, once you've chatted with careers counselling, you still find yourself unsure (i.e. there's not something that jumps out as something you want to pursue instead of medicine); AND if you are in the right space to continue (i.e. you are just unsure about the long term things, and are not struggling to keep up with the immediate content or suffering in your mental health), it could (emphasis on "could" - I'm not making a recommendation here) be an option to try and stick it out until clinical years and then re-evaluate; on the other hand, sticking it out may end up just being "doubling down on a mistake", and it definitely has its downsides if you end up withdrawing further down the line anyway, in that you've spent more money and/or racked up a larger student loan / HECS debt. (I have refrained from calling it a "waste of time" as I think medical education, like other education, is inherently perspective-broadening, and I am pleased to have done 4.75 years of med school. You may feel differently.)

Thanks for your detailed response Cathay.
I have definitely thought about sticking it out to the clinical years and see what that's like, which is making me toss up between staying and leaving.
As LMG mentioned, I contacted my uni and it is possible to study another course while on intermission, so that is what I am currently thinking of doing - however I have to speak to the med faculty and am not sure if they would want to accept me back later.
I think the main concern for me is job security. I know that I (unless things change) would get a job as a doctor somewhere in Aus, whereas the career prospects for lawyers are far more dire (however I'm not sure what the comparison between speciality training and securing a job/trainig at a top tier city firm looks like). So that idea of job security and the fear that I'll regret leaving medicine for the rest of my life is what's making me doubt leaving. Also, I was so passionate about med/becoming a doctor just a few months ago! That to leaves me feeling unsettled and unsure.

 

[chinaski]

I know that I (unless things change) would get a job as a doctor somewhere in Aus, whereas the career prospects for lawyers are far more dire (however I'm not sure what the comparison between speciality training and securing a job/trainig at a top tier city firm looks like).

Probably better to compare apples to apples here. As such, it's more accurate to consider specialty training and securing a job as a medical consultant in a tertiary urban hospital versus training and securing a job in a top tier city firm as a lawyer. You'll quickly discover there's very little in terms of guaranteed employment in the former, too...

 

[Crow]

Also, on a sidetone, does anyone else find a larger proportion of students quiet immature?

LOL - you’ll figure out who to socialise with and who to steer clear of in due time. By “larger proportion” what group of students are you comparing with? Your high school cohort?

 

[Kiwiology]

Answered your PM Here for the benefit of all:

Medicine and law are very similar: see a person (consult), find out their problem (take a history), ask some questions and look at some documents or request more information (run some tests), figure out the problem (make a diagnosis) and figure out the plan (decide on proposed treatment) then do that (treat pt).

The difference is nobody dies, the hours are generally good, the pay is difficult to compare as it is so varied, and the skills are quite the same just in quite a different context. In law you never have to worry about pulling an all nighter in ED as a House Surgeon and sticking your finger up somebodies bum at 3 am to determine their anal tone as part of checking for caudia equina or being woken at 6 am on a Saturday to go in because Mrs Glick has a fever or something. It is very rare that I do any work outside my scheduled hours. If I am prepping for some good legal thrashing then yes, but that is a rarity.

I'm a senior LLB student and also working full time in the legal industry and there is some good scope to cross law and medicine: in New Zealand this is particularly so due to the Accident Compensation scheme, and I even moreso in Australia because there is no bar on suits for medical misadventure/treatment injury. I can't tell you how helpful it is to be able to have a fluent understanding of (most) medical vernacular and ability to critically examine medical evidence and talk to medical personnel in their own language etc. There is also scope to work on patient rights and related law and such.

Medicine is just that, medicine. If you get to the end of your MBBS and discover you don't really want to be a doctor, you're kind of screwed, it's not like you can go do something else. Good luck with that. Oh, and that student loan ..... Law is very wide and varied and gives you lots of skills you can put to use in the health/medical industry or other industries that is not being a lawyer if you decide.

I did my Postgrad and flew high with my grades and am also flying high in my LLB sitting on an A- GPA. If I wanted, I could have easily gotten in to med as a grad after PG and provided I keep up my GPA (which is not unlikely) I could also easily get in as a grad with my LLB. I don't want to. In-fact, I couldn't think of anything worse.

My friend and I both started down the med track and both GTFO and are doing law. We are both very happy.

 

[Verdigris]

Medicine is just that, medicine. If you get to the end of your MBBS and discover you don't really want to be a doctor, you're kind of screwed, it's not like you can go do something else. Good luck with that.

ya u can, u can be a public health specialist or work for the ministry of health or in private consultancy, there's literally an entire chunk of the ministry of health which is just doctors also ashley bloomfield is a doctor as are a lot of the CEs of DHBs