Should I Study Medicine: General Discussion

[dotwingz]

Completely agree with Crow, doing Biomed is not needed to get into medicine, and not recommended here due to poor job prospects in the chance that you wouldn’t get into medicine

Also I wouldn’t write yourself off as not able to study medicine yet. Your post makes me think youre a first year, if so you still have plenty of time to work on “memory skills” and “leadership skills”. Keep in mind by the time that you finish training and actually start practicing as a doctor you will be in your 30s, and will be a much different person then you are now

edit: Also a lot of Med YouTube is based off in the US who has a very different medical school system. Getting into medicine there requires a ridiculous amount of research/volunteering/written applications/etc, and their choice of residency specialities are decided on standardised exams - which makes the entire process look a lot more intense then it is in Australia

 

[threefivetwo]

... can't imagine myself doing anything other than a MD.

I didn't get into Medicine the first time and am retrying again this year, so while I'm not in your predicament, I empathise with the uncertainty and doubt you feel. I believed the same things about myself after I received my ATAR last year, but I'm now a more than capable Engineering student who maintains a HD average. I just wanted to tell you to hang onto that aspiration and believe in yourself. Why exactly is it that you can't imagine yourself doing anything other than a MD? Hold onto those reasons as you journey towards Medicine - it's a tough road but we'll get there eventually. If you believe those things about yourself and focus on them too hard, you distort your perception of yourself and how you view the world. Maintain a positive but realistic mindset. You will get into Medicine if you believe in yourself, but you haven't gotten in yet - so take action and make the first steps towards getting in. Take care and I wish you the best in whatever direction you choose to go in

 

[Crow]

I have to play the devil here. I don’t want to diminish anyone’s belief or motivation, but I often see the mentality of “if you just believe in yourself you’ll get into [insert competitive course here]” and I think it needs to be pointed out that this sadly isn’t always the case. Belief/hard work goes a long way but it unfortunately isn’t always enough - the reality is that medicine (and dentistry) entry is incredibly competitive and the vast majority of applicants - most of which are more than capable and likely work very hard and believe in themselves - miss out. This is the nature of the supply/demand mismatch.

Missing out doesn’t mean you’re not worthy, just as working hard and believing in yourself isn’t always enough.

You need to be realistic and have alternative career plans in place just in case. There are just too many stories out there of people who have done x number of degrees/extra studies and sat UMAT/UCAT/GAMSAT x times without success (despite massive time and financial investment).

 

[Cathay]

(...)I feel like im not good enough to do medicine. I don't have a good memory, im not a good leader, etc (the list goes on). Some things can be improved upon but i don't know if i'll be successful or even last in the field, especially with this mindset. The point is, there are many reasons why i shoudn't persue a MD.

It sort of feels like you're being particularly harsh on yourself there. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that you have to be a good leader (is it from YouTubing and a US-centric influence? As mentioned before the US is not reflective of how things work in Aus/NZ), and I'm not sure what you mean by you "don't have a good memory" - you don't need photographic (eidetic) memory for med school, if that's what you mean. Beyond that, the need for repeated exposure to achieve good understanding and recall is sort of how studying and revising works.

I've been youtubing like crazy about this and many people say to gain as much experience as possible to see whether you gravitate to particular roles however most places aren't taking people in to shadow/volunteer because of covid.

I think even if you did all that, it can still be hard to appreciate the actual experience in those roles. Shadowing someone has limitations (clinicians will filter out sensitive/difficult cases, which often aren't suitable/appropriate for a shadow - or even med students - to see) and it can be hard to appreciate, from spectating, the experience of the clinician (work/life balance, fatigue, and other aspects external to work - personal/family life stressors etc.) As for being a volunteer, depending on what role you are volunteering in, it's not always a "get inside experience in a clinical environment" deal - that might be what you want out of it, but what your organisation wants out of you is for you to do the work you signed up to volunteer for, whether that be organising events, helping people find their way around the hospital, or even standing with a bucket collecting donations.

Watching someone drive a train, is a different experience to driving the train yourself. (And driving a train yourself at 2am on your 12th consecutive day of work, is a different experience still.)

Nursing has a vital role but i can't imagine myself doing anything other than a MD.

I'm gonna echo Crow's post above and say that you should at least think about it - what would you like to do in life, other than medicine? It can seem at a younger age, that to have the audacity to think about an alternative path is to show a disastrous lack of commitment/determination to the cause; but the reality is, whatever you do in life, you should always have a backup plan.

In the same way that pilots have alternative airports planned and are always prepared for a diversion or emergency landing, when embarking on a journey towards medicine you should have backup options. Don't paint yourself into a corner by thinking that you can't do (or think about) anything else - that'll only set you up for misery, in the event things don't go your way.

Also as Crow pointed out: what you do now is not an irreversible binary decision between medicine and something else. There are avenues for trying for medicine again later on, if you end up doing something else but still wanted to give it a shot. Alternatively, you might find yourself happy and content doing something else, and not bother trying for medicine later. I think it's easy to get tunnel vision at a younger age, and get fixated on a single career goal, losing sight of all the other possibilities.

Life is not a straight line towards a goal, but a journey along a twisting, winding, and branching path through the forest; it's not always necessary or desirable to go directly towards your original destination, and sometimes you might go down a branch and find something better entirely.

It can be hard to imagine yourself not doing medicine; and even harder to imagine yourself doing something you might've previously considered "boring" or "mundane", with life outside work (family, hobbies, travel etc) being the more exciting/rewarding aspects of life, funded by the paycheck you earn from work. Keep that "work to live" vision in mind - medicine or not, that is a common and valid way of life, which you might look upon more fondly as you get older.

 

[Unluckydude]

I've heard that biomed is a preparatory course for medicine

It's not. You might have been misguided by the American system. Medical schools in the US have more strict prerequisites and the admissions board takes into consideration the applicant's university and course. For example, Harvard dental school has the following admissions requirements:

Course	Required​	Recommended​	Lab Required​	Credit Hours*​	Semesters​
Biochemistry	x​			3​	1​
Biology	x​		x​	8​	2​
Inorganic or General chemistry	x​		x​	8​	2​
Organic chemistry	x​		x​	8​	2​
Physics	x​		x​	8​	2​
English	x​			6​	2​
Calculus I, II**	x​			6​	1 or 2​
Statistics **	x​			3​	1 or 0​
Cell biology		x​
Microbiology		x​

Entry into med is very different in Australia. Your undergraduate degree and university have no effect on your chance of getting an offer. Doing biomed does not provide any advantage. It only helps you to prepare for section 3 of the GAMSAT which requires year 12 physics and first year biology/chem.

You need to be realistic and have alternative career plans in place just in case. There are just too many stories out there of people who have done x number of degrees/extra studies and sat UMAT/UCAT/GAMSAT x times without success (despite massive time and financial investment).

I agree with Crow. About 13,000 mostly high achieving students sit the ucat each year for about 2500 (?) 1500 undergrad med and 300 dent places. There is no guarantee that you'll get in. Biomed is only a reasonable option if you are ok with the following careers:

1) scientist (you need to biomed -> honours -> phd -> and maybe even post-doc to be competitive)
2) do a master of teaching and become a high school biology teacher
3) biomed related careers such as clinical physiologist, audiologist, genetic counsellor, public health expert which also require further studies.

 

[woti]

I didn't get into Medicine the first time and am retrying again this year, so while I'm not in your predicament, I empathise with the uncertainty and doubt you feel. I believed the same things about myself after I received my ATAR last year, but I'm now a more than capable Engineering student who maintains a HD average. I just wanted to tell you to hang onto that aspiration and believe in yourself. Why exactly is it that you can't imagine yourself doing anything other than a MD? Hold onto those reasons as you journey towards Medicine - it's a tough road but we'll get there eventually. If you believe those things about yourself and focus on them too hard, you distort your perception of yourself and how you view the world. Maintain a positive but realistic mindset. You will get into Medicine if you believe in yourself, but you haven't gotten in yet - so take action and make the first steps towards getting in. Take care and I wish you the best in whatever direction you choose to go in

thank you, you sound so kind
All the best on your journey!!

I have to play the devil here. I don’t want to diminish anyone’s belief or motivation, but I often see the mentality of “if you just believe in yourself you’ll get into [insert competitive course here]” and I think it needs to be pointed out that this sadly isn’t always the case. Belief/hard work goes a long way but it unfortunately isn’t always enough - the reality is that medicine (and dentistry) entry is incredibly competitive and the vast majority of applicants - most of which are more than capable and likely work very hard and believe in themselves - miss out. This is the nature of the supply/demand mismatch.

Missing out doesn’t mean you’re not worthy, just as working hard and believing in yourself isn’t always enough.

You need to be realistic and have alternative career plans in place just in case. There are just too many stories out there of people who have done x number of degrees/extra studies and sat UMAT/UCAT/GAMSAT x times without success (despite massive time and financial investment).

Thank you for your thoughts!

It sort of feels like you're being particularly harsh on yourself there. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that you have to be a good leader (is it from YouTubing and a US-centric influence? As mentioned before the US is not reflective of how things work in Aus/NZ), and I'm not sure what you mean by you "don't have a good memory" - you don't need photographic (eidetic) memory for med school, if that's what you mean. Beyond that, the need for repeated exposure to achieve good understanding and recall is sort of how studying and revising works.


I think even if you did all that, it can still be hard to appreciate the actual experience in those roles. Shadowing someone has limitations (clinicians will filter out sensitive/difficult cases, which often aren't suitable/appropriate for a shadow - or even med students - to see) and it can be hard to appreciate, from spectating, the experience of the clinician (work/life balance, fatigue, and other aspects external to work - personal/family life stressors etc.) As for being a volunteer, depending on what role you are volunteering in, it's not always a "get inside experience in a clinical environment" deal - that might be what you want out of it, but what your organisation wants out of you is for you to do the work you signed up to volunteer for, whether that be organising events, helping people find their way around the hospital, or even standing with a bucket collecting donations.

Watching someone drive a train, is a different experience to driving the train yourself. (And driving a train yourself at 2am on your 12th consecutive day of work, is a different experience still.)


I'm gonna echo Crow's post above and say that you should at least think about it - what would you like to do in life, other than medicine? It can seem at a younger age, that to have the audacity to think about an alternative path is to show a disastrous lack of commitment/determination to the cause; but the reality is, whatever you do in life, you should always have a backup plan.

In the same way that pilots have alternative airports planned and are always prepared for a diversion or emergency landing, when embarking on a journey towards medicine you should have backup options. Don't paint yourself into a corner by thinking that you can't do (or think about) anything else - that'll only set you up for misery, in the event things don't go your way.

Also as Crow pointed out: what you do now is not an irreversible binary decision between medicine and something else. There are avenues for trying for medicine again later on, if you end up doing something else but still wanted to give it a shot. Alternatively, you might find yourself happy and content doing something else, and not bother trying for medicine later. I think it's easy to get tunnel vision at a younger age, and get fixated on a single career goal, losing sight of all the other possibilities.

Life is not a straight line towards a goal, but a journey along a twisting, winding, and branching path through the forest; it's not always necessary or desirable to go directly towards your original destination, and sometimes you might go down a branch and find something better entirely.

It can be hard to imagine yourself not doing medicine; and even harder to imagine yourself doing something you might've previously considered "boring" or "mundane", with life outside work (family, hobbies, travel etc) being the more exciting/rewarding aspects of life, funded by the paycheck you earn from work. Keep that "work to live" vision in mind - medicine or not, that is a common and valid way of life, which you might look upon more fondly as you get older.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a helpful response !

It's not. You might have been misguided by the American system. Medical schools in the US have more strict prerequisites and the admissions board takes into consideration the applicant's university and course. For example, Harvard dental school has the following admissions requirements:

Course	Required​	Recommended​	Lab Required​	Credit Hours*​	Semesters​
Biochemistry	x​			3​	1​
Biology	x​		x​	8​	2​
Inorganic or General chemistry	x​		x​	8​	2​
Organic chemistry	x​		x​	8​	2​
Physics	x​		x​	8​	2​
English	x​			6​	2​
Calculus I, II**	x​			6​	1 or 2​
Statistics **	x​			3​	1 or 0​
Cell biology		x​
Microbiology		x​

Entry into med is very different in Australia. Your undergraduate degree and university have no effect on your chance of getting an offer. Doing biomed does not provide any advantage. It only helps you to prepare for section 3 of the GAMSAT which requires year 12 physics and first year biology/chem.



I agree with Crow. About 13,000 mostly high achieving students sit the ucat each year for about 2500 (?) 1500 undergrad med and 300 dent places. There is no guarantee that you'll get in. Biomed is only a reasonable option if you are ok with the following careers:

1) scientist (you need to biomed -> honours -> phd -> and maybe even post-doc to be competitive)
2) do a master of teaching and become a high school biology teacher
3) biomed related careers such as clinical physiologist, audiologist, genetic counsellor, public health expert which also require further studies.

Thank you your reply! This year I would have completed 2 semesters of chem and bio and 1 semester of physics at a first year level. Just to clarify, are you suggesting this is an adequate foundation for section 3?

 

[Unluckydude]

This year I would have completed 2 semesters of chem and bio and 1 semester of physics at a first year level. Just to clarify, are you suggesting this is an adequate foundation for section 3?

It really depends on the type of bio and chem subjects you studied. (Content removed)

 

[Crow]

Thank you your reply! This year I would have completed 2 semesters of chem and bio and 1 semester of physics at a first year level. Just to clarify, are you suggesting this is an adequate foundation for section 3?

That would be more than sufficient.

 

[woti]

It really depends on the type of bio and chem subjects you studied. (Content removed)

fair enough, thanks

That would be more than sufficient.

thanks Crow

 

[questioninglife]

Hi, not sure if this is the right place to post this but I need advice as I am also questioning if I should study medicine (at a somewhat inconvenient time in my life).

All my life I've told my parents, careers people, friends etc that I want to be a doctor. As an Asian child of immigrants (don't want to add to the stereotypes but it has to be said, if only to give a bit of context), this was definitely encouraged by my parents from a young age and I was very fortunate and privileged to be given a lot of support, science/human body related books to read, etc. I never wavered from my desire to be a doctor, in fact I never dared to even consider any other pathway in life as I was afraid that thinking about anything else would lead me astray from this goal.

But lately I've been afforded a lot of time to think about things and research universities and courses and, most importantly, what it's like to be a medical student and a doctor (which is how I found this forum in the first place). And that has driven me to the confronting realisation that I had NO IDEA what it meant to study and practise medicine, and that I don't think I want to go into this course anymore. Instead, I want to do something in allied health or nursing, rather than being a doctor. I'm definitely not one of those people who can't think of anything else they'd rather be (in fact, I've found myself hoping to be rejected from medicine in the end just so that I can pursue other ambitions).

However, this is pretty inconvenient as I've already taken the UCAT and gotten what I assume based on past statistics is a 90+ percentile score, and have already preferenced a lot of undergraduate medicine courses in my tertiary admissions centre. I feel like I've put in a lot of effort, way too much in fact, to quit now. I've also discussed this with my parents a few times and the results were... unproductive.

I don't know what to do now. Should I keep these medicine preferences? Bin them? Reorder them? Hope I don't get an interview? Hope I don't get an offer? I also don't know if I'm thinking too much now and this whole coronavirus situation has got me going a bit mental, or if I was thinking way too little before and I should have realized all this before I started this whole admissions and UCAT process.

Please help me medstudentsonline, I appreciate that there probably aren't that many of you who don't want to be doctors, but I'm hoping that you can shed some expertise and light and give some guidance.

 

[questioninglife]

(Also just wanted to say that I read Cathay's blog post, several times in fact, and it resonated quite hard with me. This is a fact that is making me even more concerned about whether I am making the right choice or not.)

 

[chinaski]

Don't fret. You're not locked into a pathway; you are not obliged to be a doctor. The world is your oyster and you are free to choose. It's perfectly OK to choose something that isn't medicine. It's perfectly fine to change your mind more than once. It's even perfectly fine and normal to not really be too sure what it is you want to do right now! Choosing something that isn't medicine is not "quitting". It is choosing to do something different. That is not a failing.

 

[dotwingz]

And that has driven me to the confronting realisation that I had NO IDEA what it meant to study and practise medicine, and that I don't think I want to go into this course anymore.

Why is this? If you have no understanding of what its like to study or practice, then why do you have a decision on whether you would want to do it or not. Having an ill informed understanding of medicine is not a rare thing, and if you feel that you don't understand the lifestyle and that's why you wish not to get in, then why not learn?

I think what you might be experiencing is having to make a decision. Based on what you said, you (like alot of others) initially did not really make the decision to pursue medicine, it was sort of a given and environmental factors made a large play in that, and when faced with the 'why' of studying medicine, you don't really have an answer. Doesn't mean you should not pursue medicine, its just that you might have to do a re-evaluation.

Why nursing? Why allied health? What draws you to these careers at this point and time and not medicine?

If you do come to the realisation that med is not what you want. I would consider your UCAT Score/Efforts such far/etc to be sunk costs in this situation, no real point to do medicine just because you can and got the scores you want.

 

[questioninglife]

Don't fret. You're not locked into a pathway; you are not obliged to be a doctor. The world is your oyster and you are free to choose. It's perfectly OK to choose something that isn't medicine. It's perfectly fine to change your mind more than once. It's even perfectly fine and normal to not really be too sure what it is you want to do right now! Choosing something that isn't medicine is not "quitting". It is choosing to do something different. That is not a failing.

Thank you, honestly that's really reassuring. But idk what to do right now lol... take the medicine preferences out? Put them lower below the allied health stuff I'm more interested in? Keep them and keep an open mind/thinking?

I guess if I discovered that I really did want to be a doctor later, I could make an attempt for graduate entry (also like I've seen on this site). Has anyone else done that?

 

[questioninglife]

Why is this? If you have no understanding of what its like to study or practice, then why do you have a decision on whether you would want to do it or not. Having an ill informed understanding of medicine is not a rare thing, and if you feel that you don't understand the lifestyle and that's why you wish not to get in, then why not learn?

Well, that's what I didn't have an understanding of before I started thinking about this. Obviously as an Year 12 student I can't pretend to know everything at this moment in time either, but I'd like to say that I've done a bit of research/googling on the subject (at first for procrastination) and it's now that I do know a bit more about the profession that has given me these doubts.

I think what you might be experiencing is having to make a decision

How long do you think I have until to make this decision? I know the deadline for adding med courses to my preferences is September 30th (at least, for some of them), but obviously there's the hypothetical interviews and offer rounds later as well.

Why nursing? Why allied health? What draws you to these careers at this point and time and not medicine?

Well first of all, I liked the idea of treating the patient in a more physical/direct way more than I liked the idea of diagnosis. I've always been a more hands-on, practical kind of person (some part of me actually wanted to go into the trades as much younger child, in fact). Secondly, I like the idea of supporting a patient throughout their recovery, pain management, etc. I know that doctors also do that kind of thing, but I was more interested in the way that physiotherapists or occupational therapists treated patients. In fact, even when I wanted much more to be a doctor, I was kind of disappointed that these kinds of things didn't fall into the scope of being a doctor, but rather a different profession. I also got into sports in the last few years, and I wouldn't mind working in that field, even though I know it's very competitive and difficult to get a foot in (but I'd imagine sports medicine is also competitive and difficult as a specialty).

Another thing is to do with mental health and such. I had some hard times academically and mentally even before Year 12 (more like 9 or 10), and those had an impact on how well I performed in school at those times. Obviously I made up for those in the past two years (or medicine would probably be completely out of the question for me now, at least at undergraduate level), but I'm wary of how such things may manifest in the future and I wouldn't want to be failing medical school for such reasons. So if any other people have struggled with their mental health and are willing to share their experiences, either in high school or in med school, please help me out here lol.

If you do come to the realisation that med is not what you want. I would consider your UCAT Score/Efforts such far/etc to be sunk costs in this situation, no real point to do medicine just because you can and got the scores you want.

To be fair this is a good point that I will consider, thank you.

 

[chinaski]

Thank you, honestly that's really reassuring. But idk what to do right now lol... take the medicine preferences out? Put them lower below the allied health stuff I'm more interested in? Keep them and keep an open mind/thinking?

I guess if I discovered that I really did want to be a doctor later, I could make an attempt for graduate entry (also like I've seen on this site). Has anyone else done that?

If you don't want to do medicine, and you want to do something else, do something else. Why on earth would you consider putting what you really want to do BELOW a course that interests you less?

ETA: If you think it's hard to "quit" medicine at this point after the investment you have made, it will be even harder to walk away after you invest even more (ie years of study at university). The "sunk cost" fallacy is real, but it gets even realer the more you pursue an action or endpoint that you actually don't want. At this point, you don't even have a place in medicine to "give up", so you actually have nothing but the expectations of others tying you to this decision right now.

Plenty of people succeed in getting into graduate entry medicine, so yes, that will always be an option open to you. Not everyone who eventually does medicine realised they wanted to be a doctor when they were in high school. As per previous, it's fine to change your mind.

 

[kanag]

Hello, hopefully this is the right place to post this, I’m in urgent need of advice!

I have received offers from Otago and Auckland medical schools for this year. It has always been my goal to attend medical school and become a doctor, and I’ve worked very hard (as we all have) for the opportunity. I thought I had adequately researched the profession and the course, and spoken to Med students and doctors, and was content that this was what I wanted to do.

I was very happy when I received my offers, and I turned down offers for other health professional courses in favour of Medicine, however as the start of semester approaches I’m feeling increasing dread and regret over my choice. I have started to feel as though perhaps it was all about proving to myself that I could get accepted (especially after being rejected in first year), rather than actually wanting to be a doctor. I’m very nervous that I won’t be able to cope with the stress and responsibility in Med school and as a doctor. I can also no longer see myself in any of the specialties, apart from perhaps GP. Everyone else I’ve spoken too is equal parts nervous and excited about the start of Med school, whereas I am absolutely terrified. My friends and family are encouraging me to just try this year and see if I enjoy it as I’ve put in so much effort and they don’t want me to throw away this opportunity, but I’m worried that this will just be a waste of time and money.

Has anyone else been through these emotions or have had a similar experience? Any advice is appreciated!

 

[yokohama31]

Hi, not sure if this is the right place to post this but I need advice as I am also questioning if I should study medicine (at a somewhat inconvenient time in my life).

All my life I've told my parents, careers people, friends etc that I want to be a doctor. As an Asian child of immigrants (don't want to add to the stereotypes but it has to be said, if only to give a bit of context), this was definitely encouraged by my parents from a young age and I was very fortunate and privileged to be given a lot of support, science/human body related books to read, etc. I never wavered from my desire to be a doctor, in fact I never dared to even consider any other pathway in life as I was afraid that thinking about anything else would lead me astray from this goal.

But lately I've been afforded a lot of time to think about things and research universities and courses and, most importantly, what it's like to be a medical student and a doctor (which is how I found this forum in the first place). And that has driven me to the confronting realisation that I had NO IDEA what it meant to study and practise medicine, and that I don't think I want to go into this course anymore. Instead, I want to do something in allied health or nursing, rather than being a doctor. I'm definitely not one of those people who can't think of anything else they'd rather be (in fact, I've found myself hoping to be rejected from medicine in the end just so that I can pursue other ambitions).

However, this is pretty inconvenient as I've already taken the UCAT and gotten what I assume based on past statistics is a 90+ percentile score, and have already preferenced a lot of undergraduate medicine courses in my tertiary admissions centre. I feel like I've put in a lot of effort, way too much in fact, to quit now. I've also discussed this with my parents a few times and the results were... unproductive.

I don't know what to do now. Should I keep these medicine preferences? Bin them? Reorder them? Hope I don't get an interview? Hope I don't get an offer? I also don't know if I'm thinking too much now and this whole coronavirus situation has got me going a bit mental, or if I was thinking way too little before and I should have realized all this before I started this whole admissions and UCAT process.

Please help me medstudentsonline, I appreciate that there probably aren't that many of you who don't want to be doctors, but I'm hoping that you can shed some expertise and light and give some guidance.

I feel for you. This has happened to me in my life and it is a hard decision to make. If the dread is so strong you find it hard to sleep and you are filled with regret, I would think about doing something differently and give the place to someone else. However, nothing is a waste. If you continue on this path and give it a go you are going to meet amazing people and learn a lot. This might be what you need to find the best path for you even if it isn't medicine

 

[dotwingz]

In my (limited 19 year old who is sometimes a massive idiot) experience - I often find myself completely dreading something new. Every new job, school, uni, new activities my friends want me try, etc. Often to the point where i stay up at night thinking about it, putting off the tasks or whatever i need to do to get the ball rolling, or just generally try to push back the thought of having to do such a thing.

I suspect it’s some sort of social anxiety, but what i find 99% of the time, is that once I get in the rhythm of things it’s much more enjoyable, and i start to look forward to every occasion this happens.

I had this exact series of thoughts after I graduated high school and got accepted into a medical school (although it was provisional so i’m not actually a medical student) - would i be able to be in such an people facing career - would i be able to make decisions which can adversely affect others life’s - would i be able to make friends and fit in to a new university - etc, etc

My advice would to be give it a shot for at least a year and learn to enjoy it. Take it from those who are regularly anxious over new things, that sometimes you have to try.

From what i’ve heard from others aswell - is that people enjoy different things about medical school, some may hate the preclinical years but shine in the clinical ones, and vice versa. Enter uni with an open mind and try to find at least a single thing to enjoy (there’s likely a sub speciality that’s exactly that niche)

 

[Cathay]

Hello, hopefully this is the right place to post this, I’m in urgent need of advice!

I have received offers from Otago and Auckland medical schools for this year. It has always been my goal to attend medical school and become a doctor, and I’ve worked very hard (as we all have) for the opportunity. I thought I had adequately researched the profession and the course, and spoken to Med students and doctors, and was content that this was what I wanted to do.

I was very happy when I received my offers, and I turned down offers for other health professional courses in favour of Medicine, however as the start of semester approaches I’m feeling increasing dread and regret over my choice. I have started to feel as though perhaps it was all about proving to myself that I could get accepted (especially after being rejected in first year), rather than actually wanting to be a doctor. I’m very nervous that I won’t be able to cope with the stress and responsibility in Med school and as a doctor. I can also no longer see myself in any of the specialties, apart from perhaps GP. Everyone else I’ve spoken too is equal parts nervous and excited about the start of Med school, whereas I am absolutely terrified. My friends and family are encouraging me to just try this year and see if I enjoy it as I’ve put in so much effort and they don’t want me to throw away this opportunity, but I’m worried that this will just be a waste of time and money.

Has anyone else been through these emotions or have had a similar experience? Any advice is appreciated!

Sorry I'm a little late to the party, but I'd lean towards "give it a go" (I hope that's what you've ended up doing?) - as others have said, you'll meet some great people along the way and learn some very interesting things. I went to Otago and got to halfway through 5th year (of medicine) before I decided to call it quits, and in all honesty, I think med school has shaped how I think, how I interact with others, and who I am; it has also given me many advantages in my (now distinctly non-med-related) life. "Worth every penny" might be a stretch, but I would definitely say it has not been a waste of time and money.

I'd approach it with an open mind, too - you could find interest in the oddest things, and through your time at med school (and after, if you choose to continue on that path) you may well find an unexpected specialty you might like to pursue - or at least one you can see yourself being happy with.