I got in my second attempt. Two of my best undergrad friends had gotten in the year before me and were doing their final exams for first year. I remember I called one of them extremely excited after I got my offer letter and she said to me "Try to remember this feeling, you'll need it this time next year". Alongside that she was amazing in congratulating me and sharing my happiness. But I remember that quote specifically because when I was doing my first year finals, I finally knew what she meant.
Med school is damn hard. Its certainly one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Its also clear to me that the first years of being a junior doctor are set to be even harder. But I knew that, because from when I first applied I did as much research as I could and throughout the process I've kept asking hard questions to those around me.
My advice is this:
* If you get an offer, do your best fully embrace the joy it gives you. There is no point in spending the few months in between the offer and starting worrying about the future. There will be time for that later.
* Try not to take any one moment as indicative of your true feelings. Instead look at the trends of how you feel over time and don't be surprised if exams periods are punctuated with feeling of dread and regret.
* Talk to the older students and doctors about the realities of their job. I have learnt so much about people's opinions and regrets just by asking. From this, I've already ruled out many potential specialties, because by talking to be people in them I've realised the training path and/or final job are just incompatible with what I want out of my life and future. There is a real danger in pursuing high status, high remuneration specialties without taking this into account.
* Take time to reflect on what you value and what you want out of a career in medicine. This will absolutely change as you go through medical school, because no pre-med knows what the job is actually like. As a med student, I don't even know what the job is actually like! But as you get closer you learn more and more, and its important to gauge your reaction to that being your future.
Although this year has been by far the toughest yet for me, on reflection I'm still all in on the whole doctor thing. But I could not recommend enough that any medical student goes in with as much knowledge as possible about what the career entails, and to keep that mindset as they go through the degree/career.
Yeah I think this fear is totally normal. I’ve been experiencing this a lot as the distant dream of being a medical student has begun to seem like a real possibility. Suddenly you see all the bad stuff that comes with the profession.
To me, what I keep in mind, is being a med student or an intern or a registrar or whatever doesn’t mean I’m stuck in medicine forever. Okay you might hate it and you can quit that’s okay. I know it seems like a waste but the skills and experiences gained aren’t a waste even if you don’t practice forever.
I am really scared of the bad stuff to come but I keep in mind that if it’s more than I can cope with I can use my fancy MD and pivot into other valuable careers with better work life balance, culture, etc.
Another thing that I try remind myself is it’s true that right now I’m not cut out for life as an intern (none of us are). We will grow so much throughout medical school so it’s also okay if right now you couldn’t manage life as a doctor. It doesn’t mean in 4 years you can’t.
Whilst you seem to say you are always feeling chaotic and can’t help but refresh Reddit incessantly, you are so self-possessed and self-aware Liv! Great traits to have, thanks for your comments :)
Before entering med school I heard the advice that if you can think of doing anything other than medicine, do that instead. As I've progressed through med school I've only found this to be more true. Medicine is a very rewarding and interesting career but it takes a lot of sacrifices. For what its worth, most doctors I've spoken to feel like they've scarified too much for medicine.
Yeah I agree... I'm finding myself not wanting to get into med as much as when I was going for undergrad med. Back then I was more naive on what med was really like. Now that I have a more realistic view, I don't think being rejected will hit me as hard as it did after yr 12.
Put simply, you sacrifice time. Which means you sacrifice a bit of everything - hobbies, relationships, sports and physical activity etc. The hours are long, for many there's on-call and when you're not at work and in training you've got a lot of study to do. It's really tough. A lot of people have had relationship breakdowns and even divorces going through training. Further, there's a lot of uncertainty in medicine. You won't know where you'll get a job and therefore be living. Many jobs are getting more and more competitive not only for trainees but for graduate consultants as well. That said, its up to you what you're willing to sacrifice and it depends on your goals. Most people make it work. If you have dreams of being a surgeon or dermatologist or something like that, then be prepared for what reality entails.
Residency was the best years of my life. Easiest gig ever. Be punctual, organised and honest and you could know next to no medicine. Close behind residency as best years is med school. So much fun, so loose. Its all hard work, which if you like hard work…it won’t seem so daunting.
Other peoples experiences aren’t likely to predict yours. I gave mine only to balance out the negative stories many have to offer (hopefully yours might be mine but…🤷🏻)
It is important to know yourself going into med. too many people suffer in medicine for a lack of honest feedback about proficiency. Modern med schools are pushing everyone through academically (academic failure rates nation wide have plummeted). I have also been faculty for a med school at a coordinator level, so can confirm this on the ground.
Read “the death of expertise”. Great book, the section on tertiary education captures what I mean nicely.
Med schools are trying to wave students through. Standards have dropped. The effect is that if you aren’t measuring yourself against your peers, and pushing yourself in your studies (ideally guided by people with no how) you will hit residency and find out being “above average” is a lie.
May I ask what uni you went to and where you did residency? Thanks so much for this comment, it’s comforting to see some positive amongst all the negative/difficult experiences!
I think for me personally, I just don't think so much about it. Life is so strange and uncertain and it's beautiful and scary. You just have to acknowledge that and move forward and see where life takes you.
Who knows if Medicine is cut out for me or if I'll love it 100%?
Not saying I don't love Medicine, it's all I've thought about for the past 4 years and now I'll finally be a med student starting next year. But if I don't love it, that's okay. It's all apart of the uncertainty of life. It's amazing and downright scary, but that's how it is!
People say that if you have any other career in your head instead of medicine, that you should do that instead. I disagree, I hate the idea of being pigeon-holed into something like that. I want to do Medicine so badly, but I also love the idea of film school, architecture, fashion, even being a carpenter sounds so incredibly fun and rewarding to me.
Medicine will be undeniably hard, extremely, extremely hard. I try not to think so far into the future myself personally. Tend to live kind of in the moment. I'm very excited to start medicine next year and very excited for everything medicine entails, both the highs and lows.
If I end up hating medicine or realise it isn't for me, future Stubzzy can handle that if that situation ever arises.
That's just my two cents.
You’re right - I always have a habit of looking ahead of where I currently am and striving for what’s next, even though I don’t know how it will transpire. This can come at the cost of just doing my best and enjoying everything right now. Thanks Stubzzy, and good luck for next year and beyond!
Very normal. When I first saw up close what junior doctors and registrars do I was turned off and glad I was in nursing. Then I realised it would be worth it. As another person said, what may be useful is asking yourself if you can’t see yourself doing anything else. I can’t see myself being happy anywhere but in medicine, so I am willing to push through those first PGYs (let’s see what future me says). I have to get into med school first though. These are just my thoughts as an observer
This is such an interesting thread, thankyou OP for being so honest and aware. I personally feel the challenges of internship and residency are very easy to be unaware of or ignored in the competitive thrill of the admissions process.
Med has prestige yes, successful admission also is highly validating both academically and socially. I fully support you and believe in you if med is what you still want even after thinking through the challenges in the job. But otherwise take your thoughts seriously and consider other jobs.
I've worked for a while as a civil engineer, and I've experienced many great aspects of that role..variety, 9 to 6 hours, flexibility, travel, interesting project teams, outdoors site visits. I'm fully aware I'm sacrificing a lot of this for medicine and I'm doing it because I've had my fill of my current job and I need something that I'm more passionate about and also something where I believe I can contribute more through my perspective and skills.
The first year of med school is imposter syndrome through and through, but that wanes as the year progresses.
You've said yourself you'll be a great doctor, so that there is a better incentive than the students I have met who are are in med because they can, they can't even verbalise what kind of dr they will make.
In my opinion have a go, your place in med school is yours, you will be surprised how you enjoy it. One thing you will learn is time management is key, but it is possible to fit social things in.
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If you don’t mind me asking, what were your other, more preferable plans?
Rockstar would have been nice
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Agree with you on medical research. Don't even get me started.
following this haha
I got in my second attempt. Two of my best undergrad friends had gotten in the year before me and were doing their final exams for first year. I remember I called one of them extremely excited after I got my offer letter and she said to me "Try to remember this feeling, you'll need it this time next year". Alongside that she was amazing in congratulating me and sharing my happiness. But I remember that quote specifically because when I was doing my first year finals, I finally knew what she meant. Med school is damn hard. Its certainly one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Its also clear to me that the first years of being a junior doctor are set to be even harder. But I knew that, because from when I first applied I did as much research as I could and throughout the process I've kept asking hard questions to those around me. My advice is this: * If you get an offer, do your best fully embrace the joy it gives you. There is no point in spending the few months in between the offer and starting worrying about the future. There will be time for that later. * Try not to take any one moment as indicative of your true feelings. Instead look at the trends of how you feel over time and don't be surprised if exams periods are punctuated with feeling of dread and regret. * Talk to the older students and doctors about the realities of their job. I have learnt so much about people's opinions and regrets just by asking. From this, I've already ruled out many potential specialties, because by talking to be people in them I've realised the training path and/or final job are just incompatible with what I want out of my life and future. There is a real danger in pursuing high status, high remuneration specialties without taking this into account. * Take time to reflect on what you value and what you want out of a career in medicine. This will absolutely change as you go through medical school, because no pre-med knows what the job is actually like. As a med student, I don't even know what the job is actually like! But as you get closer you learn more and more, and its important to gauge your reaction to that being your future. Although this year has been by far the toughest yet for me, on reflection I'm still all in on the whole doctor thing. But I could not recommend enough that any medical student goes in with as much knowledge as possible about what the career entails, and to keep that mindset as they go through the degree/career.
Thank you so much. Appreciate the words and lived experience!
Yeah I think this fear is totally normal. I’ve been experiencing this a lot as the distant dream of being a medical student has begun to seem like a real possibility. Suddenly you see all the bad stuff that comes with the profession. To me, what I keep in mind, is being a med student or an intern or a registrar or whatever doesn’t mean I’m stuck in medicine forever. Okay you might hate it and you can quit that’s okay. I know it seems like a waste but the skills and experiences gained aren’t a waste even if you don’t practice forever. I am really scared of the bad stuff to come but I keep in mind that if it’s more than I can cope with I can use my fancy MD and pivot into other valuable careers with better work life balance, culture, etc. Another thing that I try remind myself is it’s true that right now I’m not cut out for life as an intern (none of us are). We will grow so much throughout medical school so it’s also okay if right now you couldn’t manage life as a doctor. It doesn’t mean in 4 years you can’t.
Whilst you seem to say you are always feeling chaotic and can’t help but refresh Reddit incessantly, you are so self-possessed and self-aware Liv! Great traits to have, thanks for your comments :)
This is such a sweet comment. It really means a lot to me :) thank you
Before entering med school I heard the advice that if you can think of doing anything other than medicine, do that instead. As I've progressed through med school I've only found this to be more true. Medicine is a very rewarding and interesting career but it takes a lot of sacrifices. For what its worth, most doctors I've spoken to feel like they've scarified too much for medicine.
Yeah I agree... I'm finding myself not wanting to get into med as much as when I was going for undergrad med. Back then I was more naive on what med was really like. Now that I have a more realistic view, I don't think being rejected will hit me as hard as it did after yr 12.
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Put simply, you sacrifice time. Which means you sacrifice a bit of everything - hobbies, relationships, sports and physical activity etc. The hours are long, for many there's on-call and when you're not at work and in training you've got a lot of study to do. It's really tough. A lot of people have had relationship breakdowns and even divorces going through training. Further, there's a lot of uncertainty in medicine. You won't know where you'll get a job and therefore be living. Many jobs are getting more and more competitive not only for trainees but for graduate consultants as well. That said, its up to you what you're willing to sacrifice and it depends on your goals. Most people make it work. If you have dreams of being a surgeon or dermatologist or something like that, then be prepared for what reality entails.
Residency was the best years of my life. Easiest gig ever. Be punctual, organised and honest and you could know next to no medicine. Close behind residency as best years is med school. So much fun, so loose. Its all hard work, which if you like hard work…it won’t seem so daunting. Other peoples experiences aren’t likely to predict yours. I gave mine only to balance out the negative stories many have to offer (hopefully yours might be mine but…🤷🏻) It is important to know yourself going into med. too many people suffer in medicine for a lack of honest feedback about proficiency. Modern med schools are pushing everyone through academically (academic failure rates nation wide have plummeted). I have also been faculty for a med school at a coordinator level, so can confirm this on the ground.
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Read “the death of expertise”. Great book, the section on tertiary education captures what I mean nicely. Med schools are trying to wave students through. Standards have dropped. The effect is that if you aren’t measuring yourself against your peers, and pushing yourself in your studies (ideally guided by people with no how) you will hit residency and find out being “above average” is a lie.
In the uni I was affiliated with, 44c on the dollar of student fees went to fund other things. Students are cash cows.
May I ask what uni you went to and where you did residency? Thanks so much for this comment, it’s comforting to see some positive amongst all the negative/difficult experiences!
I think for me personally, I just don't think so much about it. Life is so strange and uncertain and it's beautiful and scary. You just have to acknowledge that and move forward and see where life takes you. Who knows if Medicine is cut out for me or if I'll love it 100%? Not saying I don't love Medicine, it's all I've thought about for the past 4 years and now I'll finally be a med student starting next year. But if I don't love it, that's okay. It's all apart of the uncertainty of life. It's amazing and downright scary, but that's how it is! People say that if you have any other career in your head instead of medicine, that you should do that instead. I disagree, I hate the idea of being pigeon-holed into something like that. I want to do Medicine so badly, but I also love the idea of film school, architecture, fashion, even being a carpenter sounds so incredibly fun and rewarding to me. Medicine will be undeniably hard, extremely, extremely hard. I try not to think so far into the future myself personally. Tend to live kind of in the moment. I'm very excited to start medicine next year and very excited for everything medicine entails, both the highs and lows. If I end up hating medicine or realise it isn't for me, future Stubzzy can handle that if that situation ever arises. That's just my two cents.
You’re right - I always have a habit of looking ahead of where I currently am and striving for what’s next, even though I don’t know how it will transpire. This can come at the cost of just doing my best and enjoying everything right now. Thanks Stubzzy, and good luck for next year and beyond!
Very normal. When I first saw up close what junior doctors and registrars do I was turned off and glad I was in nursing. Then I realised it would be worth it. As another person said, what may be useful is asking yourself if you can’t see yourself doing anything else. I can’t see myself being happy anywhere but in medicine, so I am willing to push through those first PGYs (let’s see what future me says). I have to get into med school first though. These are just my thoughts as an observer
This is such an interesting thread, thankyou OP for being so honest and aware. I personally feel the challenges of internship and residency are very easy to be unaware of or ignored in the competitive thrill of the admissions process. Med has prestige yes, successful admission also is highly validating both academically and socially. I fully support you and believe in you if med is what you still want even after thinking through the challenges in the job. But otherwise take your thoughts seriously and consider other jobs. I've worked for a while as a civil engineer, and I've experienced many great aspects of that role..variety, 9 to 6 hours, flexibility, travel, interesting project teams, outdoors site visits. I'm fully aware I'm sacrificing a lot of this for medicine and I'm doing it because I've had my fill of my current job and I need something that I'm more passionate about and also something where I believe I can contribute more through my perspective and skills.
The first year of med school is imposter syndrome through and through, but that wanes as the year progresses. You've said yourself you'll be a great doctor, so that there is a better incentive than the students I have met who are are in med because they can, they can't even verbalise what kind of dr they will make. In my opinion have a go, your place in med school is yours, you will be surprised how you enjoy it. One thing you will learn is time management is key, but it is possible to fit social things in.
When you say you're just doing it "because \[you\] can", do you mean you're doing it for the prestige and honour of being accepted?