I came across "Why you should not go to medical school - a gleefully biased rant" by Ali Binazir a while back and found it quite interesting so I thought I would share :)
As a medical school graduate, the author made his own comprehensive list of what it means to go to medical school:
Here are his ten reasons NOT to go:
1. You will lose all the friends you had before medicine
2. You will have difficulty sustaining a relationship and will probably break up with or divorce your current significant other during training.
3. You will spend the best years of your life as a sleep-deprived, underpaid slave
4. You will get yourself a job of dubious remuneration
5. You will have a job of exceptionally high liability exposure
6. You will endanger your health and long term well-being
7. You will not have time to care for patients as well as you want to.
8. You will start to dislike patients - and by extension, people in general.
9. People who do not even know you will start to dislike you.
10. You're not helping people nearly as much as you think.
The ONE reason he came up with for why you should go into medicine was...
You have only ever envisioned yourself as a doctor and can only derive professional fulfillment in life by taking care of sick people.
Definitely recommend reading his rant. Interesting take on the medical profession. Sadly, most of the things he touches on are true... like the fact that you will not have time to care for patients as well as you want to. However I would like to stay the optimist that I am and end with saying that you only need ONE reason to go to medical school. If you want it bad enough the rest become challenges that you want to improve when you become the doctor you envision to be.
During my first semester at Saba, I wrote down the things I wanted to accomplish in my life as a doctor. The things I would like to become or people I aspire to be like. I put it in an envelope, sealed it and is in safe keeping until I graduate my residency. I want to be able to open that letter and feel like I became what the 'naive' me dreamed of - when I had the future in front of me.
So, yes, there are many many many hardships of going through medical school but you are giving up something for an opportunity to be happy. I think that's a good enough reason. Fulfill your dreams, don't worry about the stuff in the way.
on that inspiring note,
goodnight
I think that rant must have come from a very negative person. As someone who has many doctors in the family, as well as friends, I have never heard them talk about the profession in such a manner. Although some things are true, when you start to dislike patients and lose past friends simply because you got into medicine...perhaps you made the wrong career choice. Also, to say that this career will ultimately end a relationship seems foolish. If a relationship ends because of a career choice it was likely not going to survive in any career, not just medicine.
ReplyDeleteI found this rant very sad, and negative. I think if your only going into medicine for professional fulfilment, you have not met the personal requirements of becoming a doctor.
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Mwamba. For unknown reasons us physicians (well some of us) tend to think we are the most important people on the planet. This is obviously not true, and in every single profession it is a hard balance between career and the social aspects of life. I know it's a CRAZY thing to think about, but there are those in Business, other healthcare professions, sciences, arts, and supermarkets who will experience some of those same emotions as mentioned in that "rant". My own thought is that we (physicians) need to stop justifying everything because we have a "hard career". If you hate people and patients.. well perhaps you don't belong there. If someone hated numbers wouldn't we say they should likely not be an Accountant?
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to professional arrogance a lot of physicians have.
Hi! I love your blog! I was wondering if by starting in January and if one is able to schedule to schedule rotations back to back if they would be able to make the match in March 3 years from when the started and essentially graduate in 3.5 years, instead of having to wait for the next year's match? I know Saba now has the 8 week Research Module and I was wondering when one would complete that, at Saba or the US, before or during or after studying and taking Step 1, and does it significantly delay when one can start rotations and prevent them from making the match and graduating in 3.5 years? I'm trying to choose which school and would appreicate any advice. Thanks!
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