Did I do the right thing?

Question

(anyone, especially doctors can answer)
I used to think i wanted to be a doctor, and it helps that i have parents who supported me. But I realized that even the brightest people in college would fail in some subjects including me, and that did a lot for my self esteem, its like a blow. i told myself when i reached the fourth year, everything would be different, cause its only one more year to go. But alas, i was wrong..since you are now hands on in the hospital, you now have an idea of what kind of career you will now have. lacking sleep, your patience is tested, humility is required of you because patients can really be annoying if they complain about something; yet you think you are already exerting much effort, and it doesn't help that your seniors, like residents, give you a hard time, and you are expected to follow them and give in to their whim. I realized I don't enjoy it at all. Cause after so many years of studying, this is the kind of treatment I will get? And so I QUIT!

Answer 1

What use is a doctor who hates his job? I think you did the right thing. As a doctor, there must be occasions on which the choice you make will literally mean life or death. Not everybody can take that.

Listen, you only get one shot in life, so you might as well enjoy it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do in the future.

Answer 2

You could aways have finished, then found an office job, like working for an insurance company, Social Security disability or referral service. Those two little letters open up a lot of opportunities where you don't have to actually deal with needy/manipulative/annoying patients, and you just push paperwork around on your desk.

You didn't have a clue that you would be doing the scut work and getting "pimped"? You could have chose to use that opportunity to make yourself better, while resolving never to repeat that when in a position to do so. Being a bigger person than they were toward you would be the ultimate victory. Unfortunately that is a rite of initiation, hopefully waning, but still there. If that got to you, the rest of life is not gonna be much fun either.

Answer 3

Always remember that the person that never made a mistake never made anything. Throughout your life you will try and fail, try again and fail again. Everyone does it. Those that learn from their failures go on to great things.
The real secret is not to give in. So, get back in there and try again and make some more mistakes. You have gone a long way to becoming a fully qualified doctor, finish it! When you have finished it, have a good long hard think about what you would like to do with all the knowledge, all the skills, and all the experience that you have. If you give in now, you will be very angry with yourself at some time in the future, and, of course, you will never know if you could have done it or not.

Answer 4

You are not alone...I know a few people who are now doctors, and I have known them since they were in med school. Now it's 6 year after their graduation from med school and they're miserable still. So, perhaps you made the right choice by getting out now. Do you owe a lot on your school loans?

I think that when kids grow up and start considering careers, becoming a doctors seems really attractive--you are highly respected, you cure sick people, and make lots of money. The idea of being a doctor and actually becoming and being one can be really different.

Same with my field. I think a lot of kids think that being an architect is this glamorous profession--thinking of famous architects, that you draw all day, design things, and make good money. Well...hate to say it, but for most architects and designers, it's all about meeting budget, dealing w/ clients, consultants & contractors, and lots of paperwork. Working is way different from school. I don't know how many people say when I tell them I'm an architect, "Oh, wow, I always wanted to be an architect." Well, it's super-hard work, long hours, not too exciting most of the time, and not very well-paying for many. Lots of my classmates from architecture school pursued other careers.

You made it through med school (did you graduate?) so that's a huge accomplishment. Perhaps you did do the right thing by getting out now. It doesn't mean that you can't take the heat, it means that you realized it isn't for you. There are tons of other careers in health care and biology out there, with saner hours, less stress, and superiors who will treat you with more respect.

Good Luck :)

Answer 5

You did the right thing. It sucks, but it is true. SOOO many people get themselves in way too far in medical school. It does not help if you have taken out loans that you have to pay back. Years of careful watching fellow docs and students that either dislike what they do-or in students cases feel thet medical school is "a means to an end" wind up becoming those docs that make careless mistakes, come to despise the patients that they are supposed to be helping or worse. People do not want this to happen to them, but we are all human beings, and it does and will happen.

Hopefully you will find a carreer that you will love so much that your ego will not be bruised no matter what comes your way. Possibly after being out in the workforce you will decide to come back to medicine. Either way, getting out before you are in far too deep (as a resident, you may sign a contact, so you simply cannot just "quit" if you do not like your surroundings) is doing humanity and its people more good than you would if you did become a doctor. I know this may sound harsh, but I know that you, the original writer, know I am on to something.

Good luck.

Answer 6

There are MANY people who quit medicine for a variety of reasons. You give a typical story of so many people at med school. The entrants most likely have never failed anything in their life , and med school is HARD (and I'm there and it's no picnic for me either) and most people fail something in med school.

The situation that you describe seems rather extreme (I don't doubt that it isn't true, just that it sounds really bad).

If it was me in that situation, I would have removed myself from it and went to talk to my year leader/head of school/ whoever you talk to about things. Sometimes by just talking out your problems they seem somehow less, and between you, you may be able to sort out problems, in whatever way thay could be.

If this didn't work, I would have tried to switch schools if that was possible, and if all else fails then quit.

In your situation, what you feel about quiting is whats important. If you feel so much happier then it is the right thing to do.

Answer 7

Have you given thought to specializing in one specific are of medicine???

Maybe the hospital portion wasnt for you, but maybe in a private practice you would be happier. You spent a LOT of money going thru school, quitting now is only a waste of all those years in school and all that money and frustration you have already experienced!!!!
Only you know what you really had to go thru and whether or not it is worth it to YOU!!!

Me personally, no, I wouldnt of quit.... But that is just me....

You have worked VERY, VERY hard Im sure to get to this point, are you certain you REALLY WANT to throw it all away???

Im not a Doctor, Im a mother who threw away a potentially wonderful career, only to realize now 9 years later that if I would of just stuck it out and hung in there, life would be a lot better for me now!!!!!

Give it some more thought before you quit for good!!!!!!

Answer 8

It is far better to recognize a wrong career decision when you are young versus feeling trapped when you are 50.

On the other hand when you are young stress can cause you to have a perspective on things that is distorted and perhaps a great deal of resignation.

I suggest that since you are so close to completion that you actually complete your internship and if you desire your residency. Get your medical credentials and then make your decision.

If hands on medice is still not your bag, you will have credentials that will open doors in biomed industry, pharmaceuticals, teaching and other areas perhaps in the public health sector.

You are too close to give up. Achieve your original objective and then decide!

Best of luck

Answer 9

There are many careers in medicine other than being a physician. It sounds like you don't enjoy the day-to-day people contact or the level of decision-making involved. Have you considered going into research? How about pharmacy? That way all of your achievements to date won't go to waste.

Answer 10

It is hard to become a doctor, the best doctors go though a lot of stress, because that is what you will experience in the field. I think you should go into anther career because it sounds like you are a hermit.