Is Medicine for me?

[lovelyperson]

Basically I'm considering Med but having some doubts about it. Back in high school, I was genuinely interested it in, and was deadset in getting into Med school and becoming a doctor; this waned off at the end, and it eventually became a firm 'nope, not for me'. But I'm reconsidering it now after being told that the career perfectly suits me, and tbh, I personally agree with the reasoning why. I love learning and helping people, and very methodical when trying to make a difficult decision. I also love 'hands-on' work and trying to solve problems. And I learning about the human body. If I do do medicine, I would hope to specialise in emergency medicine/trauma surgery.

But on the other hand, two things sort of put me off about medicine:
1) the commitment. A decades worth of schooling and the large debt really irks me because I'm very indecisive with things like this.
2) work-life balance. I love my free time and honestly don't think I'll function properly without it.     

Thoughts and advice?

[brenden]

I think you can be happy in a great number of careers, and medicine is potentially included in that group. If you feel like medicine isn’t for you, don’t get talked into it. It’s okay not to do medicine.

Choose the path that you think will give you the greatest chance of living a happy and fulfilling life. For some people, that could be medicine. Do you think medicine is the career that will give you the greatest chance at a happy and fulfilling life? If so, do it. If not, don’t.

Those are my thoughts and that’s my advice!

[Willba99]

Personally, I feel like a lot of people who do well in school are told that the only acceptable pathway for them is either medicine, engineering, or law. I know I used to lean towards medicine because I felt like it was the only respectable option for someone who'd had it easy in school. If you don't want the demanding lifestyle and huge debt, then don't do medicine! Having said that, if you wanna do it, go and smash it 

[Quantum44]

I actually haven’t started med school yet, but I’ve researched it quite a bit and heard from people who are currently studying medicine.

The length of study required to become a doctor is a huge amount, and it will take 10-15 years to be fully qualified, but it’s not just slogging out academic study. You generally get quite a bit of clinical exposure from early on and there is a lot of variety in what you study, keeping it fresh and interesting. I don’t think the large debt is really that much of a problem as by the time you have to pay off you HECS, you’ll be earning a fair bit.

In regard to work life balance, you’re probably going to be doing a lot of work regardless of your career when you are in your twenties. Studying medicine is very intense but I’m sure if you prioritise having free time when you are not studying, you will be able to cope.

In the end, only you can decide whether medicine is the career for you. There is certainly a huge breadth of options available in medicine, including clinical work, research and education; and there is no doubt it can be a very rewarding career. Certainly don’t be put off by the fact that you are having doubts about medicine, as it is completely normal and foolish to go in thinking it is a perfect career.

[cookiedream]

Basically I'm considering Med but having some doubts about it. Back in high school, I was genuinely interested it in, and was deadset in getting into Med school and becoming a doctor; this waned off at the end, and it eventually became a firm 'nope, not for me'. But I'm reconsidering it now after being told that the career perfectly suits me, and tbh, I personally agree with the reasoning why. I love learning and helping people, and very methodical when trying to make a difficult decision. I also love 'hands-on' work and trying to solve problems. And I learning about the human body. If I do do medicine, I would hope to specialise in emergency medicine/trauma surgery.

But on the other hand, two things sort of put me off about medicine:
1) the commitment. A decades worth of schooling and the large debt really irks me because I'm very indecisive with things like this.
2) work-life balance. I love my free time and honestly don't think I'll function properly without it.     

Thoughts and advice?

Hello!

Personally, I think it's really good that you're considering both the positive and negative aspects to studying medicine, resulting in a more realistic view of medicine rather than an idealistic view which, unfortunately, many med hopefuls have. My biggest advice would be to, if you haven't already, try out work experience in a health setting - whether this be in a hospital or a GP clinic. Because I can tell you for certain, doing work experience at a GP clinic was a huge turning point which pretty much solidified my passion and ambition to study med. This was particularly due to seeing firsthand the amount of dedication each of the inspiring doctors had and, despite the long hours and continuous commitment, just how satisfying it was that due to their hard work, they were able to truly make a positive impact on the wellbeing of another person.

Considering that you love learning and helping people as well as 'hands-on' work and 'solving problems', have you considered other career paths in the health field which also has a strong integration of these attributes? Some of these include: paramedicine, nursing, dentistry, physiotherapy and social work, just to name a few. All of these paths are so essential and have their own unique challenges and rewards. Try talking to people who are studying courses for each of these professions or are actually part of the working force - they'll be able to give you more of an insight and can help you determine if your interests align more so with any of these paths or if they really do align more with medicine.

Whilst medicine and being a doctor would probably involve you sacrificing much of your social life, it doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have free time at all! My aunt is a general practitioner and when she's not at work, she's goes to a lot of family gatherings and parties and another family friend who is a current medical student regularly travels.

I haven't started medical school yet, so I won't be able to give much of my own insight haha. But I hope that this helped!

Best of luck for your medicine endeavours!!

- cookiedream

[vox nihili]

Basically I'm considering Med but having some doubts about it. Back in high school, I was genuinely interested it in, and was deadset in getting into Med school and becoming a doctor; this waned off at the end, and it eventually became a firm 'nope, not for me'. But I'm reconsidering it now after being told that the career perfectly suits me, and tbh, I personally agree with the reasoning why. I love learning and helping people, and very methodical when trying to make a difficult decision. I also love 'hands-on' work and trying to solve problems. And I learning about the human body. If I do do medicine, I would hope to specialise in emergency medicine/trauma surgery.

But on the other hand, two things sort of put me off about medicine:
1) the commitment. A decades worth of schooling and the large debt really irks me because I'm very indecisive with things like this.
2) work-life balance. I love my free time and honestly don't think I'll function properly without it.     

Thoughts and advice?

You've already had some really great advice, so I'll (for the first time in my life :p) keep my remarks short.

"Medicine" isn't one career. There are lots of different careers that can come from being a doctor. The life of a surgeon is completely different to the life of a physician which is completely different to the life of a GP. Likewise, the life of one GP is completely different to the life of another. The only thing that really binds medicine is the use of a knowledge of the human body to achieve something. That could be from a lab to diagnose a disease with a sample of tissue, at the desk of a radiologist's computer with an CT scan or it can be at the coalface with a patient. It may be none of these. It could be working as an administrator, trying to get a hospital working smoothly and efficiently. It could be as a teacher in front of a class of students. It could be in policy, working from your office on health. Indeed, it may not be even related to health at all—with medical skills being somewhat transferable. If you want a work-life balance, it is possible. It's possible during medical school, to boot. It's just the "traditional" pathway of medicine that puts people off. This doesn't necessarily have to be your pathway.