I found this website last night and it is full of all the worst case scenarios related to med school! It has given me a lot to think about, that’s for sure:
http://www.medschoolhell.com
Like any blog, it’s just one blowhard’s opinion, and in this case a rather exceptionally bitter small-penised cretin.
I just ask that you survey some of the hundreds of other med student blogs out there before forming your mental characterization (which every pre-med has to form) of What Med School Is Like.
I recommend this one, really well-written and insightful:
www.grahamazon.com
probably the other posters have favorites as well they’d like to share.
Thanks for the link. I’m enjoying that blog and would love to see some more.
I know that there are plenty of people happy with their chosen profession of medicine, but lately it seems that I only run into people who wish they had never done it… and it’s discouraging. 
Well, I like what I do! I think that this is a good place to meet docs and med students who enjoy their work. Having done lots of other things in my life, I can appreciate that there are all kinds of sucky jobs out there, and while mine is hard, it does NOT suck. I love what I do.
Mary
I even love MED SCHOOL (not even being a dr.) and this is coming from someone who is having a hard time academically. anecdotally, most of my classmates seem to have the same opinion of the experience. like the army says, Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love.
- Liz G Said:
I found this website last night and it is full of all the worst case scenarios related to med school! It has given me a lot to think about, that's for sure:
http://www.medschoolhell.com
http://www.medschoolhell.com
Liz G,
Here's my issue - if one blog can throw doubts in your mind then you really need to revisit your motivation for what you are about to do for pretty much the rest of your adult life.
Most members of this forum are more than 100% sure about what they are doing/about to do and along with that, I suspect, are proud owners of a very strong dose of obstinacy, stubborness, head-strongness, pertinacity, call it what you may.
But the point I am trying to make is that a single blog or posting like that is like one data point. And any scientist worth his salt will tell you that no data points are better than one data point. Consider this, how many straight lines can you draw through one data point - that's right, infinite! Analogously, you can not draw any conclusions based on one website.
Again, you really must be a level above and beyond conviction about what you are about to do. Especially with the amount of commitment it demands.
I know I need to be sure. I have time to figure that out… not a lot of time, but some. And I am worried that a few sources (not just that one blog) are planting a seed of doubt in my mind. Trust me, I’m spending a lot of time on the issue right now. I will not go into any career path unless I’m absolutely sure of what I want to do. I do like this forum because it is full of people who encourage, not discourage.
You’re doing the right thing by exploring thoroughly, thinking a lot, and giving voice to your doubts. No one here is going to give you crap for doubting.
When patients find out that I am a “new” doc, and realize that I went through med school and residency in my 40s, they marvel at the very idea. Truly, it didn’t seem like that big a deal to me, but I readily admit to them - in fact it’s become my favorite line:
It would be really stupid if it weren’t so much fun.
As far as I’m concerned, that pretty well sums it up. 
Mary
LOL! Thanks, Mary. 
In my opinion, this really comes down to - you are a fool if you do not question this or any other such monumental process. The emotional, physical & fiscal costs of becoming a physician are huge, as they are in several professions. That magnitude of investment of “self” should be highly scrutinized at every step along the way. It is the ones who do not use this lofty litmus who end up miserable - they choose incorrectly & never bothered to consider, maybe I should be doing something else?
Having worked in hospitals since 1983 in a variety of capacities, with the exception of a period b/t 1989-1990 (when I was a bouncer & bartender exclusively), I have known & worked with a lot of Docs. I will grant you, this is observational & anecdotal, but it has been extraordinarily rare for me to encounter a “miserable physician” from the sub-population of those who entered medicine as a 2nd or 3rd career…someone with enough “life” under their belt to truly know themselves & know what they sought personally & professionally.
On the other hand, unfortunately, I have met a significant minority of tradionally-aged docs who were absolutely miserable. These are the ones who claim, “had I known what this was all about, I would have never done this”. If you take the time to get explore why these folks entered medicine, again observational & anecdotal, many of the miserable ones cited family pressure, h/o physicians in the family, “I was one of the smart kids & medicine appeared to be the most challenging”, “I always wanted to be a doc - I never even considered anything else” and many other rationales that demonstrate a lack of introspection & due scrutiny.
Do I love what I do? ABOSLUTELY Do I still, occasionally, question the wisdom of doing this later in life with wife & children? Absolutely - have 2 sick kids & a stressed out wife & I in midst of a brutal ICU month. It kills me because I simply am not physicially present to help, where a good husband & father should be. It feels like the parable where the cobbler’s kids don’t have shoes. But, we are within weeks of achieving the lofty goals Wendy & I set out to achieve in 1996.
I would be irresponsible not to still scrutinize where I am & where I am heading at all times. Going about life willy-nilly is the best way to run your ship onto the rocks & sink.
Hi Liz…My comment is a picky little one which no one yet seems to have commented upon. In your .sig, you mention “AMCAS fall 2008.” You want to correct that… “AMCAS June 2008.” (You can apply prior to taking the MCAT.)
Cheers,
Judy
Dave,
Well said.
Very poignant after hearing from my daughters (ages 10 and 6) how I’m always doing homework on the weekends and am never around for them.
It’s not my goal in life to have my daughters remember me as the dad “who was always busy.”
Still want to pursue this objective of becoming a doc…but perhaps not at the current pace.
Just my opinion…
I look at this a little differently.
How many people would go into an interview and say, “I am here because my parents have wanted me to be a doctor since I could walk, not to do so now would be a real disappointment to them†or “Well you know doctors make big bucks even “poor ones†live better than I could ever imagine, they marry well, their kids go to private schools, the best colleges and their families lack nothing, THAT is what I want for meâ€, or how about, “I have been told I am brilliant my whole life, valedictorian, National Honor Society I am entitled because I am so bright I am entitled to the elite status of physicianâ€?
The fact is NOBODY says stuff like this, they are taught that part of the “game†is to parrot, “I want to help peopleâ€, “I want to serve humanity†etc. The real age old question is this: HOW can admissions committees decide who are telling the unvarnished truth? Usually these people expose themselves over time and fall away. Unfortunately, often the battle at the FRONT GATE goes to the charismatic… Fairly recently somebody decided “HEY why not look at LIFE experiencesâ€, does this person not only “talk the talk but do they WALK THE WALKâ€?
In my freshman class we lost TWO students the first month, one the FOURTH DAY! One must ask what the level of commitment they could have actually had. Such a post (unless the link has changed) IS PRECISELY WHY older students make better medical students, despite all of the baggage associated with adulthood.
Furthermore, kids getting into school 2 or 3 years and realizing this does not interest them or they were filling some vicarious dream of their parents and dropping out is a dead waste for everyone especially the medical school.
Remember there was a time when there WERE age limits on medical school. I firmly believe that this whole issue is why we get a fair shot at being physicians as grown-ups. This is why at the “tender age†of 45; I am actually the FOURTH oldest student in the KU-SOM class of 2008. Incidentally, we have lost about 25 of the original 175; we have lost NOBODY over the age of 35.
Thank you cynical school kids!
I owe you more than you might ever imagine!
Richard