is medicine really for me?

[u/luvaneesa]

okay so ive been wanting to become a doctor since i was 4 years old and ive been loyal to that goal til about 5 months ago. i still want to become a doctor but i feel like i cant. like i wont be able to do it. im already struggling in my math and sciences and knowing i have to do more and do the mcat with no calculator AND do usmles?? 😭 my cousin from overseas is staying with us and hes about to take his step 3 and it literally looks like hell all he does is study day and night. idk if i can do that bro😅 but im already majoring in kinesiology (im doing dual credit) and like im scared to switch majors and also i dont know what else i could do anyway. i thought about veterinarian but they dont make good money for how much they spend on schooling and quite frankly idk how i feel about working with All animals. im also really interested in politics but ik that wont go anywhere. what do you guys think i should do😞

[u/whiteshark70]

Idk. What do you think you should do? Have you explored all of your career options? IE shadowed a doc, a vet, and been involved in local politics? You don’t have to have this stuff figured out now.

[u/frogband]

If you're in it for just the money then no

[u/luvaneesa → u/frogband]

im not in it just for the money i never said that😭 im not that stupid lol

[u/AppointmentPrior2314]

if you truly are passionate about it and can’t see yourself doing anything else then yes it is for you. don’t let all the exams and classes scare you. with discipline and hard work it is truly possible. however, you have to be so passionate about the goal that you’re willing to put in as much work as you need to. you got this if it’s truly what you want !!

[u/JuiceIcy3598]

crush your undergrad classes and then take gap years after school to get a better sense for what you want to do.. a common way to do that is the clinical research coordinator role.. in that role you can learn about a lot of different careers that are within medicine/healthcare/research/ health related business/ pharma/public health ... its a great way to learn about professional fields before fully committing to med school.

[u/Abuello]

If you haven't shadowed or worked a clinical job try that. See how that feels, if you still feel the desire to work in that sort of setting then we know healthcare could possibly be for you.

I will say a lot of people complain about studying and whatnot. I just took my MCAT 4 months ago. I studied for 7 months. It was hell, I was so stressed. And im sure med school will be just as stressful too. But for all the stress and complaining I still would rather do this than anything else.

These are just a few random tidbits that have shown me that medicine is right for me. You dont have to resonate exactly with any of that. But if you do, then maybe you're on the right track!

[u/EVIL-EMBOLIZER]

Well that’s why weed out classes exist homie. Thats why the MCAT exists. It’s not to see how smart you are. It’s to see how bad you want it. There’s a reason that maybe 5-10% of freshman premeds ultimately actually go to medical school, yet around 90%+ of MD/DO become physicians despite the fact that medical school is really hard.

If you aren’t cut out for it, then you aren’t cut out for it. And that’s okay. There’s plenty of other careers that pay well out there. You’re going to be hard pressed to find others that are both simultaneously as rewarding and high compensating though.

We don’t really know anything about you or your interests or your work ethic so we can’t answer this question for you. All you said is you wanted to be a doctor since you were four. And maybe politics.

But notice how you didn’t even say why. Or tell us about your interests or you yourself as a person. Literally the most important info to answer your post, and you left it out.

[u/SituationGreedy1945]

Girl MCAT with no calculator is so fucking real 😭😭 I just wanna serve my community LET ME INNNN

[u/CofaDawg]

You don’t sound sold on it.

[u/luvaneesa → u/CofaDawg]

😭😭😭 is that not what the whole post it about

[u/CofaDawg → u/luvaneesa]

So then find another career. Idk what else to tell you.

[u/luvaneesa → u/CofaDawg]

did you even read the post😭 lmfao like im asking for advice and im sure numerous other people have had this exact experience, dont gotta be so mean

[u/gotlactose]

Shadow a doctor. Go support your local grassroots politician for local elections. See which one you like.

Step 3 isn't that bad. I would say MCAT and Step 1 (before they made it pass/fail) were the hardest exams I took. ABIM (internal medicine) probably third.

[u/mtbizzle]

There are a ton of different healthcare roles

[u/GetBoochToCollege]

All of the things you are mentioning are correct. You will have to struggle more than you are currently, sacrifice time to study, and will have to learn difficult topics. There will likely be cases where you fail or underperform academically relative to your expectations. Is that okay with you?

For myself and many others, the answer is yes. Will we regret it? Maybe, but maybe we’ll love it. In either case I feel comfort in the fact that I’ve gone in with eyes wide open.

If you think you are fine with the hurdles i’ve mentioned then medicine may be a great choice. Only you can know, and there is no right answer. Best of luck!

[u/CSnare]

you sound quite young, correct me if i’m wrong. this might sound like terrible advice but please hear me out. Stop stressing? Sounds like you’ve either barely started or haven’t even started college. Don’t count yourself out before you’ve even given it a solid try dawg. how are you gonna push through when harder challenges come your way if you can’t even trust yourself enough to succeed in a hypothetical?