*HELP* Thinking of Leaving Medicine

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

Hi guys,
jus 1derin if ne1 can help me because this has been wrecking my head for nearly a yr now, &my family r sick2 death of tlkin bout it.
I've jus completed 1st yr Medicine but really don't know whether 2 stay in d course or not.
Since bout 1/2 mths into d course i've been unsure if its really 4me. Woz close 2leavin at x-mas bt decided to stay & stick it out d yr &den make up my mind.
I awys knew d course wud b hard bt jus not dis hard. Get really dwn &fed up cumin up 2 exams coz of d workload &l8 night study shifts i've 2put in. i feel like i'm wastin my life or dat sum how my life is passin me by coz i'm couped up studyin. Not sure i can face n2 anotha yr of it. Got reslts of summa exams few days ago and passed everyting. Got top marks n Clinical Practice, which is hard2 do, so it givs me a boost 2no i'm considered good at doin d practical tings dat matter. Dis also made me tink i shud stick out d early yrs & mayb wen i get 2do more clinical work i mite enjoy it more. BUt wat if i dont & i realise i've wasted gud few yrs of mi life & stressed myself out all dis time 4no reason.
Ave met lots of lovely pple n d course who i no i cud b friends wit 4life & despite feelin bit homesick d 1st few weeks i really settled n2 college &college life so don't tink dat has neting 2do wit it.
Anotha prob is if i Do leave i've no idea wat else i'd do?????

Please giv me ur suggestions. Coz i dunno ware i go 4om ere

Shud i stay or shud i go?

Traumadoc

Would you please write your dilemma in english, "textspk" is too difficult to read.

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

sorry .......force of habit I guess!

...........TRANSLATING.............

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 100%

Hi guys,
just wondering if anyone can help me because this has been wrecking my head for nearly a year now, &my family are sick to death of talking about it.
I've jus completed 1st year Medicine but really don't know whether to stay in the course or not.
Since about 1/2 months into the course I’ve been unsure if it’s really for me. Was close to leaving at Christmas but decided to stay & stick it out the year &then make up my mind.
I always knew the course would be hard but just not this hard. Get really down &fed up coming up to exams because of the workload &late night study shifts I’ve to put in. I feel like I’m wasting my life or that sum how my life is passing me by because I’m cooped up studying. Not sure I can face into another year of it. Got results of summer exams few days ago and passed everything. Got top marks in Clinical Practice, which is hard to do, so it gives me a boost to know I’m considered good at doing the practical things that matter. This also made me think I should stick out the early years & maybe when I get to do more clinical work I might enjoy it more. But what if I don’t & I realise I’ve wasted good few years of my life & stressed myself out all this time for no reason.
Have met lots of lovely people in the course who I no I could be friends with for life & despite feeling a bit homesick the 1st few weeks i really settled into college &college life so don't think that has anything to do wit it.
Another problem is if i do leave I’ve no idea what else I’d do?????

Please give me your suggestions. Because i don’t know where i go from here
should i stay or should i go?

tracker-man

How do other people on the course find it? Are they in the same situation as you? I suppose you need to ask yourself, do you really like med and can you see yourself doing it 10 years down the road? regardless of how you find the course now. If its your goal then I would say stick with it if at all possible. Then again if you're miserable and out of your depth in the course and the outlook is bleak as regards passing all exams etc, then you don't want to waste another year in this course when you could be doing some thing else. Talk to people who have done the course and lecturers and other people in the know. They might just say they felt the exact same way but stuck it out and now have their own practice

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

Some people appear to be flying through the course and the hours of study don't phase them. But they're really driven and focused,... and I'm kind of......well?!
Others are failing all around them but keep going because they've always wanted to be a doctor. Loads ave repeated the Leaving to get here (one girl 4times!) and i was in with people repeating first year because they're so determined to get through. I know if I set my mind to it I would have it in me to pass each year and finish the course. I've asked qualified doctors and they say its worth it...but is it?? maybe it my own motivation thats the problem.

Traumadoc

Go and enjoy yourself over the summer, stop thinking about it, thats whats wasting your life, not studying, Medicine is great fun, and you don' t spend your life in an office.

eth0_

You'll probably enjoy it more once you start dealing with real patients. I'd stick at it a while longer if I were you.

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

Traumadoc wrote: »

Go and enjoy yourself over the summer, stop thinking about it, thats whats wasting your life, not studying, Medicine is great fun, and you don' t spend your life in an office.

Sure i'm sick of thinking about it, but d CAO deadline is July 1st if I'm going to change my course!!!

sportswear

yeah stick at it a bit longer.

i found the first few years very difficult cos of the large amount of info to learn. as you go on it gets a bit more lax(res year etc)

you probably need to chill out a bit and spend some time relaxing during the year.

to be honest im in 5th of 6 at the moment and this year has been a ridiculous dos.

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

Thanks, that last post cheered me up:) i've heard alrite that it does get easier in the later clinical years. And dat you kind of get used to the workload or maybe jus get more organised.

Chunky Monkey

Considering you got top marks in clinical practice, definitely it seems like you should wait until at least the end of third year before dropping out.

And considering you seem to have no idea what else you could do, applying for a different course in the next week would not be a good idea.

If you do decide to drop out after third year you may feel you have wasted your time. Or you could look back (after dropping out now) and wonder why you acted so impulsively/irrationally and regret dropping out just because you thought the workload was too much. To be honest that doesn't sound like a good enough reason. Does the subject matter really repulse you or the way it is taught? Those are far more important matters to be worried about because late night studying happens on many courses even ones that may seem on the face of it to be 'doss' courses.

Apart from the clinical work were there any particular topics you found interesting this year? Perhaps do a bit of extra study in them to build up your confidence and regain your motivation.

This 'wasting your life' idea that you have-is that your idea or are people around you saying that? I adopted that philosophy in sixth year and went from being a straight A student to a dumb ass. Looking back now I realise I was assuming what people around me were saying was true instead of thinking for myself.

If you really like the clinical side of things perhaps nursing would be more your thing. Though don't be fooled, there's a lot of study in that as well. However I think it's way too late now to drop out and apply for another course. You would be better off either sticking the next year or taking the year out.

Bear in mind also that (if you're under the free fees scheme) you'll have to pay the full years tuition fees if you go on to another course in September/October.

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

Re:subjects. I love Anatomy& dissection but I know we'll be finished that in december. Physiology isn't bad; interesting but toughest for exams. Biochem is prob the subject I dislike most, find it pointless.

I think alright, if I do leave, a year out would not be a bad idea. I'm still v.young& it would give me a chance to get my head straight& maybe do work experience in other courses I'm interested in.

My second choice last year was Phsiotherapy, (which I know is also very difficult), because I'm v.interested in sports & would like to get into sports medicine or orthopaedics. Anyone know how difficult this is to do?
Listening to the posts, I think what I need to do is get my goals straight in order to motivate myself to keep going.
Any ideas on what I could do, perhaps over the summer, to be getting closer to this goal??

Traumadoc

I would seriously talk to a physio, before you decide to leave, there is not much employment at the moment. Over the summer do something different and/or go away.

panda100

eth0_ wrote: »

You'll probably enjoy it more once you start dealing with real patients..

Ahhh thats not true!
I decided in second year that I wanted to leave the course but similar to the OP I was good at clinical skills and was told to stick it out till I got to the wards. So here I am at the start of final year and I HATE it.Well maybe I dont hate it but its a real struggle and the last few years have been very difficult and at times soul destroying. I think you really have to have motivation to stay within medicine,you have to want to be a doctor because you have to be dedicated to study and work your ass off,particulalry when you have to study hard to even scrape 50%.

Saying that,I have an intrest in arts, politics and gender studies so If I was to have left I would have done something completly differnt to medidine. The fact you would return to college to do physio makes me think that sticking with med would be a good decision for you. If you have an intrest in sports and sports medicine the career options are endless with a medicine degree and jobs for physios are incredibly scare at the moment. Its not very common to hear of a doctor returning to do a pharmacy or physio degree but the amount of physios that return to do medicine degrees are huge,this is beacause as adoctor you have a lot more scope to treat sport injuries.

If you dont mind me asking what college are you in?

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

UCC. Don't know if thats any different to the other colleges here aside from the lack of a pre-med year option. To be fair the lecturers,demonstrators & facilities seem to be of good standard so can't complain about that really.

Btw some of what you said sounds scarily like me. Like aside from the physio/med option, my other favourite subjects & courses I considered pursuing last yr were Accounting, Financial Maths & things on that line.
Polar opposites of what I'm currently doing.

Do you mind me asking how/why you managed to keep going and stick it out till final year???

eth0_

Don't forget you don't have to become a "normal" doctor when you graduate. There are lots of options open to you like research, teaching etc.

panda100

boo-yaw-ka-shaa wrote: »

Do you mind me asking how/why you managed to keep going and stick it out till final year???

I didnt really manage cos I had to repeat one year and by that stage I had to stick with med cos any other course Id have to pay fee's for. Ive repeated almost every summer and so havent had much of a life except for slogging away at my course. But that is my experience and everyones different.

I stayed with medicine because I was told that with a medicine degree under my belt I can go into anything I want to go into. However,this really isnt true,you can only really go into something medically related. I applied to do a masters in sociology for next year thinking I would have no probs getting in with a medicine degree. However I was told I would have to do a year conversion course and then a two year masters whereas most Arts students are allowed do theirs in a year.

I also stayed with it because I liked the idea of being a doctor and earining lots of money.Completly the wrong reasons to do or stay in medicine.
There was also a huge amount of pressure from my family. Most of my brothers and sisters are doctors and I didnt want to be the failed med school dropout.

Honestly If I could go back to my second year self I would have left. Medicine doesnt get any easier and contrary what people say the wards are tough and you have to know your medicine inside out to pass.

tallaght01

panda100 wrote: »

I didnt really manage cos I had to repeat one year and by that stage I had to stick with med cos any other course Id have to pay fee's for. Ive repeated almost every summer and so havent had much of a life except for slogging away at my course. But that is my experience and everyones different.

I stayed with medicine because I was told that with a medicine degree under my belt I can go into anything I want to go into. However,this really isnt true,you can only really go into something medically related. I applied to do a masters in sociology for next year thinking I would have no probs getting in with a medicine degree. However I was told I would have to do a year conversion course and then a two year masters whereas most Arts students are allowed do theirs in a year.

I also stayed with it because I liked the idea of being a doctor and earining lots of money.Completly the wrong reasons to do or stay in medicine.
There was also a huge amount of pressure from my family. Most of my brothers and sisters are doctors and I didnt want to be the failed med school dropout.

Honestly If I could go back to my second year self I would have left. Medicine doesnt get any easier and contrary what people say the wards are tough and you have to know your medicine inside out to pass.

As an aside, panda, you could do the masters in public health without a conversion course. You pick all the sociology modules. there's loads stuff about gender issues and how they relate to health, as well as socio-economic determinants of health. You could then follow an academic path in that field. Just a thought.

panda100

tallaght01 wrote: »

As an aside, panda, you could do the masters in public health without a conversion course. You pick all the sociology modules. there's loads stuff about gender issues and how they relate to health, as well as socio-economic determinants of health. You could then follow an academic path in that field. Just a thought.

Even If I dont do my intern year??

tallaght01

I dunno, ask them :P

They're in UCD.
Don't see why you'd have to do an intern year to do a masters degree that's open to non-medics.

BUt you never know.

tallaght01

Just had a look at their site, panda.

You have to have had your medical degree for 2 years before you can start the MPH.

But you could do a PhD I guess. If you really hate medicine, then your intern year is going to be hell.

So you may aswell spend the time doing the first year or a PhD. I know people who've done that.

tallaght01

Sorry for hijacking the thread, OP :P

IN your situation, I don't know what I'd do!

I htink I'd finish the medical degree course, though, unless you kow exactly what you want to transfer to.

Chunkymonkey is right in saying that if you make a decision in the next 2 weeks you could end up in the same situation that you're already in.

There's lots of things you can do with a medical degree. I know a few people who've gone into banking or "The city" after medicine.. They just aplied to graduate programmes in the big city firms with all the other graduates. Apparently, medical degrees are highly respected in terms of the analytical skills required, and the intellectual rigour.

So, if you want a good degree under your belt, but you're not sure exactly what you want to do, graduating in medicine will definitely be an asset.

If you want to work in sports medicine, presumably you'll have to do years following the orthpaedic training route, which won't involve a lot of sports medicine in the early years.

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

Hey. thanks for all d suggestions & i don't mind ye "hijacking the thread"
since your helping another lost soul with their career!!!!:p

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

panda100 wrote: »

There was also a huge amount of pressure from my family. Most of my brothers and sisters are doctors and I didnt want to be the failed med school dropout.

God panda, I really feel for you. There is absolutely no family history of medicine where I'm concerned; neither of my parents even went to college so I don't have to deal with that sort of pressure. Of course, I know they'd only love to have a doctor in the family but they'd prefer to just see me happy even if that meant dropping out.
In my year in UCC, there are a good few, with parents, siblings etc. in the medical field with the family reputation to live up to. I don't know how they do it.
Listen, I don't know whether I'm the best one to give advice on this but....
at the end of the day, you ave to remember its your life, not your parents. You're the one who's going have to struggle on, not them! so if its making you this unhappy try & get into that masters pretty sharp. Even if you have to do a year longer, think of it as an extra year of doing something you're clearly are interested in, a year where you'll be much happier in yourself.

Aoibheann

OP: I was in the exact same boat as you about three weeks ago (first med student, same interests and all!).. I seriously considering dropping out and switching to something like genetics or a physics/maths related course (the latter being nothing like medicine obviously - I realised how much I missed mathsy stuff this year!). The only things I really enjoyed were anatomy, clinical skills and the genetics parts. Then, after a lot of thought, I realised that I wanted to leave because I didn't enjoy the stuff that I'd already done, not the material I would be doing in the future. And everything else from now on sounds really fascinating. In first year we have to cover the basics in pharmacology, physiology etc - it won't be like this forever (I'm hoping!). Also I figured, I don't have to be a normal doctor. I can go into research and the like, genetics etc; but I can still have the option of going into the areas of clinical practice that interest me. If you're interested in sports med and orthopaedics, stick with it!

This is rambling because I'm just in the door from work, but if you want to talk it over with someone who was very recently in the same predicament, drop me a PM!

Nonoperational

Stick with it... it'll be worth it in the long run! Every college course has its crappy times.

just-joe

its quite strange (not strange, but ya know what i mean) that people doing medicine are thinking of changing to sciency/mathsy courses, i'm the opposite - i've finished two years of pure maths, and i like it, but i wouldnt say i love it, and have recently became interested in doing medicine, most probably after i finish maths.

is there anything that anybody could recommend me doing to see if i would like it?

Chunky Monkey

just-joe wrote: »

its quite strange (not strange, but ya know what i mean) that people doing medicine are thinking of changing to sciency/mathsy courses, i'm the opposite - i've finished two years of pure maths, and i like it, but i wouldnt say i love it, and have recently became interested in doing medicine, most probably after i finish maths.

is there anything that anybody could recommend me doing to see if i would like it?

If you don't have contacts in a hospital who could vouch for you then perhaps get a job as a porter/HCA etc and arrange it then. However that can take time. I know the Mater Public has a work experience programme for transition year students, perhaps they would allow older students in as well.

just-joe

thanks chunky monkey, yeah i'm gonna look int getting some sort of experience in the local (cavan) hospital, hopefully it goes well!

and also now that i think of it, is it just me or do the majority of prospective med students in leaving cert year not do any of this, and just decide to go for it? hopefully i'm wrong on this but it seems this way?

ZorbaTehZ

just-joe wrote: »

and also now that i think of it, is it just me or do the majority of prospective med students in leaving cert year not do any of this, and just decide to go for it? hopefully i'm wrong on this but it seems this way?

That's probably correct for the majority. Personally, I did 2 weeks work experience in a hospital during transition year which was great and then I did another week of work experience with a GP.

OP; I'd be interested to know if you made any decisions about your course. I just finished pre-med and at the begining of the year I too was having a lot of serious thoughts about changing (yes, silly I know, since it was only a foundation year) but tbh with me it was a so-called catch 22 of having an interest in 2 very different areas of science and that if I weren't studying Medicine I'd probably also regret that. And actually, I know of at least 2 other people in my year who were exactly the same.

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

Hey. Yeah I've decided to stick with it. You said you were only after finishing pre-med, ya? once you get into next year you might be more settled because of the greater medical content, where you learn stuff you actually will use when you're qualified. Also the fact you enjoyed the work exp in hospitals &all is a very good sign.
Btw was just talking to a guy recently whose qualified now & he said he continually went through phases of "oh my god why am I doing this?":D all the way through the course but now that he's qualified he's much happier& says he has no regrets.

Nonoperational

Smart choice!