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Things People Don't Tell You About Going To Medical School (But Should)

Going to medical school can ruin your life if you don't know the full ramifications of it.

By Ossiana TepfenhartPublished 7 years ago 6 min read
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When you hear that someone is hoping to go into medical school, you can't help but cheer them on. Being a doctor is a noble career choice, and it's one that is undoubtedly going to be taxing. Even though the price is high, it's assumed that doctors will be able to pay off their bills and live a life of luxury, praise, and credibility.

But, that's not always what happens.

In fact, many people regret going to medical school - some even consider it to be the worst decision they ever made. Here's what people don't tell you about becoming a doctor, and why you should really think twice before you choose this career path.

First off, medical school is insanely competitive to get into.

In 2016, only 40 percent of all students that tried to get accepted into medical school actually were able to get in. It's also getting increasingly competitive, too. So, as years pass, that number will shrink.

If you do get in, prepare to be flat broke for about half a decade or more.

A four-year med school degree will cost about $278,000 on average in the US. Most people will also have to pay additional fees to specialize in one field or another. Moreover, you will often need to get a pre-med degree before you can go to medical school. This costs an average of $161,000.

It's not unheard of for students to end up being $500,000 or more in debt just because they wanted to be a doctor. At the very least, most med students end up being $118,000 in debt.

If you're looking to get into medicine, then you should also be aware of the fact that student loans also carry interest. That, too, raises the price tags significantly.

Your decision to become a doctor will force you to make huge sacrifices in the relationship department - and also will take a huge toll on your social life.

Medical school is hard - and extremely time-consuming. Studies have shown that people who enter medical school often end up breaking up with significant others because school becomes such a huge priority for them.

Moreover, medical school also will impact what you can and cannot do during your free time. There's a large increase in monitoring potential students' social media presences, and it makes sense. Patients don't want to see their doctors partying it up in Cancun - even if they are brilliant doctors.

As a result, most med students end up suffering because they don't even have the time to hang out with friends or have a relationship. To make matters worse, people go to med school around the time that most others marry.

You also lose about a decade of work experience by deciding to study to be a doctor.

All that studying needs to be a fulltime deal - if you want to actually get certified as a doctor. This means that, from the moment you get out of high school, you're looking at 10-odd years of missed opportunities.

That missed work adds up, big time. Assuming that they could have earned $50,000 per year, that means that just missing out on work opportunities costs would-be doctors around $500,000 right off the bat.

If medical school doesn't work out, they also are at a disadvantage because that means they don't have any experience to put down in an unrelated field. This in turn can make them unable to find work for quite a while after they're dismissed from school.

One would-be doctor explained what happens if your medical school things don't work out, from first hand experience:

"When I try to get a nonclinical job, they read my resume and tell me I am overqualified for the position. I have tried to hide my MD degree and use only my Bachelor of Science degree (biology) in order to get a job. But they tell me I don’t have experience, and the big gap between my undergrad education and my current situation cannot be explained. Some employers have asked me if I spent the time in jail."

In other words, it's basically become a doctor or bust.

Politics is an issue.

We're not talking about the Affordable Care Act, either. As one doctor put it, the amount of drama that goes on in med school makes House look like a mellow, drama-free show. This med school grad explained:

"Empty promises and backstabbing galore as you meet certain people in your class who will stop at nothing to beat the competition. The worst is when they steal your case for their presentation, and it was a darned good case as well!"

The bottom line is that competition is fierce, and it can get very ugly. In fact, most would say that it's ugly enough to make most people rethink their careers.

That being said, you also can make great friends in this schooling field - so at least there's that.

The mistakes you make in medical school can kill someone - and your career.

Though it's very rare, it is possible for a medical student to make a terrible mistake that could cost the life of the person that they're studying during residency. If this happens, there's a very good chance that you may not be able to make things work.

Sadly, we can't always prevent mistakes and accidents we make. If this happens, it's done. Over. Kaput. It gives you food for thought, doesn't it?

Med school means nothing if you can't get a residency match.

It used to be that if you passed medical school, a residency was basically guaranteed. In order to get a residency, you need to have a match with a doctor who will be willing to oversee you as you do your work. The problem these days is that there aren't enough open residency slots to guarantee a match with med school grads.

With no match, the people who graduated from medical school can't actually complete their residence. No residence means that they can't get certified to practice medicine. This in turn means that their degree was all for naught - even if they passed the classes.

Around 1,000 med school grads don't get matched every year.

Also, failing med school is way easier than you'd think.

Just because you got accepted into med school doesn't mean you'll actually pass the class. Around 5 percent of all med school students will end up failing out of school.

That may not sound like a lot, but think about how driven most med students are, and you may realize that it means that med school is a lot harder than you'd think.

Med students are typically the top of the top, and they're also driven to succeed - so if the drop rate is 5 percent, that means that it's positively brutal on people.

If you change your mind, you better graduate and get certified anyway.

A large problem with the medical school issue is that it basically traps you into a job. That medical school debt CANNOT be discharged through bankruptcy. So, if you want to avoid living a life of poverty, you're going to have to become a doctor, no matter how much you hate the fact that you're in medical school.

Many people who are currently working as doctors wholeheartedly say that they regret even applying to medical school because they are trapped by the debt they've accrued.

In order to pay off student loans with interest included, a typical med school student will have to work for at least 20 years. They are stuck.

Of course, one really bad lawsuit can make that medical practice certification worthless anyway.

Photographed by Tayler Smith

Depending on the situation, only takes one serious review from your state's Attorney General to revoke the license you worked 12 years to get. What's terrifying about this is that we live in a highly litigious society, and people who feel mistreated will report you to the local licensing boards if they feel they have no other recourse.

So, at the end of the day, it's an uphill battle to help people who may end up ruining your career with a single phone call. It's altruistic, yes, but make no mistake about it - medical work is not for everyone.

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About the Creator

Ossiana Tepfenhart

Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer based out of New Jersey. This is her work account. She loves gifts and tips, so if you like something, tip her!

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