Is Med School Worth It?

I have had plenty of opportunities to reflect on my decision to go to medical school. I’d be lying if I said I don’t sometimes wonder what the heck I was thinking.

I actually don’t think you should ask a resident if med school and residency is “worth it”. That’s like asking a mountain climber who has yet to reach the summit if the view from the top is worth the climb. Now imagine that this climber has also just rolled their ankle and accidentally crapped their favorite pair of pants. That is a resident.

This is a generalization, but in a lot of cases it holds up.

Honestly, I can’t recall what I imagined medical school and residency would be like. I never talked to a senior medical student or resident. I had no contacts in medicine, so why did I apply? I think there were a couple of realizations I had about myself that ultimately guided me towards medical school.

I saw medicine as the perfect challenge. I couldn’t think of a better way to apply basic science knowledge for the benefit of other people. I liked that getting into medical school seemed difficult. I recognize that thinking medicine was the only way to fulfil the above passions was pretty naïve, but there’s very little I can do about it now. I probably would have always wondered “what if…” had I not applied. Hindsight has helped me identify a few things that would’ve been important to consider before applying to medical school.

You already know this, but medical training really is a lot of work, and you sacrifice a big chunk of your life to get it done. Some of it really sucks. But other parts are actually pretty fun and relaxed.

A big part of deciding if med school is right for you is figuring out if you actually enjoy learning and taking tests. If yes, then you probably would do just fine in medical school. Enjoying the sciences as a subject of study is pretty key as well. I was surprised how easy it was to study in med school because everything was so much more interesting than in undergrad. When learning is its own reward, it really isn’t hard to motivate yourself to study and put in the necessary effort to succeed. You don’t have to be super smart if you’re willing to do the work.

Learning how to learn is one of the biggest challenges of medical training because of the sheer volume of information. As you get further along in training you have less and less time to dedicate to study. So you keep improving your efficiency and retention along the way. It’s honestly a very satisfying process.

I don’t know how beneficial it is to try and learn exactly what med school is like. You can’t really appreciate it until you’re in the thick of it. Med school is broken up into phases and you may thrive during certain phases and struggle during others. I was more partial to the pre-clinical phase. I enjoyed clinical rotations decidedly less, but I made it through. You don’t have to love everything to be successful, but you do have to be flexible and have a degree of resiliency. I remember longing for the bitter cold and near frostbite I experienced working construction in the dead of Idahoan winters. That’s what 24 hour shifts on labor and delivery does to a person. **At least this person.

I hate to say it, but going to medical school is a terrible financial decision. Crack open The White Coat Investor and read the first couple of chapters to see what I mean. Or Ben White’s Medical Student Loans: A Comprehensive Guide (a free PDF). I didn’t believe this at all as a premed, but it is absolutely true. Not only is there massive debt involved, but the opportunity cost of putting off investing and missing out on compound interest is enormous. This short YouTube video gives an imperfect but clear example of what I’m talking about.

This is also apparent to me as I compare my situation to that of my siblings who have pursued other fields. I will spend many years after training trying to catch up to them financially because they have been earning “real money” and working regular hours since their early to mid 20’s. They have years of frugality and wise investing on me. I’ll be mid 30’s when I get my first attending job.

If money is a motivator for you to go into medicine, I am sorry to burst your bubble. You may end up with a decent salary after 11-16 years, but it still takes dedication, discipline, and strategy to build wealth as a physician. You may have to work for longer than you thought.

Burnout levels are rising. The pandemic has been rough for everyone, but especially healthcare workers.

A Mayo Clinic study published at the end of 2021 suggested that as many as 30% of physicians have plans to cut back their hours within two years and nearly 25% of them plan to leave medicine entirely.

Reimbursement rates continue to decline but demands on physicians are increasing. The current healthcare system is imperfect and plagued with inefficiencies. The future of the system is uncertain. Pestilence and famine abound, etc., etc. Despite all of this, medical school applications continue to increase. Which is interesting. Nobody really knows for sure why this is.

I think people like you are still going into medicine because you are motivated by a much more noble sense of purpose. Scare tactics and numbers don’t really influence you because you see medicine as a “calling” and not as a “job”. Being a physician is such a weird and wonderful opportunity. People place unbelievable trust and faith in you and you wield an incredible power to do good in the world.

One observation I’ve made during the course of my training is that there truly is a place for everyone in medicine. Those who are successful in medicine certainly share a few common character traits, but medicine can accommodate a wide range of interests and preferences.

You don’t have to know exactly what you want to do when you get started. Most people change their mind anyway. It’s really cool to see what people have done with their medical education and how much flexibility there is to make a career in medicine work for you.

So, is it worth it? I honestly don’t know yet. But I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t matter what I say. I don’t think I could change your mind if I wanted to.

Ultimately it’s your choice and nobody knows what you want better than you.

I can tell you that I have spent the last five years learning about topics I consider to be the most worthwhile subjects to learn. I have rubbed shoulders with fascinating people who are inspiringly compassionate. I have seen the practical application of the sciences at work to better peoples’ lives. I have pushed the limits of my own intellectual abilities and accomplished feats I considered to be far beyond my potential, and I’m really only getting started. Sure, medical training is challenging, but I think that’s part of what makes it so attractive.

Maybe the mountain climber analogy works to describe medical training. Sometimes it feels like a never ending climb. And maybe you do mess your pants a few times on the slopes. You’ll make it to the top as long as you remember why you started climbing in the first place. At least that’s my approach!