Is medical school hard?

Question

to anyone that is in the medical field or wants to be..why did you choose to be so?

Also...

how to become a doctor ..is it hard?

Answer 1

It depends. What is hard? It is not easy. My cousin graduated first in his class from a prestigious school. He's not the type that would say it's hard. He is extraordinary, very positive, upbeat, humble, and says it's a privilege to treat a patient.

He got his masters in biology from an ivy league school before going to vet school first and then going to medical school. He was working for a major drug company doing research. He said that it took him some time to figure out what he really wanted to do.

You need 4 solid years in undergrad. Medical school is super competitive. You have to be deeply committed and there are no guarantees. You may have to be creative to get there with internships, connections, etc. Don't think it will be easy.

edit: I encourage you if you want to do it and want you to succeed because that's just how I am. I think the more you know then the better off you will be. Don't give up.

Answer 2

Medical school is hard and being a physician is a huge time and life commitment.  If you're doing it to make money, there are easier ways of doing it.

I tell this to anyone who is interested in becoming a doctor.  If you can see yourself doing anything else with your life, then do it.  However, if you truly love the practice of medicine, then go for it.

You must first complete an undergraduate program (usually 4 years) during which you will apply for medical school, which is another 4 years. However, you will need to have a good undergraduate GPA, take your pre-med requirement courses, and good MCAT scores (standardized exam that tests your reading comprehenion, writing skills, and knowledge of physical and biological sciences) to even be considered for medical school.

During medical school, you will take courses in the core curriculum with numerous exams during the 1st two years covering different areas of basic science, pharmacology, physiology, and anatomy.  You will also have to take two more big standardized exams during medical school.  Then during your last year in medical school you will apply for residency training in whatever field you are interested (internal medicine, surgery, radiology, etc.), which can range from 3-5 years of additional training.

Unless you have financial support from your parents or you're independently wealthy, you will need to take out student loans or get scholarships for both undergrad and medical school.  However, you will get paid during your residency but it is a meager salary ($42,000 - $54,000 depending on geographic location and years of training) for the large amount of work and stress (60-80 hours per week).

After completing residency, then you can practice as a doctor.  However, if you want to subspecialize in cardiology, interventional radiology, or cardiothoracic surgery for example, you need to apply for fellowship and complete an additional 1-3 years trainng.

So basically, becoming a doctor is hard and a huge committment.  Most people will finish their residency training by 28-30 years old at the earliest with about ~$100,000-200,000 debt in student loans.  However, if you truly love the practice of medicine and helping people, then it may be your calling.  

I became a doctor only after realizing that I couldn't see myself doing anything else.  My father is a doctor, so I grew up being exposed to the medical field.  However, he actually tried to talk me out of becoming a doctor.  I went into medicine because I enjoy helping people and find it to be an exciting and interesting field, which is always changing and requires you to be constantly learning.  Plus, there are few professions where you can have a direct impact on someone else's life.

Good luck.  Hope this helps.

Answer 3

i'm not going to be a doctor, but usually they do it because they love to help people and want to save people's lives and do what they can to cure them. and YES medical school is hard. my best friend is in medical school.

Answer 4

yes, it takes many years of hard work, stress, lack of sleep and late night study sessions.