Should I go back?

Well, I was studying Medicine at University Of Manchester and I lasted 2 weeks. I absolutely hated the course and everything to do with it, I hated the idea of becoming a doctor and I got really depressed; Sleepless nights, anxiety attacks, lack of eating and eventually anti-depressants were prescribed by my GP. I have took an interruption for the year, meaning I could go back to medicine next September if I want to. I am unsure if I want to go back and if it is worth it? the long hours, the stressful lifestyle and the low pay compared to the hours dont appeal to me... yet it is still so difficult to completely shut out a degree as valuable as medicine. So do i go back?

Doesn't sound like it's been a particularly valuable experience for you as an individual

If it's okay to ask, if you hated the idea of becoming a doctor, why did you apply in the first place?

I was kind of pushed into it by family, and decided to do it to make them proud and happy. Over time i got really passionate about it too, guess when all you think about for 3 years is getting into medicine, you get a bit passionate about it. When i did get in, i was very excited and really looked forward to it, but as soon as i got there it wasnt what i was expecting it to be and i just felt my passion for medicine and science in general being drained; it was horrible. I guess beforehand I didnt really think about all the negative aspects of being a doctor; the long hours, lack of a personal life, doing this for the rest of your life. I want to help people and that was a particular driving force, but right now i just feel really lost, confused and alone. I feel like im obliged to go back and if i don't, what ever else i do will be a downgrade.

I'm sorry but your post makes me really cross. I feel so sorry for all those passionate and dedicated future doctors who are reading this post and who missed out on a place at medical school because one was wasted on you. All those negative aspects you cite are hardly a secret of the reality of medical practice - surely you should have given much more thought about these aspects before accepting the place and denying others it.

I really hope you do the responsible thing and move onto something more to your liking so someone else can take up your precious place at medical school.

I'm sorry but your post makes me really cross. I feel so sorry for all those passionate and dedicated future doctors who are reading this post and who missed out on a place at medical school because one was wasted on you. All those negative aspects you cite are hardly a secret of the reality of medical practice - surely you should have given much more thought about these aspects before accepting the place and denying others it.

I really hope you do the responsible thing and move onto something more to your liking so someone else can take up your precious place at medical school.

The OP quitting isn't going to mean another person can "take up [their] precious place" - the place is the OP's until they decide they don't want it, and then it's gone. If other applicants were better suited, they'd have been given it.

I think your expectations are somewhat unrealistic. I don't think ANY 18 year old really knows what they're letting themselves in for with a medicine career, no matter how much work experience they have. You can say "oooh, long hours, no social life" etc but you don't know what it means at that stage. It sounds like the OP did a normal amount of preparation and was enthusiastic about the course, but when they got there discovered it wasn't right for them. There's no shame in that.

OP, it seems like things fell apart very quickly when you went to uni. Was it just the course or were you struggling with adjusting to uni life/being away from home? I think both of those things can affect how you feel about the situation, and don't necessarily mean medicine isn't right for you. However, if you really feel like you've decided you don't want to be a doctor then going back for the sake of others' expectations would be wrong and bad for your mental health.

Well, I was studying Medicine at University Of Manchester and I lasted 2 weeks. I absolutely hated the course and everything to do with it, I hated the idea of becoming a doctor and I got really depressed; Sleepless nights, anxiety attacks, lack of eating and eventually anti-depressants were prescribed by my GP. I have took an interruption for the year, meaning I could go back to medicine next September if I want to. I am unsure if I want to go back and if it is worth it? the long hours, the stressful lifestyle and the low pay compared to the hours dont appeal to me... yet it is still so difficult to completely shut out a degree as valuable as medicine. So do i go back?

I think this is disingenuous. It's not a case of "If other applicants were better suited, they'd have been given it". The OP obviously gave the impression at interview that they were passionate and dedicated to the role of medicine and the best choice, otherwise of course that place would have been given to someone else. The issue is that this dedication has given way in very short order (a fortnight) into complaints about stress and hours and pay which are hardly some clandestine aspect of medicine which can only be discovered once you're studying it - the reason for dropping out is not some fundamental paradigm shift of the OP's view of medicine, but is for very mundane matters that should have been given more careful thought before accepting a place.

I also don't think my expectations are at all unrealistic - the drop out rate for medicine is extremely low compared to most other subjects, which would indicate that most 18 year olds are perfectly capable of thinking through exactly what they're letting themselves in for.

At the time, the OP thought they were passionate and dedicated,

...what, and then a fortnight after starting the course s/he wasn't!


There is an difference between naivety and unpreparedness. Naivety does not make claiming that you dropped out because you didn't realise the hours were long and pay not to your liking any more reasonable. I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this point.

You should read more carefully. I am not a Cambridge Fresher - I am a Cambridge graduate who went on to do a Ph.D. Your assumption that you are in a position to patronise is thus rather misplaced.

Oh sorry, got you mixed up with someone else.

I have no idea of the OP's thought process tbh, and I do think it's very early to decide medicine's not right for them, but I just don't see there's any point going down the "someone else could have had your place" route, it doesn't benefit anyone. I'm assuming the OP knew before starting that there would be long hours etc, you'd have to be very uninformed not to know that, but something changed to make them realise it wasn't right for them.

I knew I'd have to do long hours, have a limited social life etc when I started, and thought I worked hard/did lots of hours at Cambridge, but still found the reality tough to handle as an FY1.

From having a brief sally through your posts, did you do graduate medicine at Cambridge, or have I got that wrong? And if so, did you have Prof. Whyllie telling you about macrophage infiltration being 'on the bus' for atheroma? This always sticks in my head for some reason!

Having thought about this, I think I am a little harsh in the 'precious place' thing - I do still think it was beholden on the OP to be absolutely sure of the basic stuff like hours and pay before they started, but I accept that mistakes are made and things can change.