is medicine really worth it?

Probably not, the way things are heading in the UK.

Let me break down the realities of medicine in england for you to help.

You will be giving up a lot of social life and be stressed for the next 12 years of your life. You will have to move around the country after medical school. You will have 5 years of exams at uni. Then 2 years and more exams to get into specialist training. Even if you do pass your exams, you might not get what you want as a specialty or the location you want to do your specialty. So more moving around and breaking ur relationships.

Applications for being a heart surgeon is currently at 35:1 so u really have to be the best for some specialties even gp has a competition ration of 3:1. After getting into this training u get to earn a glorius 50kand will be sitting on this 50-80k pay for the next 6-8 years. This is all done under the assumption you pass first time. If you dont then more years added on where ur earning 40-60k doing night shifts and 60hr weeks to survive. Whereas your friends in finance or computing might be sitting on 70-90k after 5 years in their profession, living where they want and doing better hours than you.

Don't go into medicine unless you are ready.

wow this just felt like someone stabbed me so many times 😕

It's a personal decision. I enjoy being a doctor, as do most of my colleagues. I definitely think it's worth it.

Be careful not to base your decision on online opinions though. The sort of people who spend their time moaning online (eg on Twitter/Reddit) aren't a representative sample of doctors.

what’s a typical day like and how was your journey to getting where you are now

I will send you a private message (in a few days time, I am busy at present), as I don't want to post too much detail about me publicly.

But it's important to say that a typical day is very very variable depending on seniority and specialty.

ive been contemplating this for quite a while now and though i’m only in y12 and my a levels are already tailored to study medicine in uni, i’m not fully 100% sure it’s what i want to do. the worst bit is i don’t really know any other healthcare md sciences options i could consider either that i will really enjoy

What subjects are you taking?

bio chem and psychology + epq tho i may drop that to focus on securing high grades on the others and work experience/volunteering

Fair but if medicine might still be something you’re keen to pursue, try and hold on to EPQ. Have you done any shadowing or previous caring experiences? I was in the same situation for a bit ngl. Did a hospital placement summer of Y13 and eventually found that med was something I still wanted. You could always do pure sciences I suppose… Have you talked to your uni counsellor? Subject teachers maybe?

ive been contemplating this for quite a while now and though i’m only in y12 and my a levels are already tailored to study medicine in uni, i’m not fully 100% sure it’s what i want to do. the worst bit is i don’t really know any other healthcare md sciences options i could consider either that i will really enjoy

Hey, it all depends on what your priorities are in life. I gave up 3 years of my life doing everything I could to get into medicine. I got into all the med schools I applied to. Now I'm 5 months into my first year and I'm leaving and most likely transferring courses. I realised I was immature and that you only get one life and it's going faster and faster by the year. Medical school dosen't get easier after the application process either, it is intense and you have to give up most of your free time to study or do something medicine related. My advice is really try and understand your motivation for medicine, if you are really excited about learning about the human body, genuinelly selfless and if you are willing to give up the prime years of your life.

Hey, it all depends on what your priorities are in life. I gave up 3 years of my life doing everything I could to get into medicine. I got into all the med schools I applied to. Now I'm 5 months into my first year and I'm leaving and most likely transferring courses. I realised I was immature and that you only get one life and it's going faster and faster by the year. Medical school dosen't get easier after the application process either, it is intense and you have to give up most of your free time to study or do something medicine related. My advice is really try and understand your motivation for medicine, if you are really excited about learning about the human body, genuinelly selfless and if you are willing to give up the prime years of your life.