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I am thinking about leaving med school and i need help

So im in my second year of med school, and im terrified of the feeling of wanting to give up. In 2016 had to take a mandatory course to enter my univrsity of choice, after the couse i took 3 exams and passed all three. After that, in february of 2017, i had to take another course and an exam - which i also passed, which got me into med school. So last year was my first year, and now in 2018, im in my second year.
I attended 6 subjects last year and promoted all of them, then 2 more in the summer. Passed all of them with good grades. And after all of that effort and time and pain that i invested into the career, i want to give up.

I dont know where to begin to explain why i want to leave. For example, just today i spent all my afternoon crying my eyes out because i couldnt understand something. i am a very responsible person and very organized, but i feel like with med school i got even worse. I am capapble of putting at risk my health in order to get the job done, i dont eat or spleep, i cry almost every week. I dont even wanna think about going to school tomorrow.
The college im in is very hard, there's a lot of work to do and a lot to study. And i don't think is worth it, if i had the passion for medicine to keep me going, then the tears and pain and lack of sleep would be worth it because i would be looking foward to learning more.
I see how my friends get excited for a new subject and i envy them, cause i dont feel that, i feel frustrated. Like i just want it to end.
And i see all my books, and photocopies, and all the work that i've done and i feel guilty for wanting to leave. I feel like im letting down my family and friends, but mostly me. I feel like i'm letting me down.

I got into med school because I wanted to be a psychiatrist, from the very begining and i still really want to. I want to be that so ****ing much. But i dont think i'm gonna be able to put up with the next 5 years if i keep feeling like this. I am so unhappy. I'm mostly ngry with myself because there's a part of the that want to be a psychiatrist, but i also want to ****ing die.
I've always been the girl with straight A's. Always being the perfect example, and i dont know what im gonna do if i leave. i am so lost.

Honestly at this point i just want someone to give me some advice. Thnaks.
Maybe consider taking a year off (eg. medical leave) if possible to get your thoughts straight. cuz you dont seem in the right mental capacity to keep going like this. Try talking to someone/advisor at your uni.
You need to evaluate wether being a psychiatrist is worth what you would go through over the next 5 years. What do you like about psychiatry? Could you maybe find this via a non medicine degree route? A medicine degree is really prestigious and undoubtedly great/ essential to have for some careers but you sound like I was in A levels. I kept doing science because I was good at it and if I hadn’t stopped to evaluate myself I probably would be doing a science/medicine degree right now. I just felt so so unhappy learning and revising all the content and it wasn’t forfilling so now I’m doing something completely different and I hope it will make me happy. Change isn’t always bad and even if you have invested lots of time and effort into one thing, it’s never too late and the earlier you change the better. But I’m biased because I was kinda similar so ignore me lol :smile:
Original post by My_Ryam
So im in my second year of med school, and im terrified of the feeling of wanting to give up. In 2016 had to take a mandatory course to enter my univrsity of choice, after the couse i took 3 exams and passed all three. After that, in february of 2017, i had to take another course and an exam - which i also passed, which got me into med school. So last year was my first year, and now in 2018, im in my second year.
I attended 6 subjects last year and promoted all of them, then 2 more in the summer. Passed all of them with good grades. And after all of that effort and time and pain that i invested into the career, i want to give up.

I dont know where to begin to explain why i want to leave. For example, just today i spent all my afternoon crying my eyes out because i couldnt understand something. i am a very responsible person and very organized, but i feel like with med school i got even worse. I am capapble of putting at risk my health in order to get the job done, i dont eat or spleep, i cry almost every week. I dont even wanna think about going to school tomorrow.
The college im in is very hard, there's a lot of work to do and a lot to study. And i don't think is worth it, if i had the passion for medicine to keep me going, then the tears and pain and lack of sleep would be worth it because i would be looking foward to learning more.
I see how my friends get excited for a new subject and i envy them, cause i dont feel that, i feel frustrated. Like i just want it to end.
And i see all my books, and photocopies, and all the work that i've done and i feel guilty for wanting to leave. I feel like im letting down my family and friends, but mostly me. I feel like i'm letting me down.

I got into med school because I wanted to be a psychiatrist, from the very begining and i still really want to. I want to be that so ****ing much. But i dont think i'm gonna be able to put up with the next 5 years if i keep feeling like this. I am so unhappy. I'm mostly ngry with myself because there's a part of the that want to be a psychiatrist, but i also want to ****ing die.
I've always been the girl with straight A's. Always being the perfect example, and i dont know what im gonna do if i leave. i am so lost.

Honestly at this point i just want someone to give me some advice. Thnaks.


Are you studying in the UK?

I think you need to speak with your GP as a matter of priority - much of what you're describing is concerning from a mental health and emotional well-being point of view, particularly if you're having thoughts of self-harm. This is something you can be supported through, and your GP will be able to put you in touch with people and organisations who can help you.

You should also speak with your personal tutor at university.

You shouldn't feel like you have to sacrifice your health to progress through medical school - that's never the right answer.

You might also find these pages helpful:

https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/work-life-support/your-wellbeing/bma-counselling-and-doctor-advisor-service

https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/1215686978446877/

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 4
To those wondering, my university is not in the U.K., it's a university in Latin America.
And I don't have there a tutor or someone who I can't talk to.

Sorry I couldn't reaply to the comments individually, I'm still trying to get the hand of the website.
Original post by My_Ryam
To those wondering, my university is not in the U.K., it's a university in Latin America.
And I don't have there a tutor or someone who I can't talk to.

Sorry I couldn't reaply to the comments individually, I'm still trying to get the hand of the website.


Could you speak with your family doctor about how you're feeling?
Reply 6
Original post by My_Ryam
To those wondering, my university is not in the U.K., it's a university in Latin America.
And I don't have there a tutor or someone who I can't talk to.

Sorry I couldn't reaply to the comments individually, I'm still trying to get the hand of the website.


It’s actually relatively difficult to find a medical student who never for even a second considered leaving or quitting or giving up (mostly around exam time or after getting yelled at by a consultant) so you are not alone in this. I am not trying to undermine your struggles - I want you to make sure that you think carefully before quitting as like you said, it took you a lot of effort and brainpower to get you to where you are now! I agree with exploring the option of taking a year out and trying out maybe another career path while you reconsider medicine. You need space and time to think.

I also think it’s important to seek help from your GP about your mental health. Medical students and doctors are humans too and need looking after when things get tough.

Also I am really glad you want to be a Psychiatrist!! We definitely need more compassionate and caring Psychiatrists wherever you are in the world.

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