Is studying medicine still worth it

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Reply 20

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by T&S

Thank you for this , I spoke to her about all the replies and she has decided to not follow her dream and now will look for something else she can be somewhat happy in.
She answered Yes to Both of your questions but as she read the rest of your reply she said that moving around for training will be an issue due to medical reasons she is unable to move house as she has special needs medically and her house is adapted for her ( I don't want to disclose her medical reasons) it wouldn't stop her from being a doctor but she has a medical need that requires special equipment at home and it's not easy to just move it either.
Having to stick to her local area will drastically limit her chances of training places especially now when it's hard to get training places in the first place.
She has no idea what she wants to do now as medicine was everything to her but she knows now she won't be able to do it so she will try to find something she'll like.

I am really sorry to hear that. I know people who have health considerations and the reality is that working for the NHS can be very demanding and that is true even for people who don't have a high level of responsibility in in healthcare.

The rotational aspect of medical practice and training is quite unfair and the length and nature of the average medical shift I am not ashamed to say leaves me running out of cognitive reserve some days. I have met people who have had their working patterns or roles adjusted because they had a long term health condition which is certainly possible in most trusts but can curtail your overall mileage or opportunity for personal development. For example, being unable to work nights might not be particularly problematic for someone in a regular vocation, but for a doctor it might mean they wouldn't necessarily have the chance to do on-call shifts. Speaking on a personal level I would find having to curtail my own scope of practice through no fault of my own I would find quite demoralising.

I guess each individual has to weigh up their own cost:benefit and work out if the juice they want is really worth the level of required squeeze. I don't think there is any particular aspect of healthcare that I would define as being 'easy' either. Speaking with the site portering team the other day one explained he had already walked 25,000 steps that day and it was only 3pm. I've worked alongside nurses and midwives too and I can see the level of proficiency and professionalism their roles absolutely demand, even in low acuity environments.

That being said, for all young people today there is a slot out there in a vocation they enjoy for absolutely anyone, I truly believe that. In days gone by only the wealthiest families would find their children going off to University- it was almost an expectation- but today anyone can go if they've got the smarts and the ambition so I think we are making progress using that measure at least.

I wish your relative all the best and thank you for taking the time to write your post.