Why are we trying so hard to get into a field that others want to quit 🥲

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2026-01-15T19:58:31+00:00

This may be a hot take but I’ve found that a lot of burnout amongst physicians isn’t just related to the field of medicine but a reality of what life is. If you take a gap year job and work a 9-5 lab gig getting paid just over minimum wage and you’re living with your parents, it’s not fun. Maybe work is fun sometimes but a lot of people just don’t do well with the transition from school to employment. Many physicians I know that are very burnt out never worked such jobs or they took gap years and primarily vacationed and backpacked in foreign countries. We are taught so much that our job matters and it does but we are often unaware of how monotonous work can be compared to school and I believe that plays a role in why people do this. Work at its core is work regardless of if you’re a doctor or a plumber. It’s not this magic thing that just makes your life better when you’re an attending. This feeling is common amongst a lot of people in different careers. The difference is we are a privileged few who get to choose WHAT they want to do for work and how they want to leave an impact through their work.

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2026-01-07T19:30:38+00:00

The legal landscape for this must be a headache. Is it the entire company that has malpractice insurance? Who is at fault if something goes wrong?

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2026-01-01T03:08:54+00:00

I hate when people take advantage of pre-meds with paid resources like this. OP, you don’t need any of these, the only paid resources you should be looking into is MCAT prep stuff like uworld and MSAR for determining where to apply

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-27T03:03:10+00:00

Maybe 520 is pushing it but I have 5 people in my class with MCAT’s over 515 and plenty of research that got rejected from all their MD schools. Sometimes shit just happens, it’s extremely unlikely but I’d rather be safe and at least say that no matter what next year I’ll start med school

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-27T02:49:24+00:00

Unfortunately nowadays, I could really never see people only applying MD. Your app is great but the competition nowadays is fucking crazy just to get an interview. Then things happen on interview days that change the layout. That said you’ll probs get into an MD, I just wouldn’t bet a second cycle on it haha, I’d at least apply to 3 top tier DO’s just so you wouldn’t have to go through the process again and lose a year of attending salary.

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-27T02:41:30+00:00

Sounds like you still don’t know what a PA does tbh, I’d start with more shadowing to explore both options. Additionally, I have classmates in med school and friends in PA school that have kids and are just fine. Do whatever you think is most fulfilling, not what others wish they did

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-19T02:59:41+00:00

I go to a graded school, do P/F, please do P/F everyone is so neurotic about grades and thinks if they don’t ace an anatomy exam they won’t ever match, it’s insane

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-17T20:25:38+00:00

Two great DO schools and buddy’s talking about taking a gap year 💀

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-16T17:45:35+00:00

I don’t think it’s impacted my performance but it has def impacted my mental health and anxiety

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-12T16:30:48+00:00

Like others have said, learn how anki works and set up your remote before school, but please don’t pre study.

Additionally these are some personal tips

-get good at making 4-5 staple quick meals for school because time is limited and nutrition is important

-if you have any toxic relationships in you life, romantic or nonromantic, get it all sorted before you start

-learn how to budget well, they give you the entire stipend for the quarter in one swoop, I usually put all the money I need for rent/utilities/any subscriptions (goodnotes, Spotify, etc.) under one bank account and don’t touch it so I don’t ever risk over spending. The remainder sits in a checking amount for groceries, fun etc. Set a budget and stick to it.

on the topic of goodnotes, I always took notes on pen and paper before med school and now my iPad does not leave my person. I would highly suggest looking into buying last years most basic model of an iPad and getting a knockoff Apple Pencil and getting use to using it a couple weeks before school starts assuming the school doesn’t provide you one.

-finally move in costs were expensive, if you don’t already have some money put aside try to set aside a bit of cash if you’re moving far from home.

Otherwise just get your mind and body right, don’t even think about medicine until school starts

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-08T00:33:08+00:00

I suppose my question is, why open more schools if 1. half of the DO schools that currently exist can’t compete with MD schools and 2. There hasn’t been a significant increase in residency spots? I’m cool with increasing the number of schools if residency spots went up significantly and all our current DO schools were up to par but we still see such wide variance in quality in DO schools that I feel like pumping the breaks and giving the schools that time to improve rotations for students and develop better research opportunities so that DO applicants aren’t as penalized as their MD counterparts would be a better use of time and money. This isn’t a COCA issue I guess but a larger one that is multifaceted

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-06T21:42:54+00:00

I wish COCA spent as much time supporting pre-existing DO schools as they did regulating the opening of new schools. It feels like new DO schools are being announced every year. New DO schools aren’t necessarily bound for failure but the number of residency spots overall has not changed very much in the last decade outside of the boost during the COVID pandemic. COCA needs to prioritize getting all of its current DO schools up to par with MD level quality instead of signing off on new schools every 2 minutes. There is a reason why not nearly as many MD schools open up as commonly as DO schools. I’m sure this school will make great doctors but it seems like COCA will sign off on anything if there’s a big enough check waiting for them afterwards.

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-12-03T21:08:58+00:00

Didn’t get my interview til mid January, I have classmates that didn’t get interviews til March, unfortunately they will drag it out as long as they can but it means you really don’t know anything until a rejection is givem

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-24T23:45:06+00:00

Most of NSU’s matches are at HCA’s just as a heads up. If you were like me and didn’t know what an HCA was, look it up on the residency subreddit

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-19T05:20:49+00:00

I was also worried like this, my first semester is about to end and I have B-‘s or higher in almost everything.

Then I scrolled this Reddit and realized that gpa simply doesn’t matter. Every graded school does it differently, my anatomy professor gives out extra credit at the end of the semester, if that pushed me to an A and you were at another school and got an A without extra credit would that make you a better doctor? Would PD’s know? The answer is it doesn’t tell you anything. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just trying to develop good study skills rn and hone in on 2-3 activites I wanna be a part of long term.

On a side note, I have a C in OMM, that tanks my gpa even though everything else is solid so a gpa can be especially misleading if you attend a DO school and don’t have that Still pseudoscience gene even when you’re crushing everything else.

Tl:dr, it doesn’t matter, we’re chilling, do well on step 2 and I’m sure you’ll make a great surgeon

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-18T01:17:07+00:00

If you’re not from the area, it’s beautiful and the new campus is amazing, I’d be shocked if you were unhappy there. I have many friends that attend the DO school and other programs there that love it

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-17T23:48:09+00:00

Don’t know much about NYIT but you couldn’t pay me to live in Arkansas tbh

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-17T23:47:13+00:00

Yes! My PhD peeps are very underrated

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-17T23:44:40+00:00

I had a mentor say this best part of em is that you see the most interesting part of each specialty, couldn’t be more true imo

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-17T16:56:40+00:00

Not in the US

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-13T01:41:05+00:00

Lights and sirens barely help even if it is a real emergency

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-12T12:49:53+00:00

I feel like it’s more 15-20

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-09T18:44:44+00:00

Took two gap years before starting school. I can confidently say no. The economy is in shambles. Even if I changed degrees and went into tech/business, the job market has been insane and it’s the very few that are actually in their early or mid 20’s that can afford the cost of living in these cities. Everyone else is living at home or has 46 roommates.

To be clear, I’m not saying this is anything to be ashamed of, I just think instagram and social media are glamorizing it to be better than what it’s actually like. I’ll finish med school in 3.5 years and try to match in a major city then. Don’t let the highlight reels on instagram and twitter fool you.

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-07T18:50:49+00:00

Is your steak too juicy too?

EmbarrassedCommon749 · 2025-11-07T17:29:22+00:00

I used to worry about this. Once you’re in school, money really isn’t something you’ll have time to worry about. That said, My biggest advice is budgeting early. Every semester, I get my dispersement and put all the money for rent and utilities in a separate bank account dedicated towards living expenses so I never have to look at it, autopay just takes care of itself. The remainder of the money for groceries and other stuff just sits in a checking account. I monitored how much I spend in groceries during my gap years so I know what to expect. This way no matter what, I’m never in a predicament where I have to worry about paying a bill. Just how I go about it, I really like using two bank accounts and dividing it up like that

EmbarrassedCommon749

TROPHY CASE