<p>Alright, I have been considering the idea of Med School for a while now, and I'm just looking for some feedback. I really enjoy science, I love problems that make me think and really test my knowledge and intuition. However, I also love English. I love literature and writing and analyzing, and I really am torn. I wonder if I will be happy being a doctor. I really do love science and learning about the human body. If I am to be a doctor I would love to be a surgeon, preferably a cardiothorasic surgeon. The heart really fascinates me and I'd love to learn from it. I really want to know what med school and residency is like, I just want an idea of the kind of life I'll be leading if I pursue medicine. As a sophmore in high school I still have time to figure out but I just want as much information/opinions as I can get.Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Medical school is very difficult just based on the sheer amount of material presented. I really wouldn’t say that the topics are so complex that they go over your head. You have to be prepared to make a huge sacrifice, as many of your non medical friends will have jobs and a social life (not to say that you can’t have one in medical school, but it may not be as involved). I’m a physician who trained when there were no work hour limits. I personally am very afraid of the physicians coming out of training. Not only are they not exposed to disease processes in depth, but they tend to have a shift mentality. And unfortunately, the work hour restrictions are so strict that residency programs do not want to be penalized. S it is not unheard of to have a surgery resident make an incision to start a case and then leave because he/she has hit the 80 hour limit. Is would never happen in practice, and I think it is a horrible precedent that has been set. Physicians in practice routinely work more than 80 hours per week.</p>
<p>If it weren’t for the loss of autonomy that physicians have experienced (to insurance companies, hospitals, etc.), things would be a lot better. Unfortunately, physicians don’t have a unified voice or an advocacy group (the AMA, in my opinion is an absolute joke and represents less than 20% of all physicians). </p>
<p>That being said, there is still nothing more gratifying than saving a life or spending countless hours with a sick patient and getting them rough the critical times. In the end, the physician will remain (I hope) the captain of the ship.</p>