For The Career Changers...

For the Career Changers...into Medicine, of course, but all others are welcome too!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have worked for a Fortune 500 Corporation for 7 years as of this past July. As I have gone through the process, both physically and mentally, there are 2 main things that I would advise for anyone choosing the life of a physician to strongly consider. Of course, this goes with full disclaimer that I have not yet even started medical school - this is only what I have learned since I have begun the process.

(1) What does it mean to move out of the Corporate world? It means that you must...

• First celebrate the change and the fact that you have found your true passion in life
• Know with certainty in every bone and cell of your body that you truly desire to have the lifestyle of a physician; it is not a job but rather a lifestyle and a privilege.
• Be comfortable with the fact that you will go from making pretty good income to zilch for the next several years, at least. Oh and don't forget that your 401k will be at a stand still too! :)
• Be okay with the fact that going to medical school, matching into a residency, and potentially seeking a fellowship will take, on average, about 10 years of your life. This is all while friends and family are living there life, getting married, having babies, and traveling around the world.
• Know that never again will you work only Monday through Friday with the ability to enjoy the weekends, company paid holidays, 23 days of PTO, and the ability to buy more time off if you need it!
• Accept the fact that not only will you make no money, but you will finish medical school with a huge debt that will pretty much require you to let go of any luxury you enjoyed before accepting loans from the U.S. government.

(2) Why all the stigma in international medical education?

• The Caribbean is not the United States. Although Caribbean schools mirror U.S. medical education and curriculum, it is still seen as sub par to that of which you would obtain in the U.S.
• From what I understand, most 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations require a student to move around to different hospitals that the school has affiliations with, and that can be a difficult process.
• You will live on an island for the first 2 years of medical school for the core science courses. This also brings about certain challenges in living conditions, technology, pace of life, etc.
• The attrition rates are high no matter which way you slice and dice the numbers.
• The faculty may all have an MD or PHD, or both, but that may not mean that they are good professors and can teach well.
• It is noted that international medical graduates have difficulty in obtaining residencies and will certainly not obtain a residency in any specialty type.
• The curriculum, at least at Ross University, is accelerated such that you learn 2 years worth of U.S - paced material in 16 months. However, beginning this year, Ross made a 20 month track available to students, at an additional cost of course.
• Class sizes are huge - not big, but huge! But because attrition is such a big factor, it sounds as if the size gets exponentially smaller after the 1st and 2nd years.

With all this said, I still choose to go to medical school. It sounds nuts, but I guess that is the part about knowing in every bone and cell of my body that this is the right choice for me. And even amongst all the things you seem to lose by changing careers to go into medicine, the stigma you carry by going to a school in the caribbean, or even the voices you have to hear from all the critics that question it -- IT IS STILL WORTH IT. I can hear my family's funny jokes and comments in the back of my head:

• Are you sure this is what you want?
• Do you want to try to take the MCAT again (so I can go to school in the the U.S.)?
• Why don't you just try getting a new job or try out a new industry?
• You are gonna need a mosquito net when you go down to the Caribbean. Are you okay with that? :)

And I will say that I view going to Dominica as a positive thing. Here are MY reasons:

• I will be focused! There won't be any distractions.
• Ross University has affiliation agreements for core clerkships with more than 70 teaching hospitals throughout the United States
• Ross placed over 700 students in residency programs as of March of this year
• Ross has hit a milestone marker with its 10,000th graduate from the School of Medicine. They are pumping lots of doctors into the U.S. healthcare system!
• In 2013, Ross students achieved a first time pass rate of 96% on the Step 1 United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), which is one of the most important determinants in a medical student's ability to obtain residency and is also on par with U.S. students
• I get 85 degree weather year-round, the ocean at my doorstep, and cool hiking adventures that await me

Anyway, all this is saying is that if medicine is truly the path for you, Go for it!! Bring your friends, family, and loved ones along for the ride. You only live once!