Very depressed - Is there a real way out of medicine?

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Leukocyte

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Hey guys,

I did not know where to post this. Since this is a "general' medicine forum, I thought i can post it here. Well, I am very depressed. I realy hate medical practice, and cannot find a real way out. I am trained in FM. I am currently working in an out-patient ambulatory medicine practice. I realy cannot stand it. I hate every second of my life. I am very depressed and lost my motivation for everything. The stresss is starting to affect my loved ones, since I have become bitter and short. I am not taking care of my health, and starting to gain weight from stress eating. I have not been shaving or cutting my hair. I feel lost with no motivation what so ever.

I finished my FM residency thinking that I will never go into clinical medicine again. But then in my 3rd year of residency, I fell in love with my current fiance, and got engaged. All of a sudden reality struck me, so I thought I would give private practice after residency a chance. Big mistake. I found out that real world medical practice is even worse than residency. The money is good, but I hate every second of my life. I really want to get out of medicine, but I do not know how. I do not know if it is even realistic. How can I afford to leave medicine with a $200,000 in student loans? If I were to go back and work with my undergraduate degree in Med Tech., I will not be able to make enough money to pay my loans back. I feel I am stuck with no where to go. I am extremely sad. I want to leave medicine, but I have no where to go. I do not think there is a realistic solution out of medicine to my problem.

Do any of you guys feel the same way? Any suggestions or advice?

Thank you very much.
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I am not even a medical student until August but I'm a non trad who switched careers (into medicine) because I felt the way you do about another career. One thing I can relate to is being that miserable is no way to live.

1. Are your loans from the government? Do you qualify for PSLF? That could be your way out.
2. I think finishing residency means you have more options. Are you interested in public health or other such areas?
3. Are you done with clinical medicine in general or just the environment? A different population (eg the military) may help?
4. What about trying to go into healthcare administration or management - maybe get an MBA or Health Management degree?
 
Consulting, research, teaching at an academic center, health care administration, and politics. Nothing will earn as much as clinical medicine at first, but I think you could make enough to chip away at loans while living cheaply.
 
not sure what you can do about your current work situation, but I would recommend getting some psychiatric or psychologic help. sounds like you may have some clinical depression ot some degree, and something needs to be done in addition to a career change. I'm personally not a big believer in drugs, butat the very least therapy ought to at least ease your current distress. good luck finding a viable non-clinical pathway.
 
I don't know what your lifestyle is like, but perhaps as an exit strategy it might be better to get the loans paid off first, and then you can make your transition out of clinical medicine into something else without that weighing over your head. You could theoretically be able to buckle down, spend less, tone down the lifestyle, and work extra and get the loans paid off soon. Of course if you go the "pay the loans off soon route", you'll need the bigger income to pay taxes when you start to make a dent in the principle. 3-4 years and you could be free and clear and ready to do something else.
 
Have you ever considered non-clinical specialties? I know my fair share of path/rads residents/attendings who share your sentiment about clinical medicine.

Leukocyte said:
Hey guys,

I did not know where to post this. Since this is a "general' medicine forum, I thought i can post it here. Well, I am very depressed. I realy hate medical practice, and cannot find a real way out. I am trained in FM. I am currently working in an out-patient ambulatory medicine practice. I realy cannot stand it. I hate every second of my life. I am very depressed and lost my motivation for everything. The stresss is starting to affect my loved ones, since I have become bitter and short. I am not taking care of my health, and starting to gain weight from stress eating. I have not been shaving or cutting my hair. I feel lost with no motivation what so ever.

I finished my FM residency thinking that I will never go into clinical medicine again. But then in my 3rd year of residency, I fell in love with my current fiance, and got engaged. All of a sudden reality struck me, so I thought I would give private practice after residency a chance. Big mistake. I found out that real world medical practice is even worse than residency. The money is good, but I hate every second of my life. I really want to get out of medicine, but I do not know how. I do not know if it is even realistic. How can I afford to leave medicine with a $200,000 in student loans? If I were to go back and work with my undergraduate degree in Med Tech., I will not be able to make enough money to pay my loans back. I feel I am stuck with no where to go. I am extremely sad. I want to leave medicine, but I have no where to go. I do not think there is a realistic solution out of medicine to my problem.

Do any of you guys feel the same way? Any suggestions or advice?

Thank you very much.
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Leukocyte said:
Hey guys,

I did not know where to post this. Since this is a "general' medicine forum, I thought i can post it here. Well, I am very depressed. I realy hate medical practice, and cannot find a real way out. I am trained in FM. I am currently working in an out-patient ambulatory medicine practice. I realy cannot stand it. I hate every second of my life. I am very depressed and lost my motivation for everything. The stresss is starting to affect my loved ones, since I have become bitter and short. I am not taking care of my health, and starting to gain weight from stress eating. I have not been shaving or cutting my hair. I feel lost with no motivation what so ever.

I finished my FM residency thinking that I will never go into clinical medicine again. But then in my 3rd year of residency, I fell in love with my current fiance, and got engaged. All of a sudden reality struck me, so I thought I would give private practice after residency a chance. Big mistake. I found out that real world medical practice is even worse than residency. The money is good, but I hate every second of my life. I really want to get out of medicine, but I do not know how. I do not know if it is even realistic. How can I afford to leave medicine with a $200,000 in student loans? If I were to go back and work with my undergraduate degree in Med Tech., I will not be able to make enough money to pay my loans back. I feel I am stuck with no where to go. I am extremely sad. I want to leave medicine, but I have no where to go. I do not think there is a realistic solution out of medicine to my problem.

Do any of you guys feel the same way? Any suggestions or advice?

Thank you very much.
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OMG don't freak me out, I was a Med Tech too, hubby a physician very well established, went to medicine, had to go away from home. Now in first year of FM residency and still away from home, but finally will transfer back home. I am questioning the same thing, after all , did I made a mistake ? I was happy as a med tech and easy life working just part time. How is going to be my life in the future ? tell me what exactly you don't like from the outside world, what is the level of stress and what kind of stress ? like you will be sue for any reason ? or what exactly. I thought family medicine is lay back outside from residency.
 
microscp2 said:
OMG don't freak me out, I was a Med Tech too, hubby a physician very well established, went to medicine, had to go away from home. Now in first year of FM residency and still away from home, but finally will transfer back home. I am questioning the same thing, after all , did I made a mistake ? I was happy as a med tech and easy life working just part time. How is going to be my life in the future ? tell me what exactly you don't like from the outside world, what is the level of stress and what kind of stress ? like you will be sue for any reason ? or what exactly. I thought family medicine is lay back outside from residency.
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The laid-backness of FM is highly dependent on the environment you're practicing within. If I had 8-10 minutes to see a patient, perform all the recommended screenings, address any new acute or persistent chronic problems, all the while finding time to talk to the patient about their lives enough that they keep coming back? And if I then had to repeat that 30-40+ times/day, I'd be pretty damn stressed. That being said, it sounds like the OP is clinically depressed and may benefit more from treatment then a change in jobs.
 
You know, there really isn't anything to lose with seeking out a mental health professional. You might maybe be depressed (we can't judge that here), but if you were, making decisions about this right now wouldn't be a good idea. You might be stuck, and maybe talking to someone can help you work through finding a way out.

As for leaving medicine, I have no idea what's out there, but with the income based repayment, you're not quite as tied to making a lot of money to pay off a lot of loans. Also, maybe there's a better job for you in medicine. Again, with the new loan system, you shouldn't be tied into doing a super busy type of job just to make money.
 
I remember you posting this same exact post while you were in residency.
 
1. Before you switch out, make sure the grass is definitely greener on the other side. There are way more people switching into medicine than switching out. That speaks for itself.

2. If you are in a lot of loans, I recommend "suck it up" and pay them back. Medicine may be a crappy job for you, but it's still quite lucrative.

3. Remember, there are plenty people out there, who are just depressed as you are and making $32K a year before tax.

4. There are definitely jobs out there. "MD" is the best label you can possibly put behind your name in this country. Worst situation comes, go sell herbal supplements. All they need is somebody with XXXX XXXXX, MD. And you got it. This is not a joke. A lot of people actually do quite well going that direction (and making more than clinical practice by a large margin).

5. I'm not sure about your family situation. But once you start to have 3+ kids, $100K a year isn't really a lot of money anymore.

6. Despite the fact you hate your job, you don't have a boss. That's a huge luxury not enjoyed by many people.

7. The fact you hate your job is perhaps caused by the following: 1) Hate to deal with people 2) Hate to work long hours 3) Hate to live with BS in the system that you can't fix. But remember, these characteristics are almost ubiquitous among jobs that pay a six-figure salary.
 
Tone2002 said:
I remember you posting this same exact post while you were in residency.
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Yeah, if you look at the OPs earlier threads over the past several years the phrase "sad, miserable and depressed" comes up frequently, and he expressed a dislike for FM long before finishing residency or starting on this current job. I agree that speaking to a mental health professional probably may have value for the OP. Claiming to be depressed over such a long time span suggests it has less to do with your (OP) external circumstances (which have continued to change) and more to do with your own internal demons. There are plenty of clinicians who, although they don't necessarily always love what they do, don't find it as mentally unbearable as you seem to, and thus it's hard to blame your issues on the job.

I do think, however, that since you concede that "the money is good", the obvious answer to your predicament is to cut down your expenses and use this good money to pay down your debt as fast as you possibly can. If you earn over $150k/year and can survive on under half of what you earn, you can be out of debt in about 3 years. If you earn more and can live on less, you can pare this down even further. No debt means the freedom to try something new, without as much risk if it proves to not be lucrative. That's your exit strategy -- you need to pay off the debt to cast aside the handcuffs holding you in this field.
 
Leukocyte said:
Hey guys,

I did not know where to post this. Since this is a "general' medicine forum, I thought i can post it here. Well, I am very depressed. I realy hate medical practice, and cannot find a real way out. I am trained in FM. I am currently working in an out-patient ambulatory medicine practice. I realy cannot stand it. I hate every second of my life. I am very depressed and lost my motivation for everything. The stresss is starting to affect my loved ones, since I have become bitter and short. I am not taking care of my health, and starting to gain weight from stress eating. I have not been shaving or cutting my hair. I feel lost with no motivation what so ever.

I finished my FM residency thinking that I will never go into clinical medicine again. But then in my 3rd year of residency, I fell in love with my current fiance, and got engaged. All of a sudden reality struck me, so I thought I would give private practice after residency a chance. Big mistake. I found out that real world medical practice is even worse than residency. The money is good, but I hate every second of my life. I really want to get out of medicine, but I do not know how. I do not know if it is even realistic. How can I afford to leave medicine with a $200,000 in student loans? If I were to go back and work with my undergraduate degree in Med Tech., I will not be able to make enough money to pay my loans back. I feel I am stuck with no where to go. I am extremely sad. I want to leave medicine, but I have no where to go. I do not think there is a realistic solution out of medicine to my problem.

Do any of you guys feel the same way? Any suggestions or advice?

Thank you very much.
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Student loans not dischargeable by bankruptcy. If you are willing to do something radical: Consider leaving the US- permanently. Might find medical practice in another country more satisfying and will be very difficult for your creditors to collect on your loans.
 
Maybe a government job? FDA?
 
Have you thought about getting a different clinical job? You might be able to work as a hospitalist. Or perhaps at a VA.

Many of the above thoughts are often mentioned, and are not realistic. You're unlikely to be a consultant -- you'd need to find some knowledge / skill that you have and sell it to someone. Research is not a great choice unless you already have the background training for it. Going and getting an MBA to go into "admin" is a terrible idea -- you'll end up more in debt and an MBA won't make you the CEO of a hospital.
 
Law2Doc said:
Yeah, if you look at the OPs earlier threads over the past several years the phrase "sad, miserable and depressed" comes up frequently, and he expressed a dislike for FM long before finishing residency or starting on this current job. I agree that speaking to a mental health professional probably may have value for the OP. Claiming to be depressed over such a long time span suggests it has less to do with your (OP) external circumstances (which have continued to change) and more to do with your own internal demons. There are plenty of clinicians who, although they don't necessarily always love what they do, don't find it as mentally unbearable as you seem to, and thus it's hard to blame your issues on the job.

I do think, however, that since you concede that "the money is good", the obvious answer to your predicament is to cut down your expenses and use this good money to pay down your debt as fast as you possibly can. If you earn over $150k/year and can survive on under half of what you earn, you can be out of debt in about 3 years. If you earn more and can live on less, you can pare this down even further. No debt means the freedom to try something new, without as much risk if it proves to not be lucrative. That's your exit strategy -- you need to pay off the debt to cast aside the handcuffs holding you in this field.
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I think that this is good advice. The op and I have some things in common.

1. I was in FM
2. I was not happy, however I was not depressed.
3. I majored in Med. Tech
4. I considered leaving medicine

I switched specialties. The funny thing is that I have some very stressful days now but I have changed. I now realize that some days will be good and others will be bad. I cannot let a bad day shape my entire outlook on life. My joy has to come from inside. I take pride in doing a good job.

These folks can tell you about job options outside of medicine but believe me, it is not easy to completely leave meidcine behind.

You need to sit down and make a list of what you like about medicine and what you dislike about medicine. Think about what you want out of life.

Try not to look completely miserable on your present job. Your present job is putting food on the table and helping to pay down the med school loans.

I hope that you find the peace that you are seeking.

Cambie
 
Well hopefully your student loans are with the government and youre eligible for Income Based Repayment. If thats the case you can go work on a shrimp boat and make 24k a year and still pay off your loans.
 
Arcan57 said:
The laid-backness of FM is highly dependent on the environment you're practicing within. If I had 8-10 minutes to see a patient, perform all the recommended screenings, address any new acute or persistent chronic problems, all the while finding time to talk to the patient about their lives enough that they keep coming back? And if I then had to repeat that 30-40+ times/day, I'd be pretty damn stressed. That being said, it sounds like the OP is clinically depressed and may benefit more from treatment then a change in jobs.
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1) Rule Out clinical Depression. Do it. You owe to yourself and your spouse.

2) FM is awesome. It is a sweet field to be in. As the previous poster above pointed out, it is highly dependent on the environment. There is something, a small kernal of why you chose FM. Its time you man up and realize you can shape your future. Make a plan to phase out or quit your job and start your own practice the way you envisioned it could be. Make your own practice to focus on the goals and attributes that drew you into the field in the first place. Don't like dealing with insurance companies? Then don't take insurance. Don't like OB? Then don't do it. Like office procedures? Then do them. Want more time with patients? Then do it. You are a physician and can be the master of your own work environment. The emerging patterns of everyone seeking employment and following the group mentality is destructive. Take advantage of the power to shape your work environment.

If you want some ideas or a better means of shaping your dream PM me.
 
Take chances now. You hate everything, and feel nothing can be worse. Take chances. Do cosmetics and bail out. It's not hard to wield botox. Charge a bit less than your competitors and make a killing. Be the botox man. Do hair transplant. Do fillers.
 
As simple as this sounds--JUST LEAVE. If your posts reflect your true feelings, then you are better off fighting sallie mae than staying in medicine. From your posts I reckon anything is better than medicine right now. No one is going to kill you if you cant afford to pay your loans, but it sounds like medicine is literally killing you(mentally and physically). Honestly, I do not understand why people stay in medicine while harbouring these types of feelings about it. Life is too short! But you need to be honest with yourself though, and ask yourself which is worse? Quitting medicine and leaving yourself in financial uncertainty (which is not that uncommon in real life) or staying and enduring what looks like hell (from your account at least). If you do decide to stay, then maybe it is not so bad.
 
Osteoimperfecta said:
... No one is going to kill you if you cant afford to pay your loans, ...
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Obviously you didn't watch many episodes of the Sopranos. :laugh:


I actually don't agree with your advice, though. Someone depressed while earning good money in FM is going to be a whole lot more depressed when they are not able to service their debt, living in a hovel, eating Ramen noodles and working one of the scant jobs they are able to get. In today's economy jobs are tight, and the OP is going to have a tough time landing something because he is now "overqualified" for almost everything other than medicine by virtue of his degree. No place will hire him since there is the expectation that he will up and leave when a "better" medicine job opens up. So he really needs a financial cushion so he can test the waters a while until something turns up. Which may not be for a while. And you don't get to do that if you have ever growing loans hanging over your head.
 
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Law2Doc said:
Obviously you didn't watch many episodes of the Sopranos. :laugh:


I actually don't agree with your advice, though. Someone depressed while earning good money in FM is going to be a whole lot more depressed when they are not able to service their debt, living in a hovel, eating Ramen noodles and working one of the scant jobs they are able to get. In today's economy jobs are tight, and the OP is going to have a tough time landing something because he is now "overqualified" for almost everything other than medicine by virtue of his degree. No place will hire him since there is the expectation that he will up and leave when a "better" medicine job opens up. So he really needs a financial cushion so he can test the waters a while until something turns up. Which may not be for a while. And you don't get to do that if you have ever growing loans hanging over your head.
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This is strong advice.

Cambie
 
Law2Doc said:
Obviously you didn't watch many episodes of the Sopranos. :laugh:


I actually don't agree with your advice, though. Someone depressed while earning good money in FM is going to be a whole lot more depressed when they are not able to service their debt, living in a hovel, eating Ramen noodles and working one of the scant jobs they are able to get. In today's economy jobs are tight, and the OP is going to have a tough time landing something because he is now "overqualified" for almost everything other than medicine by virtue of his degree. No place will hire him since there is the expectation that he will up and leave when a "better" medicine job opens up. So he really needs a financial cushion so he can test the waters a while until something turns up. Which may not be for a while. And you don't get to do that if you have ever growing loans hanging over your head.
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I agree with you, except that OP paints a picture that looks like he/she will be better off living in a hovel, eating ramen noodles and working scant jobs than being in medicine. If someone was swinging a bat to my head, I will dock.There will be no exit strategy, I will simply dock. OP sounds like he/she is taking bats to the head.
 
Osteoimperfecta said:
... OP paints a picture that looks like he/she will be better off living in a hovel, eating ramen noodles and working scant jobs than being in medicine....
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He may think that now, but once that becomes a reality, I doubt the grass will still look greener. And it's not so easy to jump back over the fence.
 
Federal student loans are not forgiven with bankruptcy, but they are forgiven with disability. What kind of disability do you have? Lost any limbs? How attached are you to your thumbs?
 
Leukocyte said:
I want to leave medicine, but I have no where to go. I do not think there is a realistic solution out of medicine to my problem.

Do any of you guys feel the same way? Any suggestions or advice?

Thank you very much.
Click to expand...

Look, the reality that you'd much rather drive a garbage truck for a living than diagnose Mrs. Smith's fibromyalgia by exclusion and indulge the tantrums of Dr. Stewie Griffin, consultant, doesn't make you a bad person.

It makes you sane.

Suggestions? Live dirt cheap, throw as much of that doctor income as you can at those student loans as you can as quickly as you can, and walk the hell away. Actually, run.

http://medicinesux.wordpress.com/

A blog that will - if not cheer you up - make you realize that you're not utterly alone.
 
I agree with the above statements. Before you make a decision, be assessed for clinical depression and get treatment.

Once this is done you can reassess the situation and see how much of a role your depression played in clouding your vision, if any.
 
You say "I hate my life" and then talk only about your job. Your job is not your life, just a part of it.

I agree with previous suggestions to rule in/out clinical depression. Alongside that I think you need to look at your job circumstance and your other life circumstances, to see what in either of these might be contributing to "situational depression".

You can leave what you hate about your current job without leaving medicine. Try making a list of the things about your current job which you are least able to live with, starting with the worst. Then make a list of how you can mitigate those things, starting with changes you can make while staying in your current job, then moving on to different jobs you can do with your current training, then on to jobs which would need a fellowship/new residency, then on to jobs outside medicine. Work out what you could do which would make work acceptable to you. You can do things on different timescales: something immediate to deal with the things you are finding hardest (how about cutting down your hours, either on a temporary or permanent basis, so you have more time and energy to do things you enjoy?), and something longer-term to make bigger changes.

Making a list of the things you hate about your job will itself be depressing, so alongside that make a list of the things you like. That list may just have your salary on it, but I bet that there is at least one person you have helped to have a bit better life (or death) because of the job you've done, which should be a thing which you like about your job.

And finally, no-one yet has mentioned your fiance, family and friends. This is the time to tell them how you are feeling (from what you are saying here, they will have noticed some of it anyway, and may be waiting for you to talk to them). Tell them you are unhappy, and why. Ask them for support - this is a good time for them to provide it to you. Discuss with them the ways in which you might become content with your life again.

It's probably best not to make any big new commitments, such as buying houses, getting married or having kids while you feel as you do. In particular, getting married and/or having kids is probably not the way out of your troubles. Sort your troubles before doing either of these.
 
The bad? I think you're stuck with medicine. There simply is no viable way to responsibly or practically pay back all your loans...unless you come from a very rich family or an ailing rich Uncle who penned you into his will. Sticking with medicine is the responsible thing to do, IMO, for yourself...your family/wife, and probably for your own future happiness.

The good? FM, from what I understand, gives you enormous flexibility in practice environment. You could work in the hospital, clinic, ER, go back and do a multitude of fellowship tracks to allow you to obtain a more favorable niche. As others have said, there's administration, etc.. I mean, I'm kind of jealous in a way... EM gives us nowhere near the flexibility and work environment options that FM does. Even though I love working in the ED, the "close to retirement" years will probably be much easier on you than they will be on me.

I even know one Chiropractor (could easily substitute any medical practitioner) who made enough money to start buying and investing in FM and urgent care clinics and now owns three, decided to completely focus on the business side of things. He hated his profession but stuck it out to make enough money to become an entrepreneur.
 
1. Are your loans from the gov't?

2. Are you needing to maintain a certain lifestyle that you or your fiance's happiness depends on?

If it's government loans, it's really not the hole some people make it out to be. Go find a school that will let you teach biology, coach phys ed, hell mop the floors - any gov't job qualifies for public service loan forgiveness. Work 40 hours/wk with summers off. 10 years of reasonable IBR payments (few hundred $$/month) and you're free. Even if you take a job that doesn't qualify for PSLF, my understanding is that loans will be forgiven after 25 years of IBR payments.

If you want out but also need a BMW and a country club membership, it's more difficult.
 
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Rendar5 said:
not sure what you can do about your current work situation, but I would recommend getting some psychiatric or psychologic help. sounds like you may have some clinical depression ot some degree, and something needs to be done in addition to a career change. I'm personally not a big believer in drugs, butat the very least therapy ought to at least ease your current distress. good luck finding a viable non-clinical pathway.
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Absolutely.
 
If this has progressed to a point where you're no longer tending to your personal hygiene...this is definitely clinical depression!
In my opinion, this is not the time for you to take any major, life-altering decisions. Go see a psychiatrist. Have an evaluation. Start medication. Get admitted to a psychiatric hospital if it is indicated.

After you have had good treatment for your depression (and this WILL take several months), sit down again with your fiance and talk about how you want to turn your professional situation around IF YOU STILL WANT TO.

Primary care is not the most prestigious or best earning job in medicine. But it is not a salt mine. And when compared with most people's jobs (outside of medicine, that is), it is a haven of job security with a solid income, which you will need to pay off those loans.
 
Substance said:
Take chances now. You hate everything, and feel nothing can be worse. Take chances. Do cosmetics and bail out. It's not hard to wield botox. Charge a bit less than your competitors and make a killing. Be the botox man. Do hair transplant. Do fillers.
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:D :love:
 
OP,

what are your interests, personal and professional?

can you list them. the thing with medicine is you can really find somethign that is right for you.

i say you get into cosmetic stuff. this will give you good income. i would partner up with tons of Spas in town, make arrangements, get cash etc
 
PharmaTope said:
i say you get into cosmetic stuff. this will give you good income. i would partner up with tons of Spas in town, make arrangements, get cash etc
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Probably not as cut-and-dry as you may assume. These non-invasive cosmetic markets tend to be pretty saturated.
 
JaggerPlate said:
Probably not as cut-and-dry as you may assume. These non-invasive cosmetic markets tend to be pretty saturated.
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take it and make your market more niche. trust me it is 100% possible.

OP shoot me a message, i got some good ideas for you.

however definitely list all your hobbies here, interests, etc
 
I still maintain, if you do not like medicine, get up and leave. Sallie mae really only cares about you when you are in fact making physician income. The financially responsible thing to do is to stay in medicine and pay off your loans; the humane thing to do to yourself is to leave ASAP.
 
Osteoimperfecta said:
I still maintain, if you do not like medicine, get up and leave. Sallie mae really only cares about you when you are in fact making physician income. The financially responsible thing to do is to stay in medicine and pay off your loans; the humane thing to do to yourself is to leave ASAP.
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humane thing L-O-****ING-L

get out of here with that bull**** idealistic crap. sure, OP, walk away and screw yourself so hard bc it is "humane" in a society where nobody gives two ****s if you live or die.

OP, lets get you some money and control of your life to do what you want to do. what you REALLY want to do.
 
PharmaTope said:
humane thing L-O-****ING-L

get out of here with that bull**** idealistic crap. sure, OP, walk away and screw yourself so hard bc it is "humane" in a society where nobody gives two ****s if you live or die.

OP, lets get you some money and control of your life to do what you want to do. what you REALLY want to do.
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I think we are both saying the same thing, except you are a bit more colourful with your choice of words.
 
OP,

when i used to drive to a job I hated, i made a playlist to get me to go there and get out.

it was

All about the Benjamins
I get the money

all songs about money man, just keep playing it and think of snoop dog, mind on my money and my money on my mind. pay that debt off get out and give a double finger to everyone
 
There are a growing number of non-clinical careers that are suitable based on your interests. I find that most medical students or residents really don't know much about these opportunities. They also seem to have significant misconceptions regarding the types of qualifications that are required for physicians to be successful in the business world.

I would encourage you to do some research online and make sure you're grounded in reality as you map out your future. Don't lose hope and don't get depressed. There are many choices.
 
Dr JosephKim,

No offense, but this has been your standard reply for years. You always state that there are many non-clinical opportunities out there but you never give any concrete examples or leads for folks to follow to find these positions. It always seems that those who know about these opportunities or those who have successfully found such positions always give some vague, general response to questions about non-clinical careers.
 
Have you had the opportunity to talk to a professional about this? Sometimes it helps to talk with someone who doesn't have to deal with you emotionally already on a another level.

I know that your own psych training might make what a therapist would do for you seem obvious, but there really is a lot to having someone whose sole job is to be the target for you to unload your issues.

I took a leave of absence once - best decision of my life and I was about to come back twice as strong.
 
Leukocyte said:
Hey guys,

I did not know where to post this. Since this is a "general' medicine forum, I thought i can post it here. Well, I am very depressed. I realy hate medical practice, and cannot find a real way out. I am trained in FM. I am currently working in an out-patient ambulatory medicine practice. I realy cannot stand it. I hate every second of my life. I am very depressed and lost my motivation for everything. The stresss is starting to affect my loved ones, since I have become bitter and short. I am not taking care of my health, and starting to gain weight from stress eating. I have not been shaving or cutting my hair. I feel lost with no motivation what so ever.

I finished my FM residency thinking that I will never go into clinical medicine again. But then in my 3rd year of residency, I fell in love with my current fiance, and got engaged. All of a sudden reality struck me, so I thought I would give private practice after residency a chance. Big mistake. I found out that real world medical practice is even worse than residency. The money is good, but I hate every second of my life. I really want to get out of medicine, but I do not know how. I do not know if it is even realistic. How can I afford to leave medicine with a $200,000 in student loans? If I were to go back and work with my undergraduate degree in Med Tech., I will not be able to make enough money to pay my loans back. I feel I am stuck with no where to go. I am extremely sad. I want to leave medicine, but I have no where to go. I do not think there is a realistic solution out of medicine to my problem.

Do any of you guys feel the same way? Any suggestions or advice?

Thank you very much.
Click to expand...

Its time. Dont look back turn the wheels now before its too late. ! but what is your exit strategy. that streee you are feeling due to not right career can kill you down the line from stress. so never force yourself.
 
dmal said:
Dr JosephKim,

No offense, but this has been your standard reply for years. You always state that there are many non-clinical opportunities out there but you never give any concrete examples or leads for folks to follow to find these positions. It always seems that those who know about these opportunities or those who have successfully found such positions always give some vague, general response to questions about non-clinical careers.
Click to expand...

Yes!!! Thank you!!! This is so true, and really needed to be said. Dr. Kim, your answers are the same completely vague few sentences every time. When pushed for more information, you merely list off the fields that tend to have non-clinical opportunities (medical writing, device companies, federal agencies, etc.). It's no different when contacting you directly for some advice. Ideally we'd be able to "do some research" and find out everything we need to know in order to land a job in one of these areas, but that is really tough for most young physicians who only know clinical medicine. You eat and breathe non-clinical; so if you're going to reply in threads, please start offering some information with depth.
 
A detailed response would be several pages long. As you all know, this is a complex issue and it's not as simple as "what types of jobs are out there for physicians?"

Based on your background, skills, etc., you'll find a variety of job opportunities ranging from medical writing to medical director/VP positions. However, it's not a simple road map and the road is often very different for each individual.

Ask 50 physician executives how they got to their positions and you'll receive 50 different responses.

I wrote this article for SDN back in 2008 and it's still a good resource, so maybe I'll need to paste this into all my responses:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/2008/05/non-clinical-opportunities-for-phyisicians/
 
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