Why I Quit Medicine | EP 6
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 เม.ย. 2020
- In today's episode, Justin reveals the major turning points that led to his decision of quitting his job as a doctor to pursue his 'side-hustle-turned social-enterprise'. Listen in to hear the very details of his journey...
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Justin is a former junior-doctor, now social-entrepreneur in Auckland. He spends most of his time working with youth in career decision-making, skills-development, and medical education.
Niel is a medical student in Auckland with a keen interest in both aerospace medicine and laughing with concerning enthusiasm.
Emma is a physiotherapy student that wants to change her degree. You will often find her overthinking or giggling (or both at the same time) and she is passionate about stationery!
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The fact that everyone is quiting is really speaking volumes .
Not everyone but it does definitely tell you a lot about the state of career decision making and the medical system at the moment. - Justin
Many of us worldwide including the NHS, UK are leaving the profession in huge numbers. We face corporate bullying, harassment, politics, underpaid with net take home pay after taxes, extremely poor work-life balance and poor job satisfaction, burn out, exhaustion, depression etc to say the least
Going through this right now. Decided to quit medicine to become a therapist just before applying for residency. It's a difficult transition considering everyone else around you tells you you're fucking your life up but I hope it'll be worth it in the end. Your words gave me hope, thank you.
Can I ask why you specifically chose to forgoes medicine over becoming a therapist? Especially when therapy is still assimilated in the world of medicine, and psychiatry is an option within the realm of medicine
Therapist like LCSW, LMFT, etc. or psychiatry? I’m asking for clarification considering I’m debating LFMT and psychiatry
Thanks for sharing. It's a great privilege that my experience was able to be of help to you. Thanks for leaving a comment too :) Best of luck with your future endeavours. You never know where it will take you - both exciting and terrifying. - Justin
I think quitting medicine is really hard for a couple of reasons: so much time was sacrificed, the job can be incredibly rewarding, the pay is not terrible, but the stress takes too much toll, and it's just a job, it shouldn't make people miserable- I started working recently as an independent
doctor and I've never been more stressed in my entire life. Thanks for the inspiration, gives so much hope!
That's true, it can definitely be stressful. For me, it was less about stress and more about alignment of effort to my intended goals and life. I've definitely been under more stress as an entrepreneur and business owner than I was as a junior doctor. So I see it more as what type of stress is worth it for you.
yeh surgeons earn more others are just peanuts
I'm a med student too. I think about quitting so many times but I have no courage enough. You must be very brave.
You might be interested in watching the "Do I regret it" episode 1 year later - especially around the "brave" part. I can assure you I'm not brave by any means. - Justin
I absolutely love this! As a first generation, woman, POC, and 3rd child who isn’t married.... this shit is real and applicable to everything. You have to practice self awareness to truly have a peaceful life. I said peaceful not happy because happy is the dust that comes from the practice of joy. Happiness should never be the goal but rather a consequence of joyful practice. Took me 25 years to learn this
Some people never learn it. You're ahead of the game :) - Justin
medicine can make money, but the time and sacrifice it gets there, is not to everyone's taste. Surgeons and Radiologists for example make upwards of 500-600k/year. but the process of getting there is painful and long, and many might not even get there even if they tried. It's a system that's designed to be a "king of the hill" or "if you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen" type situation, which is not conducive to people who may not be in the right space or circumstance to handle this type of pressure.
derma cardio also they make millions but problem is everyone will not get it
Many of us worldwide including the NHS, UK are leaving the profession in huge numbers. We face corporate bullying, harassment, politics, underpaid with net take home pay after taxes, extremely poor work-life balance and poor job satisfaction, burn out, exhaustion, depression etc to say the least
I love this video. As a premed, I built a lot of clinical experience through & after undergrad that ultimately led me to realize that I would be miserable working in clinical medicine. The pressure and expectation from parents, peers, professors etc was a burden...especially when I started to self reflect & question my future. I realized I wasn’t willing to be locked in, knowing my happiness was going to be a sacrifice. Medicine is not the only way to better someone’s life. Thank you for this amazing conversation!
One word:pathology
Lots of ways to live, medicine is just one of the roads :) - Good luck moving forward and thanks for the comment - Justin.
I'm into my 4th month of surgical internship in the US, but I've already decided to leave surgery and take some time off after this year to pursue education in something else I am terribly missing. Thanks so much for this; helps give people like me courage.
The part about the parents was so true and funny. Very interesting episode.
This is such an important conversation to share, so thank you for putting it out there.
I’m on a leave of absence, just after starting clinical years and currently re-evaluating my career. I think that day to day happiness is the key, because if that’s lacking it will quickly lead to burnout and dissatisfaction.
Keep it coming! Cheers
That's a great insight to have. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from your leave. - Justin
Very thought provoking. I'm in the U.S but I suspect that your experiences will resonate with our residents and attendings. The modern move (at least in the U.S) for students to pursue what were conventionally less competitive and less lucrative specialties like psychiatry in favor of their work-life balance is a clear indication that the new generation of physicians won't put up with the past system anymore.
On the matter of not really knowing what you were getting yourself into, I find that medical school admissions committees have been taking that factor more into consideration recently in order to combat physician "burnout". My school is thankfully very supportive of student mental health and sabbaticals. Our admissions has favored slightly older students since they typically have more life and clinical experience to understand if medicine is the right path for them. We'll see in 10 years if this helps, but it still feels like a bandaid rather than a real solution. After all, you can't exactly know what it's like to be a physician until you become one so maybe we're just getting better at selecting the people who will put up with the abuse. Optimistically, I'd say that our generation of physicians will implement large, positive change from inside the system.
I love the discussion at the end about parents
How does this video not have more likes or this channel not have more subscribers?? He's definitely speaking to my own thoughts I have regarding medical school that no one else talks about. Thank you for talking about the realities of working IN the field and not staying attached to the glamour of it all!
Quit that shit. It’s never getting better.
Constant short staffing all around, from providers to support staff. Everyone fights for vacation time. I loved the job, but could not get time off when my family was on holidays.
thank you so much for this podcast. i especially love the "if you're thinking of taking a gap year, screw everyone and just do it" part haha. anyway, this encouraged me to quit medicine to become a day trader instead. i think i will be much happier. cheers.
Can relate a lot to some of the philosophies here. I am currently a third year medical student who is on a leave of absence. During that leave I decided to go through an accelerated Nursing program and will finish at the same time I am required to make a final decision on if I will return to medical school. There have been few people that really understand why even after I describe the improvements involving life balance (significant other, family, friends, etc.).
Don't worry - as you get older, more and more people will come to understand the decisions you made. Not that you need their validation anyway. Good on you for giving things a go and trying to find the path that fits YOU, not desperately fitting yourself around the path. And thanks for the comment :) - Justin
@@subcutpodcast4373 Formally withdrew a couple days ago. Challenging decision but I know in my gut it's what's right for me and my family. I will keep in my memory your idea of not fitting myself around a path (career) but finding a path that fits me. Another way to put it that I have thought through is this: Shape your career around your life, not your life around your career. All the best to you guys. Thanks again.
Do you consider a career in nursing an improvement?
Justin is a fucking cool dude, thx for existing
Aw I like this a lot keep the videos coming
Thank you for your support!
Very insightful.
Thanks :)
I like this video a lot that money can't buy happiness always.
So true...a tailor or a jeweller might be putting more care and time while stitching a dress or making a jeweller piece than a human being being looked after in a hospital... It is more of a taking care of the concept of hospital than caring a human being... From my own experience...
@26:53 "screw them" words of wisdom right there and im not being sarcastic. you only live once
And learning to live that life on your own terms really is a skill. - Justin
I went from pre med to dental due to life balance. I always wanted to be a doctor and idk even why i guess i always intrigued by the world around me and power lol. every now and then i will ask myself will i regret not being a doctor but then i remember the semester i overloaded myself and could not sleep at all. I just want 6-8 hours of sleep each night and a day to rest. I wanted to ask why wasn't your career as a doctor fulfilling
I fully agree. Im glad I stumbled upon your videos. I love how you have the right gear. haha.
FYI: Its still a rat race despite the praise worthy career! I quit too and I wish you all the luck with your journey into YT and entrepreneurship.
Thanks for the support. Yea I'm a techy so part of me isn't sure if I started this podcast just to justify buying cool equipment haha - Justin
@@subcutpodcast4373 haha. thats totally justifiable. part of me believes I started YT because I love talking and giving unsolicited advice!
This is exactly me🥺😅
What speciality were you in? Internal Medicine?
Justin, have you really quit medicine? Or have you just redefined your career in medicine? What you are doing is quite unorthodox but without your knowledge in medicine, I do not think you would be able to build the enterprise in helping aspiring medical students without being a doctor first.
asking the real questions. I'd like to know the same Justin!
Sorry for the LATE reply Shivan! Yea it's a good question. Just goes to show that you never know how your experiences will build on themselves later. I guess I still have a leg in the medical field even though I'm technically full-time education and entrepreneurship now.
Btw, new episodes will be coming out!
Published 8 months ago? Looks like he quit just in time.
Haha even have an episode where I talked about this! - Justin
W insights