Love vs. Medicine?

WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD.

wayfaringmd:

So, is it fair to say that relationships and med school don’t mix? I haven’t even started my pre-reqs to even apply and my bf of 5 1/2 yrs is already worried about money, time, life, and everything. All valid concerns, but I get this sinking feeling that I may need to choose between MD and him if I’m not drawn to something w/a smaller time commitment like becoming and NP. Thoughts? I don’t want to lose a catch of a guy, but I don’t want to end of resenting him for not going MD. - populationpensive

Relationships and med school absolutely can mix. It’s not easy, but they can be combined, for sure. Plenty of people make it through school and residency with successful, healthy relationships. Some don’t. I think the difference is how willing the people are to make things work. 

If you always look at school and your relationships as being in competition with each other, they always will be. Yes, medicine can consume your life if you let it, but it doesn’t have to. As I’ve said a million times before, you will make time for what you want to make time for. If your relationship is important to you, you will work at it. For better or for worse, right?

Along the same line of reasoning, if you want to be an MD, you’ll work for it and accept the problems and sacrifices that come along with it. Personally, I wouldn’t be able to choose either/or (and if the fella was asking me to choose, that would be a deal breaker).

Look at med school as an opportunity to strengthen and build your relationship, not as a wedge that will tear you apart. 

So that’s my opinion. Remember though that I have been single my whole life and that all my opinions are based on my observations from other peoples’ relationships.  Yeah…. I’m single…. very single…