Considering Medicine? 3 Things you should know

So you think you want to do Medicine? Good on ya! You reap what you sow. Medicine is tough but it's one hell of a rewarding career, and here's a list of some things you should know about medicine.

Realities of Med School: I find myself feeling like this more often than I'd like, and I REALLY hope it's worth it.

1. Be prepared for the looooooong years ahead.

Medicine at the University of Auckland is a 6 year degree - the longest of any degree. There are 2 ways of getting in.
-Premed: This is done as a high school leaver and you choose either first year Health Science or Biomedical Science, and you apply for MBChB at the end of your first year. If you get accepted, you have 5 years left.
-Postgraduate: This is when you complete a whole degree, and then apply for entrance to MBChB. Again, if you get accepted, you have 5 years left.

Whichever route you choose, you will complete MBChB. Yay! You've graduated. Now you're a doctor, right? Well.... not quite.

After getting your Bachelors degree, there are a minimum of 2 years as being a house officer - this is essentially a junior doctor in the hospital - and after this is complete, you choose a specialisation. Depending on what your specialisation is, this can range from 3 to 8 years. This is looking at anywhere from 11 to 16 years. It's a long time and is an important factor to consider. For some specialisations, you will need to be a registrar, then often complete a fellowship, before being a consultant (ie. top dog).

2. Be prepared for the loooooooong hours ahead

Naively, I had thought that having qualified for Medicine, life would be a breeze and I'd have a social life and just come out at the end with my degree and a stethoscope. Oh, how ignorant! While you don't have the stress and pressure of competition and worrying about not getting in - which is a HUGE relief - the amount of content definitely makes up for it. I spend a lot of time just going over notes and in the library. One thing is true; you can't cram medicine. You can cram for your exam but it'll come back to bite you in the ass for clinical years and Progress Tests. Constant revision helps with re-learning in the future.

                                                            3. Be prepared to make sacrifices
When they told us that we would have to prioritise aspects of our lives, I waved it off, thinking they were just scaring us so fewer would apply. Turns out, they were right.

There are events that you probably can't go to, people that you can't meet up with all that regularly and sleep that will get become less as deadlines approach.

But all in all, while these are factors to consider and you DEFINITELY need to weigh up the pros and cons to see if they're your idea of a future, I'm not trying to discourage you from Medicine. It's a fantastic career, is one of the best decisions I've made in my life, and one that I am forever grateful for.

• And if you're sure it's for you, then make sure that you work your butt off to get it! There are a lot of options within Medicine and lots of fields to be explored. You're bound to find something perfect for you!

-Diana