Deciding to go to medical school is a difficult and large decision. Not everyone is cut out for the medical field, and especially not for higher professions. However, until you experience the negative aspects of preparing for your medical career, you may not even realize that you are not right for this lifestyle. To avoid making a mistake, read on to see what you can expect from medical school.

Memorization

Unlike many other career paths, becoming a medical professional requires you to have an extensive knowledge of illnesses, treatment options, and diagnostic practices. During medical school, you will not only learn about healthcare, but also about different fields of science. For example, chemistry is important to understand, as drugs can produce chemical reactions. If you go to medical school, you can expect to be required to memorize a significant amount of information.

Time Commitment

Medical school is a time commitment much more significant that your standard undergrad or even graduate program. You can expect to be in some form of schooling for up to 15 years before becoming eligible to apply for licensing. Four of those years are in undergrad, four are at med school, and up to seven are in residency. For some people, this can be even longer, particularly if they switch their undergrad major or medical disciplines.

Although the number of years is long, medical school in particular is time-consuming. During the first two years, you will have to budget your time wisely if you wish to have time for yourself. You can anticipate having the ability to do things you enjoy, but you must make time to study every day, including weekends. Year three can feel like it is nearly impossible to find enough time for everything. Expect to spend all of your time on med school at this point. Year four is widely considered the easiest year, although it is still important and will still require studying. However, in the fourth year, you will be through the worst of it.

Personal Life

Although this is not a factor that is strictly due to medical school, you’ll see that you are not able to hit personal milestones as quickly as your peers. You may not have time for dating while in school, which means settling down and starting a family is out of the question. Your peers might be buying houses and settling into careers while you haven’t even started on yours. Additionally, the debt will be outstanding, so you can expect large payments that set back your financial goals. For some people, this will not be an issue. For others, these factors make the decision for them.

Overall, becoming a doctor is not a cakewalk. It is one of the hardest things you can do in life, and medical school is just one part of that. Before committing to such a lofty decision, consider what you want your life to look like in 10 years and see if your desires match up with this reality.