Why Doctors Quit Medicine

Yes we've all seen the viral videos and posts. Yes, everyone in medicine has considered it at least once, either in frustration or when a new opportunity shows up in their life. But that rarely is the full story. If I can put what so many are feeling into something tangible and something to be referenced, then I've accomplished my goal. Your feelings aren't wrong, but they come from underlying context that is rarely truly understood on the internet when the rest of the world reacts in black and white. This, is why so many are leaving medicine.

Come say hi!
Instagram:
TikTok:
Spotify for study music:

FOR BUSINESS OR CREATIVE INQUIRIES:

HOW TO SUPPORT MY CHANNEL (and get YOU some cool stuff) | Full List of Partnerships & Affiliate Links

If you read this, comment “coffee” below and subscribe (100k came true, 1 million is just a dream)!

As always, thanks for watching!

Disclaimer: This video features personal opinions and does not reflect or support the official opinions or initiatives of Augusta University, the Medical College of Georgia, Yale New Haven Health, Yale School of Medicine, or any of my current/former employers. This video is also not a substitute for the advice of a properly qualified and licensed physician or healthcare provider. The content featured is for informational/entertainment purposes only. Please see your primary care physician for the most accurate information. For the most accurate and up to date information regarding specific programs or schools, please refer to their official .edu websites.

[RachelSouthard]

Thanks for making this video, Andy. I can't speak for those who quit and their reasons, but I feel like everyone in medicine has considered the thought of quitting at some point. And I feel like majority of us are in the "i can't do this anymore." And the "this" meaning the insane hours, lack of sleep, time for self care, mental health strain, toxic hierarchies, traumatic events, etc. Nothing can prepare you for this type of training. And people who have had lifelong dreams of becoming doctors even struggle with this inhumane style of training. I feel like so many of us WANT to STAY for a) our patients b) our continued passion for this field regardless of the hell we are enduring and c) to IMPROVE this training because it really doesn't HAVE to be like this. Many also stay simply because of the insane amount of debt from medical school, and there's no other way to pay it back unless you finish.

We can find solutions for these things, to TRULY make it "BETTER." So instead of saying "residency gets better, " we can just simply say "No, it's BETTER now." I love medicine, I love OB/GYN, I love my patients, and i LOVE the drive i have to try and improve this training for future residents. It needs to be a type of training where people aren't contemplating taking their own life because of it, or just straight up quitting.

Like i said, I can't speak for those who quit and their reasons, but I can't say that I didn't want to quit.
Thank you again for this video.

[NhanNguyen-wbfc]

Hello, Andy!

I’m currently a final-year med student, soon to enter residency next year. Lately, I've felt quite terrified seeing some of my favorite people on YouTube leave medicine. Although I don’t know them personally, and it's not my place to judge, their decisions have me scared about what's ahead. The long working hours, the potential misalignment with personal goals, the risk of burnout, and especially the fear of losing passion for medicine—all these uncertainties weigh heavily on my mind.

But today, I watched your video, and to be honest, it reassured me. You brought valuable insight into the field, and it’s comforting to see your honest perspective. Your other videos have given me a small (well, maybe just a tiny 😀) glimpse of what residency might look like for me. Thank you for sharing your journey and for being open about the highs and lows. I know you're going through the challenges of training yourself, but please know that you have all of us here on YouTube rooting for you every step of the way.

Your loyal viewer,
Alex

[vistastructions]

The majority of those who quit medicine usually have a side hustle that they've been building for many years and came to a point where the side hustle was more lucrative

[josphellihsilak]

We absolutely have to restructure this process. The residency aspect alone is not only predatory and counterproductive, its downright dangerous for the residents and their patients. Theres value in the old ways, and the new, but medicine, despite the scientific advances, is stuck in the past, and the gatekeepers will not allow it to progress. Theres so much fairlytale, its sickening. Residencies whoo us, "we care about our residents" .. "we are a family" ..nope. Its not, and you dont. Its a ruthless relationship that benefits from the destruction of many years of our lives. So theres no shock that massive amounts if young residents and doctors who have, YT in particular, as a side hustle, are leaving.

Your review is a good one, and hopefully there can be change because this is no good.

[jorgeluislopezmendez]

If those who quit medicine didn't have lucrative side hustles already they probably wouldn't leave

[imasuperkoala]

I am an internal medicine resident (IMG) - the only reason why I did not quit is because medicine will give me the chance to stay in the US and become a citizen. Otherwise, I wouldn't be going to work tomorrow lol

[alexanderking]

One of the best perspectives I’ve heard on the topic!
As I go through medical school, I’m constantly reminded that my time in school will be shorter than my time in practice. However, like you said in the beginning of the video, our minds are driven by the mentality of “if I work harder then…” The way I see this panning out is when we do become physicians and the tests are over, we will make our patients our “tests”… something we can work hard to be successful at or fail at. Being of the mindset that failure isn’t an option, if we walk into a situation we see as already failed, we will dissociate ourselves from that patient, because we’re scared our name will be associated with a perceived failure. It’s taken me a long time to not find my worth in academics and it’s something I continually have to work on. I hope that we can all find meaning in our work that’s outside of a success and failure. Just as you said, giving it our all is usually what others need and nothing else.

[JakeGoodmanMD]

Thank you so much for making this video, Andy. This was the best breakdown that I have seen regarding this topic and I honestly think this video should be a required watch for future doctors. Thank you for always making real and authentic content.

[CarolFague]

This video is spot on Andy! I’m a former ER PA who quit under the I don’t/can’t do this anymore category as an act of self preservation, I was severely depressed and couldn’t go on. Now, I have a new career I absolutely love and have never looked back! Thank you for making this video! Bravo!

[YonexCC]

Great video. There is a lot of support regarding "med fluences" posting videos about quitting. While I am supportive of that, I still can't get this out of my head, "why don't you just tough it out?" I personally can't answer that as I am not a med student or MD. I would love to hear insight from the OLDER doctors, their thoughts on these young medfluences quitting, and how they survived residency and early medicine. There are way too many young doctors posting and quitting medicine which can really impact the future of other prospective students and other early docs, but there are NO videos on the older doctor crowd and their thoughts and opinions. One video I saw from an older doctor (I think he was like 5-10 years of experience) and he was surprised and he mentioned something along the lines that being a doctor is not about glory, not about money and that it's about your sacrifices to better help your patients and community.

[thehangover]

Andy, thank you for this video. I’m a full time PhD candidate (finishing next year) and have recently faced the thoughts of leaving my degree for a perceived better opportunity. I’ve learned to accept that the current financial limitations should not deter you from your passions, and the reason why you decide to pursue higher education in the first place! All the best.

[arminpoorfard]

As a CT technologist working in a busy trauma hospital only 3 reasons will keep you working in medical field in my opinion. Job security(Part of it because maybe everyone is leaving medicine😁- Passion about medicine-Hospital vibe where you get to know lots of people and also how rewarding is helping people. Everything else is a mess.

[BSMDLyd]

This is so well done, Andy. It’s clear that you put a lot of time and thought into this video, and as someone who recently gave up my seat in a BSMD program and is trying to decide whether or not to go back to medicine, this video does a beautiful job of putting what most of us are feeling but can’t put into words. This is such an important video to have on a platform that is oversaturated with stories of people quitting for reasons personal to them, but that don’t dive into the objective analysis and reasoning like this video does. Thank you for creating something so impactful and meaningful!

[Lexi_weinbaum]

This is such an interesting video, thank you for making it! It’s so devastating to hear that people really get burned out in medicine. I know just from briefly being friends with you guys just how much effort you put in. I’m really happy to hear that through everything you still feel a similar passion, but I’m equally as inspired by how empathetic you are towards those who need to move on and that you really want to demonstrate why. You’re changing the game for everyone watching, per usual who might not be as comfortable addressing these things. So proud & sending you lots of support. ❤

[presleypham]

Hi Andy,

You've been one of my go-to creators in medicine for a while and I think I fully understand why now. I'm not even "in" medicine yet, as I'll be applying next cycle. Just as I am thinking about my personal statement and how I want to present myself to admissions committees, you literally take the words out of my mouth. In terms of the two "schools of thought" in medicine, it took a lot of experience during undergrad to realize that medicine is both a science and an art. And that to me, the art of medicine is what makes it more beautiful and more worth it. There are so many other fields where you can spend so much time memorizing facts and equations, but medicine is one of the few where you can bridge that knowledge and skill with what makes us human.

Again, I'm not even in medical school yet, but I urge anyone else who is interested in medicine to seek out meaningful experiences that really nail it in the coffin for you. I think it's often that people simply declare themselves premed as soon as they enter college, but don't have those specific moments that help them remember what they're doing it for. I think that admissions committees have been moving toward a direction in which they filter out people who don't have that deep desire to pursue medicine, but of course, some people still make it through by nature of strong academics and/or impressive items on their CV. I think people are doing themselves a favor when they try to approach medicine with open-mindedness and healthy skepticism. It's easy to tunnel vision on this longtime goal and lose your sense of self in the process. There's a reason why there's the cliche, "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey."

[vamsikrishnakaza]

Just as a rant…. The situation in India is horrible too… 100-110 hours of work a week during residency and about $1000/month which is barely enough to rent, eat and pay your bills. The people who want to escape this madness and go to the US have to live away from their family and practically miss ALL family events for 3 years and beyond.

[richiemd]

What if "Hope" is not enough at some point?
What if your friend who felt like he's making people "rich" eventually comes to a realization that he's making insurance companies rich. And if a patient doesn't have an insurance, they may not proceed with say his lobectomy for his lung cancer?
Will that enough be enough to make "hope" not enough?
Great content by the way. Always a pleasure to watch your upload.

[june]

What a clear and insightful mind map! The idea that ‘the grass honestly isn’t much greener than where we are right now’ really relieves me. Thank you so much, Andy! 😇

[ab_s]

Well, I have my side hustle planned for me too, and I am gonna quit soon too, as who would love a life of misery? I won't.

I will be quitting soon. Anyways, I didn't even wanna become a Doctor in the first place, I was forced to. I never had the passion, I was just forced to go through it, not be a wuss, as said by my grandma, the one who forced me to go through it all. My life is not what it used to be, all thanks to me stepping foot in med school.

[grantaran]

This is the best videos out there regarding this topic, A must watch. Thanks doc!