What if I no longer want to attend medical school?

This is a continuation of a post that I started on April 1st, before life got all kinds of busy...

Yesterday, my wife and I spoke with one of our mentees who has reached somewhat of a crossroads in her educational journey. She applied to medical school this cycle but was not successful at gaining admissions. At the moment, she is considering what her options should be. Should she attend a post bacc or SMP program, retake the MCAT, and then reapply in the next cycle? Or, should she take time out to really think about what it is that she really wants to do with her life? She explained to us that she is 22 years old and since high school, she has been on a pre-med course. WIthout prompting, it became clear that our mentee's career choices are being heavily driven by her parents, academic advisors, and other family and friends. She shared with us that she's only had one opportunity, since high school, to experience anything outside of the usual pre-med academic and career track. She said that she worked in the admissions office of her undergraduate university assisting students with the admissions process. She told us this was the only time that she'd been happy as an undergraduate and that she had spoken with the University of Kansas about enrolling in their master's program in higher education administration and student affairs.

The process of earning your DO or MD is long, expensive, and incredibly grueling. Its not something to be undertaken lightly and if your heart isn't fully vested in the process, you would do well to take a step back and consider what it is that you really want to do. In fact, I believe that it would be a good thing, particularly if you are young and have not had the opportunity to "live", to spend a few years exploring what your interests really are. If medicine is truly your passion, taking a few years away from the well-worn path to medical school won't change your mind about that. If you decide that medicine is not really what you want to do, understand that there are many ways that you can serve your community both within and outside of healthcare. Whatever you ultimately choose to do with your life, just remember that it is YOUR life. You have to live it. If you attend medical school, you are the one who will be stuck with the late nights, missed family events, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt on the way to earning your DO or MD. Make a decision that you will be happy with. People have asked me how I am so sure, particularly at my age, that earning my DO and practicing medicine is what I want to do. My response? I have lived enough life to know what I want to do and how I want to do it. I've had so many careers that I have lost count by now and while all of them, particularly being a university faculty member, have bought me great joy, none have been as fulfilling as those times when I've worked in direct patient care, particularly in emergency medical services and family medicine. The only way that you will get to answer this question for yourself is to take time to do some exploration. Whatever you decide, just make sure that you make a decision that you can live with.