I spoke with a third-year classmate today. Ill call him Todd. Todd is a very decent guy; He is considerate and intelligent, and will be a fine orthopedic surgeon. He shared some of his disappointments with me: Before medical school he dreamed of being a physician working with a team of dedicated people who spend their days in the task of helping rescue others from serious disease and early death. Instead he found a medical system built on egos, and days filled with impersonal work centered on almost anything but caring for people. Through the academic years he told himself that it wasnt really that bad, but now he looks back at the relentless, life-draining load and pressure and knows that if he had the choice he would never repeat it again. He admitted how medical school has changed him. Not that he is bitter, but he just no longer feels the way he used to. At this point he knows that he is going to just go about his business, keep to himself, with no illusions of changing anything for the better, except perhaps for what is directly near him.