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I chose to become a doctor to help people, but I am insecure in my own abilities. I gradually become more and more afraid of mistakes as time passes in med school, so I am quite determined to drop it and switch over to engineering. I can’t help but feel afraid that I would end up hurting someone through misdiagnosis.
So you believe engineers never make mistakes that result in people being maimed or dying? Tell that to the 200,000 people who died when the supposedly unbreakable Banqiao Dam in China collapsed in 1975, the thousands killed when Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal blew up in 1984, and the 114 people killed in Kansas City's Hyatt hotel in 1981 when two walkways collapsed.
Advances in computer modelling make huge engineering mistakes less likely these days, but there's one fact that will never change: people will always screw up, and sometimes that results in other people being harmed. If you really want to make sure that you never harm anyone, you're going to have to go live in a cabin in the woods somewhere and live the life of an entirely self-sufficient hermit.
It's your life and your choice, but I'm sure you're not the first medical student or MD to ever worry about this. Before you make a decision, maybe you should talk to some experienced doctors about how they've handled that.
Making mistakes is part of every profession. Good Doctors became good doctors because they learned from their mistakes.
The vast majority of mistakes do not produce much harm.
I also believe that you are holding yourself to a false standard. The medical profession can actually only explain about 5% of conditions accurately. There is a lot of unknowns - for which Dr's try to do their best with; and often miss.
I'd have a discussion with the medical school staff about your concerns. It is in fact a common one. They should be able to direct you to a staff member will know how to answer your questions and assist you to make your decision to continue or not.
I wish you well with this,
Doctors(and drug side effects) kill people all the time. It comes with the territory.
I think you should consider switching then. You should really think it through hard. If you're in the USA being s doctor pays much more.
I would probably get depressed about dealing with dying people daily. It would be sad.