Hello everyone,
I’ve been stalking all of you and reading all of your introductions, trials, tribulations, successes and failures for a few weeks since discovering this site. They’re all VERY helpful/inspiring and make me feel like this whole thing might be possible. I noticed that my favorite posts are always the introductions of the new members; all of the different stories make me feel like I’m not so crazy. So here’s my story.
I went to the Naval Academy out of high school (because I thought the uniforms looked cool) and graduated with a 3.47. I was a math major, and graduated with honors after presenting my project on some very abstract mathematics that I would never understand if I ever found it and read it again. As far as the “standard” prerequisites, I took chemistry and physics, but no biology or orgo.
In my senior year I decided to be a pilot because, note the trend here, I thought the flight suits looked comfortable. I went to flight school a few months after I graduated. I wanted to fly helicopters, but the omnipresent “Needs Of The Navy” determined that everyone in my class would be a P-3 pilot, regardless of requests. I flew P-3s for four years but just didn’t enjoy the actual aircraft. As a result, I requested a (very uncommon) transition to go back to flight school and be redesignated a helicopter pilot. That’s exactly where I am right now.
Somewhere along the way, I became extremely interested in health and I promise it has nothing to do with white coats looking cool or scrubs looking comfortable. I have run three Ironman triathlons and recently started reading excessively on my long-held interest in the effects of the food we eat on our bodies’ potential performance. I could talk about that for hours (at a purely novice level) but the point is, I deperately want to be a cardiologist “when I grow up”. It’s honestly the first thing I think I’ve ever REALLY wanted to be.
Because I’m just now finishing my second trip through flight school, I have a minimum of four years of flying helicopters in front of me. I’m still very excited to do as well as I can with that, I’m just trying to make sure I’m ready when the time comes.
Thanks for letting me babble on and to anyone still reading, I appreciate your stamina. If I had to list any questions or concerns:
- I am very nervous about fitting in the prerequisite courses, as I will be unpredictably deploying over the entire next four years. I can’t imagine a med school taking online/lab courses seriously?
- Somehow a beautiful woman not only married me but gave me a healthy, handsome boy a few months ago. Obvious concerns about having a family through this whole process…
- I’m sorry if I sound AT ALL arrogant about running triathlons. I only mentioned that because I was wondering how interested admissions offices are in non-academic achievements? I understand the standard extra-curriculars: community service, EMT etc. I have no medicine-related activity in my background. I know that I’m no different than anyone else thinking this, but the more I think about it the less I feel like I can get in to a solid school!
Thanks to everyone who set up this site, and of course to those of you who use it. It was a huuuge relief to stumble upon this a couple weeks ago and even if no one responds to all my nonsense, it helped to write it all out!