Hello OPMers! I figured it was about time to post my intro seeing as I’ve been on here for quite a few months and posted and figured people were wondering who the heck arciedee is… okay, probably nobody was, but I’ll introduce myself, anyway.
First of all, I suppose I don’t quite count as being “old” yet, at the age of 24, but being out of college for 3+ years and in the “real world” I definitely don’t feel like your traditional pre-med student. The funny thing is, I’ve always been fascinated with medicine from the time I was a small child and remember telling people I wanted to be a doctor. However, as I grew older I found myself feeling pulled in many different directions. The more involved I got in school, between music, dance, after-school jobs, clubs I felt like there were too many things that interested me to choose just one at that point in my life. So I did the sensible thing by going to a liberal arts college in upstate NY where I could explore my possibilities. Unfortunately I didn’t seem to feel any push in any one direction until the end of my junior year when the medicine thing came back to the forefront of my mind. By that time it was too late to do much about it (I was graduating a semester early and didn’t think it made sense to take the first half of my pre-reqs if I knew I wouldn’t be able to take the second half there). For a while I considered becoming a nurse, but two courses at the local tech college at home in NH made me realize that I wasn’t fulfilling my potential going that route (at least not at that school). Unsure what to do about my desire to pursue medicine, I decided to move to Boston where I took a job in the corporate finance department of a large mutual fund company. I quickly realized that although there are plenty of things I can do, it doesn’t mean I enjoy them and enjoying work is very important! My managers have given me the impression that I could easily start my climb up the corporate ladder if I desired, but money and benefits don’t equal satisfaction. I realized I missed working with people (surprising to realize that knowing I’m quite an introvert) and this calling to health care kept surfacing. A push from one of my good friends finally convinced me to start taking this seriously. So this past semester I took a psychology class at Harvard Extension School to get myself back into “school mode” (got an A 
). In the fall I’ll take gen chem and either physics or bio.
Well, most recently I’ve had a slight change in direction… long story about how I got there, but I am now considering applying to ND (naturopathic medicine) programs. Also considering direct-entry midwifery, but feel that I would be a better provider with the additional education a naturopathic physician would have. But I’m not ruling out the more traditional MD or DO route just yet. I’m just trying to find something that fits with my own ideals and theories as well as the future I envision for myself personally. Whichever route I choose, the pre-reqs are pretty much the same, so here I am. And very excited about the path I’m taking. I even told a few people at work and so far they have been rather supportive.
I look forward to getting to know each of you better and I have already put the Denver conference on my calendar.
Hi arciedee,
Welcome to OPM (belated) and good luck!