I’m a 27-year-old postdoc working in synthetic biology / antimicrobials / bioinformatics. I’ll probably be applying to schools to start in Fall 2018. I have ~3.8 GPA from grad school, practice MCAT scores look fine, lots of publications and awards, some decent clinical experience, etc. So all of that seems okay.
My biggest concern is my inability to concisely explain why I want to go to medical school. After talking to several friends who support the idea of med school (and who are in med school themselves), I realized that I could be labeled by as someone who simply likes school and doesn’t want to join the real world.
Is my reasoning convincing?
There's a very low probability of any of my research ever impacting anyone's life. Currently, taking a drug to market is >3 billion dollars and >12 years. I want the ability to improve the lives of others with my work, potentially on a daily basis.
In my experience, most basic research is conducted by creating a problem and proposing to solve it. I would like to work on the overabundance of outstanding clinical problems.
It sounds like you meet the general criteria of “I want to help people”, though you have more tangible reasons. I would bet an academic institution would love to bring you on board at their med school with your experience and foundational knowledge. It sounds like you like to research but would rather shift from bench to clinical. That sounds like a pretty convincing reason to me…
If you have no plans to work in a clinical setting and see patients, then medical school might not be right for you (“doesn’t want to join the real world”). I’m sure you could land a clinical research position, or at least a bench position with high clinical correlation, with your current credentials. Research MDs, at least at my institution, are still expected to carry at least a light clinical load on top of their research.
In reality though, if you think med school is what you want to do, be able to express that on paper (and in an interview) and let the admissions folks tell you “no” if you aren’t the right fit for them.
If you have no plans to work in a clinical setting and see patients, then medical school might not be right for you (“doesn’t want to join the real world”).
Research MDs, at least at my institution, are still expected to carry at least a light clinical load on top of their research.
In reality though, if you think med school is what you want to do, be able to express that on paper (and in an interview) and let the admissions folks tell you “no” if you aren’t the right fit for them.
Thanks, Kennymac.
Maybe it would be smart for me to find a research MD to talk to and follow around. It would be good to know how they deal with that research:clinic ratio. It would be interesting to me if the patients that I see are related in some way to my research. E.g., seeing CF patients while also working on research for CF lung treatments.
And, yeah, I’ll need to work on the personal statement and interview prep a lot. Unfortunately, grad school doesn’t prepare you for conveying emotion in writing/speech.
I am not a fan of Essays for all kinds of reasons. Not the least of which is when people have other people(actually a business for this) write the Essay for med-school for them. Most schools claim that they do not allow this, but they are the ones that made up what to say and not to say a big deal. They are also the ones who say sit on your hands when you talk during an interview for med-school and many other suggestions you have lived through to get your Phd. Many of which you have successfully forgotten about, but likely read in a GRE prep book.
Either way, I tell people I generally get bored at any job if I was there more than 5 years, and expect no less from medicine, but it allows you to change quite a bit even within a non-specialty GP or Family Practitioner(if any difference).
One thing is for certain, with a high MCAT, worth fighting for, you will get into a state school with little trouble,and that saves a lot of money if you are a resident of that school’s state. Otherwise, Phd’s of science usually are accepted very readily, and for good reason.
You really should be able to find any number of satisfying jobs within medical, and can adapt to them freely, and can take jobs with less hours required. And, do casual research that may persuade people to do something better for better reasons.
Doing 80 hours a week as a resident is the heart breaker for me, since I am old enough to not want to work for peanuts or stay up late putting on a show, which it seems is the near end to endless poser showboating and silliness associated with Americans ranking 28th in Medical care. Sort of a C-Movie at that point.
I cannot even get the funding for the 2nd half of medical school, so to have my heart in it every day if it does not ever become my job is very difficult. Most will be funded and that would be a life saver for me and my attitude.
Do well on MCATs and go to the cheapest U.S. School for you = your home state or resident state by working there long enough. I qualify for 2-different states as a resident, for two different reasons, but the loans accrue a ton of interest and you are held by your short and curlys to every asshole you will meet at every hospital you work clinical or residency. That is how some work is and I would argue most work is. Tenure is becoming unacceptable and harder to expect, while corporate shares no revenues with you if you invent for them. In that respect research at a University can yield 10% of a lot of money, whereas corporate may give you a larger Christmas bonus for a $300,000,000.00 invention. See Cary Mullis and PCR, got an $8,000.00 bonus from his company for his patent.
There is a PBS series that follows doctors leaving Harvard, and it may turn you off from medicine, but it should put some perspective in your life as to how others deal with it.
Only apply to one or two schools you can be a resident citizen for if your MCATs are good. And, they will be. That way you do not fly all over wasting time and money to pay for interviews. There are enough blood suckers taking money from you in every way, associated with med-schools and all the applicants, that make the entire process more of a business more than a profession for the U.S. citizens or people practicing in the U.S.