Good morning! Where do I begin?
I’m 29 years old, occasionally single, without kids, and dug in to what I’ve recently discovered to be a soul-sucking corporate career.
And I’m looking to change that last bit.
I want to be a physician. There I said (wrote) it…though I don’t think I’m the most attractive candidate.
Let’s see, about six years ago I walked away from a BS in Biochemistry with a middling GPA to enter the workforce as a college dropout. Three years ago I had the good fortune to network into my current position where despite the fact I’m excelling, the prospect of doing this type of work for umpteen decades more drags my soul into the dark depths of despair.
I had the epiphany last night and a quick google of “non traditional pre med” brought me to this site…and if I’m about to put myself through what I vaguely remember my classmates went through back in my college days, I’m gonna need it.
Thanks for reading and I hope to be able to give as much to this community as I take from it.
F.
WELCOME!!!
This is an amazing site, with amazing people! You will find that there is endless amount of support and resources here for you.
One thing, if this is what you want, your the only one who can not make it happen! If you want it, your the only one who can make it happen!
Keep us posted on your progress. If you have questions fire away!
Welcome to the marathon! (I think I greet all newcomers that way don’t I? and I’m not that old myself here lol)
Best of luck. The seasoned vets here have lots of excellent advice.
Hey thank you both for the replies! This is very much a marathon rather than a sprint, isn’t it?
Questions? I have lots of those!
First, I live in DC, would anyone be familiar with local resources I could tap to point me in the right direction? I understand I’ll need a pre-med adviser.
When I said I walked away from college I believe I did so with maybe a semester or two worth of work left to complete. I’m in no way interested in completing a Biochem degree, so I’m prepared to switch gears and get a degree in something a little lighter in fare but of much more interest to me. Would I be better served taking all of my coursework from a 4-year school or do some lower level courses (ie Econ 101) first at a CC then transfer to a uni?
Should I be worried about my previous lackluster GPA? I am such a different man now than I was back in college I would barely recognize myself if I went back in time. I’m certain that despite having a full-time job and other responsibilities I will be able to earn A’s and B’s much easier now than when I was an unfocused, punk-ass college kid. I would think maturity and effective time management would count for a lot here.
Alright, I think I’ve rambled on enough for now. It’s past 3AM…I should get back to sleep. Thanks for reading.
F.
Welcome. Since you are in DC, consider coming to the conference. There will be a lot of good advise there as well as medical schools.
- gabelerman Said:
Gabe -
That sounds like a plan. It appears I've had great timing finding this site.
On a different note, I had lunch with my mom today and broke the news to her. She was supportive as I expected her to be. Seeing as she is moving to Europe in a week I almost opted not to tell her. At all. I guess I almost wanted to wing this on my own so in a conversation I could casually drop in a "by the way, I applied and was accepted to school X for medical training. I start in a month. BOOYAH!"
But then I thought it would be monumentally stupid to do this without a support system in place. Disaster averted.
Gabe, thanks again for the suggestion. I'll crash the conference and soak it up like a sponge.
F.
P.S. Get behind me, Satan.
Well, it is definitely good that you have your mom’s support. Having a good support system and someone that believes in you will definitely be a good thing.
Personally, for myself, I may have to wait until I’m almost finished with medical school before telling my folks…I do, though, have a good friend who keeps pushing me and believing in me…something I’ve had difficulty at times with.
ferneezy, that booyah line made me chuckle. Thanks for that 
It is certainly important to have a support system, but as Im typing this, Im remembering that I havent told my parents yet… well, I told them when I was 10 but, Im not sure they took me too seriously back then. 
I just had yet another emotionally draining “conversation” with my dad and apparently I’m not capable of completing anything of academic significance. In his mind, of course. Ohhh, maybe I can use the booyah line on him perfect.
Seriously though, Im going at it. Full steam ahead.
Where do I find out about these conferences? Anything happening in Miami?
Also, I didnt want to start a new thread for this one, so I thought I would just throw it out there: I read a post about someone asking how many hours are “recommended” for physician shadowing. I read something about 40 hours (but that was based on one particular college).
My question is, does it matter whether or not the shadowing is done continually with one physician? Or it is “better” to test the waters and do a little bit with several, rather than a long stretch with one?
Will adcoms think the bouncing around is sloppy? Or does it look ambitious? I wonder. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks
- putnam2800 Said:
HERE is everything you need to know about this year's OldPreMeds conference in Arlington, Virginia.
- Mary Renard Said:
Registered for the conference this morning. Paid $85 for "early bird registration". I believe there was a clerical error...
thank you mary