Hi, first I’d like to say thanks to all the contributors for their efforts on this site. It is really a great source of information and I appreciate the time you spend helping everyone.
I just finished several years in the military, and before I left I decided to start an MBA program this coming fall, which made sense at the time. Although I’d been thinking about the medical school option for a long time, the combined length of medical school, residency, and a post-bac program intimidated me, not to mention the fact that I hadn’t taken much science or math since HS. Long story short, I’ve really started to regret making my decision so soon.
Anyway, I have this summer off before, and I decided I would try to test out whether I would like the medical path after all, while I still have no kids/marriage/etc. I looked around for research or shadowing opportunities, but everything I found was for science majors and pre-med students. I decided maybe my best option was to take an EMT course or knock out one of the med school pre-reqs at a university this summer. I’m leaning toward taking one of the pre-reqs, and hopefully finding an opportunity to volunteer or maybe research while I’m there. Since I’ll have some support as a full-time student from the GI Bill, I think I would do a full-time post-bac program, but I want to actually test my interest before I invest that much time and money.
Any advice on this course of action or what class would best give me a sense how well I would endure all the rest of the schooling? I only took one semester of Chemistry in college, so I’m currently thinking I’ll take Biology with a lab.
Also, if anyone has any other advice on how to know if this is the right path for you, especially any books, I’d appreciate it. I looked around on the site and couldn’t find anything. I read the Yale Guide to Careers in Medicine, which got me more interested, so I’ve been looking for memoir or something similar that would give me a better perspective.
OK, thanks again for your time.
I would recommend getting some first-hand experience in the medical field by shadowing physicians and volunteering.
You mentioned you had looked into shadowing opportunities and found them restricted to pre-meds, but you don’t have to do anything “official.” You can just ask any physician whether they will allow you to spend some time with them in their office, the OR, the hospital, wherever they work. I just shadowed an oncologist this week, and it definitely wasn’t through “official” channels of any sort - it was actually through a friend. So try asking around, even try asking your own doctor whether you can shadow them, or whether they know of anyone who would be willing to let you shadow. That is a great way to get some insight into the medical field.
Volunteering, whether at a clinic or the hospital, is another great way to get your feet wet. Check with your local hospitals/clinics and see what kinds of opportunities they have available, pick one that sounds interesting to you, and stick with it for a while. See what kind of response you have to the situations and people you encounter.
Books are great, but I would really recommend getting this type of experience over reading. Because it’s one thing to read about being in the OR and seeing a surgery; it’s another ball game entirely to be in the OR witnessing a surgery and all that goes with that. Same goes for clinic work, the ER, the hospital, etc. You really have to experience it to see whether it’s for you. That’s my opinion, at least.
Best wishes to you!
If you’re looking for a memoir, see if you can find a copy of “White Coat” by Ellen Rothman. It was published around 2000 I think, so possibly a little out of date. It was written from a “traditional” medical student perspective, but I thought it was still a pretty accurate and straightforward account of day-to-day life in medical school. It’s a quick, easy read and might give you a some insight into what’s ahead. Welcome aboard!
I’d recommend shadowing: You can see firsthand the health care system at work and hear candid opinions from those working in it. Shadowing will also expose you to other health care professions. Who knows? You might find out you like nursing or audiology over medicine.
When I was a reservist, my unit was able to arrange for a few reservists to shadow the residents at the nearby military medical center. Maybe you could do something like that?
For reading, The House of God by Samuel Shem is a classic. The diaries and posts on this board are pretty good too.
Thanks all for the advice. I will check out both of those books, but I think you guys are right, I should focus on shadowing someone in the profession now. I still think I’ll take a class this summer, since it will give me an excuse to head to a university town where I can find someone to shadow that isn’t in a small practice. I just moved back to my hometown which is fairly small, and I’d rather get exposed to a hospital or larger clinical setting without driving an hour every day.
As I said before, I’m leaning to taking biology for my class, especially for the lab experience, but if anyone has any other thoughts, I’d appreciate it. I had solid at a good state school undergrad, but no science work except a B in chemistry about 8 years ago. I know I’ll have to retake that, too, but I think it would be easier for me to start back off with biology than chem.
Thanks again.
For books/videos, scroll down a little on this page and you’ll see
http://www.oldpremeds.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?t…
I’m a big fan of Boston Med and Hopkins from that list-they’re done documentary style by CBS News. There’s a certain amount of drama added in, but for the most part it’s just doctors doing medicine.
- TBreeze Said:
I would take general chemistry first before biology. In fact most biology courses require recent chemistry because so much of what is learned is initially based upon neutrons, electrons, protons. Eventually, it builds to lipids, proteins, and enzymes (oh my!)
The kids in my class (I'm 46 and old enough to be their mom) all said they wished they'd had more chem before taking bio.
I second the recommendation for taking Gen Chem first. This will help you get started on the sequence of Chemistry classes you’ll need.
In my experience, shadowing is great. I was able to see surgeries etc. But, you dont get the hands on experience of dealing directly with patients yourself. I have learned so much just working in the hospital. It helped solidfy, at least for me, why I love this field and why I want to be a doctor.
I would say volunteering is great. Also, getting a CNA would be less expensive than and EMT, and you can work almost anywhere with that.
As for books, (I love to read) try:
Complications A surgeon’s notes on an imperfect science by Atul Gawande
I would definitely get some real time in the hospital or clinic environment before investing time and money into taking the pre-reqs. This will give you a good idea of how you feel interacting with patients, especially people who may be sick, grouchy, etc. When you do start up classes again I would try and take more than one and probably two pre-reqs at once, like Bio and GChem, that way it’ll give you a basic idea of how you study and handle two difficult subjects together. When you really get into your pre-med studies you’ll be bombarded with way more than this so if you can’t handle it with just two classes you’ll know where yous stand. Also, I don’t think it’s so much really about “if” you can do it since I’m an avid believer that whatever one sets their mind to they can achieve; however it’s more about seeing if you really WANT to do this–the time, commitment, and passion. Good luck & keep us posted!
Hi,
I’m going to be a little different on this I guess. Shadowing is invaluable and can offer some priceless insights into how medicine works, but I have found that it has little or no direct connection to the basic science that you are going to spend years slogging through. Granted, shadowing can give you insights into how things can be for you when you’re done, but what you really need to know is: “Can I do the stuff to get there?” For me, the only way to answer that has been to try it. I strongly recommend that you do NOT take biology by itself as I think it is the easiest pre-req and will likely give you a false sense of the difficulty. I think you should start with Gen Chem or Physics I (or take Bio along with one of those). This is if you are working a lot. Take a full load if you aren’t.
Of course, some people find Bio hard and chem and physics easy, but I think that is the exception.
For most of us, only time and hard work can make the rose-colored glasses clear.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!