I have a burning question! How does one keep up the self-motivation and constant pep talk? I think I am one of those individuals who feels truly 100% alive and energized only a measley 5% of my waking time. I’m pretty sure this has nothing to do with my desire to go to medical school, only my constition or natural state. I am, I don’t know…more sedentary, someone who likes to take it easy, drink a cup of hot tea in the afternoon and read a good book kinda gal. My friends have told me that, they think I could do it, if I really put my mind to it, but that it will be very very difficult given my personality. Perhaps my laidback personality (borderline laziness at times, I sheepishly admit) is not a good fit for medical school? yet, I can’t see myself doing anything else at this point in my life! perhaps there are some suggestions on how to motivate oneself on a daily basis? Where do you find your drive?
It sounds as if you really need to think about your core reasons for pursuing medicine. For many of us, the challenge and intense committment required of medicine is one of the appeals and driving forces behind our decision to pursue it as a career. If you are interested in fulfilling a desire to help underserved areas in a medical capacity, there are a variety of careers and/or volunteer opportunities to do this that won’t require the time or overall committment. If it is your love of science that is driving this, then you could examine the possibility of pursuing a career in academia.
There is no doubt, however, that if you pursue medicine, your habits will have to change. The Post-Bacc courses (assuming you would need to fulfill prereqs before applying) and MCAT preparation alone is a huge time committment, particularly if you don’t have a strong science background and need to prove your abilities in these areas to adcomms.
I can tell you that since I began my post-bacc program a year ago (along with working full-time), my free time is very limited. I have a variety of things that propel me forward, but there is absolutely no room for slacking off or taking it easy. One week of taking it easy in Organic Chemistry amounts to certain doom on the following exam.
Aside from the premed and med school experiences, residency can be one of the most challenging experiences of your life requiring sleepless nights at the hospital and working double the hours of your friends in some other professions. It’s possible to maintain an external life, but you will be consumed with residency.
Bottom line: you have to love it so much and have such a strong and well-supported set of reasons to pursue medicine that the idea of whether or not you will have enough energy or enthusiasm for it isn’t even a question.
Good luck in your discovery process.
I would recommend checking out the AAMC’s web site on “becoming a physician” as there is a helpful article that takes you through the process and guides you through the decision process of whether or not this is the right thing for you. (www.aamc.org)
thank you. i will check out that article as soon as i get a chance.
I think I’m similar in personality to you. I much prefer sitting down with a good book or movie in my “free” time than out hiking or playing basketball or whatever. I’m also a master procrastinator lol. Despite all those things, I am good at science, and love healthcare/medicine, and know that I will not be happy doing anything else.
Sometimes it is difficult to keep the motivation going. I have to work really hard to get the grades I need (I’m 3 years from my bachelors). But when the motivation wanes I’m usually pushing too hard and need a break so I take it. I’ll stick in a movie (Gross Anatomy if my motivation really really sucks) or take a day off to read a “fun” book (half the fiction I like I can get thru in a day or two at most). Then I attack the books again and just hang on for the next vacation period.
I also think that the daily challenge of medicine (diagnosing different things and then treating them) will be a major motivator since I love helping people and love mysteries (not that all patients will be a mystery diagnosis, but I think those that are will be wonderful motivation). To me it’s all like one big puzzle and the result of finishing the puzzle will be a better life for someone (hopefully), and that’s plenty of motivation for me.
The hardest part for me and the biggest reason why I border on laziness as well is that I’m extremely nocturnal. It’s dang near impossible for me to sleep before 2am and much more “normal” to not fall asleep before 5am and to sleep til 3pm. So my biggest challenge is constantly shifting from my “normal” sleep pattern to sleeping from 10pm-6am. I usually only last on the “morning” schedule for a few weeks at a time and then have to spend a few days going around a circle of sleep hours to get back to the morning schedule.
Anyway, the point is that if you’re a caring individual, and can motivate yourself to do anything (most of the time) then I think you’ll be fine. If all you want to do is sleep and read in your off hours there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Good luck!
so true skaterbabe. i too am disinclined to sleep any earlier than 1 AM usually. i have been brainwashed into thinking that sleeping after 12 AM is evil on the body, so i force myself to do it. YET - having said that, i go to sleep at 12 and can’t really force myself up until 9, sometimes even 10. so i think that’s just pure laziness on my part, since no one could possibly need that much sleep everyday! hehe…
oh also, i think sleeping more makes the mind duller. i think i’m experiencing firsthand symptoms of that. what a pickle for someone who loves sleep.
Okay I am going to admit that I am a slacker/procrastinator. Only you can determine if medicine is the right path. Keep in mind that there are options within medicine that might suit your personality better, maybe psychiatry, family practice or emergency medicine. I originally intended on going to medical school, I was determined that was the only choice for me but in the last few years I have had to make some serious changes to my career choice. At this point you can still choose another path within medicine and possibly be just as happy if not more happy with the result. I have decided that Pharmacy School is the right thing for me and there are other choices in medicine that don’t require such a long commitment and better work hours (there are other things I considered like PA, nurse, and various allied health fields). What helped me decide is that I realized that even though I want to contribute to the medical field and help people I also don’t want to be stressed out, sleep deprived and run down all the time (not that medicine is all about that). My priorities are family, health, relaxing (the slacker in me coming out), travel, hobbies, and enough work to do all of these things and pay the bills. I also realized that I still wanted to go into a field where I could be challenged intellectually, be in the medical field, have flexible hours, lots of job opps, and decent pay. Although I wasn’t initially attracted to being a Pharmacist, the more I learn about the Pharmacy profession, the more I wonder why I didn’t think of this career choice before. Anyway, since deciding this I have become a Certified Pharmacy Technician and I am about to start the application process to Pharmacy School.
By the way, has anyone else on this message board changed their original choice from medical school to something else? I think premeds have a hard time seeing other career choices and admitting that sometimes there are other roads in life. It took me a long time to feel good about my choice and not feel guilty that I had given up the fight to get into medical school. If I could go back in time before I had a child and got married I might consider medical school, but I can’t do that and for the next 10-15 years I need to be a mom. I am glad that I can be a Pharmacist while being a mom, it allows me more flexibility and still satisfies my desire to learn about medicine and help people.
I hope I haven’t discouraged you. I just wanted to let you know that there are other career choices.
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By the way, has anyone else on this message board changed their original choice from medical school to something else? I think premeds have a hard time seeing other career choices and admitting that sometimes there are other roads in life. It took me a long time to feel good about my choice and not feel guilty that I had given up the fight to get into medical school. If I could go back in time before I had a child and got married I might consider medical school, but I can’t do that and for the next 10-15 years I need to be a mom. I am glad that I can be a Pharmacist while being a mom, it allows me more flexibility and still satisfies my desire to learn about medicine and help people.
I have changed my career choice from medicine to nursing. I actually had gone back and forth for years and it took me a while to realize that the apprehension I was feeling towards medicine was more than the normal “cold feet.” I find the sciences absolutely fascinating, I’m doing well in my classes, and I think I’d make a great physician. I’m not in a serious romantic relationship, the only living thing that depends on me for survival are house plants, so really, it seemed silly for me to keep questioning my choice. And yet something just didn’t feel right. The “what ifs” stuck in my mind: What if I meet someone I want to share my life with, what if I/we decide to have children, what if my parents need assistance during the next ten years. Those roles would be the most important ones in my life and I just didn’t see myself balancing them with medical school/residency/etc. and being successful at any of it. (Keep in mind that I say this for myself and not as a blanket statement.)
I also realized that what I’m looking for in a career falls more in line with nursing than with medicine. I want direct patient care, the schedule flexibility, the mobility to switch specialites and advance my career in different areas. The hardest part was convincing myself that by going for nursing I wasn’t selling myself short (“settling”) or somehow being shallow or less dedicated than my pre-med colleagues.
Ultimately each of us has to determine which path will suit us individually and at this particular point in our lives. If it’s medicine, then go for it! I find that if I really want something I will find a way to overcome the obstacles. But if you’re looking for someone to “bail you out,” well, you might want to step back and do some soul-searching. Sounds hokey, I know, but true.
I am in a similar situation. I need to be a mom for the next 15 years. I am interested in the info you shared regarding pharmacy school. However, all the programs i’ve looked into seem to require just as much time in school as medicine. Please correct me and provide more info or resources for me to look into. what kind of degree in pharmacy are you refering to? Dr.? I appreciate any info you can share. thank you.
I work for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which is a great place to start if you are interested in a career in pharmacy. Hospital-based pharmacy practice is much more clinical than your traditional idea of a “dispensing pharmacist.” There are a number of opportunities available.
In general, however, the profession is moving more toward the MD model. A PharmD is the norm now, and there are a number of residency and fellowship opportunities after you graduate.
Check out the student section on www.ashp.org and www.careerpharm.com for more information. You can also PM me, and I can give you a contact who can answer more questions for you.
Creighton University has an online PharmD degree. This is the most flexible option in pharmacy. You complete the first 3 years online (with a few trips to the university for lab work) and the last year is clinicals which can be completed at Creighton or in your own city. The tuition is expensive but you can also work while you are in the program which some people have done. The other option I am interested in is the 3 year PharmD program. Midwestern University in Arizona, LECOM, University of Southern Nevada and a couple of others have this option. This allows you to get out of school quicker and start working. Unless you do a residency after pharmacy school, a PharmD is a much quicker path than an MD or DO (3 years vs 7-10 years). There are a lot of options for pharmacists, it is not just retail which is what most people think of when they hear the word pharmacy. Also, there is a dire need for more professors in pharmacy schools and that is the career path I hope to take. There is also financial reimbursement for teaching although I don’t know the specific requirements.
Check out these websites for more information:
http://www.aacp.org/
http://www.pfizercareerguides.com/
http://pharmacy.creighton.edu/newpharmacyVer2/pharmacy/pharmacyindex.asp
http://harcourtassessment.com/haiweb/Cultures/en-US/dotCom/PCATWEB.INFO.htm
http://www.pcatprofessor.com/
http://www.pharmcas.org/
Pharmcas is an online application system for pharmacy school, however, not all schools participate in this system. All Texas schools do not participate and a number of others as well. Creighton is on Pharmcas.
Also, if anyone needs info about becoming a pharm tech let me know. Anybody can take the exam and be certified. The next exam is July 23rd (application deadline May 27th). Here is the website for the exam http://www.ptcb.org/
I am glad to hear that I am not the only one actively pursuing a career other than medicine. I think nursing school is an amazing option. Good luck to everyone.
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I am glad to hear that I am not the only one actively pursuing a career other than medicine. I think nursing school is an amazing option.
I’m not sure that you were specifically referring to me, but thanks! I am very much looking forward to becoming a nurse and, while initially skeptical that I may be “taking the easy way out,” I realized that I am far more excited about the possibilities this career will afford me than those of medicine. Again, each of us has to choose what is best for our individual situations. I have not completely written medicine off as a career possibility, but it is definitely in the “not now” category. One great thing about this website is seeing that I CAN wait (I’m only 26 currently) and it will not spell doom and gloom for any future aspirations.
I, too, am interested in the education side of things since nursing is also suffering from a huge shortage of qualified instructors. The people who would typically fill those roles are often taking better-paying clinical positions. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle as the shortage in one area feeds the shortage in the other. So I guess I’ll try to do my part to alleviate both!
If anyone else out there is considering nursing as an option feel free to PM me.