I am in my 30s and am feeling a calling to become a doctor of sports medicine or orthopedics. Have no idea where to begin or even if it’s a sane thought process. Need advice!
I would suggest beginning with shadowing some physicians and doing some volunteer work in the medical field. This will give you an idea if this is REALLY what you want to do.
- DBasler Said:
I am in my 30s and am feeling a calling to become a doctor of sports medicine or orthopedics. Have no idea where to begin or even if it's a sane thought process. Need advice!
A sane thought process? You'll have specialized in psychiatry or neurology to figure that out.
In the mean while, where to begin from a process standpoint:
1) Rule One: Take a Breath. This is a long marathon, not a sprint and can be overwhelming.
2) Rule Two: Trust Your Gut. Even if you can verbalize or clearly even think why you want to be a doctor, having that feeling is enough to start.
-Learn about the route this marathon will take; start making that mental map
-Start an inventory of what you have, your academic background, your experience, your involvements in community.
-Start getting a feeling for what you'll need academically, how that will fit into your existing life and, perhaps more importantly, start imagining how you might change your life to get the academics that you'll need and other changes that might happen in your life .
3) Rule Three: It Depends. While the general route in the same, everyone's journey is different. Some make take a few to several years part time to get ready. Other may jumped into a prep program with both feet.
Its good to have a dream and even if you're not sure, you can start to think about, to plan, to learn.
I don't believe everyone who wants to be a doctor, will or should become one. But I do believe that the mission of OldPreMeds is give everyone the opportunity to find that out for themselves.