I am wondering who out there in this crazy OPM world will admit to having a “plan B”? I can see the value of the “failure is not an option” attitude, but personally I am more motivated by an opt-out. As my husband says, “failure IS an option!” and it is strangely motivating… maybe I just understand where he is coming from…
Liz, I find there are different opinions on this. My husband felt strongly that I should have a Plan B, and I don’t mean the emergency contraceptive 
But I felt equally strongly that I just couldn’t think of one. My argument to him was: if I can think of a Plan B, I would take it instead! Because surely there couldn’t be anything as demanding, time-consuming, and potentially crazy-making as medical school… if there’s something else that I’d be willing to do, I should do THAT and not medicine. But in my case, I just couldn’t think of alternatives. (my husband was VERY nervous throughout interview season especially after I got waitlisted!)
This could have gotten me into trouble at interviews - I heard of lots of people who were asked “What will you do if you don’t get in?” Fortunately I wasn’t asked, because the only answer I could come up with was, “apply again.” It seems (from listening to others talk on my AdCom) that they’d like to hear that you’d do something else involving patient care. Well, you know what, I’ve done that and I wasn’t interested in going back to it. So it would’ve been a flat-out lie for me to say, “oh, well, then I guess I’d go back to nursing because I am really interested in caring for people.” 
I don’t think there’s one right answer for this; it’s highly personal and individual.
Mary
I don’t have a Plan B because I have already spent a great deal of time considering other career options. Should the day come that I must pursue another career because I fail to get into a medical school (after “x” number of attempts), I am confident that I’ll be able to figure something out then.
anita
I’ll fess up. I have quite a few Plan B’s. I’ll admit that having these Plan B’s makes me feel like an outsider sometimes. Or that I don’t deserve to even call myself pre-med because I’m not 100% sure. Others seems so confident in their decision while I am stuck in a mire of fear and doubt. Though I do have many Plan B’s, medicine is the only one I’d regret not actualizing.
My top plan B’s are (in no particular order) getting an MPH, teaching, doing some kind of scientific research, or becoming an Ethnomusicologist. Part of my struggle is finding a balance between something where I could work with my old community and something that is intellectually stimulating. Medicine seems like a great fit, but I worry about losing myself in the process.
For now I am taking things just one step at a time. So far it feels well to be working towards this goal.
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I am wondering who out there in this crazy OPM world will admit to having a “plan B”? I can see the value of the “failure is not an option” attitude, but personally I am more motivated by an opt-out. As my husband says, “failure IS an option!” and it is strangely motivating… maybe I just understand where he is coming from…
Hi there,
I had a very elaborate Plan B that I worked on right up until I got my first acceptance letter in November. I had even starting planning my class lectures for the next fall if I had not gotten into medical school. When I got that first letter, it suddenly occurred to me that I would have to dump tons of collected papers and notes that I had diligently filed for teaching purposes. I had all of my Fall lectures done and updated!
I am a great believer that the more elaborate your Plan B, the greater your chances of getting an acceptance. My Plan B kept me away from the mailbox and in my office preparing for the next fall. I was also preparing for the Spring too.
The worst scenario for me was to have no acceptance letter and no plans at all. The no-plan scenario has never been part of my make-up so I always have a Plan B and even a Plan C. Interesting, I had no plans to re-apply if I had not gotten in.
Natalie
I had a Plan B–to get an MD. My Plan A was to get an RN and a PhD at the same time but then I decided it was impractical.
So then when I started towards med school my Plan B was my old Plan A. (Now that I’ve seen more of what nurses do I’m convinced I made the right decision.)
My Plan A+ has always been to open up a record store but I’m worried that digital music will kill that business so I’m going to keep my hand in medicine just to make sure I can make a living while record stores sort out a new business model.
A pastry-chef classmate of mine and I talk often about our record store / cafe that we are going to open after med school. But debt may get in the way.
I may have to be a doctor after all.
cheers
Joe
PS: There’s no shame in having a Plan B. And I was often asked about this on interviews. (To the first guy who asked, I was pleased to say, “I already got in to (School S), so I don’t need one.” To the second one, who didn’t give up so easily–“Well, great, but what if you hadn’t? I’m just curious.”–I said, RN/PhD. Which was true.) On the other hand, I think there’s no shame in knowing that your Plan B will be lick your wounds, collapse, and then recuperate and regroup and figure it out when you have to figure it out. Which hopefully you won’t.
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My Plan A+ has always been to open up a record store but I’m worried that digital music will kill that business so I’m going to keep my hand in medicine just to make sure I can make a living while record stores sort out a new business model.
A pastry-chef classmate of mine and I talk often about our record store / cafe that we are going to open after med school. But debt may get in the way.
I may have to be a doctor after all.
cheers
Joe
PS: There’s no shame in having a Plan B. And I was often asked about this on interviews. (To the first guy who asked, I was pleased to say, “I already got in to (School S), so I don’t need one.” To the second one, who didn’t give up so easily–“Well, great, but what if you hadn’t? I’m just curious.”–I said, RN/PhD. Which was true.) On the other hand, I think there’s no shame in knowing that your Plan B will be lick your wounds, collapse, and then recuperate and regroup and figure it out when you have to figure it out. Which hopefully you won’t.
Hey Joe,
I am thinking that it might be so cool to open a Bed and Breakfast somewhere in the wilds. It would make a neat hobby and I have the cook already picked out.
I live near the Silver Thatch Inn here in Charlottesville and every day when I drive by, I think about how much fun it is to have 6 to 8 folks staying overnight in your house. They serve the most amazing dinners around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Lots of wild game and the like.
Natalie
I do have a plan B. If things don’t work out, then I will get an MBA and move out of the lab and into scientific business. Good money.
Always need a plan B, C, D, etc.
I don’t have a detailed Plan B worked out yet b/c I’m still a few years away from applying to med school. But my Plan B was to try again (if not admitted) and again and again. I think I’d probably quit applying at some point (3rd time’s the charm?) and while waiting to hear from med school, I would be actively working on prereqs to be either a physician assistant or nurse–probably a PA which is much more appealing to me. I would be doing something in health care. Then, I’d work for a few years as either a PA, nurse, or possibly some other allied health professional and apply again after a few years or if I was happy as X health care professional, then I wouldn’t bother to apply again. Plan C is to join the Peace Corps or some other volunteer organization where I could do something meaningful–although the mounting debt from the prereqs may nix Plan C. (I’m not sure if I could get loans deferred while in the Peace Corps–maybe but they would still there when I got out). At some point, I’ll need to stop taking classes and start working again to pay off the debt.
Even applying makes me nervous–there are so many other people out there who want the same thing–that I wonder if I’ll ever be able to impress someone enough to give me a chance. But, I don’t want to look back on my life either and say I wanted to do something but didn’t even try!
Love,
Stacy
I always felt if I couldn’t be a doctor I would like to teach, so if plan A didn’t work, plan be would be 1. to reapply again, and 2. finish another year of school and hopfully teach Chemistry/Biochemistry, Physics or Biology at the high-school level.
Mary, I work in the OR now and have been told by one doc that admitting that I recognize the sheer craziness of going into medicine right now (with mounting debt and diminishing return, law suits, etc.) but that I still feel strongly about wanting to go to medical school would actually be an asset. Do you think this is the case?
Another one claims that interviewers who want to know a plan B really just want to hear that you will step back, re-evaluate your application, attack any weak point, then reapply. He claims that this shows your committment to medicine. Is there some validity to this?
I get LOTS of “advice” from everyone I work with, but sometimes it’s hard to separate what is a generally accepted fact and what just happened to work for them. . . .
–Alison
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My Plan A+ has always been to open up a record store but I’m worried that digital music will kill that business so I’m going to keep my hand in medicine just to make sure I can make a living while record stores sort out a new business model.
A pastry-chef classmate of mine and I talk often about our record store / cafe that we are going to open after med school. But debt may get in the way.
I may have to be a doctor after all.
cheers
Joe
PS: There’s no shame in having a Plan B. And I was often asked about this on interviews. (To the first guy who asked, I was pleased to say, “I already got in to (School S), so I don’t need one.” To the second one, who didn’t give up so easily–“Well, great, but what if you hadn’t? I’m just curious.”–I said, RN/PhD. Which was true.) On the other hand, I think there’s no shame in knowing that your Plan B will be lick your wounds, collapse, and then recuperate and regroup and figure it out when you have to figure it out. Which hopefully you won’t.
Hey Joe,
I am thinking that it might be so cool to open a Bed and Breakfast somewhere in the wilds. It would make a neat hobby and I have the cook already picked out.
I live near the Silver Thatch Inn here in Charlottesville and every day when I drive by, I think about how much fun it is to have 6 to 8 folks staying overnight in your house. They serve the most amazing dinners around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Lots of wild game and the like.
Natalie
Hey, When you get ready, I’ll come and put together bicycle trips and/or hiking trips as an adjunct to the wilderness B&B experience.
Cheers,
Judy
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Mary, I work in the OR now and have been told by one doc that admitting that I recognize the sheer craziness of going into medicine right now (with mounting debt and diminishing return, law suits, etc.) but that I still feel strongly about wanting to go to medical school would actually be an asset. Do you think this is the case?
I think a statement along the lines of, “I know it’s gotten to be more and more challenging to practice medicine,” especially if you can give specifics, is a good demonstration of your being grounded in reality. Not sure I’d “admit to sheer craziness” in an interview setting - if your interviewer is a physician or medical student, s/he might be somewhat insulted to be called crazy!
I can tell you that when I interviewed people, I wanted to hear that they knew it was hard, that times were changing, that it might not be rewarding in the ways that are conventionally associated with doctors, that they’d have to work very hard, that you couldn’t take anything for granted. I can still remember interviewing someone who was waxing rhapsodic about how she’d like to spend time with her patients teaching them about good nutrition. When I challenged her that the reality of primary care in a managed-care environment meant she wouldn’t HAVE that time, she verbally shrugged and said, “Well, you don’t have to participate with insurance, do you.” I was QUITE taken aback by that response.Quote:
Another one claims that interviewers who want to know a plan B really just want to hear that you will step back, re-evaluate your application, attack any weak point, then reapply. He claims that this shows your committment to medicine. Is there some validity to this?
Sure, I think that’s a valid point. The truth is that each interviewer may react differently to a person’s response to this question. I do think it is a question whose intent is simply to see how serious you are - and your answer could demonstrate your serious intentions in several different ways.
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I get LOTS of “advice” from everyone I work with, but sometimes it’s hard to separate what is a generally accepted fact and what just happened to work for them. . . .
Yup. Be particularly leery of advice from community physicians who have not gone through the med school admissions process in years and years. Unless they’re serving on an AdCom, or as a regional interviewer for their alma mater, they may not appreciate the ways in which the process has changed over time.
Mary
I won’t admit to one… but now that I’ve started reading this thread… I guess I have to think about it… Thanks for starting this one, btw…
This is off the top of my head… and with little forethought involved…
I think if I couldn’t get in the first round, I’d probably apply again the next year… and open it up to foreign schools as well…
before I decided to go back to school pre-med I was working in IT… I know that I have no desire to go back to that… it wasn’t a good fit for me… but I also was working with a lot of organizations on Celiac resources… and I think I would probably, if I could, devote a lot of time to doing that… I also toyed with the idea of opening a gluten free bakery… which is sorely needed, well just about everywhere…
I also considered doing something totally unrelated, but highly creative I guess… and that was refinishing antiques, building and refurbishing furniture and children’s furniture… I do a little bit of that now… but not very much.
so, Nat and Joe and Judy… I’ll be happy to help you refurbish the old house for the bed and breakfast, and cook up any specialty food items that you may need… 
Andrea
Thanks for all the responses to this thread. For some reason it has been bothering me. I guess Mary you are right that there are many personal approaches to this.
My plan B will be implemented immediately upon my “float” or 3rd year pre-med. I am planning to take a post-bacc 1 year RN degree and, if not accepted to MD/DO (after a few tries) work for 1-3 years then go for Nurse Practioner and/or other nursing specialities
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My plan B will be implemented immediately upon my “float” or 3rd year pre-med. I am planning to take a post-bacc 1 year RN degree and, if not accepted to MD/DO (after a few tries) work for 1-3 years then go for Nurse Practioner and/or other nursing specialities
BTW, I have an alternate plan B. As my Hong-Kong born significant other is nearly done serving…er…working her 20 years in one company and wants to get into something else, we may open a resturant in one of the New York City Chinatowns called “ALL-DAY DIM SUM” (usally dim sum is a brunch thing, this would be a fast-food Dim Sum place). Or, as she wants to maybe retire in Hong Kong, where the social net for elderly is much better, we may open , I really mean it, a bagel shop! Things American sell like hot cakes. Even have a business plan. But would a Green-Tea bagel really work?
No plan B for me. I was born to be a surgeon albeit in the OB/GYN capacity. I enjoy the pt’s, babies, long hours, demanding work. I’ve been in health care since I was 18 as a nurses aide, then 4 yrs. in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsmen (Where I found I had a knack for sewing up Marines after their bar fights at 2 and 3 am),then on to a BSN, specializing in surgery and now this next journey. I love it!
I guess I would go for an MPH somewhere. Or I’d use my newfound chemistry expertise and move to Florence, Italy, where I’d get a degree in art preservation. That’s been my backup dream for awhile. I would really have to upgrade my wardrobe though–it’s taken such a hit since I became a student again. Museum types have to be really smart-looking.
Or I would go to photography school… but these are all dreams. I’d apply at least twice before turning to any plan B.
Plan B
Viticulture, A perk to living in wine country
Medical Illustrator
Animation: I’ve already made a few films
PhD Celtic Studies: Wouldn’t mind being a professor
Pet Psychic