Reason 3 is very interesting…I will read your reasoning on that very closely… 
I would like to know more about number 3 of “too many women”. However, my experience with those kind of odd statements are that someone is trying to increase traffic to their blog or they are trying to start a fight. I hope you will choose to sum it up and enlighten us pathdr2b.
I do know that all candidates, regardless of age, have to meet a certain criteria. Am I wrong here? Some will be privileged to have parents who have the money to assist them in fulfilling those requirements. Others of us will have to work hard, really hard. Those of us that are working hard will deserve all the success that comes to us and in turn for our work ethic, we will have a flourishing business. I am sorry to say that the list could appear to be a “chip on the shoulder”. But, you know what they say about those who “assume”.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.â€-By Marianne Williamson
Okay. I get it.
I agree with Kimberly…She seems very smart!
I don’t quite agree with fewer women being admitted but perhaps they should be pickier about which women get admitted. It reminds me of the woman in “Intern Blues”. She quit. She quit medicine after having her kids. Just quit being a doctor. After all the training, she took a spot that someone else could have had and used, someone that would have stayed a doctor. After I read that and found out that she quit, I was actually mad at her. Really angry. Because there was someone else out there that got rejected and she took that spot and then she quit.
I think women and men have the right to choose when they want to leave their chosen profession. The doctor from intern blues also had a very difficult time with her first child, who I believe died, that would impact anyones life, male or female…
Just like that pilot I know. He went to medical school, took a spot and then changed his career. Everyone should be locked in. No kids. No changing your mind. My female doctor said to me, “At least you have had your kids already.” Now, I see another hurdle I will have to overcome. My children. Wow. A dad doctor stays home to see his kids and that is wrong. A person changes their mind and sees something as a higher calling. That’s wrong. Someone has money and can go to school. That’s wrong. Somebody is able to go to school due to being underprivileged. Their wrong. Somebody didn’t have a career before Medical School. They are wrong.
Hey you guys. We aren’t here to tell people who are deserving and who are not. We are here to assist and build up those who want to pursue their dream. Things change, circumstances change, people change.
I agree Kimberly, you never know how experiences and circumstances will change your desires, goals, and dreams. My wife has two very good friends that chose to give up their careers to raise their children, one a neurosurgeon and the other a nuclear physicist. It would be all too easy to judge them without knowing what factors were involved in making their decisions.
I must admit that with the female interns that I train, I often wonder how long they will work before other desires take precedence. Many practice for several years before having children, then go to part time or hire an associate to work in their place if they own the practice. It does certainly place them in position where they must choose to favor one over the other, but there seems to be more options available that in years past.
I was 30/31 when I was applying to med school and 34/35 when applying for residency (December birthday). I have no children and have no plans to have children (I have been married the entire time). I was asked in EVERY interview in both cycles about my plans to have children. In smaller residency programs, if you take time off, it puts a burden on everyone else if you take time off, so I think they do consider it, even if they are not supposed to. I think it matters less in med school as I had classmates take one year off for each of their kids (one had two while going through on the six year plan).
I’m not always known for being politically correct.
I have a child, that is a hurdle I have to overcome, another hurdle I have to overcome is that my boyfriend wants to have more kids and even though I really thought I was done having kids the now I’m reconsidering. And although I know being a doctor and trying to go through medical school while having children is not out, it makes it harder. So yes that is a hurdle to overcome and whether or not we want to believe it people will judge us on it, whether it’s in the back of their minds and they aren’t “allowed” to technically judge us on the application right there on paper where we can see it or if it’s just there in the back of their brains with access only for themselves. It’s still there…so we have to take that into account and make up for it somehow, be it an outstanding MCAT score, better grades, better volunteer experience, more shadowing, better LORS, something. If you have more hurdles, you better have more shiney little gold stars to post on your application. At least that is how I’m looking at it. Because everyone is human and we all judge one another even if it’s not the polite and “politically correct” thing to do.
The short answer is either “it’s what I’m supposed to do” or “I hate being a high school teacher and I’ll do whatever it takes to find a second career”, only time will tell. The only thing I have in my favor right now is that I’ve always been an excellent student/learner. I graduated cum laude and am a member of Phi Beta Kappa, both of which I got without even trying hard AND while working full time in college. When I went back to school in '01 for a second bachelor’s in cell/molq bio, the money dried up. Good thing is, I was acing all my classes. I’ve always had a real passion for science (especially physics) and that “closed door” allowed me the opportunity to become a s (sometimes) science/(most of the time)math teacher. I shouldn’t complain about that- I got to teach what I love. But I’ve made some bad career choices and I’ve had some bad situations happen to me so right now I’m pretty open-minded about my med school prospects. I’m not gonna stress about this med school thing (I want to be a psychiatrist), but do the same thing in school that has worked before STUDY MY ARSE OFF! Which, because I’m a sicko who lives with three cats, is actually my idea of fun! My boyfriend is super supportive of me and really believes in me, which has helped me revisit this by-gone dream. But if for some reason this is not to be, I’m okay with it. Doesn’t mean I ain’t gonna try like h-e-double hockey sticks to get in and through. I even have worked out the money. So long story short- I may want to become a doctor, but only time, effort and money will tell. I’m good with that
Coco,
Is your motivation just to get out of teaching? Sounds like your interested in the research/science of things. Or maybe patient care as well? Just an observation…
Mokabes and Hartford coffee houses, here in St. Louis, are what keeps me going!!
I’ve always wanted to be a doctor ever since I was knee-high-to-a-grasshoppe r and could crack open a science book or magazine. As a child, I LOVED reading about medicine in National Geographic and Discover magazines. As an adult, I have come to find that I want to be in a more empowered position, and to have the resources available to me, to contribute to society in a meaningful way. I see that way through medicine. The most profound and meaningful contributions to humanity have come through science and medicine. I want to be a part of that.
Last year, I was privileged enough to listen to a lecture by Dr. Patricia Wolff (of Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine), who is the founder of Med and Food for Kids. She developed a simple nutritional program for the children in Haiti that involved peanut butter…Medika Mamba. By feeding the kids a concocted peanut butter formula, mixed with vitamins and nutrients, she was able to reduce the morbidity rate of mal-nourished children in Haiti and has saved thousands of lives. THAT is what I want to do!!! I want to help children in under-privileged areas have a better chance of obtaining a healthy life! I want to find a way to help resolve some of the current and future medical and health issues that our world is facing. That is my passion and that is what drives me to pursue medical school! 
madthai,
That is awesome! It sounds like your passion and desire keeps you running!