Statistics show that more than 50% of medical students are in debt after completing medical school. I'm very passionate about becoming a doctor but I'm terrified about how to overcome money problems. So what do you think medicine has to offer over your current job? I would say most people are but won’t admit it tbh, Ooh one time some demented guy ripped out a metal rod from his leg brace and was trying to attack me with it...yep all that “prestige” sure helped me out. You’ll have to show it in a less selfless way though. I will agree that it is very fun to learn this esoteric knowledge in medical school, but not only for the sake of it. A good friend, who is also a doctor, told me something I will always remember when I left my finance job prior to deciding on medical school (I was 34 at the time). At this point, I don't regret going into medicine. Because I came from a lower-income family, there wasn’t any money put aside for college. I'm the type of person that enjoys learning new material constantly, and I always want a new challenge. If it is for the intellectual challenge primarily I would suggest academia and research might be more enjoyable . Medicine is definitely intellectually interesting and challenging, but if you don't see yourself practicing medicine, it's probably not be best route to go. Physicians of Tomorrow Awards worth $10,000 Try to shadow a physician and see what that's like. Personally, I entered med school at 26. That said, I'm ecstatic I made the change and would encourage you to do it if you decide it's the right thing, regardless of age. I want to bring doctors closer to the idealistic intentions they had when they first got into medical school. I'm married, but SO understands so we don't see each other too much. I have this pressing question and I figured I could get the most responses on turkey day since most people have it off. Medical school is the easy answer. system? I fell asleep during every other lecture for the one business class I took in undergrad. 5 Reasons to Go to Medical School… Hi guys, these are all the reasons that make me want to go to medical schools. There is a financial cost which varies depending on where you are in the world and an opportunity cost in lost career progression etc. It really depends why you want into medicine. 60% prestige. He laughed heartily at me when I told him I wasn’t smart enough for college and couldn’t afford to go. Medical School Is Hard. It's also somewhat surprising seeing others share my of sources of motivation. As long as you become the best doctor you can be, more power to you. He then went on to tell me that getting into medical school was not easy, and that I have not made it any easier due to my freshmen grades. 10% feel good. The process of succeeding during undergraduate studies and applying to medical school is one of the hardest journeys many of us have ever decided to commit to, and it takes a lot of perseverance at 2 AM in the library, when you’re studying last minute for that bio exam, wondering if it’s all worth it. Although you may feel that you’ll go anywhere that sends the coveted acceptance letter, seek out each school’s opportunities that motivate and excite you. It was at a time when the interview season was starting to get underway. He said are you running away from finance or running towards medicine? But medicine is interesting af. What would be your opinions on moving to medicine or moving to mix the disciplines I already know with medicine? I know PhD's going back to school in their mid 30's. The strong 'love of learning' we feel in our 20's is finite for most of us. These are exactly my thoughts. Is your interest clinical? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I started a few days before my 28th birthday, also single. Before enrolling for medical school, first, you need to apply for medical school scholarships and grants. I'm 25 and I just started with 0 publications. I'm 30 with a MSc (nowhere near as many papers as you), but like you, always wanted to go into medicine. Do some of you think I wont get in because our sources of motivation differ? Now I've been to medical school--partially scholarship-funded, so I'm only ~$100,000 in the hole (my colleagues are much, much deeper). After medical school you go to residency which is at least 3 years, but can be up to 7. You could get in, sure. To me, the knowledge is even cooler because I can use it to help people. I’ll say as long as you come off as genuine and are able to handle the strain and fatigue of the process, nobody will stop you because your intentions are not what they see as good-willed. If you want to have the broadest choice of Med Schools, it’s a good idea to take A-Level Physics alongside Biology and Chemistry. I prefer to schedule medical school into my life and not my life into medical school. Medical schools have expanded in numbers of schools and in annual graduates locally and in branch campuses. Are there schools with a minimum GPA requirement who might reject me? The prestige and money are definitely aspects that I am looking forward to. 26m so I'm not completely ancient yet, no debt as my undergrad was a scholarship and grad was a research assistant position. But he told me my low grades were not due to an inferior intellect but due to my lack of understanding on how to study. Reddit's home for wholesome discussion related to pre-medical studies. I started at 25 so you're not doing too bad... age doesn't really matter -- plus you said you're a dude so you don't have to worry about being barren by the time your done residency in case you wanna have kids. I know of some super, super successful docs who were like 40 when they started working. Sure I may not always enjoy having to deal with rude/non compliant patients, but at least I’ll always enjoy the anatomy/physiology/pathology of the illness. Your university probably has a pre-med advising office that usually works with undergrads, but they'll probably be willing to help connect you with resources/programs they have available. Their aim is to bring true diversity to the average modern entering class of medical school students, making the word “nontraditional” less relevant. 6 Red Flags Medical School Isn't the Right Choice A lack of interest in volunteering is one reason you may not want to pursue a medical degree. If you're truly set on pursuing medicine, do it. I imagined the same, but there's a lot of "you do you" feedback which I'm pleasantly surprised by. Did get a degree in business or were those prerequisites you had to take? We need to know the answer to this before we can really answer your questions. Age won't be an issue. I'm not entirely sure if this is the relevant place to post this. If anything, I think being older makes people not want to put up with the bullshit that comes with doing well in medical school. The cost of attending med school is well over $100,000 (yikes! Once you are in, you are in, you can no longer fail. try out r/premed and you'll also have to take the mcat (r/mcat). To me it’s certainly motivation. I had a classmate who was 40 with 3 kids. I had a similar path - undergraduate sciences, PhD, then into medicine. There is a general sense that European and Australian medical school graduates do better than Caribbean graduates in the match. if someone has a desire to develop or dispense drugs, he would go to Pharmacy School.It would be very ignorant to say that Pre-pharm students join Pharmacy because they didnt had stats to join Med school or they liked Pharm School because it was shorter. What A-Levels Do You Need to be a Doctor? In fact, I only realized I could pay my own way through school after meeting an engineer at my first real job, post high school.. Medical schools want to know that you will fit in and contribute to their student body, so if they don’t meet your interests, it may not be the best school for you. So I'm wondering, how many admits feel the same? Don’t go for prestige. Last year, an interviewer for a top medical school joined Reddit for an AMA (Ask Me Anything). Welcome to /r/MedicalSchool: An international community for medical students. I would really think about it, maybe shadow some doctors to see what their days are like, before you make a lifelong commitment. I will say if I was shooting for money first I’d go sell my soul in business. I was thinking about obtaining a part time job but won't that be hard juggling work and very grueling schoolwork? You would likely have no problems getting in. Age is not a problem (I started at 26), it is moreso opportunity cost. Majority of physicians are not on the cutting edge of science, nor do they participate in research. They provide scholarships specifically for medical school students. How poor of a decision is the time commitment at this point in my life? But I’m genuinely interested in the art AND science of medicine. If you want to go for it then go for it, a life of regrets is not a life worth living, but just letting you know you will probably have days where you're studying alone in your room, just you and your books, and you'll wonder if you made the right choice. I'm sure you can incorporate your background into medical academia at any point. That’s not true for me because I couldn’t give less of a fuck about finance or any business related field. You can be just as good as a doctor as someone else as long as you care about your patients. I don't have any significant others, so I pretty much have no commitments. If you do decide to go the med school … Medicine has a lot of downsides and is also a very long path; you just want to be as sure as possible it is what you want before you commit. You can make medical school as difficult as you want, to a certain degree. My first impression of med school was that a day of med school was like a week of college. The chances are better for the US but quite unfavourable for Canada. You do you. I don’t have a problem admitting that those are definitely one of the factors that led me to choose this field. But it is definitely not all it's chalked up to be, and life opportunities will be limited throughout at least med school. What is it that draws you to medicine and why did you pursue a Ph.D in engineering instead to begin with? Definitely not too old, especially if you did something noteworthy post-graduation. Some medical schools, like Birmingham and Aberdeen, allow you to swap Biology for Human Biology.. 30% money + job security. Just don’t kill people and stuff. You’ll need to pull together letters of recommendation, transcripts, and a personal statement. 4.0/4.0 in both, probably about 20 published papers by the time I leave. Definitely not too old at all as people start medicine at younger and older ages than you. Assuming you don’t take any years off in between all of that, you’ll be around … The thing about your background is that you haven't spent time working in industry. Sucking up to attendings for the better eval or playing the game to show that you are interested in a rotation just seems stupid when you've had all of this other life experience and could be someone else's supervisor in a different career path. Minimum of 7 years (+whatever years it takes you to apply) is a long commitment, especially when you've spent so much time and effort in an unrelated field. my thinking was if you're going to regret not doing it in 10-20 years, just do it and get it over with. I'm nearing the tail end of a combined MD-PhD program, and if you apply to med school this upcoming summer/fall, you'll be the same age as me at the start of residency. If you have any thoughts, throw a comment! Guaranteed admittance! About; Home; Contacts I was older than you when I applied. If you do decide to go the med school route, you age likely won't be an issue. Another classmate of mine entered med school at 45 after already having a fulfilling career of 20 years in another field. Universities and colleges understand the sacrifices you’ve made and the effort you’ve poured into your future to get to this point. He's amazing, seriously. Choosing a medical school: best advice; Will attending a top tier medical school get me a top-tier residency match? I didn't feel old at the time, but now that it feels like most my class is engaged or in serious longterm relationships AND 90% of them are younger than me, I'm definitely feeling kinda old and burnt out. Part of me wishes I was single while in med school, so you have that going for you. **EDIT: “All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.” ― Alexandre Dumas fils. This has been my motivation since I decided I wanted to become a doc. It seems like you have a great foundation for a "back up" if things don't work out, anyway. You can pack your stethoscope and check your baggage on a one-way trip to the upper-middle classes. The average matriculating age for med students is already something like 25. If you don't see yourself actually practicing medicine, but want too move into a more biological field, look for post-docs that will allow you to apply your knowledge of materials to medical applications (things like tissue engineering, drug delivery etc). When people hear that you did it for the money, they say there are other fields you can make just as much or more that requires way less effort. If you have the means and the motivation, and think you can make it through, go for it. Med school is a long and arduous journey. It's doable and it's fun. STRENGTHS. My incoming med school class had 2 people with PhD's and two people (not the same two) over 35. Medical school admissions officers want to understand not only where an applicant has been but also the direction he or she is going, Lobo added. Everything was accelerated. This is the most important question you’ll have to answer on your path to becoming a doctor. One of my dear friends went to medical school … I don't regret it, but it's a fucking grind. And don't worry about age. So, 5-6 years from now, you can either have what you have now, or have what you have now plus a medical degree. My interest in the the knowledge and desire to treat patients make me excited about the effort. If you want to know how to pay for medical school, then check out on some of these medical scholarships below. Why would I want to attend an MD/PhD program? If you don't see yourself actually practicing medicine, but want too move into a more biological field, look for post-docs that will allow you to apply your knowledge of materials to medical applications (things like tissue engineering, drug delivery etc). What field you want to do? I know its not the most lucrative of industries, but paired with the prestige you get, it's among the best options if that is what you value. Hummed and hawed until I finally did and, although the dynamic is much different than I would have imagined being an M1 at 22, I feel like I have my head on my shoulders a bit more than most of ** my classmates. We could make this into a good copy pasta. I think the question comes down to, can you be just as happy working as an engineer/professor? Don’t go if you want a great work-life balance. Why medical school? As for the prestige, I don’t think patients respect doctors as much as they did in the past, but it’s still nice to tell friends/family/people in general that you’re a doctor. Unless you're running towards medicine this won't be nearly as fulfilling. As for CS, I took one coding bootcamp workshop and wanted to break my computer. No matter how you cut it, congestive heart failure is gonna be routine after the 100th case you see. I think you have a very idealized view of doctors. Would you be happy to be in medicine? Because I would think IM or other primary care fields are probably not your cup of tea. Similarly is being a senator/president or astronaut; however, those are harder to … There are few international medical schools that have connections to the U.S. and have strong reputations of producing good U.S. doctors. This is a very humbling career. What you need to do to get into Med School. Plus you need some clinical exposure to get accepted anyways. Reality: Medical school will teach you a great deal about the human body, diseases and medical treatments. You got this. any suggestions ? Edit: Thank you all for the great suggestions / advice! You can do biomedical research without an MD. Do you like research? Hence, I'm choosing this career path. Press J to jump to the feed. DO vs MD: What factors to consider; Why or why not attend a Caribbean medical school? Getting in to medical school is the biggest filter for weeding out those who want to become doctors. Much to think about, thank you for the honesty- I will follow up more when off phone! Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. What sucks is that I have to lie during the admit process and say I'm mainly doing this for altruistic purposes or because of natural curiosity towards the field. DO NOT go to medical school if you identify with these 4 factors. You literally have a huge step ahead with those publications in terms of residency placement. I’m just gonna throw this out as an alternative opinion (for the most part and for most people I agree with you), but I think sometimes having a lead in to ‘why medicine’ in your tell me about yourself answer works. I think you may owe at least that to yourself. Here are 5 reasons you should not go to medical school: Don’t go for money. The traditional, one-on-one interview is the most common approach. Why? He recommended that I go to a seminar titled “How to Get an A in College.” This is why premeds should go to the worst possible undergraduate university they can and get that free 4.0 competing against those who barely passed high school. Time is going to pass no matter what. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Eventually you get to the point that you want a life and the normal stuff everyone else has. Then do a full year 20+ hours a week MCAT prep and score 520+. If you really want to be a doctor then you have an excellent background for it and will be able to incorporate you existing disciplines into it in the long run, once you've got a decent amount of your training out of the way. Submit to Reddit. Fellowship allows you to specialize further, which can be one or more years in addition to residency. There is no age limit; if you truly want to be a doctor, don't fritter away your time wondering if you should do it--just do it. I've always really wanted to go into medicine (and while bio materials might be a more natural transition, just curious to hear from others). I started at 28. People are about to tear you apart. Not gonna judge, but just want you to know there might not be as much "prestige" as you think. I have a business degree and wishing I would have gone the medical route. Personally, if a colleague only does it for money and prestige, as long as they treat their patients well and aren’t an asshole, I wouldn’t really care. I think if someone is just after the coin, there are many easier ways to make similar bank in CS/investment banking, etc that don’t require a decade of impoverished training and 200k+ in debt. LOL so when you’re the physician covering the after hours emergency line and patients call with non-urgent questions after you’ve fallen asleep, or they flat out insult you, or roll their eyes at you and present to you all their “Google research” and tell you that you’re just “paid off by pharma” and don’t know anything...or if you’re a woman and called “nurse” and “When will I see the doctor?” after introducing yourself as the doctor...when these things happen on a daily basis, good luck with doing this for the “prestige”. Don't be surprised if you hate your job one day. So that would mean 4 year med school, and probably a minimal of 6 year residency before you are done. Matched into ortho this year. Getting into med school is a one-way ticket to the upper middle class imo. Press J to jump to the feed. Similarly is being a senator/president or astronaut; however, those are harder to achieve than becoming a physician. I answered a question I get asked all the time...why didn't I go to medical school?About me: I am a 3rd year SRNA & ICU nurse. One of my classmates had a PhD in clinical psych, and we called him "Dr. [classmate], he killed it in behavioral sciences. You will spend years as a junior doctor with a lot of patient contact and opportunity to make personal differences to patient's lives but you will struggle to find time/opportunity to engage in significant scientific investigation. You’ll meet plenty of pre-meds along the way who have decided to become a doctor for every reason under the sun…their parents were doctors, they want the “doctor lifestyle,” they love a good challenge, they’re excited about science, and on and on… But they’re certainly not enough to get me to grind for almost a decade just training to get there. I don't own that kind of watch so I guess I'll just never know the time. I want Remedy to help doctors do all they can for patients again. medical school application tips reddit. I did a PhD in Chemical Engineering (Biomaterials engineering focus). Buddy, I don't care what your motivations are, as long as you are a good doctor. You do you. During college: GPA If you want to go for MD, aim for a 3.75, if for DO, aim for a 3.5 (though you still have a chance at both with lower ones, it just makes it a bit harder, and other parts of your app needs to make up for it) Take as little amount of science pre-req courses at a community college. Lectures had long powerpoint presentations and generally ended with the presenter rushing through the last few slides to get the full thing done in under an hour. You will learn a lot of what you need to know, but there is no way med school can teach you everything involved in medicine or being a doctor. You will be able to deal with the workload and material no problem with your background, but be aware that medicine in practice is often a lot less scientific and a lot more pragmatic than it might seem from the outside. I hope you guys find your motivation also :) However, it's a considerable sacrifice, in terms of time and opportunity cost (particularly at an older age). Regards! I want to go to medical school for the prestige and money I know its not the most lucrative of industries, but paired with the prestige you get, it's among the best options if that is what you value. You have to get used to memorizing a lot of stuff, which is different to the grad school way of learning. Much more rewarding, and money is a huge plus. In all fairness, most of medicine are still day in and day out things. As the resident medical school dropout, I'll say that it really depends on why you're leaving and what you're planning to do once you're "out." I'll allow it as long as you're my doctor when you finish everything, you filthy animal, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the medicalschool community. And remember to major in the easiest thing possible. As for a 'poor decision' in regards to time commitment, that's for you to decide. 30 years ago, they still wanted to be sanctioned by the AMA, and research oriented.

Delhi Public School Hostel Fees, French Classes Seattle, District Level Cricket Players Salary, Total Ascot Bulawayo, Allow Me To Introduce Myself Poem, Skyrim Treva's Watch Difficulty, Discard Crossword Clue 4 Letters, Funny Dancing Emoticon Text, Founders Club Golf Clubs For Sale, Nebraska Form 1, Cherry County Court, Best Snipping Tool For Mac, Eve Cornwell Workwear,