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MCATs & Med School?
Anyone here currently enrolled in Med School or has taken/will take the MCATs in the coming year?
I've been toying with the idea of a career in medicine for a few years now and would love to have someone with first hand accounts of the entire process.
I've been toying with the idea of a career in medicine for a few years now and would love to have someone with first hand accounts of the entire process.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ChinkyGirlMel on -
Hi JJ! I was thinking of going into Med School too. Actually I hold a degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I was thinking maybe I could use nursing as a pre-med course. I have a couple friends who are in Med School and I'm tellin you, it takes a lot of patience. Med school could be tough but as long as you have passion for it then it's all worth it. =)
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Permalink Reply by JJ on -
BS huh? Sounds like you've been heading in the Med school direction for a while now.
I'm midway through my bachelor's in Business Admin, so this would be quite the change in direction for me.
You take the MCATs yet? How'd you do?
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Permalink Reply by ChinkyGirlMel on
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Nope I haven't. But I think Nursing would be a good pre-med, especially since it's very hands on. So I already have a background on diseases, pharmacology, and medical procedures. There's just one thing getting in the way though...I'm afraid of blood! I know, it's weird. I was able to complete four years of nursing. Had my clinicals and assisted in both major and minor operations but I'm still afraid of blood.
Wow, Business Admin... that's a big change in direction indeed. But I think if you really have your heart set on Med School then you should definitely go for it. =)
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Permalink Reply by JJ on
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Afraid of blood?! My aunt was in a nursing program, but couldn't stand the sight of blood either. Unlike you, she dropped out of her nursing programs and became a nun of some kind. So, that tells me you are strong enough not to let it inhibit your job performance & career goals!
Is it the blood borne diseases that scare you, or just the general concept of blood? Its nothing more than salty water, protein, sugars and cells. :P
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Permalink Reply by ChinkyGirlMel on
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It's blood in general. I can still remember the first time I assisted in a major operation, I felt like passing out. I'm not sure if I can ever overcome my fear of blood.
My special clinical area in Nursing was the Burn Unit. I learned a lot there. And cried every now and then coz I felt sorry for the pain that the burn patients went through. For my clinicals for the burn unit I was assisgned to a public/government hospital in the Philippines. So basically, the patients there were very poor and could not even afford to buy pain meds. It was tough stuff, especially if you had to work the 6am-3pm shift. During that shift you had to assist with bathing the burn patients (some didn't have pain meds) and debridment. I can recall one of the staff nurses that time, pouring Vinegar on the wound! Ouch! I asked the nurse what that was for and apparently it's for cleansing the wound. Somehow vinegar kills off or rathers burns off some of the germs. Anyway... enough about my nursing experience
If you decide to proceed to Med School, what do you plan to specialize in? I've always wanted to be a Pediatric Oncologist. I just want to go all out and help those kids with cancer. If you like to be hands on with people it's better to be a nurse. Nurses have to be one on one with the patients and you get to see first hand their improvements. Doctors are there basically to diagnose, give treatment or action, prescribe meds, and they usually check with the nurses regarding the status of their clients.
=)
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Permalink Reply by JJ on
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Well, I would rather avoid taking gerries if at all possible, so Geriatrics is out of the question. I also can't see myself doing OB/GYN or Peds...
If I had to pick a specialty right now I would say I'd be an Intensivist or an EW doc. I know other docs look down on the EW crews, but the EW just seems like the perfect place for me! I enjoy the split second decision making and constantly having an inflow of work to do.
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Permalink Reply by Guess Who on -
I was in a six-year BS/MD program when I started college. I've since dropped from that program (almost a semester before all my friends went off to med school, no less!) and ended up pursuing an English degree with a touch of pre-med on the side, just in case I went back. Which I almost did for a while, even going so far as taking an MCAT prep course. But my view of the whole process is a little, tiny bit... different than the traditional way, though.
Kaplan provides a pretty good classroom course, which is what I took, but if you want to review yourself, you've got a lot of options for books. My favorite is the Exam Krackers set. Have you checked to see if you fulfill the minimum course requisites?
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Permalink Reply by JJ on
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Thanks for the reply MoJo! Since most of my classes have thus far been completely business & IT related, I plan on taking Anatomy & Physiology 2 (I already took 1), Micro Biology, and a refresher in Chemistry before even thinking about MCATs. I plan on finishing my bachelor's in Management Information Sys before prepping for MCATs.
Mojo, if I may, why did you decide to change majors so late in the game?
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Permalink Reply by Guess Who on
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From what I recall, you need at least a year of biology, one of Physics, one of Chemistry and one of Organic Chemistry. Definitely check with the schools you'd like to apply to, maybe get some volunteer work or shadowing in. A few schools have post-baccalaureate pre-med programs.
I saw you talking above about specialties. I wouldn't worry about that until much later, since you get to try out all of them in your third and fourth year firsthand in hospitals.
There were a lot of reasons I didn't stick to it. I was so burnt out trying to get my bachelor's in two years and study for MCATs with no time for my other interests, and I lost any passion I had for it. And you can imagine that's not a lot of time to grow up or get accustomed to college where failure and mistakes are part of the whole experience, and I just wasn't used to working that hard or being less than academically perfect. (Woe, sob story lol.) Oh. And I hated O. Chem.
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Permalink Reply by JJ on
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I appreciate the reply MoJo! I've had the pleasure of shadowing a PA at my work for a few hours x 2 days, and it was fun. When I become more serious about this, aka post Business Admin Bachelors Degree, I'll be prepared with some sort of plan.
You're right about the requirements, most schools around here require one year of Physics, Chem, OChem, A&P, Cal, along with a Bachelor's. I'm currently working in a hospital as an EHR system admin, so I have access to multiple docs & PAs that are more than willing to give me some more shadow time. I took 1 sem of Anatomy & Phys and had the hospital admin volunteer to be my group's tutor!
A BA in 2 years?! Its no wonder you burnt out on that stuff, but I'm glad things worked our for you. :)
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Permalink Reply by Guess Who on
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Getting to shadow a PA sounds really good! That's another great option and is generally very cool.
I hope things work out for you, too, whether you do it or not. It's an extremely difficult field to get into but very rewarding. Good luck to us all!
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Permalink Reply by Oats on -
All you youngins talking about the MCAT... har har har.
Reality update: prospects of getting a job in the medical field are rather grim right now. I have numerous friends who are doctors, have finished their fellowships and have had at best one job prospect, which isn't even a job offer, just a serious interview...
All this healthcare reform is supposed to bring more work for MDs, however, no one is paying for service right now so doctors are even dropping medicare.
Once again, public service reminder, if you're going into medicine for any reason other than you love it to the point at which you will make others puke, then you are going into the wrong field.
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