2b or not 2b med student

Pre-Med & Medical School Careers in Medicine
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<p>First off, I want to apologize for the lengthy post and the numerous questions that I am sure have been covered over and over. I have been considering medicine for the last 2 or 3 years or so, but haven’t made the choice due to the vast amount of questions I have. </p>

<pre><code> I must admit, I haven’t always wanted to become a doctor or work in the field of medicine. Growing up I taught myself how to play the guitar and became very good at it. I always saw myself as a “musician” or “guitarist” in some sort of band. Now, I still love music today, however the older I get the more interesting medicine becomes. I will always love music, but Im beginning to find a passion about medicine. It has become obvious to me that I cannot have a passion for music (at least in performing live) and medicine at the same time. Not with a family anyways. Let me just cut to the chase and get to the questions. I am already 24 years old and do not have a lot of college under my belt. I probably only have 23 credits or so. Most of these are generals. Am I to old to begin the path towards my bachelor degree / med school / residency? My magic 8 ball says my sources say no. I’ve done some research and have found out people older then I have just barely begun the pre-med path. I guess my main point is that I feel behind, especially if I were to make it into a 7 year residency. I read that the average college graduate is 22, med school 26, and practice begins at age 29. I’d be around 35 before I even finished med school. Am I really 6 years behind the curve? Any thoughts?

I married into a family of two step kids. I recently had a baby for a total of 3 kids now. I am located in the Salt Lake, Utah area and am currently going to a community college. My main interests are neurosurgery, cardio surgery, or to be a PA. My current goal is spending the next couple of semesters so become certified as a surgical tech. I figured that way I can get a taste of the OR to see how I like it and also have some clinical experience before med school. However, people have said because of my age, to just get your associates degree / bachelor’s degree and skip the surgical tech.

When everything is complete and you begin the long process of finding your match, must you be flexible to re-locate? Would I have to up-root my family to find my match? I was hoping to just get into a residency at the University Hospital here, but the more I read, the more I’m beginning to think that might be a long shot.
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<p>I have always loved science and biology. I love to learn new things and I love environments that are constantly changing. I wouldn’t be in it for the money. I know medicine is a life time of learning. I know it is not a walk in the park and that it is very competitive. I don’t mean to write my biography, I guess I just have so many questions to ask. It’s a big decision and if I am going to go for it, I want to do so with confidence and knowledge. At least to some degree. I guess I am still in the soul searching stage. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Even if you have some links to some similar posts, websites, similar stories or situations- anything will help. Thanks.</p>

<p>-Tron J.</p>

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<p>1.) You're right that the average age of an undergraduate is probably around 22, but the average age of an ENTERING medical student is 25*, since (apparently) lots of people take time off. One of my classmates is a first year medical student and 32.</p>

<p>[*I was very surprised by this number, but AAMC (The American Association of Medical Colleges) confirms.]</p>

<p>So no, you're not too old.</p>

<p>2.) While residency matching can be more geographically based -- or, at least, people tend to do it more -- the problem will be medical school. There's only one medical school in your entire state, and it receives 930 applications for 101 spots. (Medican MCAT/GPA 30, 3.66; Community Service/Clinical Experience/Research 92%, 85%, 94%.) It seems to be reasonably competitive by medical school standards, which makes it insanely competitive by the standards of graduate schools generally.</p>

<p>If you're really set on your university hospital for residency, then you just apply for lots and lots of different fields. People don't usually do this, but there's no reason you couldn't. But now you're getting ahead of yourself.</p>

<p>3.) It is not a good idea to pursue a professional degree in a health science before entering medical school, since this schools will be at least concerned about contributing to shortages in the field. I'm of the opinion that there will be a little bit of snobbery involved as well -- "Surgical techs? Why does a surgical tech want to be a doctor?"</p>

<p>Furthermore, testing shows that specialized health science majors are the ONLY subgroup which performs worse than the others on the MCAT. Everybody else, from social sciences to biology to chemistry, does just fine -- only SHS candidates have unique difficulties.</p>

<p>4.) You can shadow in the OR for a week or so, certainly, to gain some exposure. Getting the education to build a career there is certainly unnecessary if you're just trying to gain exposure.</p>

<p>5.) A PA is two years after college -- or, in some cases (I think) instead of college. A neurosurgery path takes 11 post-college years. Cardiothoracic surgery is either 11 or 13 post-college years. That's... well, that's a big difference. Intermediate paths would include Pediatrics (7), Cardiology (9), Family Practice (7), Emergency Medicine (7), General Surgery (11), etc. That's the difference between being 38 and 29 when you start. I can imagine that that would be a big difference.</p>

<p>6.) You will need a bachelor's to apply to medical school, and you will most likely want to do your premedical requirements at a four-year university.</p>

<p>That's the first step -- focus on that. Take the MCAT over the next few years. Tackle Physics and Organic Chemistry at the University-level. Major in an academic subject rather than a technical one -- i.e. biology rather than nursing. See how those go. No sense making this decision before you have to.</p>

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<p>Are your stats for number of applicants vs number of positons available Nation wide or is that ONLY state wide? I have declared residency here (recent relocation) and was just wondering what percentage of those applicants were out of state. What site did you get your information from? Not that I am questioning your source, I just havent been sucessful at finding a site with collage admittance stats. </p>

<pre><code> I am not completely set on U of Utah, however, my step son just got sponsered by Shriners Hospital. One of the few Shriners locations that does orthopaedics. I guess I could always live seperate of my family for 4 years, but 4 years is alot. I imagine there wouldnt be too much time for travel and visit time during med school either.

True, I am getting ahead of myself. Its always a good thing to remember and try and pace myself and take everything into moderation. Would it help to do any shadowing and clinic work before completion of bachelors? In the next semester or so, I am going to apply to the U and enroll in Bachelors of Biology program. Thanks for your reply by the way.
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<p>1.) Those were for the entire school. UUSOM has 421 In-State applicants for 75 spots.</p>

<p>2.) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Medical-School-Admission-Requirements-2007-2008/dp/1577540492/sr=8-1/qid=1172775942/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8643922-4731109?ie=UTF8&s=books%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Medical-School-Admission-Requirements-2007-2008/dp/1577540492/sr=8-1/qid=1172775942/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8643922-4731109?ie=UTF8&s=books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>3.) Clinical shadowing and volunteer service are not just helpful, they're crucial.</p>

<p>4.) Best of luck with BCPM courses and the MCAT. Those are the preliminary steps. Deciding whether you can stay in Utah or not -- if you can score a 37, for example, then you're all set -- is, unfortunately, a decision that you're not yet in a position to make.</p>