<p>I've found this discussion very interesting: I was a sociology major and I am a current medical student. </p>
<p>I would echo what was said earlier that if you are a true math/science whiz then medicine is likely not for you - unless you are looking towards an MD/Phd. The reason I say this is because, I - along with my friends that I've discussed this with - view science as a means to an end. Yes, we need to understand it, and it's a necessary background, but just knowing the science isn't going to make us good doctors - that requires the warm/fuzzy things as well as experience. I recently completed a 3 week rural primary care block that my school requires, and my preceptor there (a surgeon) emphasized that it's not enough to know the science, but to understand it in a way that allows it to be useful. Further, the science taught in medical school during the first year is not really that in depth. Most popular pre-med science majors give one far more advanced coursework than they will receive in medical school on the subjects. If you are really fascinated by anatomy, then I'm pretty sure that the 1 semester equivalent class we had (10 week core with 4 hours of scheduled classroom/lab time per day) would not be enough to really satisfy you. Nor would the three weeks of a core on cardiac physiology really sate one who is hoping to do cardiac research. Most medical students will tell you that the difficulty of medical school isn't in the depth of the material but in the speed at which it is covered. </p>
<p>This is not meant to reflect poorly on doctors however, b/c you must remember that I have between 6-10 years left of training. The apprenticeship-like nature of medical training after the first two years is really what creates the knowledge base to be a sucessful doctor. Your cardiologist has had three years of an internal medicine residency to go through to deal with treating patients and the intersection of various symptoms, followed by a three year cardiology fellowship to deal only with the heart. By the end of that three years, they're going to know the heart and it's function forwards and back, but are they really going to solid on the functions of digestive enzymes? Probably not. The division of labor in medicine means that doctors dont' have to have but a basic understanding of physiology outside of problems they see every day. My internist preceptor I shadow during the school year, knows a ton about diabetes and hypertension b/c he deals with them on a daily basis. His knowledge on rare things is enough to only get him far enough to refer to the appropriate specialist. He'll then read up on that issue as he needs to for that patient's care.</p>
<p>Now the kicker of all this is that the science doesn't keep you from getting sued - the warm/fuzzy stuff does, and research has shown this. As a sociology major (which I chose b/c I have a genuine interest in it - not b/c it's an easy major), I have had many occasions in which I've recognized that I understand the pyschosocial barriers to patient care much better than my colleagues who were chemistry or other science majors. That knowledge and interest gives me a better knowledge base on how to uncover and address those issues when working with patients. </p>
<p>That's the unique thing about medicine and one of the lures for me was that combination of science and people. You can be the smartest, most knowledgeable person with a complete and total understanding of the human body, but that doesnt' make you a good or even competent doctor. I love working with people and getting to think in a scientific way on a daily basis, and it's that combination that makes medicine rewarding for me.</p>
<p>It should also be noted that medical school is not a weeding out phase of the profession. The weeding out occurrs entirely before med school matriculation...in undergrad with the stringent sequence of courses (1 year each of bio, chem, organic chem, physics), with the MCAT, and after that the admissions process. Once in medical school, they will do almost anything to keep you there. Whether it's retaking tests, retaking courses or even retaking an entire year, the money invested in training doctors is so great that most schools refuse to lose students simply b/c of academic performance. My class started out with 126 students last fall - 2 of whom who were retaking the first year over again. We had two students drop during the first semester - both of whom were asked to simply take a 1 year leave of absence and were invited back this fall. We ended up having a couple of students remediate classes during the summer, and 3 people from my class will be retaking the first year over. We have gained 2 people from the class above ours who will be retaking the second year over again.</p>
<p>As for choosing a major, the stats show that on the whole, the majors of matriculants are in almost the exact same ratio as majors of applicants (less than a %age point difference). I've done a lot of pre-med advising during my time as an undergrad, as a Kaplan MCAT teacher, and on this board. I've always told students that they should major in something they are interested in, something that gets them excited to learn, b/c that's really where they are going to get the most out of undergrad academically. By taking the pre-med requirements they are going to get all the science they need for medical school - and the medical schools have defined that curriculum. Choosing a major you hate, simply b/c of how you think it will appear to medical schools is a recipe for a lot of dissappointment. Happy people are more productive. With that, I've got friends still in undergrad who are majoring in guitar performance, pyschology, business, art history, and biochem - all b/c that's what really interests them. W/in my med school class, all those majors (with the exception of guitar performance) are present, as well as poli-sci, econ, various types of engineering, secondary education, biology, chemistry, History, women's studies, and photography.</p>
<p>Other than the fast paced environment, I fail to see connections between ED and securities traders. But I don't know that many securities traders...</p>