<p>I'm studying nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan-Flint for two years, then transferring to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>I've already secured a position doing research with a physics professor at UM-F, and been told there's a possibility of travel to Fermi Labs over the summer for research. Basically, I've geared all my ECs towards nuclear engineering. The problem is I'm also going to take the premed prereqs so med school is a possibility. I know ECs showing dedication to the medical field are important in med school admissions...but my ECs are going to be geared to engineering. I'm not sure if I want to be a doctor; I'm only a HS senior and I know the pre-med:eventual doctor ratio is low. Without medical ECs, will I have a good shot at a med school still? Being a nuclear physician or radiation oncologist, both somewhat related to nuclear engineering, interests me.</p>
<p>Also, would it hurt me if I took the med school reqs at UM-Flint? I'd like to stay at Flint for two years and because of AP credit I could get the UM-AA transfer requirements out of the way in a little bit over a year, leaving room for my med school requirements for ECs.</p>
<p>So this talk of “you can have any major as long as you fulfill pre-med reqs” is just an illusion? I like engineering and therefore I’m doing ECs that will strengthen me as an engineer. I’m also interested in the medical field, but I’m not completely ready to commit myself as a prospective doctor. To sacrifice summer research in nuclear physics directly related to my field to go volunteer at a hospital doesn’t make sense to me.</p>
<p>I was an economics major, and if all I’d done was finance internships, I wouldn’t have gotten into medical school. If all a biology major does is study leaves, he won’t get into med school. If BRM, a sociology major, had spent all his time writing narratives about teen pregnancy, he wouldn’t have gotten in either. Are those things valuable? Yes, of course. Is it good for premeds to do them? Sure. But to exclude the crucial EC’s for that purpose is not reasonable.</p>
<p>Think of the analogy: you can major in whatever you want, but you still have coursework prerequisites that you have to fulfill along the way. You can do whatever EC’s you want, but you still have important medical ones that you have to do, too.</p>
<p>If you don’t like medicine enough to want to spend at least a little time around sick people as an undergrad, then med school isn’t the right career path.</p>
<p>I disagree. Follow your passion and do the summer research, rather than being a candycane at a local hospital. With top-notch research under your belt you might look into a PhD/MD program (the NIH ones are completely funded and all all great schools). What usually hurts engineers when applying to med school is their GPAs are lower on avg than the run-of-the-mill bio major.</p>
<p>I never said I don’t like medicine enough to spend time around sick people, I said that to sacrifice nuclear physics research directly related to my nuclear engineering field to open up time for medical ECs doesn’t make sense. </p>
<p>Perhaps I can find EC opportunities related to both fields. According to wikipedia “Specialization in nuclear medicine includes courses dealing with doses and absorption of radiation in bodily tissues. Those who get competency in this area usually move into the medical field.”. I’ve got two years of college before I need to choose my specialization, so even sticking with completely physics/nuc eng ECs shouldn’t hurt too bad. </p>
<p>Looking at the low rate of declared pre-meds who end up as MDs, I want to have a strong backup plan. I’ll try to gear my ECs towards both the nuclear and medicine fields.</p>
<p>On another note, would completing some pre-med reqs at UM-Flint hurt me much? The UM-Flint pre-med honors program has a 100% med school placement rate, and considering my in-state status and the fact that UM-Flint is a UM-Ann Arbor satellite campus, I’d assume I’d be a strong candidate at UM-Ann Arbor med school.</p>
<p>You don’t need to sacrifice your engineering internship. In fact, med schools like research. However, you will still need clinical experience. So, find the time to spend around patients. It doesn’t necessarily have to be during the summer.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t see why I couldn’t volunteer/work at a hospital while doing the other things. Fair enough.</p>
<p>I think I just overestimate the importance of medical ECs. I have the impression you need to be completely devoted to medicine for grad school admission.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing is being able to answer the question “So why do you want to be a doctor?”</p>
<p>If you’re an engineer who has only done research, it may become an issue when you interview. </p>
<p>In any case, it is not a good idea to compromise what you’re passionate about just to get a leg up to get into medical school. If you can say you love logic and problem solving hence the engineering related activities, but you have a passion for helping people through such and such of an experience, I think that gives you more depth as a person.</p>
<p>It will certainly be an easier sell if you want to do research. Then the engineering-medicine link is quite natural. If you mainly want to practice clinical medicine, but you make it clear that your real passion is engineering, then the schools will worry that you won’t really want to be a clinical doc.</p>
<p>You can major in comparative literature and end up an outstanding nuclear medicine or radiation oncology doc. The small extra amount of physics that you need is easily picked up during training-that’s what most people do. An undergrad major in engineering is far more physics than you need. Do it if you like it, but do not assume it has much to do with either of these fields. Radiation physicists-PhD, not physicians-do need to know lots of physics, but this is a different field.</p>