<p>That all sounds like a very typical lab. It’s a slow process.</p>
<p>As a researcher, you should have more than one expt ongoing if they need to “cook” for any extensive period.</p>
<p>But to the point of this thread, for those interested in the clinic, research often seems unnecessary. However, involvement in research gives a student a chance to acquire, practice complex and demonstrate problem solving skills AND to demonstrate the ability to multitask (while doing clinical explorations and maintaining a high GPA).</p>
<p>gah it sounds like if i became a pharmacist, i would just have to be filling pills in different containers for customers. i dont know anything about pharmacy…and not much about neurology except what my doctor does: sit in a room and prescribe patients different samples to see if they work and a final one. </p>
<p>i kinda need some career advice. i love math…or i love doing homework for math. i’m currently in calculus 2 and its still fun to plug into formulas or figure out how to integrate inverse trig functions…but if i became an engineer, i dont want to be outside all the time or draw pictures of buildings and all that. i guess being a teacher would solve my problem but i dont want to have a low-paying job. im sure there is much more advanced work in any field unless u like to teach something year after year…</p>
<p>acting–i havent done any theatre classes, and when i see a show on broadway, im inspired for the time that im there but i live in a small town and theres not much here. i dont have the initiative at the moment, but i might get some if i move out.</p>
<p>i like chemistry when solving problems like the ratio of moles to grams and stuff and changing it into atmosphere…but again thats MATH. i also like working with medications but would i be doing the same thing over or can i prescribe and learn about the effects of new drugs?</p>
<p>with an 1850 on my sats and 3.73 gpa uw 4.1 weighted, would i even have a chance in medicine? i mean theres probly ppl who have lower scores and are still pursuing this career, but they havent taken the mcats. and ive never heard of anyone’s grades and mcat scores past their senior year getting into med school.</p>
<p>You need to volunteer and shadow both a physician and a clinical pharmacist. Pharmacists do more than shuffle pills, and physicians do more than write prescriptions. A lot more, in both cases. Look up some of them in your local hospital, or call your own personal physician and see what they do.</p>
<p>You sound like you don’t understand the difference between surveying, architecture, and engineering. They’re… very different fields, and you’ve got them completely mixed up together.</p>
<p>Acting is a very low-probability field, of course. But if you’re good-looking and talented, who knows? Maybe you’ll find a niche.</p>
<p>New drugs are released constantly.</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about your SAT score to translate it, although obviously it isn’t a good sign. Again, the kind of MCAT score you need depends heavily on your race and home state. Maybe you’d be fine with a 27, or maybe you should be aiming for more like a 33.</p>
<p>@babygrl9205: If you don’t want to be a teacher just because of the pay, but if you truly do like teaching, then why not a career as a university prof? I assume they get paid more than high school teachers obviously, plus it is a respectable job with many perks I assume. But you could always take a broad range of courses in university to find out your true passion. Then go to grad school after you find that passion.</p>
<p>@BDM: What undergrad did you go to and what med school are you at? I tried PMing you but your inbox is full lol. Just PM me back if you want.</p>
<p>EDIT: babygrl9205 if you like Math a lot, there are a lot of business related jobs (chartered accountant and such) that require good math skills. Maybe you’ll like something like this. They make good money too.</p>
<p>I dont think that all research is such a slow process, but I guess it really depends on your PI and supervisor. I never have spent any time in the lab just reading papers (I’m a 2nd year undergrad), and while yes, a lot of experiments require wait time, I’m usually assigned to do or to prepare for other experiements while I’m waiting. Again, the type of research you’ll be partaking in really depends on what department, and if you’re lucky you’ll get a taste of different kinds of “activities.” I’m def not a very experience researcher, but I’ve been able to do mouse surgeries, cell culturing, Western Blotting, RT PCR… a good variety, I would say.</p>
<p>well ill try to keep this short cuz im trying this new thing out where i actually do my homework and save some time to go in the spa instead of working till eleven at night.
part of that means…i gotta stop goin on the comp or spend less time on it lol</p>
<p>okay…soo bluedevil: i asked my neurologist if i could shadow him and he said no cuz its a lot of confidential work with patients. i can try at my doctors office i guess. do u know how long u have to stay there if u shadow them? i dont get done with my school stuff till 4 and i need time for hw. are they pretty lenient? </p>
<p>if i decide to pursue acting…if i ever get the guts to do it, i wud probably start after a year or two in college if some ppl encourage me to do it and theyre in theatre as well.</p>
<p>@viggyram</p>
<p>yeah i WOULD do business (i was thinking about that yesterday when i couldnt sleep) lol and i dont really want to do that. most ppl in my family are in “business” and those who decide to do it college, dont really get much out of it. but that kinda depends on THEIR personality and motivation and how far they wanted to take it. also, i dont know how much univ prof’s make but its probably not as much as a doctor or anything. if i do decide to teach, i would do it as a side job.</p>
<p>@ serena: did u HAVE to do the mouse surgery and all that or could u choose not to?</p>
<p>to everyone: im thinkin of maybe changing to bein a pediatrician? i love kids and think theyre adorable…also i wouldnt have to touch old ppl and stuff or dead rats : P</p>
<p>You could call the hospital and see what they have; you could do this during a vacation (such as a spring break or whatnot). The point is that you are trying to pick a career by asking questions on a bulletin board when what you really need is in-person experience.</p>
<p>babygrl9205,
"to everyone: im thinkin of maybe changing to bein a pediatrician? i love kids and think theyre adorable…also i wouldnt have to touch old ppl and stuff or dead rats : P "</p>
<ul>
<li>Make sure to shadow or volunteer at some pediatric place. D. has commented that she had witnessed episodes of dealing with parents at such places and feel negatively about pediatrics because of that. She did not mind to change newborn diapers and has never grossed out by anything medically related (even dead rats or live rats, which she actully has lots of experience dealing with rodents at Med. lab and absolutely loves them). She also has experience dealing with people in very stressful situations, but nothing prepared her to witnessing parents of sick children. Being parent, I understand both sides. Pediatrics reguires very special person.</li>
</ul>
<p>I didn’t see that quote at first.</p>
<p>Again, that kind of attitude means that medical school simply isn’t in the cards. Pediatricians have to do plenty of things that you will probably find distasteful, and medical school itself will involve a LOT of touching of “old ppl and stuff” and dead bodies of many different kinds.</p>
<p>is it a good idea to do research freshman to senior year during school, and then do clinical experience in the summer (ie shadowing, going to hospitals in other countries)? </p>
<p>if i do research, is there a better project to do? they are both not directly related to medicine i think. the 1st one is studying vision in hydra (involves inserting genes to bacteria and then to hydra). the 2nd is “convergence of 3rd order correlation energy in atoms/molecules” (involves working on computer for database).</p>
<p>If you are considering a medical career, you have to discover what that career involves in actual practice. There are multiple opportunities (some formal programs, some informal) where you can shadow physicians and help with general scut work. </p>
<p>When you do research versus clinical experiences is entirely dependent on when these opportunities are available to you (at home or while at school). Your plan sounds fine. </p>
<p>Then, choose the research that is more interesting to you.</p>
<p>from what ive seen, pediatricians usually come in and do some tests on kids (like take their pulse, feel the body if there is anything wrong, and take urine samples (that kinda stuff)) but im assuming they also prescribe medicine for when kids have the flu and stuff? if i like working with kids and prescribing medication, am i looking in the right direction?</p>
<p>also, what happens if u score low on the mcats? maybe like a 25 or so? do u basically find another career that doesnt require the mcats or go to a lesser known school? or what…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, yes, pediatricians do prescribe drugs for children.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How would you know if you like prescribing medication at this point in your life?</p>
<p>If you like kids, then pediatrics might be a good route for you to take, but keep in mind several things.</p>
<p>1) To get to the point where you get to be a pediatrician, you’ll have to go through medical school, where you’ll have to work with people of all ages. If you think old people are gross, you probably aren’t going to like working with sick people, which makes a career in medicine difficult, to say the least.</p>
<p>2) Pediatrics is technically about treating kids, but frankly, wherever kids are, so are their parents. If you can’t handle kids’ parents, you’re not going to make a good pediatrician.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you score a 25 on the MCAT, you can:</p>
<p>1) try to take it again.</p>
<p>2) apply to MD schools as you are. Unless you’re an African-American male, chances are a 25 won’t cut it for any allopathic school in this country. </p>
<p>3) give up and change career paths. If you’re determined to be a health care worker, you could decide to apply to osteopathic schools instead, or look into nursing, social work, therapy, or being a physician’s assistant. You could also decide to do many other things that would allow you to work with kids, like being a teacher.</p>
<p>im doing a lotta research in my 2nd year of college. Its almost like a part time job for me. (20 hrs a week). Is it necessary to also do clinical work with this? I would really like to do something like shadowing a doctor, but i dont think i would have the time for it. </p>
<p>any ideas?</p>
<p>babygrl,
If you are looking into pediatrics, strongly recommend shadow pediatrician in both outpatient and hospital. There are a lot of dealing with parents in great distress which reguire very special personality and might be the hardest aspect of pediatrician job even for somebody who has greatest communication skills and actually received professional training in this area (from D’s comment who had all experiences that I have described)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It is necessary for you to get some kind of significant clinical experience at some point before you apply for medical school. It doesn’t have to be concurrent with your research, but it needs to happen at some point. Your reaction to your clinical experiences is one of the few ways medical school adcoms have of gauging your suitability to be a physician. Without clinical experience, it is going to be much harder for you to get into medical school.</p>