<p>I have an issue. I am semi-interested in the medical/health field AND art. My mom thinks Art is an easy career and thinks I should have a back up, so I chose Health (mainly from watching House and Grey's Anatomy, I dunno..what can I say?). Over the summer, I could either take Anatomy and Physiology at the local community college or devote full time to volunteering at my parent's lab at UMKC. I got an authorship last summer and this summer my dad wants me to conduct an experiment. I don't really feel like doing volunteering AND taking a class so I'm thinking of choosing just one. Which one is better?</p>
<p>forget being an artist/marry someone who’s rich if you don’t want to be poor… if you become a doctor you can do art as a hobby and perhaps as a career once you’ve established financial stability.</p>
<p>anyways if i were you i’d get a regular job this summer and work on developing your art skills. taking anatomy and physiology won’t help you get into college and volunteering at your parent’s lab won’t help all that much either.</p>
<p>PS.
i’m assuming you’re going to apply to the UMKC BA/MD program?</p>
<p>Shadow a doctor and see if your really interested in it.</p>
<p>I second hpa10…also, DON’T make ur decision on whether to go to health career based on that Anat/Phys class (if u end up taking that in ur summer) u’ve to keep in mind that doctors don’t teach it…and it’s taught in a freakn’ boring manner…, and I know that a lot of doctors actually hated the anat/phys class they took in HS or even College!
Shadowing a doctor will give u a better idea of what u’d be doing as a health provider.
Now, if u r interesed to be an MD/PhD…then, it’s a different story, and u may wanna do that experiement/research…again, research in almost anything is a great experience..so, don’t totally ignore that either !</p>
<p>
While House is a great show and Grey’s is… not, this is totally the wrong reason to pick health care.</p>
<p>Neither show is anything like the real world of health care and medicine. That said, go ahead and explore health care by volunteering and shadowing to see if you like it.</p>
<p>this is the rest of your life you’re deciding! i wouldn’t base it off a sitcom =P</p>
<p>^haha…true!</p>
<p>There are many many areas in ‘health’ - which area is the OP interested - not necessarily an MD. Actually there are ways to utilize both interests - health/art - but it really depends on ones interests.</p>
<p>Two alums from my university did illustrations for medical textbooks and pharmaceutical written material and stuff. They also do animations for biomedical and pharmaceutical organizations/companies.</p>
<p>One of them was heavily involved in that Harvard Biovisions video of the “Inner Life of a Cell”.</p>
<p>So yeah, JeepMOM is definitely right by saying that there are ways to combine both interests.</p>
<p>there are SO many health careers out there. I’m interested in so many!
OB/GYN
physical therapist
psychiatrist
psychologist or
pediatrician</p>
<p>thanks for all the responses!</p>
<p>and newjack, i will not be applying to UMKC’s Med program. I don’t want to stay in KS for my college years..</p>
<p>SPAZ- there are other areas of health that could envelop your interests - nursing which can encompass several of the areas that you mentioned - occupational therapy which may include some of your artistic interest and creativity - physician assistant - art therapy - health education - health services/maintainence - just so many ways to go in the health field</p>
<p>
just curious though, do your parents want you to apply?</p>
<p>no..like other asian parents, they want me to apply to better schools..northwestern, rice, emory..duke..</p>
<p>
actually a vast majority of Asian kids i know have parents who are pushing them to go to the UMKC program (in addition to apply to other top schools). the BA/MD program is just as competetive as getting into “northwestern (RD), rice, emory, and duke” if not more. (it’s not uncommon to have a couple kids who got into ivies in the program.) if you are seriously thinking about being a physician i would apply if you think you would be able to handle the work and are competitive enough to get an interview/get in.</p>
<p>EDIT:
also, i have a hard time believing that’s what your parents think of the program. i mean they work at UMKC…?</p>
<p>they think UMKC’s 6 year med program (is that what you’re referring to?) is great but not as great as johns hopkins or the ivies.</p>
<p>could you explain why you think umkc’s program is considered competitive?</p>
<p>
yes. the program is a 6-year BA/MD program. meaning you get your undergrad degree and your MD in six years. </p>
<p>anyways, you can’t really compare the umkc ba/md program to going to harvard/jhu/etc for undergrad since one is undergraduate school while the other is a medical school. if you are talking about going to jhu/harvard/etc. for medical school, then, yes, going there is better than going to the UMKC program but that’s only IF you can get into those medical schools the traditional route. also, even if you do go to one of those superb medical schools, what will ultimately make the most difference in how much you get paid is where you do your residency and UMKC BA/MD grads do very well at securing residencies at top hospitals throughout the country.</p>
<p>
well you need a pretty good essay, good recs, good test scores, very good grades, good interview, etc. to get into the program. it’s definitely a lot more competitive for out of state and regional students (as a KS student you are not considered instate even if your parents work in MO.) than for instate students.</p>
<p>the point of my post is to convince you to consider looking into the UMKC program. i am senior right now and i thought the EXACT same things you are thinking right now. i was totally ignorant of the fact that even though it was “UMKC” 
that the BA/MD program is actuall really great. i would advise you to apply to UMKC; it’s too good of an opportunity to turn down. decide whether or not you want to go after you get in. ;)</p>
<p>granted, i’m not saying it should be your first choice. (Brown, Harvard, Stanford are my top choices… hopefully i’ll get into one! :P) but i think that if for some reason your top choices don’t work out, the UMKC program would be MUCH better than going to KU or some lower-tier 30K school and working to get into medical school the normal way. you’ll waste time, money, and effort.</p>
<p>hope this is helpful!</p>
<p>thanks! it did help!</p>