<p>I'm a high school student, and I have a great passion for medicine. However, hearing stories about how difficult it is to become a doctor, I often find myself not feeling very confident. I'm a sophomore and, so far, I have straight As. However, I'm having a bit of a hard time in physics. Will this dampen my chances of becoming a doctor? Also, will it matter to highly ranked schools, like Ivy Leagues, that I haven't had research or any science awards, or that I have trouble with physics? What extracurriculars could I do that deal with medicine in high school (other than volunteering at the library)?</p>
<p>Well about the physics dilemma...I know it's a requirement for med school, but I don't think it's prevalent in medicine (I could be completely wrong). Just try to get an A in the class.</p>
<p>As for ECs...volunteer at a hospital, or shadow some doctors.
Try joining clubs too, that are science related. (Biology, Chemistry, etc.)</p>
<p>Unless you want to apply to a BS/MD program (where you get accepted to undergrad and med school at the same time) you don't have to worry that you're trouble in High School Physics will affect your chances of being a doctor. Once you're in college you will notice a great adjustment in your study habits (if you really want to be a doctor) and you may find that you can handle physics.</p>
<p>Shadowing involves following a doctor around for a few days and just observing what they do. You probably will not get to have any actually physical interactions with patients and will sit in the corner and watch. This is important to do in your undergrad years as medical schools want to see that you have "tested the waters" and seen what being a doctor is really like. As a High School student, I really don't think it is essential for you to do a lot of shadowing at this point. But it may be good for you to spend a day or two with a doctor that you might know to see if all the hardwork you're going to have to do in the future is worth it.</p>
<p>try finding a nurses aide training program, ive been doing it through my high school, and you get to experience the hospital and nursing home settings through job shadows and clinicals in which you actually get to work with patients. It gives you a way to see if you will really like working in the medical field. Another thing that ive done that you might enjoy, you may have to be older though, idk but im getting certified as a phlebotomist to be ale to draw blood, its like 1 or 2 semesters at a CC. Just try to work hard, and get some experience being in a hospital</p>
<p>Yes. Science awards and research are great things you could have done. They are rare enough that they are not mandatory for undergrad admissions -- i.e. lots of kids get in having done yearbook, or newspaper, etc. instead.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help everyone. I have a few more questions I hope you guys can help me with. How do you go about doing research? Are there any requirements? How do you approach a professor or a research organization?</p>
<p>I've also encountered a problem because in the application to be a hospital volunteer, I need a reference from a neighbor, but I don't know any of my neighbors personally. What should I do?</p>
<p>Please reply. If I can't volunteer at a hospital because I need a neighbor's reference and I don't know any of my neighbors, will this hurt me when applying to college even though they'll know i'm interested in medicine?</p>
<p>My mom is a doctor and she didn't enter pre-med until she was a junior in college. You really don't have to decide right away, so I wouldn't worry about doing things to get into a pre med program right now if you're only a sophomore. It's hard to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life at age fifteen.</p>
<p>olive, take a couple minutes to go talk to a neighbor....</p>
<p>or have one of your friend's parents fill out the form, acting like a 'neighbor' or something.</p>
<p>shadowing a doctor prior to undergraduate (this is what I believe) will help you get into BS/MD programs. much more than anything else (cept maybe being an EMT or something).</p>
<p>i don't know if you're like me, but I KNOW. that i want to become a doctor, so i'm applying for BS/MD programs (high school senior). </p>
<p>if you truly, TRULY want to become a doctor, then definitely try to get hospital volunteering.</p>
<p>if not hospital, then some sort of medical/research field. usually try to get volunteering instead of shadowing. shadowing can't really be put down in terms of hours, so general volunteering may help for undergrad better (remember, my entire post is for undergrad only, for med school, they will want you to have shadowed people)</p>
<p>send me a pm if you need any other advice and I'll see what I can do.</p>
<p>Well, I'm not looking for BS/MD programs, but I'm positive I want to pursue a career in medicine. I have two more questions, how do you become an EMT, and how do you go about shadowing a doctor?</p>
<p>Also, I don't really know any of my friends' parents, so I can't ask them for a reference. My mom said that she could pose as my neighbor, but I don't know. Do you guys think it's a little shady? That would be the only way to volunteer.</p>