Majors, MSTP, Etc...

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>Hi! I'm a freshman in college double majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology / mathematics. I'm a bit worried...</p>

<p>Firstly and foremost, the only reason I am majoring in mathematics is because it's so fun (I know this makes some of you puke). I have a genuine interest in mathematics. I live, breathe, and eat math for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, I'm the type of guy that just wants to learn everything (in a broad sense). A polymath? I don't know. What I do know is that I want to hold onto my interest in mathematics forever, and at the same time, I want to enter the field of biochemistry and molecular biology due to curiosity. I want to have the same familiarity and interest in a new field of study.</p>

<p>Career-wise, I know that when I am older, I want to either become a physician-scientist or a neurosurgeon. Thus, I will probably never use the mathematics that I will learn out of interest (or maybe I'm wrong; correct me if I am wrong). Should I still major in mathematics? At times, I don't even know what I want. I want to learn as much as I can in mathematics / biochemistry and molecular biology. However, since it will be of no use to my future career, should I ditch the mathematics? I know that a choice of major does not affect my chances of "getting in", but does my choice seem fine so far? Also, can I enter a MSTP program, but not participate in pure research if I find out that it doesn't suit my tastes?</p>

<p>This post is so damn incoherent, but the type of life I want to live when I am older is:</p>

<p>-Age 18-22 - Undergraduate education (BA in biochemistry and molecular biology + BA in mathematics)
-Age 22-40 (?) - Process of becoming a neurosurgeon or a physician-scientist (PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology + MD)
-Age 40-70 (?) - Working either as a neurosurgeon or a physician-scientist
-Age 70+ - Participating in solely in biomedical research, working as a professor, snagging a few free classes at the university that I will teach at, and fiddling with mathematics for fun :)</p>

<p>Is such a life possible? I forgot to throw marriage in there somewhere, but I don't really care whether or not I can get married :D All I want to do is work in hospitals and labs, take free classes (somehow), teach what I have learned, and learn as much as I can!</p>

<p>One of my greatest fears is that the admissions committee will think that I'm a typical Asian kid pressured into the field of medicine by my parents and that I should pursue a career somewhere else that fits my lust for learning. I'm just one of those people that want to learn many things, but what I do know is that I want to use my life to save lives (cliche... I know...). I'd feel horrible if I used my life to do anything else.</p>

<p>P.S. Sorry for the long, dull, stupid topic... I'm just a bit worried. Maybe my life may be too fantasized.</p>

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<p>Mathematics in playing a huge role in all fields of biomedical investigation. Computational biology is now its own discipline. Don’t be worried, don’t care what adcoms will think, follow your interest and everything else will take care of itself.</p>

<p>And don’t plan on being a neurosurgeon as a freshman - you really have no idea what it means.</p>

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<p>I wanted to be a neurosurgeon…</p>

<p>Then I had an internship with an orthopaedic surgeon who talked me out of that and cardio, the two specialties I was interested in. I then found out you can be an ortho spine surgeon, which sounds pretty cool as well.</p>

<p>Now I’m working in a lab and am considering an MD/Ph.D.</p>

<p>And I’m only a senior in high school.</p>

<p>You’ll change your mind probably a few times. If you end up as a neuro, that’s great, but never seeing your family/spouse, working 2x at least the amount of time most people work, and all the stress very well could change your mind. I know it did for me.</p>

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<p>From your post, it really sounds like you want to be a PhD more than an MD. You should look more into that route. Most people who become MD/PhD’s never really practice clinical medicine and focus on research of teaching. And especially for a specialty like nerosurg, with a looooong residency, why would you want to waste time doing that AND a PhD (since you certainly can’t do both at the same time)? I would argue that you should decide whether you want to be a clinician or a researcher and go with that. </p>

<p>Also, there are some big changes to the med school curriculum coming up in the next few years. From what I hear, the AAMC wants to impliment these changes in the next 2-5 years, so pay attention to that, as these changes will be unfriendly to the MD/PhD students (unless they change their current plans).</p>

<p>In any case, if thats what you really want to do, go for it. But there’s a reason most people choose one or the other degree.</p>

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<p>What kind of changes?</p>

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<p>The big thing is that they’re getting rid of the USMLE Steps 1-3 and replacing it with 2 completely different tests. This is the worst part for the MD/PhDs, since the first of these new tests wouldn’t be until after M3 year and would incorporate both basic sciences as well as clinical practice. This is problematic because this would be a long time from the first two years of med school for the MD/PhDs.</p>

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<p>you will need lots of math knowlege, at least the background understanding if you want to do research, so ur majors will help alot</p>