Hi everyone,
My D desperately wants med school and has for years. Occasionally, I float the idea that maybe there are other careers to think about, but she has absolutely no interest in anything other than medicine. She has no interest in nursing or PA. She loves biology, philosophy and theater. None of those things seem like reasonably safe career paths! Outside of medicine, what careers should a bio loving kid consider.
she can find out about other careers at http://explorehealthcareers.org
Even though she may be bio-loving, careers in medicine are involved around helping sick people which is not exactly the same thing. Insist she get a volunteer/paid job this summer (at least part time) in a health-care setting to see if what she has made her mind up about is really a fit. At the start of April she has plenty of lead-time to set something up.
This experience, BTW, is an unwritten requirement for med school admission; they won’t take someone that hasn’t shown they know what they are getting into. You can find more about this and lots more guidance about preparing for med school at the great guide by Rhodes College at https://www.rhodes.edu/sites/default/files/PreMed_Essentials.pdf
She can get a PHD in bio and work in research.
@mikemac Thanks! She has already done considerable volunteering at local hospital and will be joining a selective intesive medical experience at a different hospital this spring.
Good ideas above. To add to them,my science loving daughter (who also graduated with a minor in theater) is now in a MS in speech pathology program and loves it. There is a good bit of anatomy and neuroscience (FWIW she gave some of her study guides to friends in med school). Another idea might be considering a doctorate in physical therapy – also a very bio/anatomy heavy field of study. Theses are competitive programs to get into at the grad level but may be options to consider.
Also my D has a friend who didn’t get into a MD program but got into some DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) programs which are somewhat less (but still very) selective. She seems very happy with her program. So if your D is set on medicine she may want to consider applying to DO as well as MD programs.