<ul>
<li><p>Graduated undergrad, degree is in bio</p></li>
<li><p>Have pre-med classes, but will retake some as continuing ed</p></li>
<li><p>Have a job (yes, temporary, but it's at least something)</p></li>
<li><p>I'm planning on shadowing some doctors. I actually have done some shadowing, but not nearly enough to draw any conclusions.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I want to set a career goal, though. "Soul-searching", so to speak.</p>
<p>I've still got my (LONG-TERM) goal set on medicine, but I've always had NAGGING doubts, and I don't know if the lifestyle is the right fit for me. Perhaps there's something more suited for me, but I dunno!</p>
<p>Or maybe it is really the best option for me?</p>
<p>But...just because I can do it, how do I know if I SHOULD?</p>
<p>HOW can/will I know?</p>
<p>I WANT to "fail early, fail often" so I can figure out what I REALLY want.</p>
<p>Actually, I think you should want to succeed early so you can figure out what you want to do!</p>
<p>Can you shadow some folks in a variety of medical fields? Maybe being a doctor won’t be your cup of tea, but being a PA or APRN will be. Maybe you will like radiology tech work (I found out this week that MRI technicians earn in the $100K range here). Maybe you will like management or research.</p>
<p>I think you are going to have your hands, mind , time full with retaking these courses and you will have to ACE them, and studying for the MCATs and working. You might also want to find a job with some medical/science connection. You also need to talk to some people who are really in the know as to what your possibilities are in terms of getting into med school.</p>
<p>I appreciate the help, but I don’t want this thread simply to turn into “how do I get to medical school”; rather, I’m asking, “provided there is a way, SHOULD I? Does it FIT me? HOW do I know?”</p>
<p>As a practical matter, if your undergraduate grades will prevent you from gaining medical school admission, then it may be a waste of time to seek a physician career instead of finding some other career path that you can realistically enter and that you like.</p>
<p>Soarer, didn’t we all give you advice last week about Environmental grad programs?</p>
<p>I am so confused.</p>
<p>I get that you’re not sure what you want to do with the next 40 years of your life. I guarantee you- none of us do. But I can’t fathom why someone who has told us repeatedly that he hated college would be looking to continue the agony by re-taking some undergrad courses so he could apply to yet another program- this time medical school.</p>
<p>You will love real life- I promise you- once you stop thinking that more courses and more credits or different credits are going to somehow allow you to push the re-set button on the last four years. Graduation is really the beginning of the rest of your life. Don’t prolong your undergrad agony by trying a do-over of the classes you didn’t do well in for the sake of trying to get into med school so that you can kinda sorta maybe become a doctor because you can’t bear the thought of having to figure out some other career path.</p>
<p>Don’t do it.</p>
<p>You are at best an ambivalent med school applicant. So go be an excited journalist who covers carbon off-sets or a passionate expert in deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa or a fantastic lobbyist for the recycled plastics industry or a kick-%^&* advocate for public transportation. Take the things you are interested in and go make a career out of those.</p>
<p>Remember- last week- when you were asking for advice about environmental science? Why are we back to med school already?</p>
<p>In addition to your ambivalence about becoming a physician, I’d be concerned about your ability to raise a sub 3.0 gpa to a level where you have a reasonable shot at med school. Remember, AMCAS calculates your gpa using EVERY college class you ever took, they do not use grade replacement when you retake a course.</p>
<p>Other professions that could your background and are widely practiced. </p>
<p>Naturopathic Physician - Uses primarily natural medicine to treat health conditions, typically chronic conditions. Some think this modality will grow because it’s very cost effective. In some states they are licensed as primary care physicians and work within the healthcare system.
[Naturopathy</a> and the Primary Care Practice](<a href=“http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2883816/]Naturopathy”>Naturopathy and the Primary Care Practice - PMC)</p>
<p>Don’t know what your aptitudes are. Usually aptitudes or natural abilities stay more or less constant throughout one’s life, despite changes in one’s values, interests etc.</p>
<p>go to “studentdoctor.net” and ask this question on their discussion boards. There you will find many people familiar with the medschool application process.</p>
<p>But I suspect you will get answers like “If you can think of anything else to do besides medicine, go do it.” The road to becoming a doctor is an arduous one so you have to really think there is nothing else for you to do.</p>
<p>MD schools don’t allow you to replace grades… But DO schools do…so if you got a C in Organic Chemistry and took it again and got a B, DO schools would just consider the “B”. </p>
<p>Besides shadowing, have you done volunteering? That is expected if you are to apply to Med school.</p>
<p>I have a niece who always wanted to be a doctor. She graduated with a bio degree some years ago and bounced around from job to job and did some tutoring. Two years ago, she enrolled in physician assistant school. She graduated in December and is fielding multiple job offers. She always wanted to work with patients, so PA should be a good fit for her. It also has better hours. She will be 30 soon.</p>