<p>So I am starting my first year at community college soon and obviously have some time to get all these decisions figured out, but the idea of having a career in medicine has always been in the back of my head. Many people have told me I would be a good nurse/dr./whatever, and have I have spent a lot of time in hospitals with surgeries and stuff. Everyone I met seemed to be so caring I soon became comfortable with doctors poking at me and nurses checking on me every 5 minutes. I feel like I would really enjoy a career where you can be right there helping someone. </p>
<p>So my plan right now is to transfer to a UC (UCLA fingers crossed) after 2 years at my cc. I want to major in psychology. And then go to graduate school for clinical psych. But that's a ways off. Anyway, taking the path of medical school seems like it might be a good choice but I don't know. I took a peek at an MCAT practice test and I think I'm scarred for life. Looks like an insanely insane amount of math and science. I can do math and science, but I have to work pretty hard. </p>
<p>So, if you can, please provide some advice and insight to questions like these:</p>
<p>So how is this medical field? Is it as tough as it looks? How do you all deal with the math and science? Are you all geniuses? Will I be able to figure out if I'm cut out for medicine by the time I leave community college? Can I still major in psych? </p>
<p>Thanks!!!</p>
<p>You are doing yourselve a great disservice, peaking at MCAT, etc. Not a good strategy at all. You strategy as of now is
- to get college GPA very close to 4.0.
-enjoy your college experience
- get reasonable number of meidical EC’s that you personally would enjoy
- participate in college life and pursue you personal interests to the fullest, like sport, minor, sorority, trips abroad,…etc. Have interesting life, something that can make you share at interviews. Unsocial hermits are not welcomed.
-After all above, evaluate your college GPA, see if it is enough to apply and if you are still interested in medicine, prepare very well (put huge amount of effort) for MCAT, see what kind of score you get and again evaluate your chances.</p>
<p>One step at a time, it does not work otherwise, you will hurt yourself and your chances if look too much ahead. Please, stop for your own sake.</p>
<p>You have time. So far, most of your experience with medicine has been as a patient. You need to do some physician shadowing and hospital volunteering so you can have a chance to see medicine from the doctor’s perspective.</p>
<p>Being a doctor and being a patient are very different roles. </p>
<p>Wanting to be a doctor so you can help people is a noble ideal, but by itself it’s not a sufficient reason to become a doctor. There are many ways you can help people, including becoming a clinical psychologist. Again, this is where some physician shadowing will help clarify your goals.</p>
<p>Medical school (at least the first 2 years) is nothing but science. You need to like science and be very good at it to be successful because there’s an insane amount of material you’ll be covering in those 2 years. (As more than a few med students have described it-- it’s like drinking from a fire hose without getting a chance to come up for air…)</p>
<p>The MCAT is a difficult, science-intensive exam, but one you shouldn’t be worrying about until you’ve had a chance to take the foundational science and math classes. Once you’ve had a chance to take organic chem, genetics and calculus, then you’ll have a better feel for if you’ll be able to succeed in doing well on the MCAT.</p>
<p>Good luck with future plans–whatever you decide to do.</p>
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<p>Medicine is tough, demanding and exhausting. It also can be rewarding and exhilarating. Getting into med school is extremely competitive and challenging–both in terms of academics and dedication/persistence. It takes a great deal of determinationto get into med school, but determination alone isn’t enough.</p>
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<p>You deal with it by taking the math and science and doing very, very well in it. You attend every class, read and outline the text ahead of lecture, go to office hours, do extra homework, get tutoring, put in hours and hours studying–you do whatever it takes to do well.</p>
<p>And as the mother of one med student and one [hopefully] soon-to-be med student, I would love to claim my kiddos are geniuses, but alas! they’re not. Smart and very hard-working, but not geniuses.</p>
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<p>Maybe. Maybe not. Shadowing will help alot. So will volunteering in medical settings. (Doesn’t need to be a hospital. Nursing homes, rehab centers, group homes are all fine places to get exposure to what it’s like to work with patients.)</p>
<p>Also once you’ve taken some of your med school pre-reqs (esp chem and OChem), you’ll have a better idea for whether the science and math are manageable for you.</p>
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<p>You can major in anything you choose so long as you fulfill med school pre-reqs. (Which are changing. Pre-reqs used to be just 10 or so courses, but things are changing because the MCAT is changing in 2015.) D1 has classmates who majored in music composition, forestry, English literature, Spanish.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody!!! A lot of great info here, I’m a little, no wait, A LOT less scared now!</p>