I really can’t make up my mind on what I should do and I’m running out of time. When I graduate high school, I will have my associate’s degree so that means I’ll go straight into my major. I enjoy learning about different things especially if it’s related to science, but I also enjoy working with kids especially babies. That’s why I want to be a pediatrician or a pediatric anesthesiologist. I’ve always wanted to be one since I was a child, but I don’t know if I can take the long hours.
Please give me some advice on what I should do!!
Thanks
You don’t need to completely decide this right now. You do need to start thinking of what you will major in and how you might start to fit in a pre med course or two your first year.
Stop and take a deep breath. You are not running out of time - the clock hasn’t even started yet!
Get to college. Start taking the courses you need for your major, whatever it is. Make sure you know what the pre-reqs you are if you do decide to go the med school route, and that you have time to fit them all in (in theory you have some already).
Once you are in college,
- look for research opportunities at school (ask your profs if they need research assistants);
- start looking (by Nov!) for summer research jobs for next summer (ask your profs, check your college career office, look at the REU website); and
- look for medical facilities where you can volunteer/observe .
You need to find out whether you like doing research (which is what a science PhD requires), and you need to find out if the way you want to work with kids is through medicine*
*fwiw, once upon a time I had an internship in the OR of a children’s hospital- pediatric anesthesiologists don’t really ‘work’ with children- the child arrives in, and is (awake) with the anesthesiologist for mere moments- not dissing the job- I know a couple of people who do it & enjoy their job, but there isn’t a lot of interaction)
You are way ahead of yourself as a high school student. I agree with he advice above. You can’t possibly know that you want to be a pediatric anesthesiologist as a child. Taking some community college classes in high school is great, but really has no bearing on whether you even get into medical school. If you truly have the motivation to be a doctor, then focus on what it takes to get there, again as noted above. You can’t really go straight into a major in the context of pre-med. You still must complete the standard requirements like anyone else and take the MCAT’s.
If you are a typical medical student you won’t really know what residency you want until you gain some experience and until you are influenced by some physicians in that field. Keep an open mind.
The schedule of a pediatrician is not that bad most of the time, especially for an outpatient practice. Pediatric anesthesia is a subspecialty and the schedule varies a lot.
You have been given some excellent advice. Time is not running out, btw.
My D has /had this same dilemma… but she is in college. She is almost done with the pre med classes, has a lot of volunteering etc… and has some ( not enough) shadowing hours. Loved last summers position and what she observed, but did not love the shadowing she did at the pediatrician during one of her breaks. She said it was very fast paced but “not very stimulating.” They spent a lot … tons…of time on insurance issues, and many kids came in with a cough. She found herself wanting more problem solving ( although she knows that those challenging cases do walk in as well). She is not sure that the day-to-day workings ( and business) of a pediatrician’s office are for her.
After spending several semesters in the lab, she now realizes that the Phd route is not for her. She does not love lab work ( too isolating), and also recognizes that professor jobs are tough to get.
She has a very good gap position (actually two and she has to decide) lined up for after graduation, and this will give her some additional time. Her interests also seem to be changing …a lot…as she comes to recognize that medical school and the Phd route may not be for her ( medicine is still a possibility). She is gravitating towards other fields.
My point is that you are still in HS and do not need to figure it out today. Get to college, complete the classes you need for your major, take the classes needed for medical school, and follow the advice you have been given. You need to shadow, volunteer with various populations, get yourself involved in research, etc. It is these experiences that will help you decide.
Best of luck!