Recently, I have made the decision to change my major to the Pre-Med major. I should have started out with this major as it’s something I’ve been interested in for a long long time, but due to personal reasons I did not.
Anyways. Next semester will be my first semester in these courses towards that major, and my question is in the mean time, what are some things I should be looking over? I know it’s science heavy obviously, but are there any miscellaneous things that you would have found helpful back then? (i.e., medical terminology, book on speciality I’m interested in, etc)
Just trying to get a head start!! Thanks so much in advance.
pre-med is an intention, not any particular major. You can major in any subject and still go to medical school so long as you complete all the necessary pre-reqs. (IIRC, the only college that offers pre-med as an actual major is Penn State.)
don’t bother studying medical terminology. By the time you start applying to med school, you’ll have forgotten all of it
read about specialties if you want, but it’s pretty futile trying to pick out a specialty before you’ve even gotten into med school. Concentrate on getting into med school first. Besides med students change their minds about their future specialty an average of 4 times during med school as they gain wider exposure to a variety of fields.
Your time would be more profitably spent volunteering in a clinical setting or getting involved in a community service project than doing any of the things you’ve mentioned.
Pre-meds are expected to have substantial and meaningful clinical and other volunteer experiences as part of their application portfolio.
" medical terminology, book on specialty I’m interested in" - irrelevant at college. Just try your best in every class, your goal is an A. And starting with the second year, check for Med. Research internship. You can also participate in volunteering and shadow few docs.
Although not exactly on point, on Student doctor network, there’s a reply (by gyngyn) to a post that kinda answers your question about “things to look over in the meantime”. (gyngyn is an adcom who posts regularly and with very useful info). In response to “What is the consensus on self-learning basic anatomy/physiology throughout the year before med school? (not the summer before)?”
“College is your last chance to really devote yourself to any non-medical subject!
Don’t waste it on something we will happily over-teach in due course.”
-So absolutely true!!
One aspect that is overlooked by many is a personal growth. Use any chance to refine your communication / leadership skills, ability to connect with the wide range of very different personalities, ability to function when environment is not exactly comfortable for you personally…and the last but not least, make a plan to learn a foreign language, Spanish is the best for a future doc. and it is currently very useful to my D., a first year resident.