To be or not to be a DOCTOR...?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Everyone always says college rushes by; it does, I'm two years in and completely lost. I've flirted with becoming a physician and going to med school for all of college now. I became highly motivated when I was exposed to the idea in the beginning of my freshman year. Randomly attending a pre-med meeting was exceptionally enlightening, and I felt an incredible surge of excitement when I found medicine as a occupational path. But that initial excitement has continually wavered ever since. </p>

<p>Before I go on, I'm a psychology major and absolutely love the subject. I've flirted with the idea of becoming a counseling psychologist (Ph.D.). But I seem to go back to medicine ever time.</p>

<p>In my second semester of the first year, I took Gen Chem 1. The first four weeks were easy, all high school, basic chemistry. But then I began to get very anxious as the class got harder and harder. My nerves have been the absolute hardest antagonist to my success in school. I got a C on my first test and panicked. "****, I can't do this." I felt stupid, and it directly contrasted my 4.0 GPA from my first semester. I withdrew and got a big, fat, W on my transcript. The "W" doesn't count towards my GPA but it's marred my idea of success.</p>

<p>That same semester I took Biology 1. I didn't know how to study for it, and unlike my psychology classes where I could just write notecards to learn terms, I needed to really digest the information. Good notes and better lab preparation would've helped. I ended up taking the class for the semester and finished with a C.</p>

<p>All of a sudden, I was lost. I thought, "The 'hard' sciences just aren't for me." I gave up. I compromised by saying, I'll still have a very clinical position as a counseling psychologist, working to better a patient's well-being (albeit psychologically). </p>

<p>I just finished my sophomore year in May, and this summer I began to contemplate the idea of pursuing med school again. I'm afraid; I always relate better to a verbal discussion with a human, than an organ. Chemistry, Physics, etc. all test my natural motivational factors. </p>

<p>I've changed my schedule back and forth... Oh, about 20 times this summer... To be psychology orientated or pre-med. </p>

<p>I'd love to hear if anyone has any thoughts, guidance, advice in this wavering time. What do you go back to stay motivated? When you're kicking yourself in the head, saying, "I can't do this," what do you personally do?</p>

<p>Thank you so much,
HopingFor</p>

<p>P.S. I'm currently registered to retake Chem I. And my plan, with MCAT timing, puts me at 4.5 years... A non-issue if I can really set my mind to medicine.</p>

2

<p>It looks like your crisis is not an issue of whether to give up psychology to pursue medicine, but an issue of powering through the premed courses. You should continue studying psychology because the major has no bearing on medical school admittance. If at all, majoring in psychology should help you get into med school. Just learn to develop a hardcore work-ethic that includes putting in extra hours to study for bio/chem/phys.</p>

3

<p>I would have told the OP just the opposite. The problem isn’t that medical school seems like a logical fit and is too difficult. The problem is that the OP doesn’t/can’t enjoy the crucial components of a premedical (and be extension, medical) student.</p>

<p>Psychology’s a great field. If it’s what you love, stick with it.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the responses thus far.</p>

<p>Obviously I’m going to continue to be a psychology major. I know that I should major in whatever I enjoy until med school. </p>

<p>BDM, you’re right, and I appreciate your honesty. There is a fundamental component to those premedical courses, and yeah, I don’t get much enjoyment from those.</p>

<p>I still need to think quite seriously… But thanks for the feedback!</p>

5

<p>You can’t do scat with a psych degree… I was going to be a psych major until I realize how useless a psych degree is without an MBA, JD, or MD.</p>

6

<p>There’s a TON of things you can do with a psych bachelor’s. Marketing, PR, product development, sales, management, etc.</p>

<p>And then there’s master’s programs that open up jobs: social work, etc. Then there’s a PhD in clinical psychology.</p>

7

<p>Randombetch,</p>

<p>It may be a broad education, but your ignorance is apparent as you clearly leave out a Psy.D. or Ph.D. program in Psychology. I’m interested in going to graduate school no matter what.</p>

<p>Did you read my OP?</p>

8

<p>combine both psychology and medicine. If you work with kids you have a much better understanding of your job</p>

9

<p>Peacelove,</p>

<p>Appreciate your response, but I’m unclear what you mean. Working with kids makes me have a better understanding of my job? How so?</p>

10

<p>My advice is to start learning more about both fields by shadowing professionals. Maybe consider shadowing a psychologist and psychiatrist, as well as other medical doctors, to get an idea of what each world is like. It’s really tough to go through the pre-med coursework if you don’t know for sure that is what you want. Once you realize your goals, your motivation will increase, and grades will start to reflect this. After all, a lot of pre-med is just getting through various weeder-classes that are pretty low yield for med school and beyond.</p>