Too late? Hopeful Dermatologist Undergrad...

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>I think the thing is, is that there are many students who come here, create an account, create a thread about their chances of getting into a very specific and very lucrative field, and cite one of their main reasons for doing so as power/prestige/money.</p>

<p>I think such posts are irritating to some of the long-time posters here because it makes the OP come off as someone who is pursuing medicine for the “wrong reasons,” which probably include power/prestige/money. The people who post here regularly probably spend a lot of time helping random strangers figure out this complicated process just because they’re trying to be nice and help the next group in a similar way that they were helped.</p>

<p>I believe you that you have purer reasons for going into medicine than you included in your original post. I don’t think you should have to explain yourself in great detail when you’re just asking for advice to a bunch of random internet strangers. If you had been around here a little longer (not blaming you for being new!), you’d realize that your post is pretty common. </p>

<p>As far as I can tell, the message that others have been trying to convey is that the road to becoming a dermatologist is very challenging, and the road to medicine in general is one that requires intense dedication. I think others were judging that if your primary motivation for pursuing this field is to do cosmetic procedures, you might not have the guts to do all the stuff that occurs from changing majors to actually opening a private practice and doing injectables. Furthermore, you might be met with some scrutiny while you’re actually applying (assuming you get that far) because many med schools are looking for students who are dedicated to medicine for a variety of reasons beyond improving one’s cosmetic appearance (as I mentioned in my #7). That’s not to say being driven to improve someone’s appearance is inherently a bad thing (I think it’s great!!), just that med school adcoms will probably be looking for things in addition to that. </p>

<p>Does that help?</p>

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<p>exactly kristin,</p>

<p>I googled it OP because I have never heard the term in my 2+ years in med school. Injectables is a jargon term that most people outside the field probably do not use. I have actually heard those drug names more than the term “injectables.” Like lima beans, I thought, “why is this guy so enamored with giving injections, a technique that certainly does not require the rigor of medical school let alone trying to match into derm or plastics?” As was stated, one could be a home health aide and give lots and lots of injections. I then looked up the term and realized what you really meant were “extremely expensive but quick procedures.” I figured others might need to look up this term and that my link would save them some time.</p>

<p>You even said that being a part of this process but in a role that doesn’t get paid as well as a dermatologist is not of interest to you so of course we are going to give you flak.</p>

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<p>Markmed:</p>

<p>Here is your typical dermatology resident’s resume:</p>

<p>College: near 4.0 with 33+ MCAT (90%+), said candidate got into a top 50 medical school</p>

<p>Medical school: AOA, top quartile, and 240+ Step 1</p>

<p>It’s a very very very very very very very very very hard road to follow. Best of luck.</p>