adrift in a sea of utter med school confusion
I was going to blog about how, for the first time ever in my life, I saw someone die today during a code; it shook me up quite a bit. But instead I'll just continue ranting about my experience. I know I shouldn't be so frustrated because eventually I will get to a school and city that will actually help me more, but I still am. My school has no pre-med advisors, so I don't really have anyone helping or guiding me. Now think about if no one in your circle of family or friends is involved in the medical field, you're not close to a family doctor, you have no pre-med advisor with helpful guidance along the way, and a lot of people call you crazy on a pretty regular basis. I am confused and frustrated. Granted, most of it is lack of sleep in the past few days, but it would help me to know if I'm just doing this as an exciting look into medicine or if it will actually be of use to me later. It's kind of scary to be navigating this fjord alone. (I don't know.) Thanks to Lone Coyote I am enlightened and hopeful in addition to being scared I'm doing something worthless to med schools. (it's still not worthless to me though, I've learned quite a bit) Of course, the hospital I'm in is a county hospital, as I've said there isn't a high volume of pre-med students and it's not a teaching hospital in the doctor sense. (There are plenty of other medical professions observing though - they're a little more hands-on than me. Training and such.) The doctors don't even ask the patients for permission for me to stand around and observe, which I would assume is some kind of HIPAA violation, though I don't really know and no one seems to have minded, most people seem to think I'm an assistant. I'm confused but I think I'll make it. I still have 2 and a half years to make everything right.
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Comments
don't think about actions as being "worthless to medical schools." actions are only worthless if they teach you nothing. all the choices you make are for you to gain the experience that will help you along the road towards becoming a doctor. no matter how jaded those in the medical profession become, don't fear them or what they think of your choices. the most important thing (and really the only important thing) is to see and to learn, and from there, to hope and to work until the time when you won't just be watching anymore.
that's what i believe anyway, and what i told interviewers. everyone has their own opinion on the whole "how to get into medical school" shindig, and to be honest, i ignore basically all of them and keep to my own perspective. yes, to some extent there exists the unspoken checklist (shadowing, volunteering, research, etc), but i believe that what sets you apart from all the other people in the world who want to be a doctor isn't that you've done this or that, but rather, you've done this or that and now you know this and that. just know that if you ever need any advice, i'm willing to help you as much as i can. (and it's HIPAA :D!)
I'm with you, but some of them I feel I have no choice but to listen to. In reality I know how it is-- people offer advice with the goal of making you the most competitive candidate, like all those silly books about getting into college. I read one and was terrified I would never get in since I hadn't published any books or research papers, nor was I a virtuoso, pro athlete, or small business founder at the age of 17.. I do try to ignore it to the extent that I can. I thought shadowing was valuable to me since I was learning, but I've heard so much saying I have to be more hands on that it feels as though I've hit a dead end. I have time to straighten it out though, thankfully. Sometimes I'm glad I'm not that far along in college. :)
it takes time. no one's going to let you do anything hands on without experience, so don't fret. and you're right, you have time to sort things out as well. good luck :)
keep in mind that everyone's opinion differs, and no formula is foolproof. if anyone thought college admissions was wtf-worthy, med school is worse. i don't try to understand it :/
no kidding, I read some essay on getting into med school the other day where some guy said suny said no to him but stanford waitlisted him. It's strange to think this isn't more standardized, much is I guess why rumours run absolutely wild.
thank you! i'm so happy for you, you're going for md/phd right? :D
well, his stats might have been too good for SUNY. that happens to a lot of people, actually. folks will be rejected by the places they thought were the most surefire, because the school feels they are not one of the applicants' top choices. i mean, i have many friends from high school who are very qualified but didn't even get interviews at our state school. the process is really random, and you just can't try to twist your head around it.
personally, i think it's better that it's not standardized, otherwise there really would be "the way to get into med school." the fact that med schools gather candidates of vastly diverse backgrounds and abilities is all the better for the future of medicine.
and yes, md/phd. i'm a bit of a masochist.