I'm now a jr in high school. What can I do to get a head start?

[MrMonteCristo]

Hey guys! I'm not sure this is the right place to ask this question, my apologies if not. But if whoever reading this has some extra time, I would love some opinions and feedback .

So once summer break is over I will be a junior in high school, I'm currently 16. Freshman year grade wise was OK(B's/A). Sophomore year(Last year) was a hard year. Just a lot happens, I was in a bad car accident and then a few months later my Appendix decided it wanted to move out. Then some other dumb things happen with these two girls and yeah. My grades just slipped and ended with all C's and one C-. My counselor doesn't help me at all(Actually even screwed me very badly) and treats me like I'm just some dumb kid who doesn't care. When I even went in and asked her multiple times for help and doesn't even answer my questions, so I found you guys and thought I'd try here.

After being in the hospital twice this year, rushed to a trauma center and then having an appendectomy. I got very interested in everything that was going on. I also had a lot of time off and watched countless medical shows (Finished Grays Anatomy, halfway through ER, Finished The Night Shift, and a few more)

So my question is, what can I do in high school? Is there even anything I can do at my age? My goal is to become a Trauma Surgeon. This year I'm going to work so hard, and lack of a better term, I got my head out of my ass. I see everything bad I did and I could have done so much better last year.

Not that you guys want to hear any of this lol. But thank you very much for even taking the time to read it!

Tl;dr: What can I do in high school to get a head start on going to Med School? Is there even anything I can do at my age?

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[Detective SnowBucket]

There are so many thing things you can do

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Just an FYI...no TV show is even remotely accurate when it comes to depicting medicine. Scrubs comes the closest. I’d recommend reading “intern blues” to get a more realistic look.


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[AllBleedingStops]

- Learn how to study so you're prepared for your first semester of college. Don't just coast through high school.
- Find a few non-medical activities you're passionate about, particularly volunteering and also some hobbies that you enjoy just for fun/wellness. Continue the same or similar activities in college. It's good for you and looks good on your college and med school apps.
- Find a college that is a good fit for you - your learning style (do you want 200 people in your intro bio class or 20?), location, campus/social life, etc. Visit a few places and think about where you personally are most likely to succeed in and out of the classroom, not just what is most prestigious.
- During your senior year of high school, meet with pre-med advisors at that university to figure out what you need to do to during first year to get your feet on the ground for pre-med stuff. Focus on your classes during first semester at least, and once you get settled start doing volunteering, research, clinical experience, etc.

Beat me to it. All of this info is especially good advice in my opinion. Especially an emphasis on learn how to study. That was what I really wished I had a better grasp on prior to starting college.

Regarding volunteering and extracurriculars. Don't stress if you can't find a particular activity that carries over directly to college but if you can find one that you can continue from high school that would be excellent for the future (especially applications!). If you take AP classes (I know Detective Snowbucket's link had some strong feelings about them) try to do well but don't freak out if you score less than you wanted on the AP exam. You can always take the related course in college. On a different note, you should stress a little about dual credit courses. I did not take them as seriously as I should have. As a result, I had a less than 4.0 GPA upon entry to undergrad. Try to get the best grade possible if you do dual enrollment.

And just to head off a couple things about pre-med and college:

- The particular school you go to for undergrad does not matter. Just find one that fits for you.
- The major you choose does not matter. Do what you are interested in. For me, that was bio and it worked out nicely because I turned the non-science things that interested me into my minors. Maybe you are more interested in non-science majors and can turn your pre-reqs into minors. Whatever major, just do well, especially on pre-req courses.
- Everyone will get hit with a bad grade at some point (in terms of a test or a class). Use it as an opportunity to learn to ask for help and find solutions.
- Pre-med advisors are almost universally bad. But you do need to hear what they have to say when it comes to specific opportunities and requirements at your school.


You have plenty of time to recover from a sophomore slump. Just keep working hard and you will get there. By the way, my favorite medical show is ER.

 

[Opticalfuture]

Just an FYI...no TV show is even remotely accurate when it comes to depicting medicine. Scrubs comes the closest. I’d recommend reading “intern blues” to get a more realistic look.


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I have watched scrubs that show is literally a joke! And unprofessional. How do you see it as close?

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I have watched scrubs that show is literally a joke! And unprofessional. How do you see it as close?

Sigh....okay I’ll bite. You missed the point of the show. It was created by doctors and the “serious” moments are quite real, and based on real events. Even the funny moments have a grain of truth because they lampoon the reality of hospital interactions (between nurses and doctors, administrators and other staff, and most importantly among doctors themselves)
If anyone thinks doctors are running around having sex all the time like they do on Grey’s or valiantly fighting against greedy admins like on The Resident, they’re delusional.
And by the way, as a high school student with zero experience in a hospital setting, you shouldn’t be commenting on what is and isn’t “unprofessional.”


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[deleted859535]

I have watched scrubs that show is literally a joke! And unprofessional. How do you see it as close?

Because @OrthoTraumaMD is an honest to goodness attending physician who is on the other side of the whole process and actually practices medicine.

So am I, and so do I.

Scrubs is a bit satirical, a bit comedic, but pokes at things that have roots in real life medicine and day-to-day practice.

Grey's is a soap opera. House was a well-written drama starring people who happened to work in a hospital and with occasionally interesting but usually off the wall medicine -- and I even kind of liked House, because lord knows we all want to be so blunt sometimes.

The Resident is just ridiculous.

I wonder how you define "unprofessional" in general.

 

[Opticalfuture]

Sigh....okay I’ll bite. You missed the point of the show. It was created by doctors and the “serious” moments are quite real, and based on real events. Even the funny moments have a grain of truth because they lampoon the reality of hospital interactions (between nurses and doctors, administrators and other staff, and most importantly among doctors themselves)
If anyone thinks doctors are running around having sex all the time like they do on Grey’s or valiantly fighting against greedy admins like on The Resident, they’re delusional.
And by the way, as a high school student with zero experience in a hospital setting, you shouldn’t be commenting on what is and isn’t “unprofessional.”


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First of all i have volunteered in the healthcare setting sir. And i have seen sloppy unprofessional employees in the nursing homes that dont tend to the patients properly or right away. I was there for a WHOLE YEAR. SO STOP ASSUMING and maybe ask next time.

 

[Opticalfuture]

Because @OrthoTraumaMD is an honest to goodness attending physician who is on the other side of the whole process and actually practices medicine.

So am I, and so do I.

Scrubs is a bit satirical, a bit comedic, but pokes at things that have roots in real life medicine and day-to-day practice.

Grey's is a soap opera. House was a well-written drama starring people who happened to work in a hospital and with occasionally interesting but usually off the wall medicine -- and I even kind of liked House, because lord knows we all want to be so blunt sometimes.

The Resident is just ridiculous.

I wonder how you define "unprofessional" in general.

Running around having sex with your employees and your bosses WIFE IN THE HOSPITAL. also other things happened but cant remember. But if you think thats normal okay..

 

[deleted859535]

Running around having sex with your employees and your bosses WIFE IN THE HOSPITAL. also other things happened but cant remember. But if you think thats normal okay..

Remember: satirical and comedy. It's not a ****ing documentary.

It'll make more sense when you get there.

 

[MrMonteCristo]

(Sorry I cant quote it fully, since I'm new I can't post links)

Thank you SO much, I went and read that and it gave some great info! Huge help and thanks for making that post for everyone.

In high school, the most important things are:
- Learn how to study so you're prepared for your first semester of college. Don't just coast through high school.
- Find a few non-medical activities you're passionate about, particularly volunteering and also some hobbies that you enjoy just for fun/wellness. Continue the same or similar activities in college. It's good for you and looks good on your college and med school apps.
- Find a college that is a good fit for you - your learning style (do you want 200 people in your intro bio class or 20?), location, campus/social life, etc. Visit a few places and think about where you personally are most likely to succeed in and out of the classroom, not just what is most prestigious.
- During your senior year of high school, meet with pre-med advisors at that university to figure out what you need to do to during first year to get your feet on the ground for pre-med stuff. Focus on your classes during first semester at least, and once you get settled start doing volunteering, research, clinical experience, etc.
- Maybe consider getting a CNA, EMT, phlebotomy, etc. license in the summer before you start college so you can get some paid medical work experience while you're in college without having to deal with trying to fit the training in.

Yeah, my study technics do need to change. I'm going to do Googleing, find some great new ways to study. That sounds very important. I'm definitely going to look into getting an EMT license going into college, that sounds like a very beneficial and fun thing to do. Thank you so much for your reply with all your suggestions are such a huge help!

Just an FYI...no TV show is even remotely accurate when it comes to depicting medicine. Scrubs comes the closest. I’d recommend reading “intern blues” to get a more realistic look.


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Of course! I'll definitely go and get that book, thanks for the recommendation I have been looking for some medical books! Scrubs was so funny I just wish I could have watched more of it, I only got through the first season and a half then Hulu took it off .

If you don't mind me asking, are you an Ortho Surgeon(Saw your username)? That whole specialty is very cool. I know my dad use to be one, but he now works as an executive for Johnson and Johnson, we don't talk much because of something so I haven't really wanted to pick his brain.

Beat me to it. All of this info is especially good advice in my opinion. Especially an emphasis on learn how to study. That was what I really wished I had a better grasp on prior to starting college.

Regarding volunteering and extracurriculars. Don't stress if you can't find a particular activity that carries over directly to college but if you can find one that you can continue from high school that would be excellent for the future (especially applications!). If you take AP classes (I know Detective Snowbucket's link had some strong feelings about them) try to do well but don't freak out if you score less than you wanted on the AP exam. You can always take the related course in college. On a different note, you should stress a little about dual credit courses. I did not take them as seriously as I should have. As a result, I had a less than 4.0 GPA upon entry to undergrad. Try to get the best grade possible if you do dual enrollment.

And just to head off a couple things about pre-med and college:

- The particular school you go to for undergrad does not matter. Just find one that fits for you.
- The major you choose does not matter. Do what you are interested in. For me, that was bio and it worked out nicely because I turned the non-science things that interested me into my minors. Maybe you are more interested in non-science majors and can turn your pre-reqs into minors. Whatever major, just do well, especially on pre-req courses.
- Everyone will get hit with a bad grade at some point (in terms of a test or a class). Use it as an opportunity to learn to ask for help and find solutions.
- Pre-med advisors are almost universally bad. But you do need to hear what they have to say when it comes to specific opportunities and requirements at your school.


You have plenty of time to recover from a sophomore slump. Just keep working hard and you will get there. By the way, my favorite medical show is ER.

Thanks for your reply and all your suggestions! Like with everyone else, yours was also super helpful! I'm really going to get out of this slump, next year is going to be much better. I applied to Volunteer at Kaiser Permanente hospital, also it's like 5 minutes from my school so that's a plus too. I'll admit, I didn't know about dual credit courses until you mentioned it. My counselor never told me any of this, and I'll admit my friends mostly are into Cheer or Football, or sports. Not really their future, so no one talk about that (I also think it's time for some new friends this year). I did some Googling and sent an email over to our local JC. I'm going to see if I could possibly enroll in a class or two over there. So thank you very much for that too




Again, thank you to everyone who replied and all your suggestions and feedback! It really helped me out a lot!

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

First of all i have volunteered in the healthcare setting sir. And i have seen sloppy unprofessional employees in the nursing homes that dont tend to the patients properly or right away. I was there for a WHOLE YEAR. SO STOP ASSUMING and maybe ask next time.

Using all capital letters is very mature. By the way, I’m a woman. So who’s making the assumptions here? I won’t respond to you anymore because by your tone, from your very first post, you are still immature and have zero understanding of adult criticism or how to hold a conversation with an adult, as expected due to your age and the Dunning-Kruger effect… But if you want to actually learn something from this instead of braying angrily at whoever disagrees with you, i suggest you look up the background of Scrubs and how it was created, then perhaps you can understand it better.


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[OrthoTraumaMD]

Of course! I'll definitely go and get that book, thanks for the recommendation I have been looking for some medical books! Scrubs was so funny I just wish I could have watched more of it, I only got through the first season and a half then Hulu took it off .

If you don't mind me asking, are you an Ortho Surgeon(Saw your username)? That whole specialty is very cool. I know my dad use to be one, but he now works as an executive for Johnson and Johnson, we don't talk much because of something so I haven't really wanted to pick his brain.

You’re welcome, OP. “Intern blues” isn’t exactly super relevant to today, because it was written during the era before the 80 hour work week regulation, so don’t let it scare you in that regard. However, some residencies, especially the surgical ones, still work crazy hours, and the general tone of the book (despair, hope, frustration) is one I recognize well, having been in that position.
You may have heard of the book “the house of God.” It gave us many terms that we use informally, like gomer and turf. But I actually would not recommend reading it until you are already a medical student. It is a little bit too embellished. But it does talk about physician suicide, very important and sad topic that has been discussed on these forums in the past, I myself had a colleague who committed suicide last year.
In terms of surgery, the Atul Gawande books like “complicated” are also pretty popular, but they have to be taken with a grain of salt. I saw somebody reading a book called confessions of a surgeon, I got a sample of it online and I was laughing at the first chapter because it was quite accurate. I may get that book to check it out… I saw some guy reading it when I was at the beach, and I was tempted to just turn to him and ask what he wanted to know.
And yes, in response to your second question, I’m an orthopaedic trauma surgeon. I mostly stay on the med student and resident forums but occasionally I venture elsewhere, I have a long running ama thread. As for your dad, it’s interesting that he went to work for pharma. Not a usual career path for an orthopod, even an older one.



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[Opticalfuture]

Using all capital letters is very mature. By the way, I’m a woman. So who’s making the assumptions here? I won’t respond to you anymore because by your tone, from your very first post, you are still immature and have zero understanding of adult criticism or how to hold a conversation with an adult, as expected due to your age and the Dunning-Kruger effect… But if you want to actually learn something from this instead of braying angrily at whoever disagrees with you, i suggest you look up the background of Scrubs and how it was created, then perhaps you can understand it better.


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Maybe i like using the caps. Feels like my words speaks louder. And i dont care what you think cause your a doctor. Great. Scrubs is a great show but not that great like im gonna do a freaking research on it! . YES YOU ARE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS( i have been a a healthcare facilites and volunteered there many times) dont know what your talking about

 

[deleted859535]

Maybe i like using the caps. Feels like my words speaks louder. And i dont care what you think cause your a doctor. Great. Scrubs is a great show but not that great like im gonna do a freaking research on it! . YES YOU ARE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS( i have been a a healthcare facilites and volunteered there many times) dont know what your talking about

Please "do a freaking research" on the Dunning-Kruger effect as my orthopedic surgeon friend mentioned. Let us know where on that curve you think you fall and how you might be able to help yourself.

 

[Opticalfuture]

Please "do a freaking research" on the Dunning-Kruger effect as my orthopedic surgeon friend mentioned. Let us know where on that curve you think you fall and how you might be able to help yourself.

Thats stupid i never said i was AMAZING and "incompetent" cause i have an opinion on a show and you disagree with me. But whos immature?? Also a whole paragraph is not necessary. I skim through 98 percent so thats a waste. ( ps this part for othropedic user)

 

[deleted859535]

More importantly:

OP, would submit that in high school, becoming an adult and polishing what's going to let you succeed in college is about the most helpful thing you can do.

There isn't really much you can do "for med school" per se. It's all of indirect benefit this early.

 

[ArteryStudyPainting]

I think it's never too early to learn professionalism, as so seen from the above. Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. I used to, in high school, try to write professionally and think about how I'm presenting myself and my actions. Then, after a while, those words and actions ring true and become a part of you. Learn how to study. Learn from others. Be a sponge of good actions and a repellent to bad actions. An example, I learned what not to do in life from watching my sister do everything wrong. I would say, "man, she got crucified. I'm going to not do that...".

To Optic, we judge either the person or the actions. It's easy to say, "that guy's a jerk", as opposed to, "his actions are shi**y". Doesn't necessarily define a bad person just because of an isolated, out-of-context, knee-jerk reaction. We should judge based on actions we see and not the people themselves; ergo, I wouldn't assume you're immature as a person yet, but...

...all that said, from what I'm seeing and what these physicians, with more combined experience than you are old, are seeing are immature actions. You don't spell right, your grammar isn't right, and you have a smug attitude showing in your online persona. You can't take criticism. You can't hold professional dialogue.

When I read your posts, they read as the quintessential pretentious and hard-to-understand LPN or GNA who work(s)(ed) at a nursing home and as such, has more "patient-care" experience and is just better than everyone else because of how inflated they make their job out to be. Almost everyone here has experienced these types of people in their career. If you tell them they're wrong, that the pt has no pulse, they'll look at you and bluntly say, "sir, sir, youdon'tunderstandthat'snotmypatientIcannothelpyou." The ones who become a GNA or CMA and word-vomit onto their Facebook feeds, change their banners to something like, "the reaper fears me", etc.

That's exactly who you don't want to be. And I'm not saying you are, yet. I'm stating how your online persona, which can be reflections of our true selves, is showing negative examples of conduct and professionalism. Be humble. Realize your place at the time and learn from those more educated and experienced than you; you'll find that if you're nice and polite, a lot of those here want to help you. This comment about you learning your place isn't a dig at you. It's meant to mean: realize where you are now, and where others are now. Most in the medical field know much more than you right now, from education and experience.

And in my opinion, don't call people sir or ma'am; sir and ma'am are reserved for people who you don't care about but need to pretend to snobbishly be polite to. If you are a sir or ma'am, most likely they don't give a s**t about you. Because that's exactly what you were doing above. Also, I can guarantee you read all of this, because people love to know what others think about themselves; it's human nature.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Maybe i like using the caps. Feels like my words speaks louder. And i dont care what you think cause your a doctor. Great. Scrubs is a great show but not that great like im gonna do a freaking research on it! . YES YOU ARE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS( i have been a a healthcare facilites and volunteered there many times) dont know what your talking about

When scrubs was in development they came here to SDN seeking inspiration. One of the lead characters may or may not be named in tribute of one of the mods here.

Also volunteerism is good but that doesn't mean it is equivalent to the experience of being a hospital employee/physician. Scrubs hit extremely home for me, to the point where I re-watched the entire series as a resident. It is satire, but it strikes the chord of true experience.