Unmotivated :(

[oLefty]

Hey there!

I am currently a first year pursuing a degree in Physiology and Neuroscience. I hope to attend medical school someday to become a doctor; however, this quarter has been rough. I'm barely passing and I know grades impact med. school decisions. I just want to graduate and be a part of the healthcare/medical field. On the bright side, I have a strong network in my location, so I can get internships and experience easily. Idk, I'm just feeling eh. Are there any other routes to becoming an M.D.? Possibly going for PA school or nursing school first, then try again later. Please help, thank you.

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[AlteredScale]

Hey there!

I am currently a first year pursuing a degree in Physiology and Neuroscience. I hope to attend medical school someday to become a doctor; however, this quarter has been rough. I'm barely passing and I know grades impact med. school decisions. I just want to graduate and be a part of the healthcare/medical field. On the bright side, I have a strong network in my location, so I can get internships and experience easily. Idk, I'm just feeling eh. Are there any other routes to becoming an M.D.? Possibly going for PA school or nursing school first, then try again later. Please help, thank you.

There are many great avenues to pursue if medicine isn't that right thing for you right now. You can go into clinical lab science, become histotechnician, an EMT, a clinical research assistant. There are many great careers. Based on your major I'm taking a gander that you go to the UC I'm at as well. I suggest signing up for the HMP3 news letter to receive information about the numerous healthcare opportunities there are.

Honeslty though, it's one quarter, dig deep to turn those grades around come winter quarter and I have a feeling you'll come back confident that medicine is for you. Don't get too neurotic so early!

 

[IslandStyle808]

Hey there!

I am currently a first year pursuing a degree in Physiology and Neuroscience. I hope to attend medical school someday to become a doctor; however, this quarter has been rough. I'm barely passing and I know grades impact med. school decisions. I just want to graduate and be a part of the healthcare/medical field. On the bright side, I have a strong network in my location, so I can get internships and experience easily. Idk, I'm just feeling eh. Are there any other routes to becoming an M.D.? Possibly going for PA school or nursing school first, then try again later. Please help, thank you.

In all seriousness you are side stepping an important issue here, your grades. Even if you want to become a PA for instance you need to be competitive, which means getting at least a 3.5 (oh yeah grades are still important in other fields). If you are doing bad, go and see a learning specialist or learning counselor at your school. You should also drop your credit load so you can focus on your grades as well. Once you start improving, you need to ramp it up to 15 credits again to show you can handle a full load.

If you really want to do something clinical, I suggest you become a scribe or EMT. I am not highly recommending the two though because they do require a time commitment. However, if you want something to spice your interests in the medical field, then I suggest these two options, while attending undergrad.

Don't look at nursing or PA as some kind of stepping stone. These are full careers and should be treated as such. There have been people that have went from being PAs or nurses to physicians. However, it was because they felt more compelling reasons to pursue medicine. I suggest you also shadow the different fields (PAs, nurses, physicians) to see if being a doctor is really want you want do to.

 

[Silverflash]

I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by other routes. You can certainly go into PA school or nursing school and eventually get into medical school, but they're not casual jobs you can just hop into and out of. You would need to justify why you were switching careers (because that's what PA and nursing are).

As far as grades are concerned, there are no "other routes." You need good grades. You absolutely shouldn't panic, though. One or even two poor semesters won't sink you, especially if they come early; admission committees tend to respond well to upward trends in your GPA. Having said that, you need to identify the issues that are causing you to struggle and remedy them so that you can get back on track for high grades. Consistently poor grades are a specter that can haunt you for a long time where medical admissions are concerned, and that's true for PA and nursing school as well. Invest in your future NOW and strive to do the best you can rather than under-performing and trying to fix it later.

If it's really motivation that's causing you to struggle, you need to identify why you want to be a physician and determine how hard you're willing to work to get there. If you haven't before, see if you can find a doctor to shadow and try to decide if that's something you want to do for the rest of your life, and something you're willing to work your ass off just to GET to do. If not, that's okay; it's not everyone's cup of tea. If it is, though, you can attack your studies with renewed vigor and an ultimate goal in mind.

Plenty of people struggle early in college. It's an adjustment and medical schools know that. Just try to make sure your poor performance doesn't become a habit, as well as determine if medical school is really something you are interested in.

 

[Boolean]

Hey there!

I am currently a first year pursuing a degree in Physiology and Neuroscience. I hope to attend medical school someday to become a doctor; however, this quarter has been rough. I'm barely passing and I know grades impact med. school decisions. I just want to graduate and be a part of the healthcare/medical field. On the bright side, I have a strong network in my location, so I can get internships and experience easily. Idk, I'm just feeling eh. Are there any other routes to becoming an M.D.? Possibly going for PA school or nursing school first, then try again later. Please help, thank you.

No, not really. Stick it out, get good grades, get a killer MCAT, volunteer/shadow/etc.

 

[Pacna]

I had some trouble with grades in my junior year. I saw a psychiatrist, and they were able to help me a LOT. I still see her 3 years later, even though the drive is now much farther.

If it's motivation, you're not alone. It can seem like (and is, in many ways) what you're doing is so removed from what you actually want to do, so what's the point? The point is, of course, that you'll never get to be a physician if you can't muster the inner strength to study when you don't want to. My dad always said "if you only do things when you feel like it, you'll never do anything worthwhile." Going to the gym sucks. Going to work sucks. Studying for 10 hours a day sucks. If you can't do those things, then you can't reap the benefits.

Of course I say this as I procrastinate studying for genetics.

 

[oLefty]

No, not really. Stick it out, get good grades, get a killer MCAT, volunteer/shadow/etc.

Oka

There are many great avenues to pursue if medicine isn't that right thing for you right now. You can go into clinical lab science, become histotechnician, an EMT, a clinical research assistant. There are many great careers. Based on your major I'm taking a gander that you go to the UC I'm at as well. I suggest signing up for the HMP3 news letter to receive information about the numerous healthcare opportunities there are.

Honeslty though, it's one quarter, dig deep to turn those grades around come winter quarter and I have a feeling you'll come back confident that medicine is for you. Don't get too neurotic so early!

I had some trouble with grades in my junior year. I saw a psychiatrist, and they were able to help me a LOT. I still see her 3 years later, even though the drive is now much farther.

If it's motivation, you're not alone. It can seem like (and is, in many ways) what you're doing is so removed from what you actually want to do, so what's the point? The point is, of course, that you'll never get to be a physician if you can't muster the inner strength to study when you don't want to. My dad always said "if you only things when you feel like it, you'll never do anything worthwhile." Going to the gym sucks. Going to work sucks. Studying for 10 hours a day sucks. If you can't do those things, then you can't reap the benefits.

Of course I say this as I procrastinate studying for genetics.

Overall, I just felt like all hope was lost due to my performance this quarter. I agree that I can turn it around. I'll let this quarter get past me, and then focus on future quarters since I now know what to expect.

 

[oLefty]

My dream is to become an M.D. or surgeon. I have no doubts about it. I've been around the field enough to confirm this due to my mom, and it's something that I would look forward to everyday.

 

[AlteredScale]

Oka




Overall, I just felt like all hope was lost due to my performance this quarter. I agree that I can turn it around. I'll let this quarter get past me, and then focus on future quarters since I now know what to expect.

How was your performance? Did you fail courses? What courses were you in?

 

[Catalystik]

Overall, I just felt like all hope was lost due to my performance this quarter. I agree that I can turn it around. I'll let this quarter get past me, and then focus on future quarters since I now know what to expect.

All hope of a spot in med school is not lost due to one bad quarter, but if you're not ready to get your head in the game, remove distractions, and excel, consider taking time off from school to sort out your issues rather than delivering another mediocre performance next term. If you're not clear on the problem, see one of your school's academic counselors for help.

 

[ResQRN144]

In all seriousness you are side stepping an important issue here, your grades. Even if you want to become a PA for instance you need to be competitive, which means getting at least a 3.5 (oh yeah grades are still important in other fields). If you are doing bad, go and see a learning specialist or learning counselor at your school. You should also drop your credit load so you can focus on your grades as well. Once you start improving, you need to ramp it up to 15 credits again to show you can handle a full load.

If you really want to do something clinical, I suggest you become a scribe or EMT. I am not highly recommending the two though because they do require a time commitment. However, if you want something to spice your interests in the medical field, then I suggest these two options, while attending undergrad.

Don't look at nursing or PA as some kind of stepping stone. These are full careers and should be treated as such. There have been people that have went from being PAs or nurses to physicians. However, it was because they felt more compelling reasons to pursue medicine. I suggest you also shadow the different fields (PAs, nurses, physicians) to see if being a doctor is really want you want do to.

This is spot on. Don't side step. I am a nurse headed to medical school, the change comes from a desire for more. Nursing is no easy way out if you do it properly. EMT and Scribing would be a great addition.

Get your grades up and go for it. Stay above a cumulative 3.3 and do well on MCAT. Commitment and desire alone will get you there.

 

[oLefty]

How was your performance? Did you fail courses? What courses were you in?

I am currently in Chemistry, Math, and a G.E. writing course. I am currently failing math; however, my first midterm score gets dropped which makes my final worth 60% and I have to do well on my upcoming midterm. For chemistry, I currently have around a B-, without any of the midterms of quizzes dropped. In my writing course, I have an A-.

 

[oLefty]

This is spot on. Don't side step. I am a nurse headed to medical school, the change comes from a desire for more. Nursing is no easy way out if you do it properly. EMT and Scribing would be a great addition.

Get your grades up and go for it. Stay above a cumulative 3.3 and do well on MCAT. Commitment and desire alone will get you there.

Okay, I will. Thank you.

 

[oLefty]

All hope of a spot in med school is not lost due to one bad quarter, but if you're not ready to get your head in the game, remove distractions, and excel, consider taking time off from school to sort out your issues rather than delivering another mediocre performance next term. If you're not clear on the problem, see one of your school's academic counselors for help.

I am not clear on my problems. I need help figuring it out, I may go to a school academic counselor than. My head is in the game, but idk why this quarter ended up like this...

 

[AlteredScale]

I am currently in Chemistry, Math, and a G.E. writing course. I am currently failing math; however, my first midterm score gets dropped which makes my final worth 60% and I have to do well on my upcoming midterm. For chemistry, I currently have around a B-, without any of the midterms of quizzes dropped. In my writing course, I have an A-.

The quarter isn't done and still have time to turn it around. The quarter system is very rough and it's always a hard transition. Try taking advantage of any tutoring resources such as OASIS as well as any counselors that are available to see what you can do. Best of luck OP.

 

[oLefty]

The quarter isn't done and still have time to turn it around. The quarter system is very rough and it's always a hard transition. Try taking advantage of any tutoring resources such as OASIS as well as any counselors that are available to see what you can do. Best of luck OP.

Thank you!

 

[oLefty]

So I got my second midterm results for both Chem and Math.... I can still pass Chemistry, but I am currently failing Math... fml.

 

[AlteredScale]

So I got my second midterm results for both Chem and Math.... I can still pass Chemistry, but I am currently failing Math... fml.

If you can I would consider withdrawing from math and trying it again next quarter. Always better to have a W than an F (I have a W on my transcript)

 

[oLefty]

I think I will discuss this with an Academic Counselor to get another opinion on the situation. Currently, I just want to pass this quarter. I'm starting to adjust, but it's too late.

I need another piece of advice, luckily, since I have connections at UCSD, labs, and hospitals nearby, I may have a position available for me to intern at the medical school. Therefore, would you recommend I take 12 units and partake in the internship? Or 16 units + and not partake? I would also like to get a job :|

 

[Catalystik]

I need another piece of advice, luckily, since I have connections at UCSD, labs, and hospitals nearby, I may have a position available for me to intern at the medical school. Therefore, would you recommend I take 12 units and partake in the internship? Or 16 units + and not partake? I would also like to get a job :|

Your job right now is to figure out how to excel in your academics. All the terrific ECs in the world will do you no good if your GPA is mediocre or poor. Don't distract yourself with other activities until you've nailed down how to get As consistently.

 

[AlteredScale]

I think I will discuss this with an Academic Counselor to get another opinion on the situation. Currently, I just want to pass this quarter. I'm starting to adjust, but it's too late.

I need another piece of advice, luckily, since I have connections at UCSD, labs, and hospitals nearby, I may have a position available for me to intern at the medical school. Therefore, would you recommend I take 12 units and partake in the internship? Or 16 units + and not partake? I would also like to get a job :|

I would take 12 units and not partake in anything really. As it has been stated above, you really want to get to the point where you feel comfortable performing well in you classes. What you're trying to avoids is the crash and burn of overloading yourself.

PM me if you have any other specifics regarding UCSD coursework. .

 

[oLefty]

I would take 12 units and not partake in anything really. As it has been stated above, you really want to get to the point where you feel comfortable performing well in you classes. What you're trying to avoids is the crash and burn of overloading yourself.

PM me if you have any other specifics regarding UCSD coursework. .

I sent you a message!

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

Hey there!

I am currently a first year pursuing a degree in Physiology and Neuroscience. I hope to attend medical school someday to become a doctor; however, this quarter has been rough. I'm barely passing and I know grades impact med. school decisions. I just want to graduate and be a part of the healthcare/medical field. On the bright side, I have a strong network in my location, so I can get internships and experience easily. Idk, I'm just feeling eh. Are there any other routes to becoming an M.D.? Possibly going for PA school or nursing school first, then try again later. Please help, thank you.

Look into becoming a certified nurse assistant

 

[oLefty]

I'm sure I'll pursue M.D. or D.O. one way or another. I don't want to take alternate routes, I'll just go all in.

 

[Lysinee]

How Bad Do You Want It? (Success)

 

[oLefty]

How Bad Do You Want It? (Success)

Motivational :')