Academic Identity Crisis

[Buddhasmash]

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I'm in my first semester of undergrad. I came into it with an intention to major in nursing. A few weeks into classes I started to get bolder and pursue pre-med studies. Now I'm 2/3 of the way through the semester and I'm at a loss. I'm taking four classes: basic biology, college algebra, music lecture, and American national government. I'm making As (100% in fact) in both music and government, but making a low B in biology and a very low B in algebra, and I'm seriously questioning whether or not medicine (or any healthcare field for that matter) is right for me.

It seems to me that healthcare professions are similar to the natural sciences, in that you have to have a very linear, down-to-earth, non-abstract method of thought to succeed in the classes and professions. Linear thinking has never been my forte. I excel in the humanities and arts, like music, political science, philosophy, and psychology. I think in an abstract, "big picture" manner. In my math class I miss details, such as forgetting to distribute a negative. In my biology class I fail to recognize minute details, such as the difference between a pyrimidine and a purine. But if you ask me to map out the complex social structure of the US congress or break down the minutiae of Searles' Chinese Room argument, I'll talk your ear off for hours.

So I guess my question is this: Is there any room in the medical professions for a non-linear, non-detail oriented, abstract thinker? Or will that method of thought end up getting patients killed? Should I switch out of the sciences altogether? By going into healthcare would I be playing against my strengths and not making the most of my capabilities? Should I be going into philosophy or cognitive science instead? Ugh. 🙁

Sorry for the rambling. Can't organize my thoughts right now. Really I'm just venting.

 

[noshie]

I'm in my first semester of undergrad. I came into it with an intention to major in nursing. A few weeks into classes I started to get bolder and pursue pre-med studies. Now I'm 2/3 of the way through the semester and I'm at a loss. I'm taking four classes: basic biology, college algebra, music lecture, and American national government. I'm making As (100% in fact) in both music and government, but making a low B in biology and a very low B in algebra, and I'm seriously questioning whether or not medicine (or any healthcare field for that matter) is right for me.

It seems to me that healthcare professions are similar to the natural sciences, in that you have to have a very linear, down-to-earth, non-abstract method of thought to succeed in the classes and professions. Linear thinking has never been my forte. I excel in the humanities and arts, like music, political science, philosophy, and psychology. I think in an abstract, "big picture" manner. In my math class I miss details, such as forgetting to distribute a negative. In my biology class I fail to recognize minute details, such as the difference between a pyrimidine and a purine. But if you ask me to map out the complex social structure of the US congress or break down the minutiae of Searles' Chinese Room argument, I'll talk your ear off for hours.

So I guess my question is this: Is there any room in the medical professions for a non-linear, non-detail oriented, abstract thinker? Or will that method of thought end up getting patients killed? Should I switch out of the sciences altogether? By going into healthcare would I be playing against my strengths and not making the most of my capabilities? Should I be going into philosophy or cognitive science instead? Ugh. 🙁

Sorry for the rambling. Can't organize my thoughts right now. Really I'm just venting.

It always strikes me as funny to read some of these posts where pre meds think that all doctors are similar... Not all physicians are "linear thinkers". What the heck makes you think that they are?? I know I am not... I figured that out when I started taking lab in undergrad and would cut out steps to make my experiments go faster... The book says a minute, I would do 15 seconds and move on. Real life medicine is not all about the details... It's more about the big picture.

My greatest advice for you would be not to let anything hold you back. Becoming a doctor is a desire thing... If you want to do it, then do it. Don’t second guess yourself just because you don't think that you can do it. I have a less than 3.0 GPA, and I’m doing it… You don’t see me walking around telling people that I did poorly in undergrad and therefore don’t think I would make a good doctor…

Like you, I did much better in my non science courses, in fact I ended up getting a BA in Biology instead of the traditional BS because I wanted to take more interesting non science classes. In high school, I didn't even take Chemistry! I just had one Biology course my whole time in high school because I wanted to fill my time with orchestra, art, sewing, and baking classes. Every premed doubts themselves at some point, but you need to change your mindset from "I don’t know if I can do this" to "I am confident I can do this, and I will do this". I know your journey is just beginning, so I understand the venting and anxiety about it… But the sooner you get confident that you can reach your goals, the better.

 

[silas2642]

Okay, so I think I'm going to disagree with the pre-med. First of all, not everyone who wants to complete medical school and become a physician can. It'd be nice to think that the world smells like roses and that little girls are made out of sugar, spice, and everything nice, but it's just not true-- not every one is cut out to make it through the training and it is way better to figure this out early on as opposed to later.

I have no idea why you're not doing well in your biology and algebra courses, but I would suggest that if you are studying hard and continuing to make low B's then you need to stand back and re-evaluate. Maybe you need to change your study style, maybe you need to get a tutor, whatever-- but for the most part, you need to be able to do well in at least the majority if your science pre-reqs (read: mostly A's and B's).

Med school is full of different students who learn differently but in the end we're all learning the same material-- which is kind of like the material you learn in the undergrad pre-reqs only 100x's faster. You're going to have to be able to recall very detailed information and barf it back as well as apply it to clinical situations if you're going to succeed.

 

[morning]

Math may be "down-to-earth" and detail oriented, but that doesn't make it non-abstract. And, to be frank, nursing is VERY down-to-earth and absolutely detail oriented, so even if you wanted nursing to be your backup, you'd have to get used to that.

Personally I sucked at algebra, but so did my professor, and looking up videos on YouTube for the lessons I was learning helped me IMMENSELY. I generally tried to slog through the work in the book first, then looked up videos on YouTube, which helped round out what I was learning and really pack it in, but sometimes I could not make it through my homework without reviewing videos first.

If you still decide that all this isn't for you...look into getting an MPH instead.

 

[TexasPhysician]

As a new psychiatrist, I can tell you that I hate math, physics, etc. Humanities and medicine is general is much more fun than undergrad science/math. Love medicine. Wouldn't do anything else.

 

[ObLaDi]

It certainly sounds like you possess the intelligence needed to become a doctor. In my opinion, when intelligent people like yourself make mistakes like the ones you mention, it is usually due to a lack of practice.

I am an English major, and during my first experience with chemistry I could not understand for the life of me WHY I was doing poorly on the tests. I understood the concepts that the teacher presented in class, so why was I floundering on the tests? Luckily, I finally figured out that it wasn't enough to just "get" what the teacher was saying the same way I would in a literature class. What I needed to know was how to apply the concepts in a practical manner. I spent a lot more time actually practicing the material rather than reading the textbook or looking over my notes. I mean, come on, who just reads through a chemistry textbook and then aces the test? People who already know the stuff, that's who!

Don't give up yet. Keep at it!

 

[littlealex]

Lots of musicians in medical school. In fact there is a student who graduated from Juilliard. You can be the artistic type w/ non-linear thinking and do very very well in medicine. However, you must learn how to get A's in your hard-science classes.

You are free to prefer to think any way you like, but at the end of the day you have to be able to learn the information necessary to become a doctor.

 

[DucoNonducor]

Agree 100%! I think it is too soon for you to give up unless you truly see that health care is not for you. Do what you're excel in but also what you're passionate about. It's not going to be an easy road.

 

[NickNaylor]

Definitely try and do some shadowing - at an academic medical center if possible - and see if you like the work. Obviously you can't see the complete field, but it's better than nothing.

I would definitely characterize myself more as a "big-picture" type of person, and I can't really see myself doing anything else. Medicine will require memorizing minutia and knowledge of tons of details, but there is also a "bigger picture" aspect of medicine that you would likely enjoy.

 

[Suenya]

You can get by as a non-detail oriented person in medicine if you can make yourself BE detailed oriented for a set part of the day. Missing something important can be a big deal, or forgetting to do some part of your protocol can be as well. There are plenty of people whose overall orientation is more broad in medicine. Doctors are pretty diverse. That type of detail orientation is not the same as learning purine from pyrmidine, but you'll have to be able to make yourself learn details like that to do well in medical school. Many people can adjust their cognitive styles to learn different types of information though, just not at peak functioning. You can be less good at something and still do it well.

Medicine might not be for you. I was a philosophy and psychology (not a humanity or art, btw) major during undergrad and considered both of them as career options. There are huge differences between them and medicine. Realistically though, for cognitive science, unless you find a very very niche position, you'll have to do the same type of detailed thinking... and that's even before getting into stats, which is much more complex than algebra, and to do well you really need to understand them well to choose your stats (or work with someone who does haha).

Before deciding on philosophy (a field lacking in good job prospects, but not completely!), you should really take some upper level courses, or at least an intro to logic (preferably symbolic) to help you decide if you really like it. I'm interested what you've taken, or studied, to discuss Searle, but philosophy gets pretty detail heavy in terms of arguments. You have to track it all well, but not memorize it, which is nice. But you don't have to memorize in algebra either, just track it all well. Forgetting negatives might just be a little thing that you'll get better at, keep in mind.

You might find you like things more once you adjust to them though, this is only your first semester. For the record, I disliked them, dislike much of medical school classes so far, and still suspect I'll like medicine.

 

[werd]

like the material or not, you need to be able to get high marks in biology, chem, physics, organic, or med schools won't accept you anyway. med school is much harder than undergrad, and you need to be able to learn large volumes of material precisely and quickly. even if it's not your overall way of looking at the world, you need to be able to do it focally to be accepted to med school and thrive in med school.

any particular way of learning or thinking doesn't preclude you from med school, but you do have to be detail-oriented and hard-working.

 

[Lil Mick]

I'm very much a mathematics and physics person, and I cannot understand linear thinking to save my life. I was awful at algebra and most other subjects like it, but, after sticking it out until the classes became more abstract (differential equations, physical chemistry...), I found that these courses followed more of a humanities-like approach to critical thinking (I did a lot of philosophy and social sciences in university).

And you do not need perfect grades (or even mediocre grades) in all of your classes to be accepted into medical school. I nearly flunked most of my introductory courses, got A's in the more complex (read: more like humanities) courses, and received over a dozen interviews for medical school. You just have to find your passion, make sure you're fairly compenent in the rest, and keep trying.

 

[BiopsychStudent]

I'm in my first semester of undergrad. I came into it with an intention to major in nursing. A few weeks into classes I started to get bolder and pursue pre-med studies. Now I'm 2/3 of the way through the semester and I'm at a loss. I'm taking four classes: basic biology, college algebra, music lecture, and American national government. I'm making As (100% in fact) in both music and government, but making a low B in biology and a very low B in algebra, and I'm seriously questioning whether or not medicine (or any healthcare field for that matter) is right for me.

It seems to me that healthcare professions are similar to the natural sciences, in that you have to have a very linear, down-to-earth, non-abstract method of thought to succeed in the classes and professions. Linear thinking has never been my forte. I excel in the humanities and arts, like music, political science, philosophy, and psychology. I think in an abstract, "big picture" manner. In my math class I miss details, such as forgetting to distribute a negative. In my biology class I fail to recognize minute details, such as the difference between a pyrimidine and a purine. But if you ask me to map out the complex social structure of the US congress or break down the minutiae of Searles' Chinese Room argument, I'll talk your ear off for hours.

So I guess my question is this: Is there any room in the medical professions for a non-linear, non-detail oriented, abstract thinker? Or will that method of thought end up getting patients killed? Should I switch out of the sciences altogether? By going into healthcare would I be playing against my strengths and not making the most of my capabilities? Should I be going into philosophy or cognitive science instead? Ugh. 🙁

Sorry for the rambling. Can't organize my thoughts right now. Really I'm just venting.

It usually takes a few years to find your niche in undergrad, and the professors you have can make or break a class. Keep in mind that you're still learning. Even if you're not happy about your B in Introductory biology you're probably still better at studying and thinking about biology than you were at the start. Take some more biology and chemistry and see if it grows on you.

As a little caveat... psychology is very different from political science and philosophy. Now, while psychology is not a "hard" major compared to biology, at least in my experience, it does require a scientific way of thinking and there is very little "big picture stuff" as you find in theory-of-mind philosophy; you need to understand the empirical data behind the concepts.

 

[runawayclock]

It seems to me that healthcare professions are similar to the natural sciences, in that you have to have a very linear, down-to-earth, non-abstract method of thought to succeed in the classes and professions.

I'm in my first semester of undergrad.

Srsly. You're in your FIRST SEMESTER? Just go out and enjoy your freshman year and come back and read this post again. You will find out you are utterly wrong.

In my first year and in my high school senior year, every single teacher and advisor told me I should go into physics or engineering, and that I was making a very big mistake going into neurobiology. I almost failed my first bio midterm (everything was multiple choice, mostly on PLANTS 😡) and got 100% on my physics midterm. The only person who told me to stick with it was my friend doing her Ph.D in neuroscience, who told me that everyone hates first year bio and what you see now is nothing like what you will see in the higher level courses. She was completely right. Every single day that I'm working in therapy or in the lab, I'm so so so glad I didn't just decide to go with what would have been seemingly easier to my 1st year self.

tl;dr: stick to it until you at least see some non-pre-req courses. It will get better.

 

[PremedGunner]

i think its false to assume that you are either abstract oriented, or detail oriented.

even if this was true, the examples you gave don't necessarily convince me that you aren't detail oriented. it just seems to me that you dont practice algebra enough.

there are a lot of fallacies at play here

 

[Meerkatology]

ugrad isn't to test what you like, its to test your ability to both succeed in subjects you like and subjects you don't.

you are not going to like every subject or specialty rotation in med school but you still need to pass them, and passing certain classes can be many times harder than getting an A in an ugrad class.

bottomline is in ugrad u need to find a way to do well in subjects you have no interest in or even hate. and if you can't it is probably an indicator that you won't do well in med school, or at least adcoms will question your ability to do so.

as far as your original point - medicine has big picture type thinking but it also requires alot of attention to detail, 1 small mistake (wrong medication dosage? missed a drug allergy in the patient's history?) can have very big consequences. attention to detail is probably even more important in nursing.