Advice please

[Ace5813]

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Hi!
I am going to be a junior in high school, and entereing my junior year, I am faced with the responsibilities of taking the SAT's, ACT, looking at colleges, and pretty much planning out my future. One field I am very interested in is emergency medicine. Keep in mind that I'm only a junior in high school and the closest thing that I have to learning about emergency medicine is biology. I was hoping some of you more experienced med-students, residents and doctors could give me some advice. I'm very confused about my future right now. Any type of insight would be greatly appreciated. Another thing you should know is that my GPA is not amazing- it's about a 92. I am contstantly online looking terms up and trying to learn more about emergency medicine. I know that most of you have probably been in my postition at some time in your lives, and any insight would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you know any good websites where I could learn more, and actually understand a lot of the material, that would be very helpful. Thank you!

 

[Sheerstress]

For right now, I would suggest focusing on doing your best work possible for the remainder of your high school years and then your college years. You've certainly got a lot of time to decide what you want to do in life, and I would keep all my options open.

If you really want to get a better look inside EM, you could always volunteer at a local hospital, or perhaps even see if you could get involved in research somehow - both would later help you if you did decide that you want to go into medicine.

 

[margaritaboy]

Sheerstress has some pretty good advice. I agree, keep your options open and explore as many different areas as you are interested in. As a Junior in high school, nothing you do or decide will keep you from a career later on if you really decide to persue it.

PS - I got straight Cs in Algebra and a D in Analytical geometry in high school. College is where your grades really start to count for or against you in terms of applying to professional/graduate schools.

 

[raptor5]

Don't worry about the prestige of the college you go to either as your GPA, MCAT scores, Letters of Rec, and a slew of other things will dictate what med school you get in. Go to a college that you will enjoy, that gives you the best education possible, and offers a variety. State schools sometimes offer lower tuition with a wide variety of minors. Just keep in mind the debt that you might incur so going to a private school will only compound your total debt when done. I know people who will finish med school will loans in excess of $300,000.

 

[DrQuinn]

I graduated high school witha 2.8 GPA.

 

[roja]

I have a GED.

 

[Ace5813]

Thank you so much! That really does help to ease my stress. I know that I'm looking at a lot of schooling and a lot of work, but it really helps to know that I don't have to be the best student in my class in high school in order to do what I want to do. I will be sure to keep my options open. Thanks!

 

[Emergency!]

In addition to the suggestion about volunteering in a hospital/ER, you might also consider looking for an EMS explorer program. We had one in the county where I volunteered. Explorers were allowed to ride in the ambulance on runs(although they couldn't ride in the back with patients). They also got to help with practical skill testing (they were usually the victims).

After you turn 18, getting certified as an EMT-B is a great way to get both emergency medicine exposure and patient contact.

You have lots of time to decide what you want to do. After teaching high school for 10 years, I decided to quit my job and pursue getting into medical school. Do your best in your classes and explore anything that interests you.

Best of luck -

Amy