Are your parents Doctors?

[docjolly]

yeah, i am the first person in my family to attend college.

I am the first, and only person, in my family, to have gone to college. Now, I'll be the first to go to medical school (or any other type of graduate program, for that matter)

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[on_the_fence]

My parents are not doctors. As far as connections, I think it would've helped if they were... but my dad is in sales and meets lots of doctors and then introduces them to me. So, it all works out in the end.

I'm also the first in the family to go to college (my brother is in college, too... but I'll graduate first!) and go to medical school. Yeehaw!

 

[dbutz02]

Neither of my parents are doctors but I think it would help as a resource in getting involved in a hospital or shadowing doctors. Nothing that you couldn't do by yourself but it would make it easier.

 

[NEATOMD]

You know what I did during high school?

I was a clerk at a grocery store.

Now that's pretty impressive. I'm sure my interviewers are going to flip over it.

Its not about what job you did, its about how you applied what you learned in that job to medicine... My dad was a doctor, that doesn't mean that I had a paved path...Far from it...I worked in a factory for 2 years and construction for about 5. (That's how I paid for the mission trips and my schooling.) Niether one of those seems like it would be too impressive to an interviewer either...But you take your experiences and apply them to medicine...that's what will get the ADCOM's attention, not being a pampered son/daughter of a doc.

By the way, you don't have to have a parent involved in medical missions to go on them. And like I said, my dad's participation in those trips and my being around my dad's office helped me to "fall in love with medicine"...if you've chosen medicine, then I'd hope you're equally as fond of it...Probably because of different reasons. Basically, these things may have been an advantage in that they led me to medicine, but not as far as getting in to any schools.

 

[Blue Scrub]

Its not about what job you did, its about how you applied what you learned in that job to medicine... My dad was a doctor, that doesn't mean that I had a paved path...Far from it...I worked in a factory for 2 years and construction for about 5. Niether one of those seems like it would be too impressive to an interviewer either...But you take your experiences and apply them to medicine...that's what will get the ADCOM's attention, not being a pampered son/daughter of a doc.

By the way, you don't have to have a parent involved in medical missions to go on them. And like I said, my dad's participation in those trips and my being around my dad's office helped me to "fall in love with medicine"...if you've chosen medicine, then I'd hope you're equally as fond of it...Probably because of different reasons. Basically, these things may have been an advantage in that they led me to medicine, but not as far as getting in to any schools.

 

[cammy1313]

My parents both went to medical school in Peru so they were no help to me in this process.....other than their emotional support and encouragement, or course

 

[QofQuimica]

I have one parent (my dad) who is a doctor and one (my mom) who is a high school graduate. Ironically, my dad's family were working class immigrants; Dad was the first one in his family to get a college degree let alone a medical degree. Mom's family owned a store and were middle class--her brother went to college--but they didn't send her to college because she was only supposed to get married anyway. I was the first woman to get a college degree on either side of my family, let alone go to graduate school and now (hopefully!) medical school.

I chose to respond that having a physician parent is not particularly helpful to get one into medical school; I think that this is true for the majority of applicants. The main reason in my own case is that our focuses are so different, to the point of us "knowing" different people. I do pharmaceutical chemistry research, and he's a GP with a specialty in geriatrics. He just doesn't know many clinical researchers for me to be able to take advantage of his "connections". Furthermore, my dad is a DO, so his connections with allopathic schools are probably as limited as mine are, although I'd imagine things would be different if I were wanting to go to DO school.

I think for some people it may be helpful in terms of connections to have a physician parent if you want to enter the same field as your parent. But medicine encompasses a lot of fields, so there is no guarantee that just because your parent has the medical degree that his or her coworkers are also going to be yours. I agree with the posters who said that the biggest advantage of having a physician parent is that you get to see all sides of the medical profession, and not just the ER lite side that you see on TV. But I'm not convinced that this translates into greater success in the admissions process.

 

[LabMonster]

Its not about what job you did, its about how you applied what you learned in that job to medicine... My dad was a doctor, that doesn't mean that I had a paved path...Far from it...I worked in a factory for 2 years and construction for about 5. (That's how I paid for the mission trips and my schooling.) Niether one of those seems like it would be too impressive to an interviewer either...But you take your experiences and apply them to medicine...that's what will get the ADCOM's attention, not being a pampered son/daughter of a doc.

I worked as a small pizza shop manager and small landscape company foreman before finishing my undergrad. Nine months after graduation, I was doing the same things - I had quit my job as a MT. I learned a lot in the time I was out of the medical field - like I couldn't be without it. This is my driving force. My parents were/are brilliant proffessionals, but it is no advantage or disadvantage.

Knowledge is static. Wisdom is dynamic; moving knowledge and making it useful. - An approximate quote from Dr. William Mayo. I think it has pertinence here.

 

[medic170]

I am also the first in my family to go to college or med school. I am surprised at how many are like me Good job all!

 

[supersnakess]

I think it is best to have an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or cousin who is a doctor, because people won't think you are just copying your parents by going into medicine, but you have someone to tell you what it's like.

 

[plumazul]

I think it is best to have an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or cousin who is a doctor, because people won't think you are just copying your parents by going into medicine, but you have someone to tell you what it's like.

Wow, a 7 year old zombie thread.

 

[Praefectus]

Wow, a 7 year old zombie thread.

My thoughts exactly. On that note, I doubt that having a parent in medicine right now would help. A good portion of physicians today would discourage people from entering the field, and I'd hate to imagine having that come from a parent.

 

[SpacemanSpifff]

My thoughts exactly. On that note, I doubt that having a parent in medicine right now would help. A good portion of physicians today would discourage people from entering the field, and I'd hate to imagine having that come from a parent.

True, I've encountered that sentiment a few times while shadowing, volunteering, etc. But you don't think having a physician parent would be beneficial in the process? I'd imagine that they would have a direct line to other physicians for shadowing, and might be able to give you a leg up clinically, getting you in the door on research or clinical projects/internships, etc. That said, having a parent actively discourage you from your chosen career would be... discouraging, to say the least.

 

[Ansar]

Father is a surgeon, mother is a dentist

Certainly has allowed me to know a whole lot more about the medical field.

 

[GeorgiadisMD]

Neither parents finished college so nope, no doctors in the family. It could be a good thing because I hear stories of doctors discouraging pre meds from pursuing medicine. It would be worse if it was your parents discouraging you.