Art and Medicine

[PthaloKitty]

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Hello all, newbie here. I graduated with a BFA in painting from UT San Antonio in May '03 (3.89 GPA, lots of extracurricular/leadership). I am seriously considering medical school, but I did not take chemistry in high school and the only science courses I took in college were anthropology (it counted as a science credit) and geology. My goal is to do post-bacc at the University of Houston.

My concerns are:

Is a background in the visual arts an advantage or a disadvantage?

How challenging will the courses be for me (I am particularly concerned about Calculus--I took Pass/Fail in high school precal and passed, got an A in college algebra)?

Any other advice or infomation relating to this process would be appreciated.

 

[denty]

Hey :
although I'm not a pre-med student, I do know that art can help in the field. Ever see gray's anatomy book? You could use your artistic talents in the future. I know in dentistry( what I'm going for) it helps to have visual perception, we actually have a whole section on the dental entrace exam called perceptual ability. But in the end it all comes down to how much drive you have and how you use your talents to help in the future. Good luck!

 

[seethrew]

I am a former BFA in Painting from a state school. I did take Chemistry in high school, but waited a full 9 years between HS and college chemistry. I attended a post-bac program, was successful and did well on my MCAT. So far I have 9 interviews for med school! One is an ivy league! If I can do it, you can do it.

When I began the process I was very nervous about being able to perform well in the sciences. To quell those fears I took a summer chemistry class before I enrolled in a post-bac, just to see how I liked it. I also took EMT classes, which were interesting.

 

[PthaloKitty]

Thank you both for the words of encouragement. I have an appointment on Wednesday with a prehealth professions advisor from U of H, and talked to my mentor from UTSA, who was excited about my decision. I am wary about my perfomance in the sciences, but knowing that someone else with a similar backround has done it is definitely comforting. Also--congrats, seethrew, on your interviews.

Another uestion (darn keyboard) I have is about jobs. I plan to continue painting as I pursue medical school, and I was planning on getting a gallery job before I decided to apply for post-bacc. Should I keep with my plan, or search for opportunitites in the medical field? Any suggestions?

 

[Superflyjsc]

Yes there IS another former art student turning medicine. Well im not exactly going for medicine but i am going into pharmacy and yes i did graduate from art school in NYC couple years back and now i am in postbacc to do my pre-reqs as well. It is a tough decision and someone like me always like to think of all possibilities whether it is encouraging or discouraging but i will only say encouraging things to you.
From what i know, having a background in art might actually help u in ur admisisons to medschools cuase admissions really like applicants who are diverse and has alot of other interests other than just the books. They like to see an all-around student whos not only booksmart but also personality and character. So thats a plus for you right there. Now you just need to do your pre-med courses and kick ass in them to show them that u can do it all. Plan ahead your next several years in life and see your chances and determine if u think u can do it and most of all my personal advice is, only go into medicine IF and ONLY IF you are motivated...like i mean REALLY motivated. Otherwise u wont get far just on effort.
PS: if u switched out of the art field, u must have switched for the same reasons I switched out lol.

 

[Snugstar]

And here is yet another former art student...! I am applying to post bac programs as we speak. It brightens my day to know there are other people who are doing/have done the same thing! I too have worried that my background might not be an advantage, but we'll just have to see because I really want to do this!

Superfly, out of curiosity, what were your reasons for switching out of the art world? I worked in art museums and galleries for about 5 years and am wondering how best to put it when am asked the inevitable questsion - why don't you want to do that anymore?

 

[Superflyjsc]

And here is yet another former art student...! I am applying to post bac programs as we speak. It brightens my day to know there are other people who are doing/have done the same thing! I too have worried that my background might not be an advantage, but we'll just have to see because I really want to do this!

Superfly, out of curiosity, what were your reasons for switching out of the art world? I worked in art museums and galleries for about 5 years and am wondering how best to put it when am asked the inevitable questsion - why don't you want to do that anymore?

Well i was doing animation for several years. I loved doing it and i still love it but just not as a fulltime career. I find more love for it doing it just as a hobby now rather than having to deal with the business side of it anymore. Also, at the time, i was doing 2d animation and thats become a dead-end career now. All the work has been shipped overseas and all us animators have lost our jobs.
Basically, i decided to pursue my other interests while im still relatively young and i can build a better future for myself and do my other craft on the side.

 

[myodana]

hey there,
i was a double major in dance (performance concentration) and biology in college... one thing that immediately occurs to me, is that having that exposure to the arts, besides making you a more well rounded and interesting candidate, will definitely help you on the verbal reasoning section of the MCAT. there are tons of really confusing and abstract passages, and experience reading that type of text (i.e. art history/theory) should help you a lot. good luck!

 

[roja]

You don't even really need to get an extra major.

I too had an art degree.. I had a BFA in Cinema with a strong GPA. I went into a masters for art while I was taking my premed recs. I had not taken ANY science and did well.

Its definately a strong point. I interviewed everywhere I applied and got my first choice of med schools. I also matched first in my residency, and I still end up talking about my transition. INterviews were always easy because I knew what they would talk about. 🙂