Ashamed to be premed

[sunflower18]

Yeah but if you mention your premed or tht you want to go to med school people just immediately start summing you up to see if your going to or not. Saying your premed is a big statement. I feel like its saying that your confident you are gonna go to med school and there are really high standards associated with medical school that are really tough to meet. In reality its much more than just meeting some standards. Its really fistrating cause its easy to get up in he neroticism.

I think it's much more appropriate to say, "I'm majoring in x", and if asked what you want to do with that, say, "I'm hoping to apply to med school". I think that isn't presumptuous. I see how the term pre-med seems overly cocky.

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[taniaekal]

Just don't ever let the "pre-med" label get to you. Likewise, don't let your pre-med peers get to you or make you ashamed of the name. Stay humble, get good grades, have passion for what you study, and you will be A-okay. Good luck on your journey!

 

[Ashley1989]

I'm not ashamed to be a premed, but sometimes if I talk to someone in passing I will switch things up a bit and tell people wildly random things like I'm actually a fashion designer, or just finished a year in Svalbard after getting my PhD in astrophysics. Just random crap to keep things interesting. Usually I will then say something like "naw, just kidding, I'm actually studying bee keeping at UCSC"

 

[ichor]

It's the first of many steps to reaching the career that many folks dream about their entire lives. If you're ashamed to know what you want because of a label that doesn't let you be unique, maybe you need to re-evaluate why you're pursuing this route in the first place.

Thousands start off as pre-med. Fewer than half of them stick with it by the time they finish their pre-reqs, and even fewer will even have the privilege of applying and interviewing at their dream school (or any school for that matter). You will definitely not be "a dime a dozen" if you "make it"

I agree that OP's reasoning is whack. But come on now, you're crazy if you're pretending like there isn't some sort of negative stigma around being pre-med.

 

[Ashley1989]

I agree that OP's reasoning is whack. But come on now, you're crazy if you're pretending like there isn't some sort of negative stigma around being pre-med.

There's a stigma that goes with it, yes, but when you meet one you can usually tell within a minute if they're one of "those premeds" or not so usually that stigma isn't binding.

 

[NontradCA]

I don't think I've ever said the words "I'm a premed or I'm premed". I just said I don't know what I want to do.

Another thing, I don't really get the "dream of this profession all their lives" bit, because I've gotten into MD schools to my surprise this cycle but after the first acceptance and waiting I'm just like "meh". Anyone else feel like that? I feel like I lost my mojo.

 

[Jennyfishy]

I agree that OP's reasoning is whack. But come on now, you're crazy if you're pretending like there isn't some sort of negative stigma around being pre-med.

Lol, I wrote that back in december before the thread erupted into a "i hate the premeds who perpetuate the negative premed stereotype, so i dont like being associated with them". I didn't deny that there was no stereotype , but there's nothing inherently wrong with being pre-med just because everyone else also seems to claim the title. However, if you're "one of those premeds," then yes, you should be ashamed of yourself.

 

[487806]

Just don't ever let the "pre-med" label get to you. Likewise, don't let your pre-med peers get to you or make you ashamed of the name. Stay humble, get good grades, have passion for what you study, and you will be A-okay. Good luck on your journey!

Only if this were the norm

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

does anyone else feel ashamed to say they are pre-med? i feel like i'm a dime a dozen.

Embrace it. Let me tell you, once you're in, you feel like the pre-med highlander. Worth every penny of bull**** you had to deal with from naysayers or failed Pre-meds.

 

[Mad Jack]

I didn't say much about it in college, because I never really identified as a "premed." They're a particular group of people that seem to live and breath undergraduate premedical education. I was just some dude who already had a bachelor's degree and a career that was taking some courses to become a doctor, which really doesn't feel the same at all. Most premeds are kids with dreams. I was a guy with plans. Even now, most of my coworkers are still like, "Wait, I heard you're leaving and going to medical school? When did that happen?" because I just didn't say all that much about my plans in school.

Since 95% of premeds end up not becoming medical students, I'd just keep your premedical status on the DL. Broadcasting it before you're accepted is really just a good recipe to be eating your own words and failure for the next few years.

 

[FlatFour]

Since 95% of premeds end up not becoming medical students, I'd just keep your premedical status on the DL. Broadcasting it before you're accepted is really just a good recipe to be eating your own words and failure for the next few years.

That's a good point. Every time someone asks me what I am majoring in and I reply with biomed I am immediately overwhelmed with the earnest sense that they just see me as simply another wishful kid hoping to become a fancy-shmancy doctor. Like so many other things during UG it becomes discouraging after a while, I suppose it's just another reason to avoid the subject all together.

 

[274631]

What is there to feel shame about? Unless you're a major jerk about it, i cant see anyone reacting negatively just because you're working towards a goal. If someone asked what I was studying in school I'd say my major. If they asked about plans I'd say I was planning on going to med school. Normally they'd respond with some comment about how much more school I had or how much money I'd make. And that was usually it.

On second thought I can definitely see professors and volunteer coordinators reacting negatively due to past experience with premeds, so maybe in those situations I understand feeling ashamed a bit to be associated with the premed label. But not in everyday life. It really shouldn't even come up that much.

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[DocWinter]

I hated the term too. Made me think f this guy...or who he reminded me of in my life...

 

[Gregor Wiesmann]

Well, I'm not going to tell anyone else that I'm Pre-Med. How embarrassing would it be if I don't make it into Medical School? I'm just going to let everyone know what my major is, and then hopefully they'll be bored and not ask anymore questions. I absolutely HATE the Pre-Med stereotype, so I don't want people to associate me with it. I'm not "That Guy" who sits in the front of class, asks the professor multiple questions every class, and tries to "over-achieve" on every homework assignment. I'm the person who walks into class 5-10 minutes late, sits in the very back, doesn't raise their hand for questions, and then goes home and studies the material. I don't find it necessary to broadcast to the entire class that I'm some sort of 'Genius Pre-med'.

 

[moisne]

Pre med society at my UG covers all medical fields (MD most heavily) but Also pharm. techs. Nurses. EMT (not much) etc

 

[xroc]

I think it's not so much that when I was pre-med I was ashamed to be one, but more-so that I cringed every time 75% of kids studying in the library proudly exclaimed that they were pre-med, as if they somehow had already accomplished such a great milestone by declaring this to the world.

 

[Microglia]

In undergrad I was "a biology major." Wholeheartedly refused to use the premed label, always thought it brought tons of judgment.