I wonder how my post can be misconstrued as a joke. When someone says, "say someone applies and get no MD acceptances. They are boning for MD and have no interest whatsoever of going DO. They get no acceptances." It makes me wonder, "How much does this applicant know about this process? What are their goals and motivations?" I think this is a very fair assessment. I think it does a significant disservice to undergrads to push MD MD MD MD when the reality is that many people would be far happier simply doing something else. In my experience, when someone has little appreciation for the process and makes comments like "no interest whatsoever of going DO", they lack foundation to make a good decision about their career direction. This is not a reflection on whether or not they would get into medical school or be a good physician.
The first question I ask advises is always, "Why medicine?" I then push them hard about their motivations. I don't do it because I don't want them to go into medicine. I am truly happy that I am where I am now. But, I recognize the dangers of pursuing a career in medicine as well. For starters, the investment is unparalleled. The time, energy and money that you have to put up is massive and it behooves anyone considering it to make as informed a decision as they can. Second, I know many unhappy physicians. I know people who quit medical school, I know residents who have quit 1-3 years in. I know residents who have been kicked out after 4 years. Virtually every single one of those cases are of people who didn't really appreciate what they were getting into. I will be the first to admit that when I applied, I was very naive. I got lucky as many students do. But, I also see the danger in my personal pathway if I did it 10 times.
How to advise someone depends very much on their motivations. How to explore and improve is not trivial. You have a very limited time frame and an uphill battle ahead.
I'd like to have more burger flippers in the cafeteria to have MDs after their names
