College Freshman, plans on going into it!

[Mysticcal]

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I have been hoping an planning on going into Anesthesiology since around the start of High School, Right now I'm a freshman in college (San Fran State) and I was wondering if there were any tips or hints that would be good to know (I know I have a VERY long road ahead of me). Thanks for the help! 🙂

 

[lvspro]

I have been hoping an planning on going into Anesthesiology since around the start of High School, Right now I'm a freshman in college (San Fran State) and I was wondering if there were any tips or hints that would be good to know (I know I have a VERY long road ahead of me). Thanks for the help! 🙂

Get into med school... no, seriously. I think that's the hardest part. If you can get thru the MCAT, and get good grades then you can get into a US school. If you are lucky enuf to get US Allo, then you got a good chance at matching unless you get a 184 on step 1, and show up to your residency interviews a la kumar. If you look thru the interviews thread, you'll see that many of the US students are getting offers b4 the deans letter comes out, and DO's are second on that list in terms of number of offers. Us IMG's are last, and get to choose from the residencies that US students generally shy away from. Sucks, but true.
Again, getting into a US allopathic skoo is key, so just focus on getting in. Check out the FAQ's here, and go lurk around the pre-med forum for a while. Another good place to go to hear about med school experiences is on the allopathic, and clin rot forums here on sdn.

 

[aredoubleyou]

Just currious, why anesthesiology? Most people think about internal med, family med, or surgery at your stage of the game.

To answer your question - when everyone else is having a great time getting drunk from Wed night to Monday morning, you've got to study. Everyone who says that they partied like carzy thru undergrad and got 3.9 gpa have very selective memories. Doesnt mean you cant go out and get pissed periodically- but keep things in balance.

 

[chicamedica]

Yeah, even if you think you might enjoy anesthesiology currently, give the other specialties a chance, and wait until you actually go through the first 3 years of med school to be 100% sure. While going thru medical coursework, you may discover an interest that you dont really know is out there (or that you currently dont know too much about). So, it's good to keep your mind open at this stage.

And like aredoubleyou said, first you have to get into med school. That TRULY is the hardest hurdle towards pursuing a medical career. I wish you much luck!

p.s. also, the specialties as you know them currently may change drastically in their practice by the time you're going to be a resident/attending (what is it, like 10-14 years or so from now?)

 

[MD/TX2006]

like they said- get into med school...

GPA no lower 3.75
Get a solid MCAT, a total of 30 should be good for most places
Start your resume, and have a well-rounded application-
this includes Volunteer activity, medical and non-medical. I'm sure your school has a Pre-Med society- that's a good starting place.
Part-time jobs in the medical field might help; be an OR tech, an EMT, lab tech, etc...
Working in a professors' lab and getting some research experience can help too- but don't kill yourself to do this!

These are just goals- certainly some med students don't have all of the above.
Finally, have a good personality and excellent work ethic. Keep the goals in sight, but have fun doing it. In any field, if you are not having fun, you won't like your career.

As much exposure to the medical field as you can- it will save you a lot of time when you have to make big decisions. You'll either learn and solidify what you feel about anesthesiology or like the previous posters said, you can discover something else you like even better! Good luck, it's nice to know what you wanna be when you grow up already- most of us change our minds along the way...