Constantly feeling that I should be doing something?

[kelminak]

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Hello,

Starting at the beginning of summer I realized that I didn't want to give up being a physician, so I kicked myself into gear and I've been doing very well in the summer classes I took (A+ Cell Bio, going to have an A in genetics). Short background of me: I'd done fairly poorly in college for 4 years leading to a 2.6 GPA with a one-semester stint as a different major. I never knew what I wanted to do with myself after failing early on, so I'd given up on medicine and had no motivation throughout school.

Where does that leave me now? Since I've realized I still want to pursue medicine, I have reorganized myself along with the classes I'll take to graduate, so I'll end up graduating next fall with many science classes to bring up my GPA then take my MCAT to apply to med school the summer of 2014. I'm working on getting shadowing set up so I have that "requirement" out of the way (I'm extremely excited for this) and plan on getting on volunteering.

This leads me to the problem I've been having. For the last month I've been feeling constantly paranoid that what I'm doing isn't enough and that there's something I should be doing every second of the day. I'm typing this at nearly midnight with all of my homework complete, test taken for the day, several contacts called regarding shadowing, and I still don't feel like I'm doing enough to make up for all of the poor choices I've made before and that I'm wasting minutes that I'm not doing anything medicine-related (reading SDN, /r/premed, /r/medicine, etc.). Is this paranoia uncommon? Are there things that I could be accomplishing when I have free time at night with everything else listed done? It's starting to cause me a lot of stress that I'm not doing enough and there's going to be some gigantic key missing when I apply to med school that I didn't think of that will hold me back if I don't figure it out soon.

If you made it through all this, thank you and I greatly appreciate your advice! 🙂

 

[scarecrow90]

Caaaalm yourself! Everything will be okay. There are only so many hours in a day that you can fit stuff into, and you've been doing a good job thus far. You have a good plan and you seem determined. If you can continue to work your butt off like you've been doing, and stay passionate, things will work out! 😉

Don't forget to take time for yourself, too. You don't want to burn out or work so hard you get sick. Just keep pluggin' along! 🙂

 

[BB8730]

Your story sounds very similar to mine. I too did terribly in undergrad, gave up on medicine, realized that becoming a physician was truly what I wanted to do, kicked my butt into gear, and became a super Type A person with similar anxieties that you are having.

First of all, I think you're on the right track. You have a solid plan in place which is key. Your top top top priority at this point is just doing well in classes. If you're accomplishing that, you shouldn't feel like you're not doing enough. Shadowing would be a great thing to do in your free time, so definitely keep looking into that. If you really want something else to chew on, read the AACOMAS guide front to back and know the application process in-and-out (SDN is a great resource for that). You will be an underdog when you apply, so you need to make sure your application is pristine. You really don't have to start worrying about that until at least 6 months from now, though. Another thing you could be doing is planning out your LORs (how many you will need, who is going to write them, etc). Lastly, it's good to keep an updated resume/CV to keep track of your ECs. That will help you when it comes time to write your PS, and some schools actually require a resume/CV as part of their secondary app (AZCOM off the top of my head).

As scarecrow said, don't forget to take some time for yourself. It's easy to get caught up in this huge machine and constantly be sacrificing yourself for your medical education/career. Take some time to smell the roses and enjoy the things that make you happy in life. 👍

 

[kelminak]

Thanks scarecrow90 and brakk026, it's good to know I'm just overly stressing. I'll put everything into my classes and be sure to get the best possible results. I hadn't read through the AACOMAS guide, so I'll do that when I have free time to fill and get these urges that I need to be productive. I have one professor that already likes me after acing her cell bio class that I'm going to have for the next two semesters, so I'll see if I can get one from her. How many LORs are good for an underdog applicant? I see some people saying things like "I submitted 8+", but I'm guessing that's a little overboard.

Thanks 🙂

 

[BB8730]

How many LORs are good for an underdog applicant? I see some people saying things like "I submitted 8+", but I'm guessing that's a little overboard.

Each school has different requirements, and it's always been my personal recommendation to meet and not exceed those requirements. The 2014 Osteopathic Medical College Information Book lists the requirements for each school.

 

[kelminak]

Each school has different requirements, and it's always been my personal recommendation to meet and not exceed those requirements. The 2014 Osteopathic Medical College Information Book lists the requirements for each school.

Great, I'll go find out. Thanks for your help!