[Discuss] 14-year old girl accepted! UPR RCM

[T-Lymphocyte]

A 14 year old girl was accepted in UPR RCM (Puerto Rico’s state school)! I’m shook-eth! I think this is unprescendented (at least in PR).

Source:
Tiene 14 años y ya se prepara para estudiar medicina en el Recinto de Ciencias Médicas

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[puahate]

high iq

 

[Phoebus Apollo]

Good luck lil homie

 

[LizzyM]

I wonder if there is a minimum age to be licensed to practice there. She may find that to be a limiting factor.

I for one would be somewhat uncomfortable having to teach a 15 or 16 year old girl to take a sexual history. Heck, I've had students in their 20s who had to think a bit as to how human papilloma virus (HPV) could cause head and neck cancer. (Absolutely clueless as to how that might be transmitted... seeing it dawn on her was memorable.)

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I always ask, "What's the rush?" There is a reason we dont let 14 yr olds drive, buy cigs,alcohol,guns, get married, and vote. Just because you can do something, doesnt mean you should do something. Let her enjoy her adolescence.

 

[LizzyM]

I always ask, "What's the rush?" There is a reason we dont let 14 yr olds drive, buy cigs,alcohol,guns, get married,

or borrow money... I guess Mommy and Daddy will be on the hook for the loans.

 

[gyngyn]

I for one would be somewhat uncomfortable having to teach a 15 or 16 year old girl to take a sexual history. Heck, I've had students in their 20s who had to think a bit as to how human papilloma virus (HPV) could cause head and neck cancer. (Absolutely clueless as to how that might be transmitted... seeing it dawn on her was memorable.)

We took a 14 year old once (before my time on committee).
It was child abuse.

 

[siliso]

Plenty of time for even the brightest 14 year old in the world to still be a doctor after having an adolescence, exploring options, etc. No need for this rush.

Being a passable doctor really doesn’t even depend primarily on pure brainpower, although it helps.

 

[965978]

We took a 14 year old once (before my time on committee).
It was child abuse.

When I was a freshman in high school there was this kid in my class whose parents forced him to get a GED, go to college at an easy acceptance state school, and start preparing his application for med school.

 

[Mad Jack]

I knew a woman that finished medical school at 20. This beats even her. She ended up a fantastic surgeon

 

[Peter Pan.]

Lol she can’t even drive. No drinking socials with the classmates. No relationships because if you get involved with her it’s with a minor. She will still be a minor for years 3 and 4. Wonder how that will affect her rotations?

 

[deleted972488]

If I didn’t feel old before, I do now.

 

[stayathomemom]

Sure, she had a high IQ, but that says nothing about her emotional maturity or judgement. And even someone who has had an ideal amount of exposure to the world at age 14 does not have the life experience to draw from.

Her brain is still developing. She's still a child. She needs to be nurtured but I'm afraid the pressures of a medical school will be harmful to her mental and emotional health.

 

[allantois]

I wonder if there is a minimum age to be licensed to practice there. She may find that to be a limiting factor.

I for one would be somewhat uncomfortable having to teach a 15 or 16 year old girl to take a sexual history. Heck, I've had students in their 20s who had to think a bit as to how human papilloma virus (HPV) could cause head and neck cancer. (Absolutely clueless as to how that might be transmitted... seeing it dawn on her was memorable.)

At least in my state the minimum age to get a medical license is 18 years old..

 

[LizzyM]

At least in my state the minimum age to get a medical license is 18 years old..

That's good to hear. Joseph Goldberger had a problem in NY because the minimum age was 21 but that was back in 1894.

 

[deleted962973]

What I have heard is that many child prodigies have intellectual capabilities that surpass their peers, but their emotional maturity is usually not as advanced. Potentially there is a dearth of qualified applicants for med school in PR and this is a result of that, but I don’t think I’d trust a 14 year old to be my physician- I just would not be able to comfortably speak to someone that age about touchy subjects the way I could to an emotionally developed adult.

 

[M&L]

My first degree was chosen under heavy pressure of my family. I was very young (much older than this young lady), and i honestly did not know any better. A year into the program i realized that i HATED my life. I rebelled against my parents, they kicked me out of the house, i found a full time job, place to live, and enrolled in the new program. It was a much better fit for me. Then i got my masters in the same field. TEN YEARS LATER i realized that this is STILL not what i want to do, and started working towards medical school. there is NO WAY i will EVER believe that a 14 year old girl made this conscious decision, based on her self-discovery and exposure to various life struggles. Her frontal lobe is not even fully formed. What i WILL believe though is that she does love medical field because of limited exposure that she had, but mostly, - because of everyone around her telling her that she is brilliant (which she definitely is), and she NEEDs to go to a medical school.

Maybe she will become a doctor and in the process will grow and mature along with her exposure to the profession, and realize that this is the best decision she could have made. Maybe she will cure cancer, or make a brilliant discovery of some sort. (i true hope that this is what will happen). Maybe she will realize after finishing medical school that this is not for her, and go pursue something else. What i do not want to happen to her is staying in the medical field because she feels like she HAS to, even though she my grow to hate it. That would be horrible. I am grateful that i was hard-headed enough to make the change, and i am SO HAPPY. But i have so many friends who weren't and are stuck in the profession that they do not want to be in.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

I mean she'll be 16 at start of clinicals. That's the min age for people to start to ride as EMTs in many states. Why not! Good for her! Imagine starting residency at 18 hot damn.

 

[907914]

Either we lower the enlistment age or we raise the medical school age...You should not be allowed to become a doctor at an earlier age than join the military...

 

[Thornburn]

Sure, she had a high IQ, but that says nothing about her emotional maturity or judgement. And even someone who has had an ideal amount of exposure to the world at age 14 does not have the life experience to draw from.

Her brain is still developing. She's still a child. She needs to be nurtured but I'm afraid the pressures of a medical school will be harmful to her mental and emotional health.

She was able to get through the pressures of high school and college so far. It doesn't say anything about her emotional maturity, but just because she's 14, it doesn't mean she isn't mature mentally. I've met plenty of 30+ year olds with the "mental maturity" of a teenager.
Assuming they also have medical school interviews in Puerto Rico, she must have seem fairly well adjusted by faculty. Some kids enjoy and thrive on being challenged.

 

[glassesvar]

I don't care how high her IQ is, this is very likely not going to be good for her social and emotional development. What kind of toll will being around people at least 8 years older than you have on your development in some of the most crucial years of your life? How is she going to have friends or date? Sure she can do that outside of school but let's be real med students spend the majority of their time around each other, especially 3rd year and beyond. Even if people at the school are extremely friendly and accepting, she will always feel like the odd one out. She won't be able to go out with them, relate to them, or truly be friends with any of them. She'll be like their younger sister at best. Not to mention that med school and residency are stressful in and of themselves for an adult at the age of 22. I really feel for this girl.

 

[LizzyM]

It would have been better to park her in a PhD program for 7 years, then two years of community service before starting medical school.

 

[puahate]

It would have been better to park her in a PhD program for 7 years, then two years of community service before starting medical school.

Why suffer through a PhD?

 

[LizzyM]

Why suffer through a PhD?

She's brilliant. She's curious. She has tremenous energy. Why not let her use that curiousity and energy in a lab from ages 14-21 at which point she comes out with a PhD and some maturity for having suffered, for having experienced disappointment and adversity, and having taken on increasing responsibility. I highly doubt that she has the emotional maturity to deal with grief-stricken families, terriblly mutilated people pulled from car wrecks, survivors of child abuse, the dying, the angry, and those who will treat her inappropriately because she's a pretty girl (some patients have no sense of propriety or boundaries and will say or do things that may shock you). As was said earlier, admitting a young teen into medical school can be like child abuse.

 

[gyngyn]

It would have been better to park her in a PhD program for 7 years, then two years of community service before starting medical school.

We tried that but she blasted through it in less than 3 years... and was not more emotionally mature, sadly.

 

[Gilakend]

I mean she'll be 16 at start of clinicals. That's the min age for people to start to ride as EMTs in many states. Why not! Good for her! Imagine starting residency at 18 hot damn.

Exactly. Imagine starting residency at 18.

I've met cats that make better decisions than 18 year olds.

 

[907914]

We tried that but she blasted through it in less than 3 years... and was not more emotionally mature, sadly.

I am confused..............It isn't April 1st anymore, unless @gyngyn is really a Puerto Rican prodigy coordinator.

 

[sunshinefl]

I am confused..............It isn't April 1st anymore, unless @gyngyn is really a Puerto Rican prodigy coordinator.

He mentioned earlier in the thread that his school also admitted a 14 year old once.

 

[907914]

He mentioned earlier in the thread that his school also admitted a 14 year old once.

Gotcha. Although Puerto Rican prodigy coordinator would be one hellava job title.

Sorry for missing that detail above!

 

[RogueUnicorn]

I knew a woman that finished medical school at 20. This beats even her. She ended up a fantastic surgeon

well most of us are emotionally stunted to start with, so easy to hide those issues there...

as for me I say open physis = closed admissions!

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

I have serious reservations about the maturity of any 14 year old when it comes to medical school. That being said the one of these kids I’ve personally known (admitted at 17, 18 when school started was uncommonly mature and that was likely the reason they got in

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Exactly. Imagine starting residency at 18.

I've met cats that make better decisions than 18 year olds.

How many of those cats have you seen get into med school at 14?

 

[Gilakend]

How many of those cats have you seen get into med school at 14?

The same amount of 10 year olds I’ve seen get into med school, zero. Because they’re children not some novelty or fun statistic to throw around. They have effectively 0 real world experience outside of school (something that would make a regular applicant DOA at most schools). It’s not the kid’s fault, it’s the medical schools fault for making such an obscene decision. I understand the cool factor of it and admit that when I first read it I was like “dang imagine being able to be an attending surgeon at 23” but I just don’t see how it’s ethical to put a child in arguably one of the hardest and mentally taxing schooling paths in the world. The risk just seems to outweigh the cost in my opinion.

 

[hmockingbird]

(Was this an April Fools joke?)

Yeah I’m inclined towards child abuse and just unrealistic. There is just so much maturing up to do developmentally between 14 and adulthood that even a “mature” kid would struggle in clinical years (where you need more executive function, emotional maturity/management skills, impulse control, confidence, etc). Because that’s just it — they are still a kid.

I remember in HS there was a kid the grade below me who was advanced 3 years above, and they really struggled socially. Again HUGE maturity gap at 11 and 14 vs say 22 (trad student) and 25 (nontrad). It wasn’t even that we couldn’t find things in common with them, it was that for awhile they were stuck in “kid” or “preteen” mode and we were teens — grossed out by cooties, bathroom jokes, wanting to play singing games, etc. All normal and appropriate for their age but NOT for high school! So kids would get annoyed with them because it was like constantly having a younger sibling tagging along. I know my school offered (and I think really pushed) to advance me 1-2 years but my parents refused which I am grateful for. I have a much younger sibling who was in HS when I was in med school — could they have fun with us at a dinner/non-booze event? Sure, we’d find plenty of TV shows/memes/cultural stuff to talk about. Could my sibling have kept up with us on the floors? Lol no. I mean what do you expect with a 14 yo who is “rebelling” and meets a rude patient or someone who enforces the dress code? Even if they manage to respond appropriately in the moment they are just going to take it SO personally bc that’s the stage of development they are at.