Do you need to be a genius to be an M.D.?

[XT777]

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The subject was probably more for narrative hook than anything but I am interested.

Are there any med. students that get in by just studying until they have to get LASIK surgery or are they all just pretty d*mn smart?

I am very interested in med school...

B.A. in TV/Radio Production from a top 50 private school in California.

Cumulative G.P.A. is 3.81

Science is 3.47 (but I still need to take several classes)

But I am not that smart (1350/1600 GRE)

So the question is: "Is there anyone out there that got in by working there a$$ off even though they don't consider themselves to be really smart?"


Thanks
XT777

 

[dmitrinyr]

I can't speak for anybody else, but I know what you're talking about. I am in the process of applying to med schools and doesn't matter what happens, I will be a doctor someday and in some medical school. I know that I am a smart guy and that I am smarter than the "average joe", but not by much. What I mean by this is that I know that I am smart, but I also know that I am not a genious. I compensate for the fact that I am not a genious and that I don't have a photographic memory by working my a$$ off and learning from my mistakes. I know a lot of people that I can truly say are smarter than me and doesn't matter what happens they will be smarter than me until death, but that doesn't bother me.

 

[ice_23]

Quick Answer: No. Work Hard (like you've been doing), get that science GPA up. You'll be a great physician, all it takes is desire and work.

-Ice

 

[snoopdizzle]

Doctors work hard, many are of very average intelligence.

 

[Megalofyia]

I've worked with quite a few doctors that I question how they got through highschool so no you don't have to be a genius.

Just keep with everyone else's advice and keep studying.

 

[chikantikka]

i am not smart.

i work my ass off though. if i was smart, i wouldnt HAVE to work my ass off.

but then again, im not an MD...yet

 

[thackl]

I don't even think the brightest out there necessarily make the best Dr's. Your run-of-the-mill Einstien doesn't relate to or comunicate well with the average Joe. These would be the infamous 4.0/40's you hear about getting rejections.

Hard work and sincere dedication will take you a long way in this field. You will encounter very little in medicine that requires true genius to understand (though there are niches for these types). You must be able to learn a lot and learn it quickly though.

 

[jennie 21]

I remember seeing a study that said the average I.Q. of doctors was 110, only slightly above the general population. I think the study was kind of old, so the numbers could have changed (I think it's gotten progressively more difficult to get into med school, so newly minted docs on average might be smarter). So no, you don't have to be a genius to be a doctor, by any means, just bright and willing to work. Or, as my grandfather (a doctor) used to say, medical school takes "sitzflesh" (willingness to sit on your ass and study) more than brains.

 

[Dr.Linus]

No. You don't have to be a genius, but you have to be able to learn a lot of materials in a short amount of time. It means you have to have mental and physical stamina and be reasonably intelligent.

 

[CANES2006]

I read somewhere that the average doctor has an IQ of a ~ 128. Last time I checked that is not a genius.

 

[raining4days]

I think maybe "studious" is a better word instead of "genius".

 

[daisygirl]

Or, as my grandfather (a doctor) used to say, medical school takes "sitzflesh" (willingness to sit on your ass and study) more than brains.

This is so true. For me, one of the hardest things during my first year of medical school was sitting on my arse for countless hours memorizing lots of minutae. Besides the plastering my butt to a chair to study- I often found that the volume of material being presented in such a short amount of time was mindboggling 😱

 

[Columbia22]

wow, i guess my IQ of 4548248 puts me at a little bit of an advantage then...you think i should start looking into Nursing instead???

 

[kmnfive]

"i Can" is better than "iQ"

 

[Doc Ivy]

Originally posted by fun8stuff
dmitrinyr,

I like your signature... Awakenings is an awesome movie!

Sidebar: dmitrinyr's quote is actually from the movie "What About Bob?", a comedic masterpiece 😉

 

[dmitrinyr]

Thanks Doc Ivy for clearing that up.

I love that movie and it just came to me when I was thinking of a good quote.

dmitri

 

[DrDRE]

Originally posted by Megalofyia
I've worked with quite a few doctors that I question how they got through highschool so no you don't have to be a genius.

This is so true...some of those guys should have their license revoked.

I took a few years to do research and ended up having many interactions with MDs during that time. It was shocking how lacking the analytical skills and what flawed logic some of these individuals had.

Genius is not a word I would associate with this profession. Granted, there are some geniuses who are MDs but they are the minority.

Anyways, I decided I was bored with research so I applied and got into med school. I am told it is a top 15 school (although I doubt that the rankings mean much) and so far I have not been impressed by any of my classmates.

Buckle up and hit the books.

 

[premedi-kid]

I think the answer is "yes"😉

 

[anxiousone]

my brother, an md/phd student, once told me that they can put any monkey through med school...so you make of that what you will😀

 

[Dr. Xavier]

No

 

[XT777]

I am kind of surprised that anyone responded. In retrospect it may have been more effective to reword the question so that responding personally wouldn?t seem so condemning.

Side note: There is, in my opinion, some substantial difference between being dumb and not being smart.

I apparently have a very high IQ (which means so very much 🙄 ) and have be fairly successful in school without really trying very hard. However, there is this one exception; I have the math competence of a trout.

However, when I think of what I would do in the absence of any limiting factor it is always M.D. and so anything else would be settling.

I know myself and I am not afraid of assiduous labor but I am (but of course no body else is) afraid of failure.

Difficult descisions to be sure! 😕

 

[Amit1]

I think you have to be of average intelligence and work very hard or be of very high intelligence and average work ethic. I think most of us fit somewhere inbetween.

I do NOT think that dumb people can make it into medical school, there are too many filters to weed them out. How do you know if you are dumb? Look at that post by the girl who studies her ass off just to get D's and F's at the university of phoenix.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Yes and no...

There are some subjects I have to study my ass off for (most empirical biology courses that have no conceptual basis, i.e. mass memorization of phylogenetic trees). I still get B's

But then there are some classes that I can just walk into, never crack the book, or even study for midterms or finals and get an A+. It's just plain weird, the answers just pop into my head. Like take Analytical Chemistry for instance... it was just one of those classes that clicked... errie 😱

It just depends on the class and professor.

 

[Megalofyia]

I liked analytical chem too it was just one of those classes that made sense. Not like organic which is a devil of a class.