Does having doctors in your family help when applying to medical school?

[nysegop]

Does it help to have family members as doctors? Does it make it worse? Does it not matter? Should you even mention it in an interview?

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[shamwowzer]

Does it help to have family members as doctors? Does it make it worse? Does it not matter? Should you even mention it in an interview?

It's of little importance. You can use it to explain how you became interested in the field, but besides opportunities like shadowing/other opportunities that you can get because of connections it won't do much for you.

Everyone's perspective is different, adcoms understand this and appreciate people from all backgrounds as long as their interest in medicine is sincere.

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[notbobtrustme]

Of course it does. You get more opportunities, more exposure, more resources. It doesn't have a direct role in the admissions game, but the environment you are exposed to has so much **** that adcoms like to see.

 

[45408]

I wouldn't mention it.

 

[SnowyRox]

Some schools specifically ask that question on secondaries.

But it will be obvious in the opportunities you are exposed to. Hospitals will know that you're not a crazy person if your parents work there and can help you get a foot in the door. One of my good friends has a father who is a cardiologist and she got exposure to some of the top specialists in the hospital. Very difficult for someone without connections.

 

[mmmcdowe]

You should mention it if it is relevant. Parents that are doctors will be obvious because that will be in your application (they ask about your parents profession, which is an optional question). I agree though that the biggest advantage that physician relatives give you is connections for various pre-medical opportunities that may interest you.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

The two biggest advantages are probably:
1. It is no longer a ball buster trying to find someone that'll let you shadow them, because mom and dad can pull strings
2. You may have two doctors in your house willing to lay down some Real Talk on the state of medicine in our country both in terms of the big picture stuff and the in-the-trenches day to day junk. A more realistic and comprehensive understanding of medicine will make anyone stand out come interview day (and come personal statement time, depending on what direction you take it in)

 

[docB]

The two biggest advantages are probably:
1. It is no longer a ball buster trying to find someone that'll let you shadow them, because mom and dad can pull strings
2. You may have two doctors in your house willing to lay down some Real Talk on the state of medicine in our country both in terms of the big picture stuff and the in-the-trenches day to day junk. A more realistic and comprehensive understanding of medicine will make anyone stand out come interview day (and come personal statement time, depending on what direction you take it in)

Agree.

If you have doctors in the family they can really explain the process to you before you commit. I only had a vague idea about what residency was when I started med school. I knew nothing about how the loan repayment worked or how you get an actual job. Knowing those things going in is a big help.

 

[hmockingbird]

Agree about shadowing and other opportunities, as well as getting some "real" info. My dad is a doctor and tried to talk me out of med school for about 6 months. In the end he said he just wanted to make sure I really wanted it for myself/my own reasons.

However I just wanted to add something I heard from my undergrad university's med school when they came to talk to our pre-med club: you can list/talk about it as an early exposure to medicine in your personal statement, but (similar to what my dad said) be sure you have your own personal reasons for becoming a doctor that are not "my mom is a doctor and I thought it looked cool". Also make sure you have the relevant clinical exposure/experience (like shadowing) to show that you explored the profession beyond what you witnessed with your family member who's a physician. I thought this was good advice... you don't want to come off like you didn't put any thought into it or you're pursuing medicine because of family pressure, not your own interests.

 

[Law2Doc]

The two biggest advantages are probably:
1. It is no longer a ball buster trying to find someone that'll let you shadow them, because mom and dad can pull strings
2. You may have two doctors in your house willing to lay down some Real Talk on the state of medicine in our country both in terms of the big picture stuff and the in-the-trenches day to day junk. A more realistic and comprehensive understanding of medicine will make anyone stand out come interview day (and come personal statement time, depending on what direction you take it in)

Strongly agree with the first point, but somewhat disagree with the second. Family usually does a nice job of sheltering you from the negatives of medicine, and the people who tend to be the most in need of shadowing experiences yet the most likely to claim they already know what medicine entails without even seeing it first-hand are the kids of doctors. You don't see medicine second hand, you don't get that information genetically. So you sort of have to work harder to see what real medicine is about because you may have someone working hard to show you all th positives of your job, while sparing you the negatives. Do you think a buddy of a parent is going to throw you into a negative situation, one where, as LizzyM likes to put it, you get to smell the patients? Usually not.

 

[docB]

Strongly agree with the first point, but somewhat disagree with the second. Family usually does a nice job of sheltering you from the negatives of medicine, and the people who tend to be the most in need of shadowing experiences yet the most likely to claim they already know what medicine entails without even seeing it first-hand are the kids of doctors. You don't see medicine second hand, you don't get that information genetically. So you sort of have to work harder to see what real medicine is about because you may have someone working hard to show you all th positives of your job, while sparing you the negatives. Do you think a buddy of a parent is going to throw you into a negative situation, one where, as LizzyM likes to put it, you get to smell the patients? Usually not.

I see your point but these days almost everyone I know wants to convince their kids not to go into medicine. If one of my kids ever says they want to be a doctor I'll make sure they get covered in poop, screamed at by a crazy person, paid nothing and sued before they ever fill out an application.

 

[Law2Doc]

I see your point but these days almost everyone I know wants to convince their kids not to go into medicine. If one of my kids ever says they want to be a doctor I'll make sure they get covered in poop, screamed at by a crazy person, paid nothing and sued before they ever fill out an application.

It's easy to say that, but if your med school buddy calls you in 20 years and asks you to let his kid shadow you, are you really going to take that "scared straight" approach?

 

[oldbearprofessor]

I see your point but these days almost everyone I know wants to convince their kids not to go into medicine. If one of my kids ever says they want to be a doctor I'll make sure they get covered in poop, screamed at by a crazy person, paid nothing and sued before they ever fill out an application.

I know lots of physicians, including me, who are delighted to have children who have chosen to become physicians. Perhaps we hang out with different crowds of physician friends.

 

[docB]

It's easy to say that, but if your med school buddy calls you in 20 years and asks you to let his kid shadow you, are you really going to take that "scared straight" approach?

Yeah, I would. I am not good at hiding what I think about things. That said it's kind of a moot point. If someone shadows me they get exposed. It's not situations that really allows for sugar coating.

I know lots of physicians, including me, who are delighted to have children who have chosen to become physicians. Perhaps we hang out with different crowds of physician friends.

Perhaps our practice environments are different. The moves toward customer satisfaction and good Press Ganey scores have greatly diminished the field.

 

[deleted421268]

How about gaining admission to the Med School where your parents work at???

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Perhaps our practice environments are different. The moves toward customer satisfaction and good Press Ganey scores have greatly diminished the field.

The incredible technologies and new approaches to care that have enhanced outcomes in my area have greatly enhanced my field.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

How about gaining admission to the Med School where your parents work at???

You better have strong grades and scores because if you were 'favored' and someone can prove it, your parents would be creating a conflict of interest for themselves... You have to get in, at most schools, on your own merit, not on the coattails of your parents. If that is your intent, it isn't a good plan.

FWIW, my friend is a physician, his wife is a nurse, their son wants to go to medical school, my friend has encouraged him every step of the way, including pushing him to get good grades in his UG work. Since he bombed his MCAT, he has to retake it before he can apply, but with a 3.75, he'll get in somewhere... None of my friends have discouraged me from becoming a doc, exactly the opposite really...

 

[waterpolo480586]

The biggest advantage besides shadowing opportunities was that at practically every interview I attended they asked me whether I fully understood the type of lifestyle and challenges that are associated with being a physician. Nothing starts the response better than, "Well, my parents are physicians and through experience I understand x,y,z challenge and how to deal with it."

 

[youngmo]

It can possibly help you with admissions. Like everyone said shadowing experiences etc.. Also, most kids that come from families who's parents are physicians are more likely to get a lot help financially with med school. Bottom line, it definitely helps.

 

[ComputerGuy365]

It can possibly help you with admissions. Like everyone said shadowing experiences etc.. Also, most kids that come from families who's parents are physicians are more likely to get a lot help financially with med school. Bottom line, it definitely helps.

this post is 3 years old...

 

[efle]

this post is 3 years old...

One fourth as old as you!

 

[ComputerGuy365]

One fourth as old as you!

So funny. Love you efle

 

[BABSstudent]

I say it would help tremendously for reasons other than what are listed here. You would grow up in a family that is extremely educated and puts value in education. You probably would be held to a higher standard that would push you to excel in school and get into a better college. Your family can give you pointers on what worked for them and what you should be doing. Financially, you would also be in a better situation than your peers that work out of necessity while you can do activities/volunteering because you want to. Your parents would know what you should do to get into medical school and can give you advice while other have to rely on a website, their peers and counsellors.

Trust me. As a first generation college student and now a medical student, I still get mocked by my family for doing higher education and am told I should be doing something that pays immediately so I can have a family and free time. My choice to attend college actually made my brother insult me and say I don't deserve to go because I used financial aid and government grants to pay for it. My family takes my absence from family functions as me not being interested instead of knowing exactly what is required of me. At least having a doctor for a parent would make them understand a little more. I also had to work a near full time job in high school to help pay for living and food expenses. On top of that, my parents also told me it wasn't possible to study for the SAT so I didn't. Luckily I got a decent score and went to college. In college, I worked three jobs to help pay for living expenses while applying to medical school. Volunteering became difficult to do because it cut down on the number of hours I could work but I still did it because they were things I enjoyed.

Simply put, having doctors for parents starts you out at an entirely different point in life. You get to skip many things that stress and fret people from a lower socioeconomic status. You have a different experience growing up. You are taught to value education and that it is the most important thing there is. However, it is not all roses and sunshine. You pay for it in other ways such as not having a parent be around as much and having weird experiences associated with your parent's profession. I still think it is a net positive. I mean, there is a reason why my medical school has classes that usually have like 50-70% of the students with parents who are doctors.