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I see you've met my family friend...
Funny quotes from "less informed" premeds
Started by TheGloaming
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I see you've met my family friend...
I hate when people tell others they are a "premed."
I mean if someone asks openly, do you want to go to med school, ill say yeah i'm going to apply. But the whole premed title.... really doesnt mean anything.
Idk why, i honestly have no real good reason to feel this way, but i do.
sorrynotsorry?
Not a quote, but a short story definitely worth sharing here.
There's a premed student in my biology class who lacks some basic social skills (and unfortunately, this does not come from the direction of shyness, but of cockiness). He was applying to the same ER volunteering program I was, and we ended up at the same orientation, which was a 4 hour orientation starting at 8am. He showed up 15 minutes late, and immediately upon walking into the room, put his head down on the table and started falling asleep. 😱
He only said two things the entire orientation: "Do we get free food at the cafeteria?" and "I'm thinking of just going to the Caribbean because I don't want to deal with admission committees."
So as a follow-up to this story, this particular student spent all semester bragging about how he gets a 95% in every class without ever showing up. He apparently mistakenly used the "reply all" function instead of the "reply" function to email the instructor back about something, as everyone in the class received this today (unedited apart from the instructor's name): "(professor's first name, uncapitalized) is there any way you could give a little nudge to 86.9 percent??? I don't think .1 percent should be a difference in a 3.3 to a 3.0!!!"
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In fairness he is in charge of the chemtrail program now. ;-)
Serves him right for being arrogant (and dumb...now everyone knows his situation lololol).
Overheard today in an honors society GBM (Decided to join one to just help people out really)-
Pre-med: I don't get it! My friend is still waiting on interviews and December is almost done! I told him that he has a 3.9 GPA and a 41 MCAT, he HAS to get in with scores like that.
Me: What I would give for a score like that! Did he have any clinical experience or shadowing?
Pre-med: Nah, and honestly with scores like that you don't need anything else, he got a 41 on the MCAT!
Me: ..........*just a shocked look covered with a smile*.....
Also met another special snowflake in a special major for phage genomics and bioinformatics who was 4.0/36 MCAT who applied this cycle who has said "I really don't enjoy medicine much at all" verbatim.....
Pre-med: I don't get it! My friend is still waiting on interviews and December is almost done! I told him that he has a 3.9 GPA and a 41 MCAT, he HAS to get in with scores like that.
Me: What I would give for a score like that! Did he have any clinical experience or shadowing?
Pre-med: Nah, and honestly with scores like that you don't need anything else, he got a 41 on the MCAT!
Me: ..........*just a shocked look covered with a smile*.....
Also met another special snowflake in a special major for phage genomics and bioinformatics who was 4.0/36 MCAT who applied this cycle who has said "I really don't enjoy medicine much at all" verbatim.....
Ignorance is bliss lololol
My favorite comes from one of my former co-workers. He has not taken the MCAT yet (nor does he have any idea about it), has zero clincal experience/community service, and a poor GPA.
Me: (recently after I told him about my acceptance) So are you still interested in medical school?
Him: Yeah, I figure I'll just work here for a few more years, save enough money to pay my way through med school, and then become a trauma surgeon.
Me: Oh cool. Have you done any shadowing or have any clinical experience?
Him: No, I don't really need that. I'm a very passionate person, so I am confident that will come through in my PS and my interviews. I am planning on attending Johns Hopkins or possibly Harvard.
Me: Haha, sounds like you have it in the bag.
Him: Huge grin - "Yeah, it's too bad you couldn't get into a top school like that, but I'm sure you'll still be a solid doctor one day."
Is it just me, or are the people who have no idea what this process entails the most arrogant about it?
Me: (recently after I told him about my acceptance) So are you still interested in medical school?
Him: Yeah, I figure I'll just work here for a few more years, save enough money to pay my way through med school, and then become a trauma surgeon.
Me: Oh cool. Have you done any shadowing or have any clinical experience?
Him: No, I don't really need that. I'm a very passionate person, so I am confident that will come through in my PS and my interviews. I am planning on attending Johns Hopkins or possibly Harvard.
Me: Haha, sounds like you have it in the bag.
Him: Huge grin - "Yeah, it's too bad you couldn't get into a top school like that, but I'm sure you'll still be a solid doctor one day."
Is it just me, or are the people who have no idea what this process entails the most arrogant about it?
To quote my sig, "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" - Charles Darwin
Okay I've been waiting to share this:
"So basically, this is what I envision my future career like. I'm going to spend my first five years after medical school doing primary care. Really get my hands dirty. Then I'll take the next couple years and specialize in ENT or plastics or something and lead a cushy life. Then when I get burned out I'll just do research and write grants all day."
What a boss, right? ^
"So basically, this is what I envision my future career like. I'm going to spend my first five years after medical school doing primary care. Really get my hands dirty. Then I'll take the next couple years and specialize in ENT or plastics or something and lead a cushy life. Then when I get burned out I'll just do research and write grants all day."
What a boss, right? ^
And people like this do NOT get into medical school!
Also met another special snowflake in a special major for phage genomics and bioinformatics who was 4.0/36 MCAT who applied this cycle who has said "I really don't enjoy medicine much at all" verbatim.....
Also met another special snowflake in a special major for phage genomics and bioinformatics who was 4.0/36 MCAT who applied this cycle who has said "I really don't enjoy medicine much at all" verbatim.....
It's not uncommon.
Was talking to a friend finishing the MD component of the MD/PhD who hates the hospital, patients, doctors, medicine, and life in general. He's only interested in research and regrets doing the MD but is in too deep.
Not a true "premed" but my premed advisor told me that I should think about pursuing a different career path because he saw that I got a B in first year bio. Needless to say, I self-advised after that.
I hate when people tell others they are a "premed."
I mean if someone asks openly, do you want to go to med school, ill say yeah i'm going to apply. But the whole premed title.... really doesnt mean anything.
Idk why, i honestly have no real good reason to feel this way, but i do.
sorrynotsorry?
Agreed.
I had never told anybody that I was "pre-med" in college.
I told them that I was studying biology and chemistry.
This is not really a quote but more of a long term thing. Sorry this is long haha.
I used to volunteer with this girl at a clinic. She is a great charmer with doctors and patients and can play genius well so when you don't know her she can fool you. When we first talked about MCAT:
(My test was like a month away and hers was like 6 weeks)
Me: I'm so scared for mine
Her: That sucks, I'm aiming for a 35, haven't taken practice tests but you know...🙄
(7 weeks later, about a week after the "I'm aiming for 35" girl finishes her MCAT)
Me: How did you test go?
Her: It was easy, not even worried about it 😎(remember she plays smart well so we were all fooled)
(Same day, Insert: Overly competitive 3rd person who loves asking about people's med school app/MCAT life)
Overly competitive 3rd person: So what were you averaging on your practice tests?
Her: If you must ask, 39😀
Both of us:
(Fast forward to the end of July)
Me: Ahhh these secondaries are crazy😕
Her: I haven't submitted my primary yet, I will probably get a 37, and with my 3.8 I'm a lock, so who cares. These secondaries will be so much harder than the actual MCAT
Overly competitive: Ughh I should've retaken my 31😡
Me: Ughhh I'm not getting in anywhere🤔
Her: 🤣Well you can always reapply miamiheatfan
Me: 🙁
(Fast Forward to September)
My friend: you know what "I'm aiming for 35" girl ended up getting? A 30, she claimed that she choked, but she says she has interviews at half the FL schools and Wake Forest...😱
Me: How?? She just submitted her AMCAS like 3 weeks ago, she's lying
(Not the only thing she lied about, two weeks later)
My friend: (calls me) You won't believe the "I'm aiming for 35" girl actually got a 24 on her MCAT, and she has a 3.2 (she left her computer open). And she has like no ECs
Me: 🤣😆No freaking way! What a compulsive liar, she had me fooled
(I decide to text the "I'm aiming for 35" girl a week after finding this out)
Me: How are those interviews coming along?
Her: They are great, I'm such a great applicant
She has no clue that we all know that she is lying. We just let her continue to think she is playing us. As of the end of November, she was still working on secondaries, to like the 6 schools she applied to!
either way the joke is on her😀
I used to volunteer with this girl at a clinic. She is a great charmer with doctors and patients and can play genius well so when you don't know her she can fool you. When we first talked about MCAT:
(My test was like a month away and hers was like 6 weeks)
Me: I'm so scared for mine
Her: That sucks, I'm aiming for a 35, haven't taken practice tests but you know...🙄
(7 weeks later, about a week after the "I'm aiming for 35" girl finishes her MCAT)
Me: How did you test go?
Her: It was easy, not even worried about it 😎(remember she plays smart well so we were all fooled)
(Same day, Insert: Overly competitive 3rd person who loves asking about people's med school app/MCAT life)
Overly competitive 3rd person: So what were you averaging on your practice tests?
Her: If you must ask, 39😀
Both of us:
(Fast forward to the end of July)
Me: Ahhh these secondaries are crazy😕
Her: I haven't submitted my primary yet, I will probably get a 37, and with my 3.8 I'm a lock, so who cares. These secondaries will be so much harder than the actual MCAT
Overly competitive: Ughh I should've retaken my 31😡
Me: Ughhh I'm not getting in anywhere🤔
Her: 🤣Well you can always reapply miamiheatfan
Me: 🙁
(Fast Forward to September)
My friend: you know what "I'm aiming for 35" girl ended up getting? A 30, she claimed that she choked, but she says she has interviews at half the FL schools and Wake Forest...😱
Me: How??
She just submitted her AMCAS like 3 weeks ago, she's lying(Not the only thing she lied about, two weeks later)
My friend: (calls me) You won't believe the "I'm aiming for 35" girl actually got a 24 on her MCAT, and she has a 3.2 (she left her computer open). And she has like no ECs
Me: 🤣😆No freaking way! What a compulsive liar, she had me fooled
(I decide to text the "I'm aiming for 35" girl a week after finding this out)
Me: How are those interviews coming along?
Her: They are great, I'm such a great applicant
She has no clue that we all know that she is lying.
We just let her continue to think she is playing us. As of the end of November, she was still working on secondaries, to like the 6 schools she applied to! either way the joke is on her😀 Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Basically the "proud premed" types are claiming status for something they haven't yet earned. It's like me saying I'm a pre-Congressman because I plan on running for office someday- it's just meaningless and kind of stupid.I hate when people tell others they are a "premed."
I mean if someone asks openly, do you want to go to med school, ill say yeah i'm going to apply. But the whole premed title.... really doesnt mean anything.
Idk why, i honestly have no real good reason to feel this way, but i do.
sorrynotsorry?
D
deleted407021
And with that self appointed "title" often comes the most baffling arrogance I've ever seen. It's almost as if wanting to be a doctor makes them think they are somehow special and enjoy some elevated position over their peers. I really don't understand why the whole pre-med thing attracts these kinds of people, but at least pre-osteo isn't as inundated with them as pre-allo and your average pre-med department.
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Seems like it worked out for you, man!
I was in a class called Bioinformatics, and we had to talk about a specific molecule associated with a disease for our final.
This was a small class, and pretty much everyone there wanted to go into further studies in either pharmacy or chemistry in general. The projects started with a girl who was presenting on Crohn's.
She wraps up her overall average presentation, but she kept stressing how a subset of the Jewish population was more prone to developing the disease compared to the sub-Saharan African population. So, me being a curious person and hoping to throw her a bone in a sense, I ask: Why do you think that this subsection of the Jewish population is more prone to developing Crohn's than the other populations in the study?
She responds with a five minute tirade about how "WE'RE GETTIN THE CROHNS AND IT'S ALL THE FAKE FOODS FAULT AND THE PRESERVATIVES AND WE'RE KILLING OURSELVES WITH FOOD BUT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE *insert a variety of derogatory words*."
I looked at her incredulously, as if I actually saw her tinfoil hat that was two sizes too small, and a classmate comments with ice on his voice- "You know, she couldn't have possibly been referring to the fact that the sub-Saharan populations have a reduced access to care, or that they're worried about more pressing matters, like malaria, Ebola, and infrastructure."
I enjoyed that far more than I should have, probably because she was going ape-crap on me for no reason and to have my classmate have my back felt nice. 😀
Always remember to keep your common sense hats on, people.
This is not really a quote but more of a long term thing. Sorry this is long haha.
I used to volunteer with this girl at a clinic. She is a great charmer with doctors and patients and can play genius well so when you don't know her she can fool you. When we first talked about MCAT:
(My test was like a month away and hers was like 6 weeks)
Me: I'm so scared for mine
Her: That sucks, I'm aiming for a 35, haven't taken practice tests but you know...🙄
(7 weeks later, about a week after the "I'm aiming for 35" girl finishes her MCAT)
Me: How did you test go?
Her: It was easy, not even worried about it 😎(remember she plays smart well so we were all fooled)
(Same day, Insert: Overly competitive 3rd person who loves asking about people's med school app/MCAT life)
Overly competitive 3rd person: So what were you averaging on your practice tests?
Her: If you must ask, 39😀
Both of us:
(Fast forward to the end of July)
Me: Ahhh these secondaries are crazy😕
Her: I haven't submitted my primary yet, I will probably get a 37, and with my 3.8 I'm a lock, so who cares. These secondaries will be so much harder than the actual MCAT
Overly competitive: Ughh I should've retaken my 31😡
Me: Ughhh I'm not getting in anywhere🤔
Her: 🤣Well you can always reapply miamiheatfan
Me: 🙁
(Fast Forward to September)
My friend: you know what "I'm aiming for 35" girl ended up getting? A 30, she claimed that she choked, but she says she has interviews at half the FL schools and Wake Forest...😱
Me: How??
(Not the only thing she lied about, two weeks later)
My friend: (calls me) You won't believe the "I'm aiming for 35" girl actually got a 24 on her MCAT, and she has a 3.2 (she left her computer open). And she has like no ECs
Me: 🤣😆No freaking way! What a compulsive liar, she had me fooled
(I decide to text the "I'm aiming for 35" girl a week after finding this out)
Me: How are those interviews coming along?
Her: They are great, I'm such a great applicant
She has no clue that we all know that she is lying.
It's sad that people like this exist.
I think there's a huge lesson here. I see many posts on SDN about "I have no IIs and these people I know who have worse stats are all getting IIs."
Maybe they're lying?
So, until you kids see them produce an invite, don't believe them, especially when you smell something that smells like it don't belong there, capeesh?
Maybe they're lying?
So, until you kids see them produce an invite, don't believe them, especially when you smell something that smells like it don't belong there, capeesh?
This is not really a quote but more of a long term thing. Sorry this is long haha.
I used to volunteer with this girl at a clinic. She is a great charmer with doctors and patients and can play genius well so when you don't know her she can fool you. When we first talked about MCAT:
(My test was like a month away and hers was like 6 weeks)
Me: I'm so scared for mine
Her: That sucks, I'm aiming for a 35, haven't taken practice tests but you know...🙄
(7 weeks later, about a week after the "I'm aiming for 35" girl finishes her MCAT)
Me: How did you test go?
Her: It was easy, not even worried about it 😎(remember she plays smart well so we were all fooled)
(Same day, Insert: Overly competitive 3rd person who loves asking about people's med school app/MCAT life)
Overly competitive 3rd person: So what were you averaging on your practice tests?
Her: If you must ask, 39😀
Both of us:
(Fast forward to the end of July)
Me: Ahhh these secondaries are crazy😕
Her: I haven't submitted my primary yet, I will probably get a 37, and with my 3.8 I'm a lock, so who cares. These secondaries will be so much harder than the actual MCAT
Overly competitive: Ughh I should've retaken my 31😡
Me: Ughhh I'm not getting in anywhere🤔
Her: 🤣Well you can always reapply miamiheatfan
Me: 🙁
(Fast Forward to September)
My friend: you know what "I'm aiming for 35" girl ended up getting? A 30, she claimed that she choked, but she says she has interviews at half the FL schools and Wake Forest...😱
Me: How??
(Not the only thing she lied about, two weeks later)
My friend: (calls me) You won't believe the "I'm aiming for 35" girl actually got a 24 on her MCAT, and she has a 3.2 (she left her computer open). And she has like no ECs
Me: 🤣😆No freaking way! What a compulsive liar, she had me fooled
(I decide to text the "I'm aiming for 35" girl a week after finding this out)
Me: How are those interviews coming along?
Her: They are great, I'm such a great applicant
She has no clue that we all know that she is lying.
I cannot agree more. To all pre-meds that are going thru, or have yet to go thru the application process: people lie. A lot. About their scores, their grades, their time spent studying ("Ah I only study for an hour and get 103% on everything"), their ECs, who they know, and much more. People are insecure, and people are competitive.
My advice: You know how racehorses have blinders up? Do that. Whatever anybody else does has no effect on you. Do your research into what it takes, and get working. Nobody's going to do it for you, and you only lose all rational thought (and precious time) when you worry about others.
Actually, this applies to a copious amount of situations, but my point at the moment is for students applying/looking to apply to medical school.
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And immature as well.
People are insecure, and people are competitive.
Very sage counsel here. This is why I constantly tell folks that the only people they should be comparing themselves against is themselves.
My advice: You know how racehorses have blinders up? Do that. Whatever anybody else does has no effect on you. Do your research into what it takes, and get working. Nobody's going to do it for you, and you only lose all rational thought (and precious time) when you worry about others.
People are insecure, and people are competitive.
Very sage counsel here. This is why I constantly tell folks that the only people they should be comparing themselves against is themselves.
My advice: You know how racehorses have blinders up? Do that. Whatever anybody else does has no effect on you. Do your research into what it takes, and get working. Nobody's going to do it for you, and you only lose all rational thought (and precious time) when you worry about others.
Pre-med coworker (she): Hey guess who's going to shadow a neurosurgeon?
Me: What? That is so cool..
Two months later, Me: Sabrina, how are classes going?
Her: I decided I'm going to get my BSN first to get more experience; then I'll go to medical school (as if it's like signing up for a class)
Me: Actually, if you want to be a doctor adcoms might perce-
Her: No, I'll have more experience.
I came to find out she failed biology 101 three times in a row.
I am now shadowing the aforementioned neurosurgeon.
But hey, I'm just a biology major. Nothing to see here. 🙂
Me: What? That is so cool..
Two months later, Me: Sabrina, how are classes going?
Her: I decided I'm going to get my BSN first to get more experience; then I'll go to medical school (as if it's like signing up for a class)
Me: Actually, if you want to be a doctor adcoms might perce-
Her: No, I'll have more experience.
I came to find out she failed biology 101 three times in a row.
I am now shadowing the aforementioned neurosurgeon.
But hey, I'm just a biology major. Nothing to see here. 🙂
I recently met a girl that had just graduated from undergrad and was taking a gap year before applying. She was telling me about her friend who was in DO school and how he's almost finished with it and will soon go on to get his MD....as if the DO degree was a stepping stone to an MD! 😕
I actually felt bad for her because throughout our conversation I could tell that she was certainly not interested in pursuing medicine but her parents were pushing her extremely hard to go into it. 🙁
I actually felt bad for her because throughout our conversation I could tell that she was certainly not interested in pursuing medicine but her parents were pushing her extremely hard to go into it. 🙁
Sorry to go against the herd on this one, but a LizzyM of 80 SHOULD be a straight up ticket to med school. Maybe not Harvard or Mayo, but SOMEWHERE.
Maybe he was lying? IDK. But to exclude someone from the top 0.01% of applicants because of a lack of clinical experience is just plain sad.
What good is LizzyM of 80 if the said applicant hates to be anywhere near sick people? "I want to become a doctor I just have no idea what it's about really, but I'm sure I'll like it"
There are so many highly qualified applicants who have demonstrated true humanity and a genuine passion for medicine that there isn't any room for a genius who doesn't care and isn't interesting.
I'm sorry, but you seem to be under the assumption that the amount of volunteering/clinicals a person has done is directly proportional to their passion/humanism/altruism.
Perhaps a person with a LizzyM of 80 and ~0 volunteering is more interested in academic medicine? Maybe they had health issues? Family issues?
I'd at least give the person an interview to judge them directly.
(But I'm going to assume there's a piece to this story we are missing. Maybe their PS sucked, or their LoRs were lacking... we'll never know the whole story.)
Perhaps a person with a LizzyM of 80 and ~0 volunteering is more interested in academic medicine? Maybe they had health issues? Family issues?
I'd at least give the person an interview to judge them directly.
(But I'm going to assume there's a piece to this story we are missing. Maybe their PS sucked, or their LoRs were lacking... we'll never know the whole story.)
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I believe Goro would have something to say about this. To quote him/her "Would you buy a suit without trying it on first?"
I agree it doesn't make a ton of sense but that's apparently the current adcom philosophy, at least on SDN. I've had multiple friends get in without clinical experience, with worse stats than the person in question, but no one seems to be able to explain that.
A co-worker. Says I would never survive as a doctor.... because huge fat ugly people who don't shower disgust me (I'm a huge personal hygiene person). Says she would be better because she is volunteering at the homeless shelter... Also, anti-science and believes the corporations are in the minds of the doctors. After the beating I respond, "Best of luck." Just because I don't brag and I cringed that one time they described pulling maggots out of someone suddenly I have no compassion.... sure. Also, I have a huge problem with anyone who doesn't shower, no matter the reason. Not anti-fat (but consider many happen to weigh 400+ pounds I can see the correlation)
I'm not so much of a personal hygiene nut, but it may help you to have that mindset. I mean, someone who is a bit more anal-retentive about hygiene will always have clean hands. 😀
I don't know how those that are incredibly morbidly obese handle when fungus and whatnot grows between their fat rolls handle that, though. I mean, I'm hardly squeamish, but yikes.
My jerk brother said I was too fat to be a physician. :|
I mean, I'm certainly overweight (not like immobile or anything), but I'm working on a plan to lose it. It's an anecdote, I know, but one of my PCP's partners could have been a lifeboat in the movie Titanic, and that didn't slow him down.
I don't know how those that are incredibly morbidly obese handle when fungus and whatnot grows between their fat rolls handle that, though. I mean, I'm hardly squeamish, but yikes.
My jerk brother said I was too fat to be a physician. :|
I mean, I'm certainly overweight (not like immobile or anything), but I'm working on a plan to lose it. It's an anecdote, I know, but one of my PCP's partners could have been a lifeboat in the movie Titanic, and that didn't slow him down.
Proportional? No. No one said anything remotely like that. There's nothing directly proportional about it.
My problem is the statement that anyone with a LizzyM of 80 should get in somewhere. That's stupid. There's no reason to think that someone with a 41 will make a better physician than someone with a 36.
People who are genuinely passionate about service as a way of life and profession, and are interested in and knowledgeable about clinical medicine, will have some body of experience and effort to show for it. Someone who is really smart but has displayed no genuine interest in medicine or service is simply not a better candidate than someone with slightly lower numbers but a a demonstrated interest in people and medicine.
There can be other factors that come into play, certainly, but being really really smart doesn't mean you're a good candidate.
Sometime in late November...
A: So how is the season going?
B: I still haven't heard back from MD schools, so I'm doing the applications for a couple DO schools.
(Note: B was completed at his schools sometime mid-October, and has low 10% percentile stats)
Me (inwards): That's not how this works ... that's not how any of this works!
A: So how is the season going?
B: I still haven't heard back from MD schools, so I'm doing the applications for a couple DO schools.
(Note: B was completed at his schools sometime mid-October, and has low 10% percentile stats)
Me (inwards): That's not how this works ... that's not how any of this works!
D
deleted407021
Perhaps a better analogy for someone without ECs would be, would you even try on a suit in the first place - much less buy it - if it were missing the sleeves.
If you have no clinical experience, how do they know you actually understand what being a doctor entails? Its so much more than just being a grade robot. (not saying that anyone with high scores necessary is one but something to think about)
I had a conversation about this with a classmate over someone who claimed to have like a 40 MCAT and 4.0 GPA but wasn't getting interviews anywhere. He's like well he has to at least interview. Well the point is.....Adcoms don't HAVE to do anything. If they want to look for the whole package they certainly can. Grades get in your foot in the door but everything else gets you a seat.
I would because I find suits incredibly uncomfortable and think they are ridiculous looking pieces of clothing to begin and their continued usage confuses me. But that's just me.
The argument is that they aren't actually missing anything. For starters, good doctors don't need to be compassionate. As one poster above pointed out, academic medicine is a thing. Additionally, a doctor can hate his job and hate his patients, as many of the ones I work with seem to do, but that doesn't make them any worse at healing people. Also, that analogy implies that anyone who doesn't volunteer is not humnanistic which is clearly false.
Clinical experience doesn't show you anything about what a doctor does. It might show you what some patients are like but the value of that is questionable at best because the role dynamic between volunteer-patient is completely different from doctor-patient. You understand what being a doctor is like by actually working with doctors and seeing what they do. For most people, the most reasonable way of making this happen is shadowing.
Yours works from the adcoms perspective...the other one is from the applicant's perspective. They're essentially trying to become a doctor without trying it out at all first!
As to the whole humanistic thing...the only person mentioning that aspect in this thread is the one vehemently protesting it. Note that Goro said clinical volunteering, not just volunteering. The analogy given (about the suit) implies that the important bit of that is exposure to the medical profession.
D
deleted407021
It's not a question as to whether or not they can make competent physicians so much as should they or will they be admitted to a school when they have failed to demonstrate that they can be altruistic people. Adcoms seem to think that's an important faculty within a good applicant. Obviously volunteering doesn't "prove" your altruism but good luck convincing anyone that you're comassionate if you have nothing to show for it. In addition to being evidence of altruistic capacities, volunteering and ECs in general have the utility of demonstrating that the applicant can engage in a variety of activities whilst maintaining their academics. It shows you can be flexible, have good time management and take on multiple rolls, all of which are features endemic to successful medical students.
This thread got real way too quickly.
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Your shadowing sounds very different from mine. I actually saw what being a doctor would be like and still made the decision to apply to med school.
Adcoms on here have said you need to at least have an inkling of what you're getting into which means you need to have some sort of clinical experience. That's why a 80 LizzyM doesn't mean much without anything else to go along with it.
D
deleted407021
Aye, I was going to get around to that point. If one cannot demonstrate that they have exposed themselves to the dynamics of medicine and healthcare in general, then they obviously are lacking as an applicant. Why should a med school take them in?
I do look down on this person though. Anti-Science and doctor... just how?
No reason the weight should hold you back. It hasn't held others.
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On the converse, there are plenty of countries that don't require all this hoopla and produce pretty damn good doctors from students that apply while they're in high school. This delayed decision making, lots of hoops, 'experiences' etc., are mostly an American thing.
The english system combines 2 years of undergrad (preclinical) with 3 years of clinicals. Last I checked, England has a history of training damn good doctors.
While I often drink the kool aid and have done a lot of stuff personally related to medicine due to my own interests, you cannot discount the influence and power that undergrad institutions and lobbying groups wield when it comes to post-graduate study. There are a lot of ways that work. I'm not even sure if our system trains better doctors, more empathetic doctors, or what have you. It just trains doctors that are necessarily older when they finish their training.
Even our current system produces some a-hole doctors, sure that doesn't mean it's not valid, but show me how it's better than that in other countries. I haven't seen any data to support this. We just have a crap ton more money here due to our system (salary included) and our students have an insane amount of debt when they finally graduate from school.
I'm having trouble moving past this part. How on earth is this not about being competent physician? If the process is rewarding those who check a bunch of boxes because that's what adcoms are looking for over those who would actually make good physicians (not that these are mutually exclusive) then the process is damnably wrong.
You're saying your experience was different, but I'm not understanding how.
And yes, you understand what you're getting into by doing the job. And since we can't be doctors until we go to school for it, our best approximation is shadowing. Or by being a PA or NP depending on what practice rights they have in your state.
First, thanks for the support! <3
Secondly, I understand the open contradiction. My mom's a nurse and anti-vaccines. (That, however, is more concerning my regression into moderate autistic/Asperger's behaviors(mute or screaming, tics, all that jazz) within a very short period of time after getting my vaccines, leading to a diagnosis; and that was around the time that Dr. Andrew Wakefield was sounding off about it, and she has her reasons and I love her anyway.)
I can't believe that's a doctor, though. Sounds like a serious tinfoil hat issue. o.o
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