- Joined
- Jul 31, 2019
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 5
Hello!
First off, I've known about the existence of SDN for years now, but I didn't know how expansive the forum was. I thought it only focused on med school and I didn't know it had boards for other healthcare professions either, which is pretty helpful. I'll be a college freshman in a few weeks, so I wanna try to figure some stuff out now.
The main reason I'm posting here is because I know that I want to be involved in healthcare in some way, but I'm not sure exactly how. I wanted to be a pediatrician for a long time, and then I switched to pathology, then I switched to therapy for a short while, before going back to pediatrics and then eschewing the idea of clinical medicine altogether. I'm concerned about how easy it is to go into debt in medical school and how long it takes to really get into one's career. I was also turned off by other things, some of which are justified and others aren't; I don't like bodily fluids, I didn't want to do surgery rotations in med school, I'm concerned about burnout and doctor suicides, etc etc. Since I was a bit repelled by clinical medicine, I started looking more into public health, and I definitely like the research and education aspect of it. But of course, public health "isn't lucrative enough", and I was encouraged to look elsewhere again. Then I found pharmacy, but pharmacy is oversaturated. Then of course there's the cost of licensing exams, which I didn't even learn about until recently.
I feel that worrying about my future salary/expenses has really impacted my ability to know what career I really want. It's like it's even more expensive to go into the careers that are supposed to give you more money. I'm not from a wealthy background so I feel pressured to go into a high-paying job, and I consistently try to justify my interest in certain thins even if it's marginal compared to my interest in other things. I know that I love biology. That's indisputable, I'm not forcing an interest in science. But I suppose I need help refining exactly what it is that I want. I know I can still pursue research as an MD, but I'm not so sure about health education. I'll probably do some form of research if I don't go to professional school. I also have other non-scientific career goals and I'm not sure if those would conflict with being a physician. And of course, I know that "wanting to help others" shouldn't be the only reason to be a doctor.
I know the majority of this post is me venting, so here are some actual questions:
1. Do different medical schools do different types of rotations? (ie some fields aren't required for students, or there's flexibility in what you choose?)
2. Is it worth it to explore medicine again even if I'm unsure about it? (I did medicine-related programs in high school, so I've definitely been exposed to certain aspects of the field before.)
3. How do I know for sure whether the field is truly a fit/not a fit for me? (beyond GPA/MCAT/etc., I'll be fine in that department as long as I work hard)
4. If I'm still undecided about whether to apply to graduate or professional school later in college, would I postpone taking any tests? I know some schools substitute the GRE for the PCAT, etc. but I don't think any such policy exists for medical schools.
First off, I've known about the existence of SDN for years now, but I didn't know how expansive the forum was. I thought it only focused on med school and I didn't know it had boards for other healthcare professions either, which is pretty helpful. I'll be a college freshman in a few weeks, so I wanna try to figure some stuff out now.
The main reason I'm posting here is because I know that I want to be involved in healthcare in some way, but I'm not sure exactly how. I wanted to be a pediatrician for a long time, and then I switched to pathology, then I switched to therapy for a short while, before going back to pediatrics and then eschewing the idea of clinical medicine altogether. I'm concerned about how easy it is to go into debt in medical school and how long it takes to really get into one's career. I was also turned off by other things, some of which are justified and others aren't; I don't like bodily fluids, I didn't want to do surgery rotations in med school, I'm concerned about burnout and doctor suicides, etc etc. Since I was a bit repelled by clinical medicine, I started looking more into public health, and I definitely like the research and education aspect of it. But of course, public health "isn't lucrative enough", and I was encouraged to look elsewhere again. Then I found pharmacy, but pharmacy is oversaturated. Then of course there's the cost of licensing exams, which I didn't even learn about until recently.
I feel that worrying about my future salary/expenses has really impacted my ability to know what career I really want. It's like it's even more expensive to go into the careers that are supposed to give you more money. I'm not from a wealthy background so I feel pressured to go into a high-paying job, and I consistently try to justify my interest in certain thins even if it's marginal compared to my interest in other things. I know that I love biology. That's indisputable, I'm not forcing an interest in science. But I suppose I need help refining exactly what it is that I want. I know I can still pursue research as an MD, but I'm not so sure about health education. I'll probably do some form of research if I don't go to professional school. I also have other non-scientific career goals and I'm not sure if those would conflict with being a physician. And of course, I know that "wanting to help others" shouldn't be the only reason to be a doctor.
I know the majority of this post is me venting, so here are some actual questions:
1. Do different medical schools do different types of rotations? (ie some fields aren't required for students, or there's flexibility in what you choose?)
2. Is it worth it to explore medicine again even if I'm unsure about it? (I did medicine-related programs in high school, so I've definitely been exposed to certain aspects of the field before.)
3. How do I know for sure whether the field is truly a fit/not a fit for me? (beyond GPA/MCAT/etc., I'll be fine in that department as long as I work hard)
4. If I'm still undecided about whether to apply to graduate or professional school later in college, would I postpone taking any tests? I know some schools substitute the GRE for the PCAT, etc. but I don't think any such policy exists for medical schools.
