Highschool student with questions for people in medicine

[pikachubomb]

Hi, I'm in highschool, and I'm interested in medicine. I'm 15 years old, black, and female(underrepresented minority). I had some questions for all of you that I hope you can answer.

How did you know that you wanted to be in medicine?

How do you choose what category of medicine to be in(like dermatology, podiatry, etc)

Was it expensive to go through all your schooling? How much, if you could estimate?

Would you choose a different path if you could?

Do you enjoy your job? What do you do during your job?

What's the hardest part of your job?

What's the hardest part about becoming a doctor?

What are good colleges for pre med?

Where you the valedictorian or salutatorian of your school(or in the top 10)?

Did you attend private school?

What should I do now if I want to be a doctor?

I know it's a lot of questions, but even if you could only answer a few, I would be extremely grateful. I'm really interested in medicine, but I'm not sure where to start researching or if this is really the job for me, so some outside opinions would be really helpful. Thanks

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[eteshoe]

Hey there, I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge as a black, male, GS2 MD/PhD student (which is to say I'm in the 2nd yr of the PhD portion of the combined degree program). I'm sure others further down the training path will chime in.

How did you know that you wanted to be in medicine?
At first I didn't. My dad was a PI doing BME and cancer research which got me interested in research in the biomedical field. Later after college, I connected with a MD/PhD cardiologist working in industry who helped convince me it was possible to do both research and medicine.

How do you choose what category of medicine to be in(like dermatology, podiatry, etc)
I was never interested in surgery. I liked the investigative portions of internal med and of course cancer fascinated me (the scientific curiosity of how cancer operated as well as coming up with treatments for it really solidified my career goals). I eventually plan on being an academic medical oncologist/hematologist.

Was it expensive to go through all your schooling? How much, if you could estimate?
So far, my schooling hasn't been too expensive. I won a full-tuition scholarship for college, won a fellowship for my masters, and I'm in a funded MD/PhD program. I'll have to pay back the loans that I took out for living expenses during college but those should be quite easy to cover once I'm an attending.

Would you choose a different path if you could?
I was actually a non-trad applicant in that I actually worked out in industry as a chemical engineer for a couple yrs before going back to school. It was ok but not intellectually fulfilling after a while so thus I'm back in school.

Do you enjoy your job? What do you do during your job?
I enjoy what I'm doing right now (research). Grad school has so far been less hectic than the pre-clinical yrs of med school lol.

Whats the hardest part of your job?
Again, I'm not a doctor yet but the hardest part of my role currently is the frustration that sometimes comes when conducting research - e.g. experiments not working, things taking longer than expected, etc. But that's life and you gotta learn to adapt so it's not too bad.

Whats the hardest part about becoming a doctor?
IMO the major hurdle of becoming a physician, or physician scientist in my case, is the ridiculously long training path that is required to become one. Life has its ups and downs and sometimes you question if all the work is really worth it. However, with a good support system, you can get through it - learn to enjoy the struggle and change your outlook on life and you'll be amazed at how much it helps.

What are good colleges for pre med?
Any solid state or private school that will give you a decent selection of majors with a good sized alumni network should suffice. This will allow you to get a good education, expand your professional network, and provide you with solid career opportunities if you so choose not to pursue medicine.

Where you the valedictorian or salutatorian of your school(or on the top 10)?
High school: I was sort of a valedictorian in that I graduated something like 25/600 - all top 30 kids were "valedictorians" with the top 2 winning some sort of trophy/medal.
College: Graduated magna cum laude so I guess that's good (I think I was somewhere in the top 20 in my major)
Masters: Top of my cohort (or tied for the position)
Med School/Grad School: Not finished yet. My school is also P/F so it doesn't quite matter. Board scores & clinical grades are more important. But I'm solid in my PhD part so far (GPA ~ 3.9).

Did you attend private school?
High school: Nope. Went to a solid public school though.
College: Yup
Masters: Yea (but I just went back to my UG alma mater)
Med School/Grad School: Yup

Note going to private schools isn't necessary - I just happened to go since those schools offered me the most money (compared to my state schools).

What should I do now if I want to be a doctor?
- Attend a solid college.
- Pick a doable but marketable major (doesn't have to be an insanely difficult major like engineering but if you like it go for it).
- Do well in that major (try to keep a 3.7+ GPA) and remember to utilize the school's tutoring services, TAs, office hrs, friends, upperclassmen, etc.
- Study well and get a solid MCAT score (aim for 513+).
- Get involved in a few clubs and try to enjoy the college experience.
- Of course volunteer, shadow, etc and get into med school.
- Do well in med school, aim to crush step 1 and your clinical clerkships
- Don't be an a-hole

Hopefully that helps a bit. Good luck with your academic and career endeavors!

 

[pikachubomb]

Thanks a lot for all the advice! But what does "PI doing BME" mean?

 

[eteshoe]

Thanks a lot for all the advice! But what does "PI doing BME" mean?

I meant he was a principal investigator (i.e. Ran his own lab) doing biomedical engineering research

 

[22031 Alum]

How did you know that you wanted to be in medicine?
In high school I thought I wanted to be a physician, but I didn't know until college. I was strongly considering a PhD in chemistry and a research career. But eventually I figured out that I would not enjoy discussing findings with peers, as much as I'd enjoy teaching patients about their health.

How do you choose what category of medicine to be in(like dermatology, podiatry, etc)
In medical school you do rotations through a variety of specialties. (Incidentally, podiatry isn't one of them- podiatry school is separate, like dental school.) Most people choose their specialty after experiencing it on rotations.

Was it expensive to go through all your schooling? How much, if you could estimate?
No. I went to college on a full scholarship (tuition, room & board, all fees covered). Then I got a full tuition scholarship to medical school. I had to use loans for living expenses like rent and food while in med school, but I ended up with far below average debt.

Would you choose a different path if you could?
Nope!!

Do you enjoy your job? What do you do during your job?
I love my job. I'm an OB/GYN- I take care of pregnant women and deliver their babies, I do surgery on women who need their uterus or ovaries removed, and see women in clinic for everything from general check-ups to major problems. I also teach residents who have just finished med school and are learning this specialty.

What's the hardest part of your job?
1) Having to tell someone that she has lost her baby. 2) Dealing with the limitations that come with taking care of poor patients. When I have patients who need specialist care, it can be hard to find someone who sees patients with public insurance or no insurance.

What's the hardest part about becoming a doctor?
Getting into med school is the first big hurdle. After that, residency training is the hardest.

What are good colleges for pre med?
Any college you can attend cheaply and do well at. If you do well enough in high school you will have the opportunity to get merit aid, somewhere. Medical school (any professional school, really) is expensive and scholarships aren't as common, so I'm a huge proponent of not spending a lot on undergrad.

Where you the valedictorian or salutatorian of your school(or in the top 10)?
Salutatorian.

Did you attend private school?
Public school K-12. College and med school were private.

What should I do now if I want to be a doctor?
Challenge yourself with AP/IB classes and do well in them. Get involved in activities that require service to others- you need to see if you like that sort of thing, since it's a big part of the path to becoming a physician. Keep an open mind to the vast number of careers out there- don't build your entire identity around becoming a doctor.

 

[pikachubomb]

Thanks for answering

 

[Jimmy B]

How did you know that you wanted to be in medicine?
It really came down to realizing that I didn't like anything else but medicine. I originally wanted to get a PhD and do basic science research but I realized that it wasn't for me. Apparently that process is MUCH more challenging than getting an MD as it can take anywhere from 4 to 6+ years just to finish.

How do you choose what category of medicine to be in(like dermatology, podiatry, etc)
I liked solving problems and doing something that is fairly consistent/routine. The biggest decision is choosing a medical vs a surgical career, as they are very different in training and lifestyle. Internal Medicine was ok but it was way too broad for me. I wanted to become an expert in one part of the body, which is where Neurology fit perfectly for me.

Was it expensive to go through all your schooling? How much, if you could estimate?
Yes-somewhere around 250K or so

Would you choose a different path if you could?
Nope-I LOVE what I do, 24/7, 365. That's why they say Medicine is for those who CAN'T see themselves doing anything else.

Do you enjoy your job? What do you do during your job?
Yes (see above). I'm a neurologist and soon-to-be vascular neurologist (stroke specialist). I diagnose and treat diseases that affect the entire nervous system (brain, brainstem, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and muscle) and will specialize those that affect the central nervous system and its corresponding blood vessels specifically. And to clarify I do NOT operate on the brain-that is Neurosurgery.

What's the hardest part of your job?
Dealing with the devastation of neurological disease and how it affects people's entire lives.

What's the hardest part about becoming a doctor?
Dealing with the fact that you can't solve every problem and you ultimately can't help everybody. We are not supernatural beings who know every single detail of every single disease. You realize that more when you go through residency.

What are good colleges for pre med?
I hear Morehouse and Spelman have good programs. Fisk also has a great program.

Where you the valedictorian or salutatorian of your school(or in the top 10)?
If you mean high school then no-I was happy I graduated and made it out of there with the foolishness I was doing back in the day. I did do well in college and med school, however.

Did you attend private school?
1st-12th grade and college

What should I do now if I want to be a doctor?
MAKE SURE THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. I cannot tell you how many people I know who got forced into this profession and end up changing career paths at some point-whether it's in college or even in med school itself. Shadow as much as you can to get a good sense of the day-to-day routine of being a physician. It's a long road and a serious commitment that most people don't realize until they're in the middle of the process, as I have personally seen happen. There are many people who have straight A's and the best test scores who don't go into this profession. There is more to it than being smart (which is important) as you end up dealing with socioeconomic issues more than you would imagine, especially in minority patients. Other than that taking AP science classes can help with getting college credits in the future.

 

[pikachubomb]

Thanks for the advice