How/When Did You make the decision?

[shxthouserat]

How/when did you make the decision that med school was the route for you?

Is it something that you just felt your "gut" told you to do?
Locked into a career you didn't like were sick of?
Didn't know what else to do?
Some event spurred you on?
Religious reasons?
Because you're smart?

I'm interested in hearing.

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[Febrifuge]

How/when did you make the decision that med school was the route for you? Late in 2002/early in 2003. (And I keep making the decision over again, every day.)

Is it something that you just felt your "gut" told you to do? Sort of. It was something I had always just brushed off, since I'm not an academic superstar and the med students I knew of were stressed-out nerds. But eventually I figured out that the work I want to do more than anything in the world (that's where the "gut" part comes into it) does require med school, so there ya go.

Locked into a career you didn't like/ were sick of? Not really, although change is part of it. I worked in 'Corportate America' for about 5 years, finished my degree, worked some more (this time in a nicer, more altruistic part of Corp America)... and then finally had my big breakthrough. Plus, I got old enough that I can remember what my opinions and attitudes about all this were 10 years ago, and that's a big part of being able to plan something that will take 10 more years.

Didn't know what else to do? Nope, never a problem for me to stay busy. But I didn't know this was what I wanted to do, I guess.

Some event spurred you on? Definitely that. I met some people, did some stuff, some bastards attacked NYC and that made me think...

Religious reasons? Totally no.

Because you're smart? Well, I've been smart all my life. It's not that.

 

[evajaclynn]

How/when did you make the decision that med school was the route for you? I began thinking about it about 3 years ago, but ultimately decided in June 2004 - signed up in a KAPLAN course the next day.

Is it something that you just felt your "gut" told you to do? Not at first - I knew that I wanted to be involved somewhere in the health care field. Late last spring, I was actually applying to PA school and I had to answer the question "Why PA vs. nurse or MD?" on the CASPA (similar to AMCAS, but for PA's) application form and I couldn't answer it. It was then that I realized that I wanted to be a physician. I think that I had been avoiding the thought of medical school b/c of the MCAT/the time commitment/the $$$. Finally realized that I could handle those things and then some. I am so happy with my decision and can't thing of anything else now that I'd rather be but a physician.

I think that if becoming a doctor is something that you really want to do, the thought of doing it will continually come up you until you finally settle on that as your future career. <I hope that made sense.>

 

[PthaloKitty]

I don't know if I'm far enough into pursuing med school to post here, but I think the gut feeling plays a role. I am starting pre med courses in January....previously had planned on a career in art. Success in that area for me is just to enjoy the process of painting....which is what got me interested in the human mind...leading to a realization that I need more science in my life....and I realized I want to help people in a more direct way, instead of selling them artwork.

Since then, I've received encouragement here on the SDN, and the few family members/friends I have told about my decision. Then I ordered Gray's Anatomy on eBay....this is the first time EVER that I have felt strongly about any career choice.

So I'm excited and I'll see how it goes...hopefully I can manage A's in subjects that had previously been foreign to a BFA.

 

[Crake]

How/when did you make the decision that med school was the route for you? I studied History and Political Science during undergrad, majoring in both and minoring in German. I very much planned throughout all of college on doing a Ph.D. in History and joining acedemia. In fact, I applied and was accepted to several graduate programs. However, in the summer of my senior year, my father underwent unplanned quadruple bypass surgery. I never had much exposure to medicine, having been blessed by good health, and I was amazed with the whole process. The whole experience piqued my interest in medicine. At the time, I had no idea that such a thing as a "post-bacc" even existed, and I finished up undergrad with my B.A, discovering post-baccs through SDN and other online research--long story short, I decided not to send in my deposit for graduate school and instead applied to Columbia post-bacc which I started this fall.


Is it something that you just felt your "gut" told you to do?
I'm always suspicious of people that stake this quasi-religious claim to a "calling." Anecdotally, I've noticed that everyone who makes this claim ("I knew when I was 5 that I wanted to be an thoracic surgeon") has a mother or father that is a doctor. I fail to believe that parental pressure isn't a factor in the 5 year old who decides to go into medicine. So no, for me, it was not a gut feeling.

Because you're smart?
No, I think graduate school and a Ph.D. path is a great option for someone who is "smart." Practicing medicine, while somewhat cerebral, doesn't appear to be as purely academic as say, polymer chemistry, or theoretical physics or any such applied or abstract discipline. At the same time, there is so much to know about the human body that a doctor is never finished learning; medicine really does appear to be a lifelong study.

 

[sidewalkman]

How/when did you make the decision that med school was the route for you? (In my case, 99% dental school, but same thing.) At the beginning of last summer. How did I make the decision? I thought about what I wanted and what I got a kick out of a LOT, then tried my hand at volunteering, and read everything I could. That included reading every remotely related thread on this site.

Is it something that you just felt your "gut" told you to do? Yes, then I volunteered, and loved it.

Locked into a career you didn't like were sick of? I never knew what my career path was, and became sick of not knowing. Fortunately, my "career" was "on hold" (cough, contract ended at my job and was let go, cough) at a convenient time, so I spent many a day last summer trying to figure out just what the heck I was gonna do next.

Didn't know what else to do? Partially. One thing I did know was that I did not want to work in a cubicle for the rest of my life. (What's humiliating is that right now, I have to work in 3/8 of a cubicle to pay the bills. It strengthens my desire evvvvvvery day.) Anyway, once those cubicle jobs were eliminated, I thought about my options and what I wanted from a job, and went dental. If only I had done this at age 16!

Some event spurred you on? On a total fluke, I wound up working for a dentist at the end of my college days. I later realized that the experience was far better than anything I'd studied in college or experienced in any other internships/jobs, of which I had some pretty diverse experiences. Oh, and the future event of being unhappy for the rest of my life with my job was definately a motivating factor.

Religious reasons? Nope. I could see myself doing the occasional medical mission right now, but I don't think it would be linked to any religious group in particular.

Because you're smart? Nah, though others and all those damn standardized tests they make you take in public school have confirmed that I am, I guess. I've learned that drive is rewarded so much more than intelligence in the medical world. Throughout life I've known I've had drive and intelligence, but they were just expressed in the wrong opportunities, for various reasons.

I tried to keep it short. HTH.

 

[relentless11]

How/when did you make the decision that med school was the route for you?Thought about it in 1998. Didn't confirm it within myself until 2002.

Is it something that you just felt your "gut" told you to do?
To a point yes, for also its just something i've enjoyed pushing for. If the route in getting into med school is this exciting, can't imagine what it would be like to be in med school, let alone be a physician. From what I have experienced with physicians, it seems to be a good career, albeit hardworking one.

Locked into a career you didn't like were sick of?
Does undergrad count? Hahaha.... well not stuck in a career. So guess not.

Didn't know what else to do?
Always wanted to be a teacher, looked into becoming a professor (ie: grad school). Looked into the military, specifically combat medicine. Which spurred the thought of becoming a doctor, which is a combination of many things including the things i mentioned above. Why go for a job with one focus when you can do it all

Some event spurred you on?
See above, with military combat medicine. However what caused me to realize, beyond words, would be an incident in 2002, when i was volunteering in the ER. This family brought in their sick kid. Nothing serious, just mild asthma, but they were non-english speaking, and would have had to wait hours for a translater to come in. Luckily, I spoke the language, and was able to translate for them, and was able to interact almost 1:1 with the patient care team. The feeling I got from just "being involved" at that level, was beyond anything I can explain, and that pretty much made me push for getting into med school. My later experiences in clinical research, and just life in general reinforces the stuff that happened in 2002.

Religious reasons?
Definately not. Although I am a religous person, I keep a clear line between my work and religion.

Because you're smart?
HAH! Well I'm probably not paper smart, my grades sure show that. But smart enough to know that smart is a relative thing Did that answer your question?