I really want to become a doctor, and have a lot of Questions.

[Shinystars]

Hi everyone,

I have always wanted to become a physician, and have been really thinking a lot about going on that journey to becoming one, but i have a lot of questions as my situation is a little different than maybe most. I dropped out of high school pretty early for personal reasons including the fact that i felt that the k-12 education was extremely watered down and recycled, and i never felt challenged.
I was a very good student (grade wise), i pretty much aced all of my exams without ever studying, and all my teachers praised my grades. I was even offered to skip 2-3 grades, but at the time i was getting in a lot of trouble and never wanted to show up to school (young teenage years, haha).

I am currently 21, and my desire to become a doctor just keeps growing to the point that i pretty much think about it everyday. I would have to go and get my GED as soon as possible and then enter college, i know the journey will be long and maybe even hard but even so i am really taking this seriously and i really want to pursue this. My questions are:

- Am i too old to basically start from college now all the way to becoming a Doctor?
- What classes in college should i be taking, and what should i major in?
- What does the Future look like for Physicians (career/work load/pay/demand)?
- I am going to aim for finishing my undergrad/bachelors in less than 3 years by taking on a lot of classes, can i and should i? I already feel behind and so i want to enter med school as soon as possible.
- How is the Work/life balance like? I do want to have a family and be able to raise my kids, and be in their lives.

i know my situation may not be the Norm, but even so i really want to pursue this. I love helping people out and truly helping them make positive changes in their lives.

I really appreciate all feedback and everyone who answers my questions, i will edit this post if i think of anything else i need help with.
I know i have a lot to learn, and that is why i am here! I have to start somewhere! 🙂

Another question, how is the Hospital life of a Doctor of all specialties? I heard that they are more and more having to deal with bureaucratic stuff and do a lot of administrative work, is this true? And how bad is it? And will it only get worse as the years go by?

Thank you to everyone who read my full post!!

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[premeddestiny]

- Am i too old to basically start from college now all the way to becoming a Doctor?

No you aren't. There are med students who matriculated in their 40s and 50s.

- What classes in college should i be taking, and what should i major in?

Pre-req classes vary by med schools, but generally includes College English, Biology, Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry, and either Calculus or Statistics.

- I am going to aim for finishing my undergrad/bachelors in less than 3 years by taking on a lot of classes, can i and should i? I already feel behind and so i want to enter med school as soon as possible.

Take your time. Med school admissions is a marathon rather than a sprint. Med school will always be around.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Goro]

- Am i too old to basically start from college now all the way to becoming a Doctor?
No.

- What classes in college should i be taking, and what should i major in?
Major in whatever interest you the most. The previous post discusses the pre-reqs, and you should also visit the Admissions websites of differen tmed schools to get a gestalt of what they want from you academically and non-academically.

- What does the Future look like for Physicians (career/work load/pay/demand)?
There will always be a need for clinicians. As for compensation, I'll let the clinicians field that one.

- I am going to aim for finishing my undergrad/bachelors in less than 3 years by taking on a lot of classes, can i and should i? I already feel behind and so i want to enter med school as soon as possible.
Do you want to get into med school, or med school quickly? You should take whaty ou can handle. Overextending yourself can lead to GPA damage.


- How is the Work/life balance like? I do want to have a family and be able to raise my kids, and be in their lives.
It's doable. But you really, really need to shadow some doctors and find out what their day, and lives are like.

i know my situation may not be the Norm, but even so i really want to pursue this. I love helping people out and truly helping them make positive changes in their lives.
You can do that by being a social worker or a nurse.

 

[Shinystars]

Thank's for the reply 🙂.

 

[Shinystars]

- Am i too old to basically start from college now all the way to becoming a Doctor?
No.

- What classes in college should i be taking, and what should i major in?
Major in whatever interest you the most. The previous post discusses the pre-reqs, and you should also visit the Admissions websites of differen tmed schools to get a gestalt of what they want from you academically and non-academically.

- What does the Future look like for Physicians (career/work load/pay/demand)?
There will always be a need for clinicians. As for compensation, I'll let the clinicians field that one.

- I am going to aim for finishing my undergrad/bachelors in less than 3 years by taking on a lot of classes, can i and should i? I already feel behind and so i want to enter med school as soon as possible.
Do you want to get into med school, or med school quickly? You should take whaty ou can handle. Overextending yourself can lead to GPA damage.


- How is the Work/life balance like? I do want to have a family and be able to raise my kids, and be in their lives.
It's doable. But you really, really need to shadow some doctors and find out what their day, and lives are like.

i know my situation may not be the Norm, but even so i really want to pursue this. I love helping people out and truly helping them make positive changes in their lives.
You can do that by being a social worker or a nurse.

Thank's for replying! As to becoming a nurse or social worker, i am not interested in those. My interest and passion is really in Becoming a Doctor.

 

[Dylanation]

- Am i too old to basically start from college now all the way to becoming a Doctor?
- What classes in college should i be taking, and what should i major in?
- What does the Future look like for Physicians (career/work load/pay/demand)?
- I am going to aim for finishing my undergrad/bachelors in less than 3 years by taking on a lot of classes, can i and should i? I already feel behind and so i want to enter med school as soon as possible.
- How is the Work/life balance like? I do want to have a family and be able to raise my kids, and be in their lives.

1. No, you are not too old.

2. When you attend college, speak with an academic advisor and tell them you want to enter the medical route. They will give you numerous options as to what to take as there are many routes to get into medical school.

3. The job outlook for future physicians will always be bright.

4. I recommend you to get out of this mindset and just complete college at your own pace. Even for most students who recently graduated high school entering college, I would recommend them to take a light course load to get the feel of how college will be. After a year or few semesters of college, then they can make the conscious decison of whether they should take more or less of their course load. Trying to finish college early might sound like a good idea, but many people underestimate how tough it is to even attempt that. Realize that you will need a cGPA/sGPA of at least 3.5+ to even be considered for most medical schools. If you attempt a large course load and fail, this does nothing but hurt your chances to get into medical schools. You'll also be trying to work harder to show an upward trend to adcoms. Most universities push their kids to finish in 4 years, which is the norm. Anything below 4 years is usually because they earned college credit in high school. I hope this doesn't sound negative but I am trying to put it into perspective for you to understand it. As said earlier, this is merely only a recommendation and if you truly feel confident in your knowledge and abilities, then feel free to do as you wish.

5. You will have time for your kids and family if you can balance your work and life. It won't be until late in your career when you can afford to spend more time with them. Being a doctor means you have to sacrifice time, and time is what makes or breaks some people.

Piggybacking on what Goro said, if your goal is to help people and make positive change, becoming a social worker or a nurse is also another option. It takes less time and you'll be able to reach your goals.

Good luck to you.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

Hi everyone,


I am currently 21, and my desire to become a doctor just keeps growing to the point that i pretty much think about it everyday. I would have to go and get my GED as soon as possible and then enter college, i know the journey will be long and maybe even hard but even so i am really taking this seriously and i really want to pursue this. My questions are:

- Am i too old to basically start from college now all the way to becoming a Doctor?
- What classes in college should i be taking, and what should i major in?
- What does the Future look like for Physicians (career/work load/pay/demand)?
- I am going to aim for finishing my undergrad/bachelors in less than 3 years by taking on a lot of classes, can i and should i? I already feel behind and so i want to enter med school as soon as possible.
- How is the Work/life balance like? I do want to have a family and be able to raise my kids, and be in their lives.

i know my situation may not be the Norm, but even so i really want to pursue this. I love helping people out and truly helping them make positive changes in their lives.

1. The average matriculant age is 25. Plenty of people matriculate even older.
2. answered
3. Part of the premed path should involve shadowing multiple current doctors, at least one in primary care. This will answer your question, and help you decide if you really want medicine (lots of people have a romanticized view of medicine, shadowing is important to prove you aren't one of those people)
4. You are not behind at all. You are creating problems for yourself. I'm not saying you can't do it, but here's my list of four things that will stick with you in applications:
-GPA: there is no grade replacement and lots of people who found high school easy struggle at least a little in college. All transcripts, including dual enrollment in HS, community college, and audits will be seen. Average is A-
-MCAT: should be taken after many/all of your prereqs. You can't not send in poor scores--all schools see all scores (from the last 3 years)
-Criminal Records/Institutional Actions: Don't be stupid. These will follow you.
-Reapplicant status (but you don't care until it's time to apply)
5. See answer to #3

I love being passionate about stuff too, but you should not be speedrunning the med school admissions process. You aren't behind, and you will be in the pool with stellar applicants and an overall admittance rate below 50%. Do it right and do it once.

And shadow.

 

[Lucca]

The first thing you should do is get some clinical experience like shadowing to make sure you want to go all in on becoming a doctor. If you decide it's not for you you can still get a GED and go to uni for a profession that also helps ppl (like idk almost all of them to some capacity$

 

[Turkishking]

Thank's for replying! As to becoming a nurse or social worker, i am not interested in those. My interest and passion is really in Becoming a Doctor.

Explain why?

 

[mfrey28]

Thank's for replying! As to becoming a nurse or social worker, i am not interested in those. My interest and passion is really in Becoming a Doctor.

Start formulating an answer for why physician over other healthcare job. It will help tremendously when it comes time to interview.

 

[21Rush12]

And more than just helping you during an interview, it may actually help you figure out what you want. You're not too old by any means but I'd be lying (and so would you) if I said you weren't behind the 8 ball. It will take you at least four years of school before you're graduated and best-case off to medical school to start another 7-10 year education path depending on your specialty choice. It is a long road and you definitely need to know what you're in for and why you are driven to do medicine and nothing else.

Some points for contemplation: What put the idea of being a doctor in your head? What experience or understanding do you have of what doctors actually do? What do you hope to accomplish in your career overall?

Good luck and enjoy your journey, wherever it takes you!


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[premeddestiny]

As to becoming a nurse or social worker, i am not interested in those. My interest and passion is really in Becoming a Doctor.

Concurring with all. Being able to answer, in detail and with anecdotes / events, why you want to become a physician will help you with not just your personal statement and some secondary questions, but also in the interviews. Your interviewers are likely to play devil's advocate and ask you "why not nursing" or "why not social worker" or "why not PA?"

 

[LizzyM]

Are you currently employed? What jobs have you held?

Start with the GED. Take the SAT or ACT. Depending on how you score, you might be eligible for a 6 or 7 year program that starts with freshman year of college and goes straight through medical school. More typically, you do 4 years of college and take the MCAT about 14-18 mos. before you hope to start medical school.

College GPA is very important so don't overload your schedule, particularly if you have to work while in school. You can do it slowly the first time, or spend time repairing your GPA later.

If you have not worked or volunteered in a clinical setting (a place where patients are cared for) get yourself a job or volunteer gig in one of those settings.

 

[de Ribas]

Hi everyone,

I have always wanted to become a physician, and have been really thinking a lot about going on that journey to becoming one, but i have a lot of questions as my situation is a little different than maybe most. I dropped out of high school pretty early for personal reasons including the fact that i felt that the k-12 education was extremely watered down and recycled, and i never felt challenged.
I was a very good student (grade wise), i pretty much aced all of my exams without ever studying, and all my teachers praised my grades. I was even offered to skip 2-3 grades, but at the time i was getting in a lot of trouble and never wanted to show up to school (young teenage years, haha).

I am currently 21, and my desire to become a doctor just keeps growing to the point that i pretty much think about it everyday. I would have to go and get my GED as soon as possible and then enter college, i know the journey will be long and maybe even hard but even so i am really taking this seriously and i really want to pursue this. My questions are:

- Am i too old to basically start from college now all the way to becoming a Doctor?
- What classes in college should i be taking, and what should i major in?
- What does the Future look like for Physicians (career/work load/pay/demand)?
- I am going to aim for finishing my undergrad/bachelors in less than 3 years by taking on a lot of classes, can i and should i? I already feel behind and so i want to enter med school as soon as possible.
- How is the Work/life balance like? I do want to have a family and be able to raise my kids, and be in their lives.

i know my situation may not be the Norm, but even so i really want to pursue this. I love helping people out and truly helping them make positive changes in their lives.

I really appreciate all feedback and everyone who answers my questions, i will edit this post if i think of anything else i need help with.
I know i have a lot to learn, and that is why i am here! I have to start somewhere! 🙂

Another question, how is the Hospital life of a Doctor of all specialties? I heard that they are more and more having to deal with bureaucratic stuff and do a lot of administrative work, is this true? And how bad is it? And will it only get worse as the years go by?

Thank you to everyone who read my full post!!

why do you want to be a physician?

What was first thing that motivated you?