Is it OK to admit other interests besides medicine?

[Soulstice]

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I've got a fair amount of clinical experience, but I'm recently considering taking a part-time job in my major area (finance and management). If I've got significant interests in some Wall Streety stuff, or if I voice these interests as an attempt to see what other fields are out there.. any chance that some adcom might see this as being wishy-washy on medicine?

Basically--is it okay to admit that you didn't come out of the womb as a pre-med? Listening to a lot of people on here--and at school--I get that vibe from a lot of people. And I don't want to lie and say that I've always wanted to be a doctor, but will it hurt me if I'm not "100% Skin-in-the-game"?

Honestly, I'd like to think this is not the case--but some students/advisors I've talked to have led me to believe otherwise.

 

[postbacpremed87]

I've got a fair amount of clinical experience, but I'm recently considering taking a part-time job in my major area (finance and management). If I've got significant interests in some Wall Streety stuff, or if I voice these interests as an attempt to see what other fields are out there.. any chance that some adcom might see this as being wishy-washy on medicine?

Basically--is it okay to admit that you didn't come out of the womb as a pre-med? Listening to a lot of people on here--and at school--I get that vibe from a lot of people. And I don't want to lie and say that I've always wanted to be a doctor, but will it hurt me if I'm not "100% Skin-in-the-game"?

I was an Econ undergrad and worked in investment banking. I think a pre-med with business acumen is a good combination.

 

[aSagacious]

If anything, the experience will serve to make your application stand out. In my opinion, as long as you've demonstrated a consistent long term commitment to med school (a few years of relevant ECs) then I think almost any non-medical activity would only help your application.

 

[Soulstice]

@Postbacpremed: Interesting perspective. I know this is pre-allo, but if there are any med students or residents or anyone who's done extensive post-undergrad med stuff on here--would you say that this kind of experience helps at all in the daily scheme of practicing medicine?

 

[aSagacious]

Interesting perspective. I know this is pre-allo, but if there are any med students or residents or the like on here--would you say that this kind of experience helps at all in the daily scheme of practicing medicine?

I suppose if you were to open your own practice it might help. In a hospital setting (unless you had an administrative role) I don't see it playing a big role.

 

[MrBananaGrabber]

It's always good to distinguish yourself from the thousands of applicants every year. I don't think there's any way it would hurt your application.

 

[Morzh]

Yes it would be a good idea to show that you are well-rounded in your interests/accomplishments. But how you tell them this information is extrememly important. If you write an essay all about how interested you are in XYZ and fail to convince the reader that you are committed to and passionate about medicine, it will hurt you.

If, on the other hand, you use stories and examples from your life that offer evidence of your hard work, intellectual curiosity, altruism, professionalism, maturity, etc. it can work wonders for your application. The key is to "show don't tell" your qualifications and readiness for medical school. Don't just rattle off a list of random activities and interests, but carefully select the ones that are most demonstrative of you and expound on those.

But again--you just have to be careful not to write a whole paragraph or talk in an interview for 5 minutes about something unrelated to medicine and not connect it your interest in medicine somehow. Otherwise you'll leave them wondering "So what?" and you never want to leave someone with that impression.

 

[Morsetlis]

The above responses are excellent.

 

[jdok]

.

 

[Nymphicus]

yes

 

[418865]

Yes it would be a good idea to show that you are well-rounded in your interests/accomplishments. But how you tell them this information is extrememly important. If you write an essay all about how interested you are in XYZ and fail to convince the reader that you are committed to and passionate about medicine, it will hurt you.

If, on the other hand, you use stories and examples from your life that offer evidence of your hard work, intellectual curiosity, altruism, professionalism, maturity, etc. it can work wonders for your application. The key is to "show don't tell" your qualifications and readiness for medical school. Don't just rattle off a list of random activities and interests, but carefully select the ones that are most demonstrative of you and expound on those.

But again--you just have to be careful not to write a whole paragraph or talk in an interview for 5 minutes about something unrelated to medicine and not connect it your interest in medicine somehow. Otherwise you'll leave them wondering "So what?" and you never want to leave someone with that impression.

absolutely amazing post!

 

[UnclePhil]

I told all the schools that I interviewed at that I was potentially interested in another career outside of medicine.

They generally seemed to like that I had interests outside of just medicine and could see myself utilizing other talents that I had to do other things that I liked. One interviewer even went to talk about his own interest in said field. But, one interviewer at one school acted like I was absolutely crazy and almost seemed offended by the fact that I would say such a thing at a med school interview.

 

[Morsetlis]

I told all the schools that I interviewed at that I was potentially interested in another career outside of medicine.

They generally seemed to like that I had interests outside of just medicine and could see myself utilizing other talents that I had to do other things that I liked. One interviewer even went to talk about his own interest in said field. But, one interviewer at one school acted like I was absolutely crazy and almost seemed offended by the fact that I would say such a thing at a med school interview.

Are you at that school?

 

[UnclePhil]

Are you at that school?

No, I am not.

 

[Barcu]

Not at all. I told interviewers about my other interests and said that I didn't really consider med school until college.

The important thing, that was already brought up, is that you tie these interests to medicine somehow.

 

[410322]

The important thing, that was already brought up, is that you tie these interests to medicine somehow.

This is more a general comment, but I think it speaks volumes (in a negative way) that everything in one's life should be [explictly or tangentially] related to medicine. Whether adcoms, other doctors, and interview panels believe it or not, people have lives. Dedication can be shown without pooping out MCAT flashcards.

 

[Morsetlis]

Social crusades are only acceptable if they're generally acceptable.

 

[NickNaylor]

Some (most?) schools seem to take solace in the fact that you have interests outside medicine. It makes you a more "well-rounded person," whatever that means. I wouldn't hesitate to mention that you have outside interests, but just don't hype it up too much - you don't want to sow the seed that you medicine isn't your PRIMARY interest.

 

[Barcu]

This is more a general comment, but I think it speaks volumes (in a negative way) that everything in one's life should be [explictly or tangentially] related to medicine. Whether adcoms, other doctors, and interview panels believe it or not, people have lives. Dedication can be shown without pooping out MCAT flashcards.

It's not that everything has to relate to medicine. It could just apply to medicine (like skills you learn: communication, having a job interacting with people, learning a language). Pretty much everything you do in life could be tied to medicine or success in med school somehow. So don't feel like you need to do something because it will help your med school app. Pretty much anything can help your app, just in different ways (except crimes 😉).

While you are free to have other interests, the bottom line is you are applying to med school, which is a major life committment. You can enjoy other things, but if your primary goal is not medicine, be careful about signing up for that life path too soon. Adcoms recognize this, so if you don't seem sold on the concept of med school (which is different than having outside interests), they may see that and not accept you.

 

[410322]

Some (most?) schools seem to take solace in the fact that you have interests outside medicine. It makes you a more "well-rounded person," whatever that means. I wouldn't hesitate to mention that you have outside interests, but just don't hype it up too much - you don't want to sow the seed that you medicine isn't your PRIMARY interest.

There are many instances in which I *would* consider strongly mentioning other interests. The engineer, computer scientist, businessman that has ideas about medicine has as much to offer the medical community as someone who wants to save babies, IMO. Perhaps I'm misinterpreting what you mean though.

It's not that everything has to relate to medicine. It could just apply to medicine (like skills you learn: communication, having a job interacting with people, learning a language). Pretty much everything you do in life could be tied to medicine or success in med school somehow. So don't feel like you need to do something because it will help your med school app. Pretty much anything can help your app, just in different ways (except crimes 😉).

While you are free to have other interests, the bottom line is you are applying to med school, which is a major life committment. You can enjoy other things, but if your primary goal is not medicine, be careful about signing up for that life path too soon. Adcoms recognize this, so if you don't seem sold on the concept of med school (which is different than having outside interests), they may see that and not accept you.

That's definitely more broad than I was taking your statement to be. I rescind my scathing remark!

 

[doctorshateher]

I've got a fair amount of clinical experience, but I'm recently considering taking a part-time job in my major area (finance and management). If I've got significant interests in some Wall Streety stuff, or if I voice these interests as an attempt to see what other fields are out there.. any chance that some adcom might see this as being wishy-washy on medicine?

Basically--is it okay to admit that you didn't come out of the womb as a pre-med? Listening to a lot of people on here--and at school--I get that vibe from a lot of people. And I don't want to lie and say that I've always wanted to be a doctor, but will it hurt me if I'm not "100% Skin-in-the-game"?

I agree with the above posters, but would add one thing.

If you have extensive experience/interest in some other related field, make sure you have a good answer for the interview question: Why not pursue a career in ________ rather than medicine?

 

[NickNaylor]

There are many instances in which I *would* consider strongly mentioning other interests. The engineer, computer scientist, businessman that has ideas about medicine has as much to offer the medical community as someone who wants to save babies, IMO. Perhaps I'm misinterpreting what you mean though.

While true, medical schools aren't interesting in training people that are only marginally committed to becoming a physician. They want to train people that want to become physicians and/or physician-scientists first with a plan B that's much lower on the priorities pole. It has nothing to do with whether one can contribute to the medical community or not. It has everything to do with limited time and resources that can't go wasted on half-assed medical students.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

As has been said, other interests are good assuming they aren't neck and neck with your desire to be a physician. An interest in business is actually one situation where a really strong passion isn't bad since an entrepreneurial spirit can be a big advantage no matter what you end up doing.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Look at it this way: If the school thinks you shouldn't focus on anything but medicine, do you really want to go there? If you can tell them convincingly why you want to practice medicine, I don't see why outside interests would matter outside of making you a more well-rounded person (and hopefully applicant).

 

[gettheleadout]

Residency programs want robots.

Medical schools want well-rounded individuals with a variety of interests, so that they can break them and turn them into robots.

It kind of shows though, seeing how residency programs evaluate applicants mainly on clinical and academic performance and knowledge (measured by the USMLE) and much less so on extracurricular or even research (though this is obviously dependent on the field.)

 

[HatWobble]

I'd like to comment that, of all the alternative career fields in which you could take an interest, finance is probably the least attractive to people in academic medicine. The whole institution of finance is pretty antithetical to what medicine is about, and I know that academics harbor ill feelings towards bankers for a myriad of reasons: income jealousy, blame for destroying the world economy, what-have-you.

Anecdotally, I had a buddy who applied (3.3 GPA, 33 MCAT) while he was working at a finance job and didn't get any acceptances. He quit the job and did a meaningful medical experience the next year, and got into Mount Sinai after reapplying. (n = 1).

So, I would say that a finance gig may or may not hurt you, but don't count on it to help you.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'd like to comment that, of all the alternative career fields in which you could take an interest, finance is probably the least attractive to people in academic medicine. The whole institution of finance is pretty antithetical to what medicine is about, and I know that academics harbor ill feelings towards bankers for a myriad of reasons: income jealousy, blame for destroying the world economy, what-have-you.

Anecdotally, I had a buddy who applied (3.3 GPA, 33 MCAT) while he was working at a finance job and didn't get any acceptances. He quit the job and did a meaningful medical experience the next year, and got into Mount Sinai after reapplying. (n = 1).

So, I would say that a finance gig may or may not hurt you, but don't count on it to help you.

Making much of a leap, there?

 

[HatWobble]

Making much of a leap, there?

With regards to what? I didn't mean to suggest the anecdote implies the rule.