Legitimate concern regarding PS

[ciestar]

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Sorry for the obnoxious length of this post, I kinda got on a roll.

I'm actually incredibly worried this might come off as a red flag.

Basically my UG career was one blow after another. I managed to keep my gpa decent, but it did take a few hits in 2011-2012 (and I mean a 3.25ish blow, not catastrophic). I was a nursing major and at the end of the fall 2012 semester I switched from the nursing major. I was interested in pharmacy, which my interest ended up just being medicine, not the profession. But anyway, I'm concerned leaving nursing will be a red flag. I didn't leave it because of patients though. Honestly, my heart wasn't in it and I really couldn't see myself being a nurse the rest of my life. I learned that in clinical, i LOVED working with patients. I just preferred watching what the oncologists did rather than the nurses.

Continuing on, i changed my major to biology, got a fresh start and worked my rear end off to get a 4.0 while taking 20.5 credits in the spring semester. My gpa hit wasn't going to get me down. However, around the same time the science college at my UG sent an email regarding a mentoring program. I really thought I wanted to do pharmacy so I started correspondence with a pharmacist at Jefferson. I ended up shadowing him and it was with this experience and while working at cvs that I knew I didn't want to do that either. Once again came back to the desire to be a physician. When I shadowed him, we actually went to a free clinic in a poor area of Philadelphia. I got to talk to patients and take vitals while also working with a GP at the university. I think this experience solidified once and for all what I wanted to do.

My main issue forever was my self confidence. I didn't think I could cut it as a doctor or get into med school so went for "easier" routes.

This sorta sounds PS-ish. It's not, btw. I'm just concerned over red flags. I know i don't even have to mention the pharmacy thing, as there's really nowhere in my academic history indicating so. But I feel like that free clinic had several effects on me: 1. I didn't want to be a pharmacist 2. I really like the idea of working in underserved communities 3. I want to be a doctor. The nursing thing I'll likely have to answer to, correct?

I just need general advice how to go about this. Are these red flags? Should i completely avoid the pharmacy thing?

The first draft of my PS sucks. I need more and maybe this will give me a direction.

Thanks!

 

[turayza]

Sorry for the obnoxious length of this post, I kinda got on a roll.

I'm actually incredibly worried this might come off as a red flag.

Basically my UG career was one blow after another. I managed to keep my gpa decent, but it did take a few hits in 2011-2012 (and I mean a 3.25ish blow, not catastrophic). I was a nursing major and at the end of the fall 2012 semester I switched from the nursing major. I was interested in pharmacy, which my interest ended up just being medicine, not the profession. But anyway, I'm concerned leaving nursing will be a red flag. I didn't leave it because of patients though. Honestly, my heart wasn't in it and I really couldn't see myself being a nurse the rest of my life. I learned that in clinical, i LOVED working with patients. I just preferred watching what the oncologists did rather than the nurses.

Continuing on, i changed my major to biology, got a fresh start and worked my rear end off to get a 4.0 while taking 20.5 credits in the spring semester. My gpa hit wasn't going to get me down. However, around the same time the science college at my UG sent an email regarding a mentoring program. I really thought I wanted to do pharmacy so I started correspondence with a pharmacist at Jefferson. I ended up shadowing him and it was with this experience and while working at cvs that I knew I didn't want to do that either. Once again came back to the desire to be a physician. When I shadowed him, we actually went to a free clinic in a poor area of Philadelphia. I got to talk to patients and take vitals while also working with a GP at the university. I think this experience solidified once and for all what I wanted to do.

My main issue forever was my self confidence. I didn't think I could cut it as a doctor or get into med school so went for "easier" routes.

This sorta sounds PS-ish. It's not, btw. I'm just concerned over red flags. I know i don't even have to mention the pharmacy thing, as there's really nowhere in my academic history indicating so. But I feel like that free clinic had several effects on me: 1. I didn't want to be a pharmacist 2. I really like the idea of working in underserved communities 3. I want to be a doctor. The nursing thing I'll likely have to answer to, correct?

I just need general advice how to go about this. Are these red flags? Should i completely avoid the pharmacy thing?

The first draft of my PS sucks. I need more and maybe this will give me a direction.

Thanks!

Why are these red flags? Don't talk about how you went for "easier" routes because of lack of self-confidence--without that piece, your story shows how you tried out other healthcare professions and ultimately found that you'd rather be a physician. Make sure you have specific reasons for why you prefer being a physician over nursing/pharm without bashing on those professions. You don't need to justify why you originally wanted to go into nursing (and if that comes up in interview, don't say it's because you originally thought it would be easier!).

 

[ciestar]

Why are these red flags? Don't talk about how you went for "easier" routes because of lack of self-confidence--without that piece, your story shows how you tried out other healthcare professions and ultimately found that you'd rather be a physician. Make sure you have specific reasons for why you prefer being a physician over nursing/pharm without bashing on those professions. You don't need to justify why you originally wanted to go into nursing (and if that comes up in interview, don't say it's because you originally thought it would be easier!).

I guess me thinking that they're red flags is based on the fact that they are health related fields, and that I changed my mind more than once. I'm just afraid that they'll see me leaving nursing as a bad sign as to how I'll do with patients.

But I see how me using the words taking the easier route might be misconstrued.

I don't think i can pinpoint the why one over the other. Any advice on that? It's obviously subjective but I need to think of a legitimate, well worded reason for this.

 

[turayza]

I guess me thinking that they're red flags is based on the fact that they are health related fields, and that I changed my mind more than once. I'm just afraid that they'll see me leaving nursing as a bad sign as to how I'll do with patients.

But I see how me using the words taking the easier route might be misconstrued.

I don't think i can pinpoint the why one over the other. Any advice on that? It's obviously subjective but I need to think of a legitimate, well worded reason for this.

You didn't change your mind and then switch back, which would be more of a concern. Rather, you knew you were interested in health, tried out nursing, then pharm, and finally on being a physician. What about what the oncologists were doing was more interesting than what the nurses were doing? It takes a lot of reflection for any of us to be able to put into words why we "prefer" certain things.

For example, from volunteering, I think nurses get to spend a lot more time with patients and chat with them more, but their tasks are highly repetitive and they don't get to really understand the depth of medical conditions/problem-solve. That's from my experience--what are some things you have seen that make the positions different? You will need to be able to articulate specific differences between nursing, pharmacy, and being a doctor if you include your trying nursing/pharm out in your application.

 

[NoDakDok]

I think @turayza really hit the nail on the head here. It is not a 'red flag' to have looked at other career fields. If anything, you can expound upon your experiences in related fields and if you can demonstrate (through anecdotes, perhaps) how those have made you a more self-aware individual who has truly become impassioned by medicine, it's a huge positive. There are far more kids that apply to medical school without having ever thought of another career than those that have experienced other careers and realized that their true calling was medicine. The latter is much more enticing than the former. Just make sure you word carefully and fully express that it was a phase of maturation, not one of indecision.