Maybe someone could give me some insight....

[djd7101986]

Hey Everyone! I'm so glad I found this forum and am able to talk to others like myself! My name is Dave,I'm 22 and a student in college....this is my story!
I have cystic fibrosis(being in a hospital setting and around doctors for so long is what sparked my desire to become a physician) and it really held me back in high school ....I missed 90 straight days my junior year and my freshman and sophmore were not so great along with my senior but I managed to graduate...I busted my tush and did a lot of at home courses and made it through! It was a miracle and I felt so proud to do it but I really felt I could never do well in college because of my grades and health but after a bit of time I realized that it was a defeatist attitude to have and decided I can make it through college...I started to look around for options(mostly community colleges) until I came across a non-traditional option....A local university near me offered a program to non-traditional students(I chose this because the university and the community college were so close in price range it seemed better to just go to the university). In the program you would take one semester of courses and if you did well you could apply to the university and become a traditional student,I did just that and made straight A's all semester and got into the university! I am currently a biology major ( I still have straight A's in all of my classes) but I would love to apply to their pre-medical program and go to medschool. I don't doubt that I could get in given my grades,GPA and my extracurricular activites ( I do two science clubs,one for biology and one for chemistry and the third is a volunteering/community club and have yet to miss a metting or event for any of them) Now I have been looking up medical school admissions and a lot of them seem to require a good high school background but I do not have this..given my great performance in college and my current situation is medical school(I'm looking mostly at allopathic med schools) an option for me? Thanks so much guys!

Ps-sorry for my sporadic typing,I have had a lot of coffee today! lol

-Dave

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[Law2Doc]

Hey Everyone! I'm so glad I found this forum and am able to talk to others like myself! My name is Dave,I'm 22 and a student in college....this is my story!
I have cystic fibrosis(being in a hospital setting and around doctors for so long is what sparked my desire to become a physician) and it really held me back in high school ....I missed 90 straight days my junior year and my freshman and sophmore were not so great along with my senior but I managed to graduate...I busted my tush and did a lot of at home courses and made it through! It was a miracle and I felt so proud to do it but I really felt I could never do well in college because of my grades and health but after a bit of time I realized that it was a defeatist attitude to have and decided I can make it through college...I started to look around for options(mostly community colleges) until I came across a non-traditional option....A local university near me offered a program to non-traditional students(I chose this because the university and the community college were so close in price range it seemed better to just go to the university). In the program you would take one semester of courses and if you did well you could apply to the university and become a traditional student,I did just that and made straight A's all semester and got into the university! I am currently a biology major ( I still have straight A's in all of my classes) but I would love to apply to their pre-medical program and go to medschool. I don't doubt that I could get in given my grades,GPA and my extracurricular activites ( I do two science clubs,one for biology and one for chemistry and the third is a volunteering/community club and have yet to miss a metting or event for any of them) Now I have been looking up medical school admissions and a lot of them seem to require a good high school background but I do not have this..given my great performance in college and my current situation is medical school(I'm looking mostly at allopathic med schools) an option for me? Thanks so much guys!

Ps-sorry for my sporadic typing,I have had a lot of coffee today! lol

-Dave

I'm not aware of any med schools that focus on high school backgrounds.

The bigger question might be whether your health issues are such that you will be able to manage the strenuous med school curriculum, residency etc. Additionally, (and sorry to be blunt) is starting down a path that will take at least another decade to complete training, wise, given your health situation? I would think you should be out living life, not cooped in a library or on the wards during the near term.

 

[Meridian32]

Having cystic fibrosis has not prevented aspiring doctors from completing med school and residency in the past. In fact, there is a great chapter on this in Atul Gawande's new book, "Better," which I highly recommend.

 

[Law2Doc]

Having cystic fibrosis has not prevented aspiring doctors from completing med school and residency in the past.

It hasn't prevented all aspiring doctors, but it has prevented most, actually. I'm not telling OP what to do. Just pointing out the obvious that the journey to physician is a long and arduous one. I'm not sure I would undertake it if I were in OPs position.

 

[Tired Pigeon]

I'm not aware of any med schools that focus on high school backgrounds.

The bigger question might be whether your health issues are such that you will be able to manage the strenuous med school curriculum, residency etc. Additionally, (and sorry to be blunt) is starting down a path that will take at least another decade to complete training, wise, given your health situation? I would think you should be out living life, not cooped in a library or on the wards during the near term.

Correct on both counts. I don't think high school is particularly relevant to your application, especially in light of your stellar academic career at university. Also agree that you should only undertake this with the understanding that the commitment required to do well in med school requires you to give up and/or defer many other things that are important to many people. Of course it's true that NONE of us know for sure if there will be a "later" time to get around to the things we've had to put aside during med school, but with such a serious health issue I'd think this concern would really come to the fore.

 

[njbmd]

Hey Everyone! I'm so glad I found this forum and am able to talk to others like myself! My name is Dave,I'm 22 and a student in college....this is my story!
I have cystic fibrosis(being in a hospital setting and around doctors for so long is what sparked my desire to become a physician) and it really held me back in high school ....I missed 90 straight days my junior year and my freshman and sophmore were not so great along with my senior but I managed to graduate
-Dave

I had a very close friend who graduated from Georgetown medical school, went on to do a residency in Pediatrics and then a fellowship in endocrinology. She did loads of research in pediatric endocrine problems and published many papers. She had cystic fibrosis and died at age 40 after making more contributions to medicine in the 13 years that she practiced than most people make in a lifetime. I spent many hours with her discussing medicine and research. I also spoke at her memorial service as she was a very dear friend and colleague.

She didn't have tons of stamina but she had tons of sheer determination and brainpower. Fortunately, that was more than enough for her to have a career that helped and continues to help many people.

Go for it and give it your best shot. My friend had plenty of ups and downs with her CF but in the end, she lived her life on her terms and gave so much. I wish you well.

 

[djd7101986]

Hey guys thanks for all the replies.... I am going to continue on into the pre-medical program and continue toward medical school I've decided if I die along the way then so be it but at least I would know that I died trying to achieve a life goal. Plus I've heard of many cases of docs with CF's and also cases of CFers living into their 60's, this has been a life long passion so I'm gonna go for it! I 'll keep you updated along the way.
-Dave