Med school to Grad school

[PeterGriffin]

I'm currently an MSI and am having some serious doubts as to whether I want to continue on with medical school. I know that it is really early and almost all first years have these doubts, but I have been seeing what my other possibilities are.

I was a psyc major in undergrad and slightly considered grad school, but that was mainly a backup plan. I have no idea about admissions criteria or anything at all really about psyc grad programs. Can anyone tell me what my chances are of getting into a clinical psyc program are? I had limited research experience in cognitive psyc. My gpa was in the 3.6 - 3.7 range but I haven't taken the GRE.

I haven't withdrawn from med school yet, and I'm not certain that I will, but I've been looking into my other options and seeing what my chances are. Psychology is my real academic interest and I'm thinking that I went to med school more for the prestige and not so much because I want to be a physician.

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[edieb]

Here is a link with acceptance statistics; it's very hard to get into clinical programs...

I'm currently an MSI and am having some serious doubts as to whether I want to continue on with medical school. I know that it is really early and almost all first years have these doubts, but I have been seeing what my other possibilities are.

I was a psyc major in undergrad and slightly considered grad school, but that was mainly a backup plan. I have no idea about admissions criteria or anything at all really about psyc grad programs. Can anyone tell me what my chances are of getting into a clinical psyc program are? I had limited research experience in cognitive psyc. My gpa was in the 3.6 - 3.7 range but I haven't taken the GRE.

I haven't withdrawn from med school yet, and I'm not certain that I will, but I've been looking into my other options and seeing what my chances are. Psychology is my real academic interest and I'm thinking that I went to med school more for the prestige and not so much because I want to be a physician.

 

[edieb]

Here is a link with acceptance statistics; it's very hard to get into clinical programs...

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/5353/classes/acceptstats.html

I'm currently an MSI and am having some serious doubts as to whether I want to continue on with medical school. I know that it is really early and almost all first years have these doubts, but I have been seeing what my other possibilities are.

I was a psyc major in undergrad and slightly considered grad school, but that was mainly a backup plan. I have no idea about admissions criteria or anything at all really about psyc grad programs. Can anyone tell me what my chances are of getting into a clinical psyc program are? I had limited research experience in cognitive psyc. My gpa was in the 3.6 - 3.7 range but I haven't taken the GRE.

I haven't withdrawn from med school yet, and I'm not certain that I will, but I've been looking into my other options and seeing what my chances are. Psychology is my real academic interest and I'm thinking that I went to med school more for the prestige and not so much because I want to be a physician.

 

[PublicHealth]

I'm currently an MSI and am having some serious doubts as to whether I want to continue on with medical school. I know that it is really early and almost all first years have these doubts, but I have been seeing what my other possibilities are.

Have you done any "soul searching" to confirm that this decision is best for you? Everyone has trouble adjusting to a new experience -- especially medical school. What about MS1 has led you to think that med school may not be for you?

I was a psyc major in undergrad and slightly considered grad school, but that was mainly a backup plan. I have no idea about admissions criteria or anything at all really about psyc grad programs. Can anyone tell me what my chances are of getting into a clinical psyc program are? I had limited research experience in cognitive psyc. My gpa was in the 3.6 - 3.7 range but I haven't taken the GRE.

Your GPA is good. GRE scores should be 600+ in each section to be competitive. It's also important to have research and clinical experience. Publications and strong recommendation letters are a plus.

I haven't withdrawn from med school yet, and I'm not certain that I will, but I've been looking into my other options and seeing what my chances are. Psychology is my real academic interest and I'm thinking that I went to med school more for the prestige and not so much because I want to be a physician.

This is interesting. Would you mind describing your original motivation for pursuing medicine? Are you interested in psychiatry?

 

[purpledoc]

I'm currently an MSI and am having some serious doubts as to whether I want to continue on with medical school. I know that it is really early and almost all first years have these doubts, but I have been seeing what my other possibilities are.

Listen, if you want to bounce this off an actual psychiatrist but are afraid of being ridiculed or of talking with anyone affiliated with your school, send me a private message. Not for therapy -- just to check in and see how your doubts compare to some of the ones that some of us had in medical school.

If you're not feeling a strong urge to change your situation immediately (which is something I'd recommend against in any case), the best thing would really be to talk with either a close mentor that you really, really trust, or with a therapist, who wants to help you decide and doesn't have a stake in the outcome either way. You may feel more comfortable talking with a psychologist than with a psychiatrist if you're worried about being pressured into continuing medical school, or vice versa, if you're worried about being talked out of continuing medical school. I'd actually give an edge to the psychologist, who will probably be less likely to assume that they understand your personal experience as a medical student.

In any case -- take your time. If you end up having to take a year off between your first year of medical school and starting a psychology grad program, that's not the worst thing in the world. You'll probably have a better chance of getting in anyway when they believe you're doing it of your own free will and not just as a way to get out of medical school. For right now, just stay put and try to figure out what you want to do -- don't worry about what the criteria will be for getting into grad school.

Peace,
Purpledoc

 

[siguanabo]

I'm currently an MSI and am having some serious doubts as to whether I want to continue on with medical school. I know that it is really early and almost all first years have these doubts, but I have been seeing what my other possibilities are.

I was a psyc major in undergrad and slightly considered grad school, but that was mainly a backup plan. I have no idea about admissions criteria or anything at all really about psyc grad programs. Can anyone tell me what my chances are of getting into a clinical psyc program are? I had limited research experience in cognitive psyc. My gpa was in the 3.6 - 3.7 range but I haven't taken the GRE.

I haven't withdrawn from med school yet, and I'm not certain that I will, but I've been looking into my other options and seeing what my chances are. Psychology is my real academic interest and I'm thinking that I went to med school more for the prestige and not so much because I want to be a physician.

Go ahead, drop out and make room for someone who is interested.

 

[lazure]

Talk to both doctors and licenced psychologists to determine where your interests lie. Talk to students at different levels in both med school and grad school. How much do you know what grad school in psych is like?

To Purpledoc - what are you doing moonlighting in a psychology forum after banning psychologists from your psychiatry forum ?! Just a little consistency, please......

 

[Kushkeeee]

I'm currently an MSI and am having some serious doubts as to whether I want to continue on with medical school. I know that it is really early and almost all first years have these doubts, but I have been >>>seeing what my other possibilities are. {Qoute}>>>


Nothing wrong with feeling out your options. No matter what anyone says or thinks, you do have a right to change your mind on what you want to spend your life doing. It's your life, afterall. That said, you might want to do some soul searching and determine if you truly want to get out of medical school because it's not for you, or if it's just a matter of it being a tough time right now. The tough time will pass, but your passion will not.



>>>I was a psyc major in undergrad and slightly considered grad school, but that was mainly a backup plan. I have no idea about admissions criteria or anything at all really about psyc grad programs. Can anyone tell me what my chances are of getting into a clinical psyc program are? I had limited research experience in cognitive psyc. My gpa was in the 3.6 - 3.7 range but I haven't taken the GRE. >>>>

You may need to spend some extra time spicing up your psych credentials. However, if you were capable of getting into medical school there is no doubt in my mind you could get into graduate school for psych. It would just be a matter of you taking the time to get your psych skills up to par.

>>I haven't withdrawn from med school yet, and I'm not certain that I will, but I've been looking into my other options and seeing what my chances are. Psychology is my real academic interest and I'm thinking that I went to med school more for the prestige and not so much because I want to be a physician.

Well, it wouldn't surprise me at all if this was the case. I actually experienced exactly what you are going through, but I caught it early on. Right after I graduated with my bachelor's degree in psych, I thought I wanted to pursue medical school. Mind you, the only science course I had ever taken in my undergrad was "biology for the citizen", and I had never before been a lover of the hard sciences. Still, I was convinced I wanted to be a doctor. I even signed up for my pre-reqs and started looking into med schools. I realized with time, however, that I was just trying to prove something to myself (or others?). This is definately the wrong reason to pursue any field, much less one as rigorous and time consuming as medical school. So now I've returned to my true passion: Psychology. I've come "home", and even if I don't succeed, at least I know I'm trying to do what I love. Furthermore, I've realized that there is no one profession that is more respectable than another. What really matters is that you are making the most of your talents and that you love what you do.

If after your soul searching you realize your heart lies in the field of Psychology, then don't let anyone stop you from pursuing it. What is the purpose of life if not to pursue your true and ultimate dreams? Go for it. Just don't give up on med school until you are sure you've found your answer.

Koosh

 

[PeterGriffin]

Have you done any "soul searching" to confirm that this decision is best for you? Everyone has trouble adjusting to a new experience -- especially medical school. What about MS1 has led you to think that med school may not be for you?

I have been doing some soul searching over the last several weeks and have been coming closer to a decision but I don't want to do anything before I'm absolutely certain. It isn't really anything about MS1 so far that has brought this on, it's just my own uncertainties of whether or not I want to pursue medicine as a career. Granted, the coursload is way larger than I've ever experienced, but I know that everyone is in the same boat and I'm sure that I could get through it.

This is interesting. Would you mind describing your original motivation for pursuing medicine? Are you interested in psychiatry?

I'm having diffulty remember my original motivation or if I even had any true motivation to purse medicina. I have family with medical careers but no doctors and I wasn't really pressured to go to medical school. Most of my classmates have had quite a bit of shadowing and volunteer experiences and seem to be rather certain of their pursuit for a career in medicine. I did some shadowing and volunteered in an ER and ICU, but it was limited experience. There are people in my gross lab that seem extremely interested and excited while we are doing labs. I thought that this would be a course that I would enjoy immensly, but I find my self struggling to even get through lab. With no motivation to pursue a career in medicine, and now no interest in my courses, I'm really not sure if this is for me.

 

[PeterGriffin]

If after your soul searching you realize your heart lies in the field of Psychology, then don't let anyone stop you from pursuing it. What is the purpose of life if not to pursue your true and ultimate dreams? Go for it. Just don't give up on med school until you are sure you've found your answer.

Koosh

Thanks for the advice. My biggest worry now is that if I do decide agains med school, I'm worried that withdrawing will look really bad if I try to apply to psyc grad school. I really shouldn't be worrying about this yet as I haven't even decided what I'm going to do about med school, but it is a concern.

 

[purpledoc]

To Purpledoc - what are you doing moonlighting in a psychology forum after banning psychologists from your psychiatry forum ?! Just a little consistency, please......

Hey, I have no problem with psychologists "moonlighting" in our forum -- I actually love having different opinions on interesting cases or experiences. My only objection is to the newbie psychologists/psychologists-to-be who drop in and start new threads insulting physicians and (yet again) promoting RxP. That gets pretty darn tiresome. Given that I'm a strong supporter of psychologists in every area other than RxP, I'm pretty sure that my posts here have always been polite and on topic.

If you see me being obnoxious to psychologists while I'm a guest here, feel free to let me know!

 

[Hammer]

Hey, I have no problem with psychologists "moonlighting" in our forum -- I actually love having different opinions on interesting cases or experiences. My only objection is to the newbie psychologists/psychologists-to-be who drop in and start new threads insulting physicians and (yet again) promoting RxP. That gets pretty darn tiresome. Given that I'm a strong supporter of psychologists in every area other than RxP, I'm pretty sure that my posts here have always been polite and on topic.

If you see me being obnoxious to psychologists while I'm a guest here, feel free to let me know!

You my friend are an azzhole. When you see one, you know.

Here is what you say in psychiatry:

"As some people might have noticed I love a good fight. However, the purpose of this forum is degenerating as more and more threads are started by brand new users showing up just to provoke more debates on psychology vs. psychiatry.

I don't have the power to delete new threads (though I wish I did), but I'm going to play my small part here by simply refusing to contribute to them, so that they drop down into insignificance on the forum. I'm also not going to contribute to any new threads started on the topic in the psychology forum.

In the mean time, the rest of us can continue to answer questions about applying to programs, interesting cases, living without sleep, various forms of treatment, and so on.

Peace,
Purpledoc"

Just an azzhole.

Hammer, Ph.D

 

[50960]

Hey lay off purpledoc, his advice was right on and very open!! This is the kind of psychiatrist psychologists need to be working with whether he agrees with RxP or not.
My advice to MSI is to stick it out. You can always go grad school. Finish what you start, and you will be successful. I sound like an old fart at 34, but it is good advice!!

 

[Hammer]

Hey lay off purpledoc, his advice was right on and very open!! This is the kind of psychiatrist psychologists need to be working with whether he agrees with RxP or not.
My advice to MSI is to stick it out. You can always go grad school. Finish what you start, and you will be successful. I sound like an old fart at 34, but it is good advice!!

I am a Psychologist, not a student. My Ph.D deserves some respect.

Read his post, read Psychiatry. If you feel the same, post it here and I.ll go bye. I am a Liberatarian, too.

His contributions to psychiarty are crap and more than that, just false.

When people say they like a fair fight, they are not telling the truth. They like to win. I don't mind a dirty fight because I know what I am saying.

 

[50960]

I respect your doctorate, and you should respect mine. I am not a student, and have not been for awhile....so??

 

[purpledoc]

You my friend are an azzhole. When you see one, you know.

I generally find that the more epithets there are in a posting, the less intellect the person has. Oh -- and if you don't know what an epithet is, I'll be happy to define it for you.

Anyway, I stand by the post I made in the psychiatry forum. Psychiatrists and psychologists can and should have dialogues on other things instead of just repeatedly having a simple pissing contest comparing psychiatry and psychology. How about, does MPD/DID really exist? Can good CBT be taught straight from a manual? Do we need universal health care? etc etc etc. Things that we all have the training to talk about, but come at from different perspectives (sometimes).

 

[purpledoc]

Oh, and Hammer? Read my posts more carefully, and you may discover that your Ph.D. didn't get you very far in gender studies.

 

[twiggers]

Just out of curiousity....how did a post about changing careers turn into a squabble?? LOL...fun to read but hey maybe the MDs and PhDs can figure out a reason for the digression of topics in the forum. Combine your differing perspectives on the mental health field and figure that out first...then we can worry about solving the problems of world peace, MDs vs. PhDs, and fix our healthcare system