Hi,
I was introduced to the idea of going to pharmacy school over a year ago by a good friend of mine, who was a P3 at the moment. After talking to him for a while, I realized that I have been cutting myself short with my dreams and ambition, maybe I can be in the healthcare field. I changed my major to pre-pharmacy.
Currently, I am deployed in Afghanistan. Here, while I am not pulling security or on patrol, I volunteered to work at the clinic (role 1). I found out soon enough that I really like being there. Although I am not a medic, the medics and PA that I work with allow me to do a few things. Every now and then, I'll be able to take patient's history and jot down SOAP note. It made me feel good! it made me feel like I am like a doctor (granted that I know I'm not). I became more and more drawn into this environment the more that I am in the clinic. I enjoy being the first source of a solution to a problem. I enjoy watching the PA and medics get together to figure out a plan of treatment for patients. Then, I became inspired to become a medical doctor.
Another big reason was I took a class on Human Health and Disease, and the instructor is a medical doctor. He addressed some of my concerns about making the decision of going to medical school instead of pharmacy school. With that, I am even more inspired.
But of course, I can't deny the fact that medical school is hard, other wise everyone would be a doctor. Here are some of my concerns if you guys can help me address these too.
Right now I only have over sixty credit hours. Most of the classes I took are basic core classes, non science related. The only science course I've taken is Chemistry. My GPA right now is about 3.17. I plan to take psyc, critical thinking, and statistics online here while I'm in Afghanistan to relieve some required classes so I can focus in on my science classes. When I get back early 2014, I plan to take 3 science classes at a time to catch up with lost time. Since I am 23 right now, I don't want to lose anymore time. I guess one of the question would be, is it too old to finish med school at 30 years old? that mean I'll still have 3-4 more years of residency and a few more of fellowship if I decide to specialize. I have a world of worries right now that come to my mind every now and then to discourage me, but I know this is something that I really want to do. I'm just afraid to fail.
The military have taken so much time out of me, for the past few years. Although I am in the Army National Guard, I have done three years worth of active duty time, which is the equivalent of 1 active duty contract. I take classes when I can, and when I am called to active duty I had to withdraw from classes. I failed some classes because of it too, I wonder if it'll make it hard to get into med school. Would they listen to my story first before considering me? or will they just look at a stack of applications and pick their interviews? will I have a chance?
I was introduced to the idea of going to pharmacy school over a year ago by a good friend of mine, who was a P3 at the moment. After talking to him for a while, I realized that I have been cutting myself short with my dreams and ambition, maybe I can be in the healthcare field. I changed my major to pre-pharmacy.
Currently, I am deployed in Afghanistan. Here, while I am not pulling security or on patrol, I volunteered to work at the clinic (role 1). I found out soon enough that I really like being there. Although I am not a medic, the medics and PA that I work with allow me to do a few things. Every now and then, I'll be able to take patient's history and jot down SOAP note. It made me feel good! it made me feel like I am like a doctor (granted that I know I'm not). I became more and more drawn into this environment the more that I am in the clinic. I enjoy being the first source of a solution to a problem. I enjoy watching the PA and medics get together to figure out a plan of treatment for patients. Then, I became inspired to become a medical doctor.
Another big reason was I took a class on Human Health and Disease, and the instructor is a medical doctor. He addressed some of my concerns about making the decision of going to medical school instead of pharmacy school. With that, I am even more inspired.
But of course, I can't deny the fact that medical school is hard, other wise everyone would be a doctor. Here are some of my concerns if you guys can help me address these too.
Right now I only have over sixty credit hours. Most of the classes I took are basic core classes, non science related. The only science course I've taken is Chemistry. My GPA right now is about 3.17. I plan to take psyc, critical thinking, and statistics online here while I'm in Afghanistan to relieve some required classes so I can focus in on my science classes. When I get back early 2014, I plan to take 3 science classes at a time to catch up with lost time. Since I am 23 right now, I don't want to lose anymore time. I guess one of the question would be, is it too old to finish med school at 30 years old? that mean I'll still have 3-4 more years of residency and a few more of fellowship if I decide to specialize. I have a world of worries right now that come to my mind every now and then to discourage me, but I know this is something that I really want to do. I'm just afraid to fail.
The military have taken so much time out of me, for the past few years. Although I am in the Army National Guard, I have done three years worth of active duty time, which is the equivalent of 1 active duty contract. I take classes when I can, and when I am called to active duty I had to withdraw from classes. I failed some classes because of it too, I wonder if it'll make it hard to get into med school. Would they listen to my story first before considering me? or will they just look at a stack of applications and pick their interviews? will I have a chance?
