Medicine - Random Walk?

[atomicbear]

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Hello Student Doctors! =)

I am thinking I would like to get back onto the premedical student path and I was hoping to get some advice about what I’d need to do if I did want to get into medical school in the next two years (or sooner).

I just turned thirty the other week and it’s got me thinking about what I really want to do for the next thirty or more years. I’ve been on and off the premed path since high school, but I keep coming back to it since medicine, backpacking and healthy cooking are what truly get me excited.

I was most recently on that path nearly five years ago until I got derailed from pursuing it for financial reasons. I had been on waiting list for a medical school who refused me since I didn’t have enough volunteer hours even though I’d been working tons of hours as a full-fledged medical assistant for an orthopedic surgeon. It was 2010 and I’d just finished a premed postbacc program with flying colors and got a decent MCAT score (34N). I’d been kicked off the waiting list for not having enough volunteer hours. They had doubts about my altruism. I’d merely been trying to avoid getting excessive student loans since I was putting myself through that postbacc program and I also treasured sleep. It was a hard rejection to take.

I didn’t have any money to reapply that year and was not able to land a job in the medical field since I’d just moved somewhere completely new and needed to find something ASAP to pay off student loans. Long story short, I ended up working at Starbucks and somehow found my way into the software industry with my mathematics major. I entered as a quality engineer and I am now a developer at a well-respected software company in the SF Bay Area.

I’ve learned a lot about life in the meanwhile and now realize I wasn’t ready for medical school when I was applying. I've been telling myself medical school isn't for me because lack of sleep when you're a resident or you don't have the money to apply or whatever. But that still doesn't sway the passion for medicine. Those reasons all seem kind of dumb when I think about them. More like excuses. The software path has been fun. It's very interesting and I work with a ton of amazing/smart individuals. It just doesn't light my fire the same way medicine does. I love helping other people and learning new things relating to medicine.

My current plan is to start volunteering at a hospital or hospice within the area and also to dust off some MCAT books. I understand it’s changed a bit since 2009. I’ve finally got myself in a more stable financial situation so I could afford to apply to more schools as well (open to both allopathic and osteopathic). I'm hoping my previous courses and medical experience will speak for themselves and that I will address the altruistic concerns that school had.

Is there anything I’m missing? Any pitfalls to be aware of along the way? Should I be taking any classes at local universities?

Much obliged!

-- Thirty year old wayfarer

 

[GreenDuck12]

I would definitely look at taking some additional classes to show that are still able to achieve at a high level in a science heavy curriculum. I would look into biochemistry, molecular/cell bio, genetics, etc.

 

[Giovanotto]

Why the switch, if I may ask? Software engineering in the Bay Area sounds like a dream. What is it that someone like me might be missing from that picture?

 

[atomicbear]

Why the switch, if I may ask? Software engineering in the Bay Area sounds like a dream. What is it that someone like me might be missing from that picture?

Coding is fun. I also love math and puzzles. However, it's not something I think I'd like to do for the next thirty to forty years. I'd like to have a more active role helping others maintain and obtain health. My boyfriend recently had a medical emergency that's really impacted the way I think about a lot of things regarding medicine as well. I spent most of two weeks at a hospital and saw the difference doctors were making in their patients' lives. Empathy and knowledge go a long ways. They also seemed to truly love what they do. Health is an amazing thing and I'd like to know how to help others with the growing medical knowledge we amass daily. Becoming an MD or DO seems like a great way to accomplish this in life.

Software development does not touch people's lives in this direct way. In fact, when I think about spending nights at my company until 2AM, it kind of feels purposeless to me in comparison. The work does not have that call of urgency to me that medicine would. I'm also not learning about the subjects I'm most passionate about. Some companies in the Silicon Valley are doing amazing things and software developers make a lot of money doing so, but I wouldn't call it my dream. It's some people's dream, perhaps, and I think I work with a lot of those people. For me, it's a means to an end.

 

[atomicbear]

I would definitely look at taking some additional classes to show that are still able to achieve at a high level in a science heavy curriculum. I would look into biochemistry, molecular/cell bio, genetics, etc.

Thanks for the advice! That sounds like a solid plan, I'll look into taking some courses like that! I took things like that many years ago... would there be any harm in retaking some of them and doing well?

 

[Law2Doc]

I think you need to flesh out why you want to be a doctor a lot more. "Helping people" and "wanting to learn new things" are well and fine when you are coming out of college but an older nontrad is going to be expected to have a lot more thought out a reason.

 

[Dral]

How much shadowing have you done? You need to make sure you absolutely want to do this. I started medical school about the same age as you would be (33). I am just turning 43 and finishing up fellowship and signed my first job contract. Since matriculating I have moved to 4 different places. The moving part can be a real stress inducer...case in point:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/i-want-out.1189507/

Wanting to 'help people' is baseline for medicine. It's quite frankly not that great of a reason to do it imo without knowing the rest of what goes into it. In the end, medicine is a job like everything else...mounds of paper work, unappreciative patients, tons of hoops to jump through, increasing public skepticism...the list goes on. I don't mean to sound like a jaded jerkwad...there are tons of good things about being a doctor as well. One just has to be sure about the choice...when year three of med school starts (the first really GOOD taste of clinical medicine), the average student is probably already about $120k in debt...almost at a point of no return. Gotta be close to damn sure.

I've missed weddings, holidays (missed Thanksgiving for the first time in my life due to being on call), and tons and tons of events. Just studying for boards alone, I had to skip a good 3 or 4 fairly important friend/family events. As an older person, it wears on you. It's those things you don't think about so quickly. Sure, there is the lack of sleep and long hours, but you have to sit down and try to think of all the negatives to truly be able to pit them against your positives (which are more evident to most people without having to really think too much about them).

Basically what I've done is tried to bring up some things to make you really think about if you want to go down the path of medicine...if so, hopefully some of it will help you get to why you really want to do it (as L2D mentioned...you need to do).

Best of luck.