need some honest thoughts

[dizzle]

hi everyone - I am hoping that since many people who look on this board have probably dealt with making the decision to go into medicine, that you will be able to help me through this.
I am 24 and majored in history, took sluff science classes, and in the back of my mind i wanted to do pre med, but never really got around to it. Now i can't stop thinking about it. i thought i had found a happy medium with public health, but i really don't think i'll be happy doing anything else but going into medicine, which is of course incredibly immature of me to say because i haven't even waded in the serious science stuff . . . it's just this monster that rears its head and won't let me rest with any other decisions i make. i am, of course, worried of the science intensity, but feel confident that if i spend the time needed, i can do it. more than that, i am worried about divorcing the world i know about - humanities, development, etc, and going into this just because of this feeling, indelible as it is. any thoughts? thank you.

 

[vtucci]

I double majored in history and political science and then went to law school. You do not have to divorce yourself of the humanities because you have decided to go back to medicine. Have you considered medical ethics or combining a MD/JD, you can lobby and fix some of the problems with the US Healthcare system (e.g., malpractice verdicts, prescription drug coverage) etc.

I would not worry too much about the tough science courses. Two cavaets 1) find a supportive post-bac environment. If you live in or around NYC, I would highly recommend City College of New York (part of the CUNY system). It is inexpensive, has a tremendous advising program and a very warm and fuzzy post-bac group. It may sound dorky but we are like a family there and everyone wants everyone else to succeed--after all, in five years, we will all be colleagues; and (2) do not try to cram all the tough sciences into 1 year (take at least 1 1/2-2).

Good luck!

 

[LoneCoyote]

I was also a history major and can tell you it is worth trying out the sciences if you are thinking about it. I had planned to go to law school and spent some time working in the legal field and realized that was not what I wanted to do. I had always had science in the back of my mind and I finally decided to go for it. It was scary. I was walking away from a career path that I knew would be doable. I had the grades and scores to go to law school or a PhD in humanities and I headed for this unknown. But I knew it would work out somehow, even if it meant I hated science and quit after a semester of post-bac. That did not happen and I was successful in my post-bac studies and the med school admissions process.

I have found my liberal arts education to be a real asset in this process. The researchers I worked for were always happy to have someone in the lab who liked to write. I definitely plan to involve writing and public health work in my medical career. There are lots of opportunities to do that in health policy and in research. If the idea won't stop bugging you try to just take the plunge. Sign for a class or two and go part time if that is easier. But if you don't try it, you'll always wonder if you should have. Good luck.

 

[dizzle]

Thanks very much for your responses. It's good to see fellow history majors represented here! I'm starting to think that my humanities liberal arts BA will ultimately be an asset instead of a hindrance, once I get this show on the road and start some classes! Good to know that there are people out there that have made the transition into the sciences. good luck to all of you.