pcp

[ocean_doc]

Just curious:

Do you pre-meds tell your primary care doctors that you are applying to med school? What kind of responses do you get if you do? Before attending medical school I had a pcp who didn't seem to take interest in my applying to medicine. When I use to bring up the subject of medicine he didn't seem to interested. Any comments?

ms-3

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[whynotme?]

I told my OB/GYN that I was going to apply to medical school and he was also like that...I had to practically pry info out of him...He basically said it is all a crap shoot and if you ace your interview-your in! He definitely did not encourage me and has not mentioned it since.

 

[Challenge]

I mentioned about planning to go to medical school to my physician and he told me that it is very hard and said nothing to encourage what I'm going to do.

 

[doc04]

I am curious, are you all setting up appointments to see the doctor for a medical reason and then springing this on them while in their exam rooms? If this is the case might I suggest an alternative??? Try setting an appointment with him/her to specifically discuss pre-med and seek advice. It has been my experience that when the receptionist recieves a request such as this, she always goes to the physician directly. Usually he/she will set aside time (usually at the end of the day) to speak with you. Then his/her time with you will be unhurried and "expected". Most physicians will readily assist pre-meds if approached appropriately.

Just imagine a patient coming in with a c.c. of headache (he/she has four exam rooms full and a procedure scheduled at 11) and you say I have these headaches and by the way I'm trying to get into med school... How does he/she then proceed? Do you really have headaches or is your stated alterior motive the real issue? How does he/she then bill for this visit? (remember physicians are accounatble for their time, especially if they participate as your PCP).

Honesty and straight forwardness are appreciated greatly in the "buisness" of medicine. I am sure your responses would have been entirely different if you had scheduled a "consultation to discuss entering medical school". Try it sometime and post your response. I would be very interested.



[This message has been edited by doc04 (edited 06-02-2000).]

 

[1918]

While I think it is a shame that many doctors respond in this fashion, don't take it personally. Lots of MD's, especially if they began practicing before managed care, are very disillusioned with today's health care situation. Often they tell you that they would not go into medicine again given the choice. You have to understand that this is usually due to the fact that they grew accustomed to a certain way of practicing medicine, enjoyed it, and now they are being forced to make numerous changes that they dislike.

The other possibility is, just as with other professions, you're dealing with personalities: it's a crapshoot.

If you're sure you want to practice medicine and have researched the field sufficiently to know what to expect -- don't let anyone dissuade you.

 

[Lt. Ub]

1918 - Ditto!

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"They do certainly give very strange and newfangled names to diseases."
- Plato

 

[Nanon]

Both my PCP and my OBGYN are very supportive - sometimes too supportive. I get questioned about my grades and such every time I go in. Example - recently I went in to my PCP to have my shoulder checked after a car accident. He asked me where I'm transfering to from comm. coll. I told him I got accepted to both UCDavis and UCSanta Cruz, and was still waiting on Berkeley, but would go to Santa Cruz if I didn't get into Berkeley. Ohmygod, he lectured me for 10 minutes about how much easier it would be to get into med school if I went to Davis, and actually seemed a little upset.

I don't know why they support me so much - maybe because I'm nosey and I'm always asking them, "Why are you doing that?" and "Can I watch?"

Nanon

 

[Carbon Klein]

My family doctor seemed pretty indifferent about me attending med school. I had to go to her to get my med school's health forms filled out and signed by a physician.

My optometrist and dentist are both very up to date on my life and career goals....especially my dentist. He wanted to go to med school and encouraged me strongly to go for it! Imagine that!

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[fiatslug]

Nanon: as a UCSC grad, I can't recommend it enough! They have a gorgeous campus, and now they're doing grades (which is going to help you, although narrative evals are cool). You'll love it!

FiatSlug!
(Latin: Let There Be Slug)

 

[Nanon]

Fiat - the campus is a big reason I chose to go there. That, and the psychobiology major they have. My husband and I went down last weekend (we live in San Francisco) to look at the different colleges, and while the walk was nice, it wasn't all that helpful to me in terms of making a choice. The commute from SF to SC is brutal, so I'm planning on getting a dorm room, commuting 3 days a week. Which college do you recommend for a 31 yo married chick?

Nanon

 

[fiatslug]

Hey Nanon-- I live in Berkeley, and I work in SF. Gimme an email & we'll talk! I haven't been at UCSC in awhile; I went to Stevenson, and it was super fun, but I was 20 (and that was many, many, many years ago... we're about the same age!). Maybe Crown? (But Oy! That hill!). Or Porter. Haven't even seen 9 & 10 (did they ever name 8?). I'm also a did-my-post-bacc-work-at-a-jc-gal (DVC).

[email protected]

 

[ocean_doc]

Doc04,

I went to see the doctor for a very bad cold. He asked me what I was studying and so I mentioned that I was thinking about medicine. Anytime after this visit, he would ask me how things were going for me. On one particular visit, I mentioned that school was fine. He appeared disinterested in that subject and quickly changed the subject to my job. He asked me alot of questions about my job.

I CERTAINLY DID NOT GO IN WITH THE INTENTION OF GETTING PRE-MED ADVICE. IN FACT BEFORE I STARTED SEEING HIM I WAS FINISHED WITH ALL THE PRE-MED STUFF AND WAS DOING GRADUATE WORK.

Also, it is better to get advice from the school instead of a doctor who is not familiar with the new admission standards.

[This message has been edited by ocean_doc (edited 06-05-2000).]

 

[Mango]

Hey, we all know how many students say "I'm Premed," or "I'm going to be a doctor," and we also all know how many of them actually follow through with those statements.

Have you ever considered that you're probably the 900th patient to tell your doc that same line? You'd get sick of talking about it too. Especially when 90% of those people will never even go to Med School.

 

[ocean_doc]

Mango,

I said this before: At the time I told him I was thinking of medicine, I had already finished the pre-med stuff. I also already had a bachelor's degree. I DID TELL HIM THAT I COMPLETED ALL THE PRE-MED STUFF.

You cannot second guess what people are thinking. Now I realize I have no idea what he was thinking when he seemed disinterested. Maybe he just didn't know what to say. He could even be sick of medicine. Recently, he told me that he went into medicine because he did not get into a ph.d program in physics.

 

[ocean_doc]

I think instead of assuming what is in a person's head. It is just better to ask.

"To be great is to be misunderstood."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

[This message has been edited by ocean_doc (edited 06-09-2000).]

 

[Sheon]

I spoke to my physician about going into medicine and she was thrilled. She offered all kinds of encouragement and even spoke to my wife about what she could expect. She took about 40 minutes of her time to talk to me about it.

The significance: She is a DO.

Things that make you go...hmmm.

 

[sph]

Went to my family practice doc to get my hepatitis B shots for med school and he asked what I needed them for. I told him I was entering med school in the fall and he gave me a high five.

I asked him what it was like and he said that the first year they bombard you with more info than you can even absorb. But you just need to study everyday and not fall behind otherwise I'd be miserable cramming for exams.

Second year the info is harder but by then you have your study habits down.

Third year they work you to death in the clinics and you don't get much sleep.

Fourth year he suggested I do lots of easy electives like dermatology so I don't have to worry about over night calls and I could come home more often so that I could get home cooked food and laundary done =-).

Then he told me how the first year of residency sux big time but gets progressively better after that.

He also said that going thru med school is much easier if your single, harder if your married, and very difficult with kids.

I asked him if the 7 years seem to go by fast and he said when your in it...it seems to take forever but looking back he felt like it wasn't that long.

I was beginning to wonder why he gave me the high five in the first place since he didn't say anything overwhelmingly positive during the visit. I appreciated him talking to me though. Very nice guy...also a D.O. graduated from TCOM in 1993.

 

[buttercup]

I actually met one of my good friends in the ER. He was finishing up his residency and I went in with a migraine. He asked how I got it and I said I had just completed med school interviews, flew back that night and went into my lab to work on my neuro honors thesis--stress migraine. He immediately went into where he thought I should go if accepted, what schools were best for what specialties, what I should do to increase my chances, how to write thank you notes for my interviewers, etc. In fact, he still calls me about once every two weeks, and in between just normal chatting, he'll tell me how I should approach my first year, what it takes to get honors, when to start prep work for the USMLE, ad why it's important for me to start getting some research in. In fact, sometimes I can't get him to stop!

He's an MD, not that it matters. I really think the reaction you get comes down to two things; 1. where you are in the process- have you been accepted, are you interviewing, or are you a junior and have yet to take the MCATs. The further along you are, the better reaction you get. 2. who you talk to

 

[ocean_doc]

I was finished with all my requirements for admissions when I told my former doctor that I was thinking of medicine. I have figured out by talking to him that his primary interests are really in physics and computers. I think this is why he was trying to get me to go into computers several years ago. I ran into him at the hospital and I spoke with him there. I am glad that he is not my doctor or my instructor. He even mentioned to me that he went into medicine because he did not get into a ph.d program in physics.

ms in california

ms

 

[dthankins]

I go to a family practice residency program next to my office. I see one of 3 residents when I go. Anyway, I told one of them after I got in and she told the rest of them and even found another resident that had attended my school and brought him into the exam room!
-- a little different case for me because I only mentioned it after I had been accepted.

If I were pre-med and did not have friends who were docs, I would call and ask if I could shadow a doc I did not know or call and ask to sit in on a surgery -- the hospital where I work has at least 1-2 student observing in every TKA (total knee arthroplasty) and THA (hip). The surgeon speaks to and even instructs these students sometimes.