People like you -or- Everyone loves the non-trad

[unimaginative]

I just wanted to share a few of my experiences on residency interviews thus far to help those of early in the process of transition from something else to medicine realize the value in having lived life.

In all 6 of my residency interviews thus far for Internal Medicine people have specifically commented on how interesting and refreshing it was to meet and interview people (me and you) who have done other things with their lives. They said they found the level of maturity that these people bring to residency to be a huge asset and that generally these are the people that eventually become leaders in medicine because those skills are totally absent in the education system, undergrad and medical. Imagine, for so many of the robot pre-meds, heretofore referred to as robo-meds, their very first real job will be a resident, that is scary for all involved. Many of these robo-meds have little to no ability to interact with people outside their own tribe which turns into huge problems for patients and other employees, why do you think medical schools have to go to such lengths to teach people about cross-cultural issues.

And just to give some of the contemplators some hope...
I was a one-time college drop out, straight up left in the middle of the semester and never returned, felt demoralized then. Now I wear that like a badge of honor.

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[darkjedi]

This is an inspiring story to hear, thank you

 

[ShyRem]

I have had almost all residency interviews say something along the lines of "we almost never see applications like yours. The usual questions are out - how about this particular part of your life? And this one? This looks fascinating - what about this?" While most of my traditional counterparts got the usual "why medicine, why this specialty, did you fail any classes, give me an ethics situation, what can you bring to our program" etc etc. Every one of my interviews has run long because there was just so much to talk about - and it was a genuinely good time. They also all comment how nice it is not to have to give the "it's hard and we expect you to work hard" speech to me. Being a non-trad has become an asset on the residency trail. Who knew?

 

[sumstorm]

I hope this is true in vet med as well. It took me a bit this semester to get back into the swing of things; learning how to study and attend school again. As the semester goes on, my grades are going up with less time studying.... in other words, I am getting my feet under me, but I do worry that residencies will be a problem because I will have an initial semester with a lower than desired GPA. Though I have been active at the school.

 

[riverjib]

This is always refreshing to hear, especially as I finish my senior year as an honors student and pharmacology major. I swear, half these kids would have been academically (though NOT emotionally) capable of finishing medical school when they were 12.

So what have you all done before deciding medicine was for you? I (like the OP) dropped out of engineering school mid-semester twelve years ago. Then, I (legitimately) blamed it on a family crisis and inability to fund my undergraduate education. My brother was hospitalized long-term, I had depleted my meager high school savings, and my mom couldn't afford anything, much less the few thousand dollars that were required to supplement my financial aid. Had I been determined to be an engineer, though, I would have found a way to do it. I'm managing now against tougher odds!

So I worked as an "outdoor recreation leader" for a county park system, which meant that I taught whitewater kayaking, rock climbing, mountaineering skills, etc. to kids during the summer and to weekend warriors during the rest of the year. During the week, I taught leadership skills on a ropes course...you know, the "high and low ropes challenge courses" that businesses, honors student groups, and juvenile detention centers love to recruit to help build a team mentality among members of their groups. It was a great experience; helping everyone else deal with their own fears (high ropes course) and insecurities and issues with trusting others helped ME build confidence in my abilities to work with pretty much everyone from all walks of life. But I was working 80-90 hours per week, and it was physically demanding, and as stressful at times as "real" teaching. And no matter how many hours I worked, I could barely afford to pay the bills.

So I lucked into a job working as a surgical technologist, two hours away in the city. Long story behind this...I didn't go to school for this, but trained for free until I was competent to do the job. I challenged the national certification two years later. I loved it; I wasn't in a teaching hospital, so I worked one-on-one with surgeons from all specialties, preparing instruments and grafts and implants, retracting, and assisting the surgeon, nurse, and anesthesiologist in whatever way I could. Most properly trained surgical techs do it mainly because the money is surprisingly good for so little education, but I was fascinated by everything I saw and picked everyone's brains for information about what they were doing and why they did it. Everyone started bringing me old textbooks and journals.

I was accepted into a biomedical engineering program, and thought I'd go that route, since it seemed to be the most logical path for a (very) part-time engineering major who was fascinated by medicine. My colleagues believed I should pursue medicine. I didn't consider it seriously until I spent time overseas on a medical mission. The moment I knew I wanted to be a doctor was not in the days that we were operating on people who had no access to healthcare, but the day we were leaving, and hundreds of people still lined the halls. We couldn't help them, and I was heartbroken. I wanted to do more. I hated our limitations, reasonable as they were...and I realized that only if I became a physician would I be able to choose how, when, and where I could help people who needed it. Nearly ten years after high school, I decided that medicine was the right fit for me.

My route to medicine was definitely non-traditional, but half of it involved medicine. I'm always fascinated by those who chose to give up successful careers (mine wasn't a joke, but definitely NOT a career path) to go to medical school. I'm interested in hearing what made the rest of you go back after working and pursuing other goals.

That includes you, unimaginative...and thanks for starting a thread that is not about "getting in" but instead focuses on why we are all here.

 

[Old Grunt]

I am subscribing to this thread just for the warm fuzzies.

 

[NTF]

I just wanted to share a few of my experiences on residency interviews thus far to help those of early in the process of transition from something else to medicine realize the value in having lived life.

In all 6 of my residency interviews thus far for Internal Medicine people have specifically commented on how interesting and refreshing it was to meet and interview people (me and you) who have done other things with their lives. They said they found the level of maturity that these people bring to residency to be a huge asset and that generally these are the people that eventually become leaders in medicine because those skills are totally absent in the education system, undergrad and medical. Imagine, for so many of the robot pre-meds, heretofore referred to as robo-meds, their very first real job will be a resident, that is scary for all involved. Many of these robo-meds have little to no ability to interact with people outside their own tribe which turns into huge problems for patients and other employees, why do you think medical schools have to go to such lengths to teach people about cross-cultural issues.

And just to give some of the contemplators some hope...
I was a one-time college drop out, straight up left in the middle of the semester and never returned, felt demoralized then. Now I wear that like a badge of honor.

Thanks for posting this

 

[sgtbrushes]

Absolutely wonderful to hear, as a non-trad. Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[pingouin]

I have had almost all residency interviews say something along the lines of "we almost never see applications like yours. The usual questions are out - how about this particular part of your life? And this one? This looks fascinating - what about this?" While most of my traditional counterparts got the usual "why medicine, why this specialty, did you fail any classes, give me an ethics situation, what can you bring to our program" etc etc. Every one of my interviews has run long because there was just so much to talk about - and it was a genuinely good time. They also all comment how nice it is not to have to give the "it's hard and we expect you to work hard" speech to me. Being a non-trad has become an asset on the residency trail. Who knew?

Swap out "med school interviews" for "residency interviews", and I had the same experience. Didn't get one single "so what do you think about the current state of health care in the US?" question, but got to answer questions ad nauseum about the ancillary health care work I was doing. It was fabulous- and sooooooo much more relaxed!!!

 

[sapama]

So what have you all done before deciding medicine was for you?

During the week, I taught leadership skills on a ropes course...you know, the "high and low ropes challenge courses" that businesses, honors student groups, and juvenile detention centers love to recruit to help build a team mentality among members of their groups. It was a great experience; helping everyone else deal with their own fears (high ropes course) and insecurities and issues with trusting others helped ME build confidence in my abilities to work with pretty much everyone from all walks of life.

I was a lifeguard and an art teacher

I did a ropes course instructor cert earlier in the year and hope to begin working doing this soon, I really enjoyed your description of helping people overcome their fears. I'm wondering if I could do this as a volunteer...hmm gears grinding...

 

[Tekar]

I have had almost all residency interviews say something along the lines of "we almost never see applications like yours. The usual questions are out - how about this particular part of your life? And this one? This looks fascinating - what about this?" While most of my traditional counterparts got the usual "why medicine, why this specialty, did you fail any classes, give me an ethics situation, what can you bring to our program" etc etc. Every one of my interviews has run long because there was just so much to talk about - and it was a genuinely good time. They also all comment how nice it is not to have to give the "it's hard and we expect you to work hard" speech to me. Being a non-trad has become an asset on the residency trail. Who knew?

Great post. I'm glad to hear this. It was something I figured to be true, but to hear it from folks in the middle of it is encouraging. Good luck on your matches!!!