quandary

[rkirsch]

I am in a quandary... and I know this is a long one but bear with me…

Here’s my situation...

I graduated in 04’ in Zoology and Physiology with minors in Business and Theatre. My GPA was about a 3.4. (Not too fly). My Pre-Med package isn’t too shabby- includes research, (one in sperm physiology and motility!! Loved it!) extra-curricular activities- (I was active) – chief editor of the student magazine, Mortar Board, president of a gazillion things, honors program, study-abroad, certified nursing assistant (worked in hospitals), shadowed physicians, my professors were great and I know I will get stellar recommendations and I went to the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) at Yale. (Yes, I am URM- (who the hell comes up with these acronyms???) I am black female!)

BUT I did not do well in my senior year - got C's in Both Organic Chem., Genetics and Physiology. What the *&^%!*% happened? Fell sick, a divorce happened (caveat: do not get married during your freshman year when you are 18 and really stupid!!!)

I know, I know, it gets better…I needed a break from school and I wasn’t going to spend another second in a lab counting sperm so I figured what the hell! And decided get an MBA! Maybe work for a year… well that year is over… and here I am still deciding if I should still go to medical school.

I’m turning 26 soon. I am an analyst and I make close to 100K a year…. I don’t hate my job but it is not really inspiring (except when I’m reading posts on SDN). But then again I could skip the medical thing and the residency and be making over 200K in 5-7 years except I am apprehensive that I might be freaking bored, unchallenged and an alcoholic…(might be too late for that last one…) by the time I am 35…

Please tell me, what would you do?

R

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[Schaden Freud]

I am in a quandary... and I know this is a long one but bear with me…

Here’s my situation...

I graduated in 04’ in Zoology and Physiology with minors in Business and Theatre. My GPA was about a 3.4. (Not too fly). My Pre-Med package isn’t too shabby- includes research, (one in sperm physiology and motility!! Loved it!) extra-curricular activities- (I was active) – chief editor of the student magazine, Mortar Board, president of a gazillion things, honors program, study-abroad, certified nursing assistant (worked in hospitals), shadowed physicians, my professors were great and I know I will get stellar recommendations and I went to the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) at Yale. (Yes, I am URM- (who the hell comes up with these acronyms???) I am black female!)

BUT I did not do well in my senior year - got C's in Both Organic Chem., Genetics and Physiology. What the *&^%!*% happened? Fell sick, a divorce happened (caveat: do not get married during your freshman year when you are 18 and really stupid!!!)

I know, I know, it gets better…I needed a break from school and I wasn’t going to spend another second in a lab counting sperm so I figured what the hell! And decided get an MBA! Maybe work for a year… well that year is over… and here I am still deciding if I should still go to medical school.

I’m turning 26 soon. I am an analyst and I make close to 100K a year…. I don’t hate my job but it is not really inspiring (except when I’m reading posts on SDN). But then again I could skip the medical thing and the residency and be making over 200K in 5-7 years except I am apprehensive that I might be freaking bored, unchallenged and an alcoholic…(might be too late for that last one…) by the time I am 35…

Please tell me, what would you do?

R

Wow, you sound like an amazingly interesting person! Seriously, wanna have coffee?
But anyway, I think you have an excellent chance of getting into medical school. The string of senior year C's can be explained in an addendum to your application, but otherwise your GPA isn't bad and your extracurrics are fantastic. The only missing piece seems to be the MCAT. What's the story on that?

 

[Dr. Pepper]

As much as I'd like to say that you should get off of your cubical, go outside and spread your wings, it's really best to analyze the situation a bit more.

To be honest, you DO have a pretty good chance at getting into med school with your current record (esp. extracurric) and a 3.4 is certainly adequate assuming you get 30+ on the MCAT. URM doesn't hurt much either.

However, it is also true that you DO have a good job. A 100k job in finance, which I assume has all of the benefits of a great career.

Ask yourself three questions:

1. WHY did you get your MBA?

2. What do you find particularly inspiring about medicine?

3. How much are you willing to risk to go into medicine?

With that said, I would recommend you consider going into medicine. When it comes to temporary tasks (even for a few years), it's ok to act with reason and suck it up. But if only in your late 20s you are finding your job a little lackluster, imagine it decades from now. Once again, you should think about what you like and dislike about your job...you might just have a case of the "grass is greener."

Either way, I am wholly unqualified to give you advice, but I wish you the best of luck.
-Dr. P.

 

[jeanneson]

So is your question whether you could get into medical school, or whether you should go? The answer to the first question is yes. But do you really want to be a doctor or is it more that you are bored being an analyst and med school is simply "plan B?" Having not been a doctor, or even a med student yet I don't really feel qualified to answer but... It seems like a lot of hassle for fairly little payback unless you feel a genuine calling for the profession. As you say, you could be making similar money in less time.

 

[WryTrocophore]

Hey R,

3 years ago I was in a similar place that you are in now. 3.5 for the undergad, but did very well in grad school. Started my own company and had a great office in Soho, making a good bit money. Walking away from it required a lot of thought. But in the end, the decision was very clear. And I would argue, that if the decision ultimatley is not clear, perhpas it's one you should wait on. That is, if you went to med school, what would that entail? Maybe re-taking those senior year classes? Getting more volunteer/research gigs? Preparing for and taking the MCAT? And all the while (I am assuming) working? This is no small decision. And then there is the field of medicine itself! There are so many non-medical related challenges in praciting medicine in the US, that, if you aren't certain that it's what you want to do (especially if you have a good thing going), maybe you should not do it. There's nothing more tragic and paradoxically more banal than a doctor that's unhappy because he/she is ultimately at odds with the very heart of his/her profession: serving the inferm. There are so so many other ways to get your humanitarian groove on, that MD-ing or DO-ing it, with all of the strings that come attached, seems like an extreme choice if it's not really in your heart. Going to make 200K in a few years, and you're not on call? Fantastic, voluteer as ancillary support for Doctors Without Borders or PIH and make a difference. Just because someone is wearing a white coat doesn't mean they are more compassionate than someone in a business suit.

And about being bored: There are a lot of bored doctors. If you take a close look at the repetitive non-medical work involved in attending to patients, and the possible repetitve nature of certain specialties, it would appear that medicine offers at least an equal probabilty for boredom (or at the very least tedium) as other fields . . . if your heartis not in it. And I've been bored too. I'm 33 and I've worked for corporate America before. In a way, work is work. What will elevate it is your love for it. That's what medicine is for me. I bit the bullet and did the postbac thing while working and holding down a family. Luckily, I made it in to Med school. And judging by all of the things that you have done, if becoming a physician is really what you want, then I am sure you will, too.

WT