Social Work and Pre-Med

[brookestrawberries@gmail.]

Hi! This is my first post My name is Brooke (she/her/hers), and I'm a senior in high school applying to an undergraduate social work program with hopes to utlimately become a child welfare social worker, as well as a pediatric oncologist. Has anyone experienced a route like this? Any tips? Thank you! <3

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[annoyedpsychiatrist]

These are two very different things, I think you need to find which direction is the best direction, but you still have time to do this. The amount of time and money to be a pediatric oncologist is quite extensive, and you wont have enough time to do the job of a social worker and physician. When you try to do two things at once, one or both things inevitably aren't done well. Go to college, knock out your general pre reqs and see how you do. Gain clinical exposure early and get a sense of your passion. Understand that medicine has many sides you dont see as well. Rank the things that you value most, desire for family, money, work-life balance, etc and see if that rank list applies to the direction you want to go. You have to vastly different career paths in mind, the first step is knowing which is the right path for you.

On that note, I didnt even know i wanted to be a physician until early 20s, never would have thought it. And here I am in my early 30s as a psychiatrist.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi! Glad you dropped by!

I think the most significant thing you can do is to shadow or observe in a cancer center at a local hospital. See if there are social workers that work there and how they interact with the physicians. Pediatric oncology is really emotionally challenging, and knowing how you are limited in what you can do in either role is going to help you figure out which is more your passion. I do think social work options are better if you worked in hospice, especially for those who are recovering from chemotherapy treatments (not necessarily just related to cancer), so I hope you take time to volunteer or work in hospice settings alongside the social workers and other therapists there.