Sudden Career Change to Medicine - need advice

[eKyM]

I read the sticky and looked for similar topics similar to my situation, but couldn't find any. And yes, I have done a lot reading on the field of medicine, specializing, applying for med school, ect so I am not just considering a naive career switch.

I'm currently in my senior year as a chemistry major (biochem minor). I've had the desire since I was young to help people - not through being a doctor, but through researching diseases and developing new drugs. I still have this desire, although it has come to my attention that this type of career is an unlikely option for me to have considering the job market in pharmaceutical research.

Up until now, I have been set on going to graduate school. I recently was accepted into two ivy schools for their PhD program in chemistry / chemical biology. However, after looking over the job market, the current trend even for chemistry PhD students at top 10 schools is this :
1. Work 60-70 hours per week for 5-7 years to earn PhD.
2. Work as a post-doc ~60 hours a week for 2-3 years.
3. Can't find job. 500 applicants for 1 position, a lot of which have actual industry experience.
4. Post-Doc again for a few more years.
5. Can't find job in chemistry related field. Start sending out applications to work jobs not related to chemistry.

The fact that PhD's (at least in medicinal/organic chem) at top schools can't find jobs upsets me a lot. Regardless, rather then gambling into a field that has no job market right now, I am looking for a more stable option in the sciences.

As far as my stats go:
- 3.61 Science GPA / 3.70 Cum. GPA (huge upward trend - 3.86 over last 3 semesters taking barely any electives , mostly chem/bio/math courses)
- 4 semesters + 16 x 40 hour weeks working as an undergraduate researcher in a lab studying Crohn's disease
-Gave 3 research poster presentations at various conferences, won a fellowship to support 10 weeks of full time research
-TA for one semester
-Awesome letters of recommendation
-Random other EC's

I'm thinking about turning down my offers to graduate school, and spending the whole summer studying full time for the MCATs. After completion of the MCAT sometime around August/September, I would find a part time job and spend the rest of my time shadowing doctors / volunteering. I would then apply for MD/DO schools in the following summer.

Has anyone done anything similar to this?
It's not too drastic of a change - I don't need to take any additional courses, just the MCAT and get shadowing experience.

Do you have any advice for me?

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[gyngyn]

Medical school is not a reward for good grades or being smart (though it doesn't hurt!). In order to appeal to a screener and an admissions committee you need more than just stats and a good LOR (though some have succeeded with little more than this). You need a compelling reason that training as a physician will transform you into a vehicle of service to others. Make this case by words and deeds and then you may be salvaged from your current (not that awful) fate.

 

[DrMidlife]

There's nothing unusual about your situation. The average age of first year med students is 24.

If the only two options you know of, to use science to help people, are PhD and MD, I suggest you need to broaden your perspective.

How about getting a job for a couple of years, maybe in a pharm company, to figure this out? Industry experience and employability look great on a med school app, if medicine continues to be of interest.

Best of luck to you.

 

[yossarian444]

I think your plan sounds just fine. Just follow through with your plan regarding volunteering and shadowing and you'll have ample opportunity to bail on medicine should it seem to be not for you. Be skeptical during this time - really force youself to reflect upon if this really is the best decision. Medicine is a long, difficult, tedious, unglamorous, expensive, exhausting journey that will leave you at least somewhat jaded and slightly less idealistic by the time you finish.

As far as what specialities to shadow - it really doesn't matter as far as admissions go. They might ask you about it during the admissions interview - just have something thoughtful to say. I'd recommend to try a few specialties that sound interesting to you - the experience is to determine if you can really see yourself in that job just as much as it is a box to check on the application. Try to shadow a physician who is heavily involved in clinical and/or bench research as that seems to be your interest.

Regarding the psychiatrist - just because he/she went to Harvard, don't expect that to matter. Even if they were to write a letter of rec, it's doubtful they'd put down Harvard - and if they did, they'd come across as a bit of a tool. When I was a med student interviewing applicants, if I saw a letter from a shadowed physician, I'd try to tease out of them how they knew that doc. If I suspected it was any family friend or anything like that, I didn't weigh that letter very heavily (or at all) in the "letter of rec" score we had to assign.

Your grades are good, you seem to have good EC's - I suspect you'll get in without too much trouble pending your MCAT. Nonetheless, remain humble, especially on the "non-trad" forum here as many of us dug ourselves into deep holes before starting our medicine voyage and didn't have it as easy as you likely will for admission.

Good luck.

 

[DrBtobe]

My only question is do you really want to go into medicine? I, obviously, am not even in medical school so take any advice I give with a big ole grain of salt, but I've met and hear of many doctors who experience burn-out. I fear if your heart is not really into it, you will not have the drive to get through it.
Medicine may guarantee you a job when you graduate, but, trust me, just having a job is not enough (non-trad career changer here).
I agree with yossarian, do the shadowing before you drop your grad school opportunities. You want to be sure about the realities of what it means to be a doctor before you go all in. Also, remember, that it is never too late to change your mind! There are plenty of non-trads here who can attest to that!
If you do decide to pursue medicine, you'll have support here!
Best of luck!

 

[Law2Doc]

Absolutely do not go into medicine simply because you don't like the job options in your current career. Only do it if being a clinician is something you think you'd actually enjoy. Which means do a lot if shadowing and soul searching first. The question isn't can you get into med school, it's should you. Reading your initial post, i seriously question if you'd like it one bit.

 

[pdxhopeful]

Absolutely do not go into medicine simply because you don't like the job options in your current career. Only do it if being a clinician is something you think you'd actually enjoy. Which means do a lot if shadowing and soul searching first. The question isn't can you get into med school, it's should you. Reading your initial post, i seriously question if you'd like it one bit.

This x1000

I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 13, and though medical issues meant I wound up being delayed and working for a few years first, I held on. I'm finishing up my second quarter of first year now, and I would say medicine is just too demanding a process for anyone who doesn't love it. You'll be miserable, and wind up failing out or leaving, tens or possibly hundreds of thousands in debt. And that's if you manage to dupe an adcom into admitting you.

Maybe your niche actuallyis in medicine. I don't know. Go do some volunteer work where you interact with patients, go shadow a doc or two and see. But do NOT go into medicine just because you think it's a stable profession. It is, but that's not going to sustain you through this life. .

 

[HesyRa]

I
1. Work 60-70 hours per week for 5-7 years to earn PhD.
[/B]

I wish this were the case. Take it from someone walking in those shoes, you'll be working 90 hours a week until you're done with comps.

 

[anguisette]

I was in similar shoes a couple of years ago. I wasn't quite ready to commit to that PhD though, so instead I worked in pharmaceuticals. I learned a lot about the industry and did a ton of soul searching. I wouldn't have known medicine was for me unless I did it the way I did it. I'm happy now I didn't just jump on the grad school wagon. I'd suggest you defer your acceptances, find an industry job, shadow some doctors, and do some soul searching.

Side note, all of my friends went the PhD route instead. Of the ones who have graduated (a couple had to change projects several years in), none of them have had trouble finding jobs in the industry.

 

[TriagePreMed]

You have to really consider what you're doing. It sounds to me like you're driven mostly by fear of not being able to find a job after your PhD. I don't think that's the way you should be thinking about it. Working in the health industry and with patients is a different beast. If you enjoy research, you should stick to it and be the best at it that you can. There's difficulty finding job in every other industry out there. Go after your dreams instead of compromising them for fear.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Do you have any advice for me?

Make sure you want to be a doctor.*It is a very long, very expensive road to go down just because you are afraid you won't get a job.

I have seen a lot of people who went into medicine for the wrong reasons and hate it.