How easily everyone gave up on medschool... If you don't get in on first try, then wait another year to improve your credentials and apply again. Use the time to get real-world experience, paid job, learn to relate to others. If all else fails, and you give up hope of ever getting into medical school, then there is always graduate school (public health, biomedical science), research, or some other field that is not health-care related. For my plan B would be to continue with my regular full-time job in research while I wait to apply next year. After that, I'll just stay in my field or go to PA school
^ This is more of a sound plan.
Not that we shouldn't enjoy some humor here or there but this is a serious forum. IF you really do quit after one failure, you won't make it in ANY industry. Also there is no need to belittle other professions, it's not easy to be an underwear model or part of theatre management, especially in these economic conditions where Arts budgets are the first to be cut....yeah yeah... How do I know? I actually have experience in both fields -- don't ask me which one I have more experience with
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If your passion for helping others is genuine, there are other ways to fulfill those goals.
1) other health care professions such as nursing, PA, and technicians all play important parts in the delivery of care and so many individuals have fulfilling/rewarding careers (often more so than the continuously stressed and overworked physicians). Nurses often spend much more time with each patient than physicians ever do.
2) maybe there were parts of your education or upbringing that put you at a disadvantage for matriculating in the hyper-competitive sphere of medical school and you disagree because you feel qualified (I personally believe there are many qualified individuals that don't make it every year). BE PART OF THE CHANGE YOURSELF - be a teacher, be an educator, be involved in underprivileged communities. The currently evolving system of health education and health delivery will need more people involved in varying aspects of its system, not just doctors.
3) There are plenty of international medical schools as well, what makes practicing in the US so important to you and what is your ultimate goal with your medical degree?
For my own experience, this will be my second time applying and I had a couple of years in between to really focus my goals. It sounds cliche but I wouldn't change my experiences for anything. My community, clinical, and global health activities have given me an enormous amount of respect for the role of the physician as well as other health care professionals. The average age of matriculation continues to creep up as medical school admissions committees realize that the young and "inexperienced" (although SMART) applicants can sometimes burn out and even realize that the "physician" role in health care delivery is not for them. Yet with sometimes a quarter of a million dollars in debt under their name, turning back is not really an option. Would YOU want to be the patient of one of those physicians?
It's harder than ever to get into schools now, I wish you all the best!
