The Weirdness Going From Normal Person To PreMed

[beBrave]

The transition from the everyday person, patient perspective to PreMed has been rather amazing. Its crazy how a few months ago I could never see myself doing any of this and now I'm a PreMed doing his post bach, stressing out over classes, calling Med schools to verify requirements on a regular basis and talking to others in the Medical field. I'm learning so much about Physiology, hearing professors spurt out topics that would make your mother blush and seeing things that would make some people hurl and being shocked that in most situations none of it bothers me (sometimes I even wonder why I am not disturbed and then we get a quiz and I don't have time to think about that anymore). I grew up believing that Doctors were super men and women (wrong). One minute menstruation is that uncomfortable subject that means giving your GF a back rub isn't leading anywhere and the next minute you are expected to understand the purpose of uterine lining and its functions.


What was your transition like? How has your thinking changed since you became a premed or entered the Medical field? Does anything still gross you out or freak you out? Was it surprising to discover that Doctors are normal humans, and some even have mental, emotional and health issues of their own?

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[yossarian444]

What was your transition like? How has your thinking changed since you became a premed or entered the Medical field? Does anything still gross you out or freak you out? Was it surprising to discover that Doctors are normal humans, and some even have mental, emotional and health issues of their own? Did the constant amount of nudity bother you at first?

Constant nudity? Woa...what's going on in your classroom and how did I miss out? Ha!

My transition from finance/business worker to pre-med post-bac was quite a shock at first - I had a mini panic attack during the first day: "What have I gotten myself into?" I too was fascinated by the material. I wondered why I didn't go into medicine originally. During medical school, that fascination was mercilessly sucked out of me. Oh well, even though the newness has long worn off, pathophysiology is still interesting.

Lots of things still gross me out. I'm able to suppress my gag and yuck-factor when I need to...but, the following things I see (some more than others) still gross me out completely (I'm an ER resident): Pelvic exams on obese women with poor hygiene, stage 4 pressure ulcers, open fractures, heads cracked open with brains spilling out, stinky diabetic necrotic feet, fournier's gangrene, open abdomens after surgery, just about any eye injury...hmmm, the list goes on and on. Humans are rather disgusting, really.

I'd argue that not just some, but just about all doctors have mental and emotional issues....

 

[deleted480308]

Haha, they forgot to mention constant nudity in the last preview tour I took

 

[Patassa]

Pelvic exams on obese women with poor hygiene,

I just gagged. Thanks for that.

 

[wholeheartedly]

The neuroticism of the premeds drove me nuts, about everything from exam scores, to grades, etc.

Then I make the firm decision that this is what I'm going to do and find myself feeling just as neurotic. (well, maybe not that bad, I try to convince myself anyway... )

But I've also been surprised at my comfort level with a lot of things I've seen.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

The transition from the everyday person, patient perspective to PreMed has been rather amazing. Its crazy how a few months ago I could never see myself doing any of this and now I'm a PreMed doing his post bach, stressing out over classes, calling Med schools to verify requirements on a regular basis and talking to others in the Medical field. I'm learning so much about Physiology, hearing professors spurt out topics that would make your mother blush and seeing things that would make some people hurl and being shocked that in most situations none of it bothers me (sometimes I even wonder why I am not disturbed and then we get a quiz and I don't have time to think about that anymore). I grew up believing that Doctors were super men and women (wrong). One minute menstruation is that uncomfortable subject that means giving your GF a back rub isn't leading anywhere and the next minute you are expected to understand the purpose of uterine lining and its functions.


What was your transition like? How has your thinking changed since you became a premed or entered the Medical field? Does anything still gross you out or freak you out? Was it surprising to discover that Doctors are normal humans, and some even have mental, emotional and health issues of their own?

I've always thought you were a woman. No offense, I hope. None intended

I always thought doctors were just normal people, so haven't been surprised by that. My two best friends from college both went straight in after we graduated, so I knew what it was all about when I started a decade after they started. Knew they were just normal people, with normal flaws. The only thing tough about the transition is the kids, really. Not the medical students in my class, per se, but the undergrads I took a few prereqs with. There are some generational shifts, the highlighting of which I farm out to roadlesstravelled because I guess it doesn't really warrant much discussion, it's been written about so much.

 

[Lys Ile Glu Leu]

The only real difference for me was rejecting the notion that I had to continue to be the same academic screwup that I was in high school. It was like flipping my mind's switch to 'on'.

 

[Anastomoses]

Transition to being premed? Premeds are just people who think they want to be doctors - there's no change honestly. I don't really think I felt any kind of transition until I was accepted to med school - and saw the first cadaver. Took me aback.

My thought was..."that's a real human body that once had a personality...how am I feeling about that?"

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm a senior resident and would argue that there's no sudden transition at all. It's a steady acculturation into medicine where at one point you're an outsider, and then eventually you're an insider. It happens without there really being one day or time you could point to and say, "this is when it happened!" Most of the time, you're not even aware that a change has been occurring. What makes you cognizant of the change is the first time you realize that someone else can't identify with what you're experiencing. In your case, maybe it's friends or family members who aren't premeds and don't totally get what your life is like now. Likewise, I could tell you stories about med school and residency, but they'd just be stories to you, because you're still an outsider. Whereas, to yossarian, they'd be shared experiences we'd be commiserating about together. (Ditto regarding the nastiness of doing pelvics on the great unwashed masses.)

The biggest surprise for me coming from a hard science background was discovering how little science there really is in medicine. Of course, people talk about evidence and research all the time, but often, there isn't any evidence to be had, or it's lousy evidence based on retrospective studies, case series, and expert opinion. Even when there is strong evidence based on sophisticated placebo controlled randomized trials, good luck convincing a lot of docs to follow what the research says rather than continuing to rely on their own anecdotal experiences. If I had to pick a word to describe a lot of physician-think, it would be "superstitious."

BTW, BB, menstruation isn't a contraindication for intercourse, unless you and/or your gf are just squeamish about a little blood.

 

[wholeheartedly]

BTW, BB, menstruation isn't a contraindication for intercourse, unless you and/or your gf are just squeamish about a little blood.

Or she just feels like crap and doesn't want to

 

[beBrave]

I'm a senior resident and would argue that there's no sudden transition at all. It's a steady acculturation into medicine where at one point you're an outsider, and then eventually you're an insider. It happens without there really being one day or time you could point to and say, "this is when it happened!" Most of the time, you're not even aware that a change has been occurring. What makes you cognizant of the change is the first time you realize that someone else can't identify with what you're experiencing. In your case, maybe it's friends or family members who aren't premeds and don't totally get what your life is like now. Likewise, I could tell you stories about med school and residency, but they'd just be stories to you, because you're still an outsider. Whereas, to yossarian, they'd be shared experiences we'd be commiserating about together. (Ditto regarding the nastiness of doing pelvics on the great unwashed masses.)

The biggest surprise for me coming from a hard science background was discovering how little science there really is in medicine. Of course, people talk about evidence and research all the time, but often, there isn't any evidence to be had, or it's lousy evidence based on retrospective studies, case series, and expert opinion. Even when there is strong evidence based on sophisticated placebo controlled randomized trials, good luck convincing a lot of docs to follow what the research says rather than continuing to rely on their own anecdotal experiences. If I had to pick a word to describe a lot of physician-think, it would be "superstitious."

BTW, BB, menstruation isn't a contraindication for intercourse, unless you and/or your gf are just squeamish about a little blood.

Coming from a non traditional background its different. There are people who live everyday lives and then there are Doctors. This is one of the reasons why there are so many shows on TV about the lives of Doctors. To an 18 year old Biology Premed student, there is no real transition because this is what they have set out to do. For a non traditional, its different; you have to make the decision to switch careers and start something completely different. If you don't have a strong science background, it can be a culture shock.

Shadowing and volunteering are things that it takes time to get used to (working in an emergency room, making beds, being around sick people all the time is different). Starting the Premed process, I felt like an outsider (I was even shy at first calling med schools), when the topic of pursuing medicine at this stage in my life was originally presented to me, regardless of me wanting to be a Physician since I was a kid, it doesn't change the fact that I was not coming from that background. Even my time spent as a Clinical Psych student still doesn't really compare to a science focus and a medical environment.

A little blood is an understatement. Not all men and women are comfortable with period intercourse, also that time of the month raises the chance of passing STD's.

 

[docelh]

There are things I liked about being pre-med, like returning to the full-time student lifestyle and enjoying many of the extracurricular activities.

That said, I still rank pre-med as one of the more unpleasant expriences of my life, and I´m very glad to be done with it.

What makes it unpleasant is just how overhwelming it is. Doing all the academic requirements (which now includes Genetics and Biochemistry as unwritten requirements) and all the "expected" ECs and trying to distinguish yourself in all of them, oh and plus the MCAT, is just...

an unpleasant rite of passage that it was designed to be

It´s a lot like doing the 80 - 100 hour residency workweeks of days yore just because your predecessors feel like you need to go through that additional rite of passage.

It´s very stressful to do all of the things expected and to do them well. Just do your best and put your all into it. It will be exhausting and annoying, and it´s meant to be that way. The bar for getting in keeps getting higher every year even though the return on investment of pursuing this career keeps falling. Just go at it with everything because you will be competing with the college pre-meds who are so neurotic that they´ll talk about suing AMCAS if their applications don´t get transmitted on June whatever.

 

[Shjanzey]

There are things I liked about being pre-med, like returning to the full-time student lifestyle and enjoying many of the extracurricular activities.

How cute, being able to do premed full time. I still can't remember what it is like to only go to school. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't just a myth

 

[docelh]

Yeah, and it was overwhelming to do all that stuff full-time. One semester when not employed, there were three science lab classes, four ECs and a significant leadership position. So what does that tell you?


P.S. - I had a full-time job for some semesters, but not all of them.

P.P.S. - Try to complete your pre-reqs in two years for the MCAT.

 

[beBrave]

How cute, being able to do premed full time. I still can't remember what it is like to only go to school. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't just a myth

Being a premed in itself is hellish. Being a non traditional is staggering. I feel like a bum compared to my old self. I have to find anyway to get by. Its upsetting seeing some Doc's perched up on mount Olympus looking down as the peasants fight to become one of them. If you don't shadow or volunteer, the application virtually becomes crap. The amount you have to do is staggering, I literally had to learn inorganic chem and organic chem principles in a week just so I could approach Biochem. When I started out I didn't even know the application process or the two different types of Physician degrees.

I'm studying 5-10 hours a day and still not confident. I hired a tutor and grasp the material but the magnitude is so much that it makes it feel overwhelming. Its more like an outsider fighting their way in. It has nothing to do with family not understanding, or not having premed friends. Its the hellish process. As a Doctor you can walk around in your lab coat knowing you belong there. As a Premed you don't know where you belong; there is no real road map, somethings you make up as you go along. You have to approach everyone with humility to gain shadow and volunteering experience. Your interpersonal skills will ultimately define many of the doors that open for you.

No two circumstances are really ever the same. Everyone's experience is unique. I sold off everything I owned and I'm still making monthly payments on some of these things. I moved to California with some clothes and pawned off most of my possessions to afford the firs months rent. I finally began getting a small weekly income but its still nothing comparably. I made friends; hung out with them, encouraged them. Study around the clock after helping to form a study group. Maybe these Doctors are bloody geniuses who are predestined for medicine however I'm a normal guy working his butt off to make it in from the outside with no guarantee's. Suggesting that there is no transition leaving behind a career and entirely other life is selfish and I stand by that comment.

 

[docelh]

Do not take this process for granted.

Most of the top students at the state university where I did my post-bac aren´t even aspiring for MD. They´re applying only to DO programs. They have solid grades, solid ECs and a sub-30 MCAT.

Do your best and give it your all.

 

[GUH]

Being a premed in itself is hellish. Being a non traditional is staggering. I feel like a bum compared to my old self. I have to find anyway to get by. Its upsetting seeing some Doc's perched up on mount Olympus looking down as the peasants fight to become one of them. If you don't shadow or volunteer, the application virtually becomes crap. The amount you have to do is staggering, I literally had to learn inorganic chem and organic chem principles in a week just so I could approach Biochem. When I started out I didn't even know the application process or the two different types of Physician degrees.

I'm studying 5-10 hours a day and still not confident. I hired a tutor and grasp the material but the magnitude is so much that it makes it feel overwhelming. Its more like an outsider fighting their way in. It has nothing to do with family not understanding, or not having premed friends. Its the hellish process. As a Doctor you can walk around in your lab coat knowing you belong there. As a Premed you don't know where you belong; there is no real road map, somethings you make up as you go along. You have to approach everyone with humility to gain shadow and volunteering experience. Your interpersonal skills will ultimately define many of the doors that open for you.

No two circumstances are really ever the same. Everyone's experience is unique. I sold off everything I owned and I'm still making monthly payments on some of these things. I moved to California with some clothes and pawned off most of my possessions to afford the firs months rent. I finally began getting a small weekly income but its still nothing comparably. I made friends; hung out with them, encouraged them. Study around the clock after helping to form a study group. Maybe these Doctors are bloody geniuses who are predestined for medicine however I'm a normal guy working his butt off to make it in from the outside with no guarantee's. Suggesting that there is no transition leaving behind a career and entirely other life is selfish and I stand by that comment.

You may not need to do as much work as you think you do. You don't need to take biochem or genetics. You don't need a ton of volunteering and shadowing. I had just a few (short) days of shadowing. Less than 150 hours of clinical volunteering (which isn't that much if you make it part of your weekly routine).

And yes, you're 100% right about approaching everyone with humility when you're shadowing and volunteering. Just think of these things as hoops to jump through - if you can get some great experience, awesome, but if not, just be ready to portray your experiences in the most interesting light possible when it comes to writing essays and doing interviews.

 

[ohanastomosis]

I'm a senior resident and would argue that there's no sudden transition at all. It's a steady acculturation into medicine where at one point you're an outsider, and then eventually you're an insider. It happens without there really being one day or time you could point to and say, "this is when it happened!" Most of the time, you're not even aware that a change has been occurring. What makes you cognizant of the change is the first time you realize that someone else can't identify with what you're experiencing. In your case, maybe it's friends or family members who aren't premeds and don't totally get what your life is like now. Likewise, I could tell you stories about med school and residency, but they'd just be stories to you, because you're still an outsider. Whereas, to yossarian, they'd be shared experiences we'd be commiserating about together. (Ditto regarding the nastiness of doing pelvics on the great unwashed masses.)

The biggest surprise for me coming from a hard science background was discovering how little science there really is in medicine. Of course, people talk about evidence and research all the time, but often, there isn't any evidence to be had, or it's lousy evidence based on retrospective studies, case series, and expert opinion. Even when there is strong evidence based on sophisticated placebo controlled randomized trials, good luck convincing a lot of docs to follow what the research says rather than continuing to rely on their own anecdotal experiences. If I had to pick a word to describe a lot of physician-think, it would be "superstitious."

BTW, BB, menstruation isn't a contraindication for intercourse, unless you and/or your gf are just squeamish about a little blood.

+1, minus the bit about bloody intercourse haha.

This really struck me, though. I still have a couple of years before I apply to med school, but I've been in the medical field since 18. I can look back now and see where my knowledge has grown in the subject, but I can't really isolate a point where I transitioned into what I feel is more of an insider. Its a unique realization when you come home to find that the people you are closest with, who used to understand, have no idea what you're going through, and frankly don't care as much as you'd like.
As a pre-med, the change mostly lies in the fact that I am finally focused on something that I'm 100% sure about, which was not the case before. The pressure I feel is staggering now that this focus is clear, but I've found the challenge to be pretty rewarding. I've never considered myself to be "normal", so maybe that is why I can't appreciate the transition that some of you are experiencing.
I can't even begin to imagine what it'll feel like when I begin medical school, residency, and beyond. Being even further removed from normalcy is expected and will be an exciting experience, albeit a bit melancholy.

 

[beBrave]

Do not take this process for granted.

Most of the top students at the state university where I did my post-bac aren´t even aspiring for MD. They´re applying only to DO programs. They have solid grades, solid ECs and a sub-30 MCAT.

Do your best and give it your all.

Exactly my feelings on the subject.

 

[yossarian444]

It´s a lot like doing the 80 - 100 hour residency workweeks of days yore just because your predecessors feel like you need to go through that additional rite of passage.

Of yore?! Try telling that to an average surgery resident (those poor suckers).

Any resident in any specialty will occasionally or even routinely have 80 hour weeks... and sometimes have 100 hour weeks. Of course the hours logged and turned in are never above 80.

 

[dsoz]

You may not need to do as much work as you think you do. You don't need to take biochem or genetics. You don't need a ton of volunteering and shadowing. I had just a few (short) days of shadowing. Less than 150 hours of clinical volunteering (which isn't that much if you make it part of your weekly routine).

And yes, you're 100% right about approaching everyone with humility when you're shadowing and volunteering. Just think of these things as hoops to jump through - if you can get some great experience, awesome, but if not, just be ready to portray your experiences in the most interesting light possible when it comes to writing essays and doing interviews.

Not entirely true. I had all my prerequisite classes out of the way when I earned my BS almost 20 years ago, EXCEPT two schools now require biochemistry. Both OHSU and U Arizona, Phoenix require some form of biochemistry. Genetics is recommended. I had to take a biochemistry class. The only way to fit it into my schedule was to take it in a 4 week summer school course.

With the new MCAT coming on-line, many schools are adjusting the required classes to include some upper level biology and some of the social sciences (sociology/psychology) look at the new requirements for U of Arizona, Phoenix. I think they have started what will become the new standard for medical school prerequisite classes.

 

[docelh]

I'm attaching a list of schools that require or highly recommend Genetics and/or Biochemistry. It's dated a couple of years, so it would not include recent updates by additional schools. It'll probably grow when Biochemistry officially gets incorporated into the MCAT in 2015. As I posted in another thread, I fielded some pretty advanced Genetics passages on my MCAT last year.

If you want to apply to some of these schools and ignore their strong recommendations, more power to you.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

The mentality of many fellow pre-meds of doing whatever necessary one-up everyone else was what got to me, especially being of a major where the majority was happy with just passing the classes. While I still try my best to help others who would do the same for me, I have become pretty efficient in avoiding the "takers".

 

[GUH]

Not entirely true. I had all my prerequisite classes out of the way when I earned my BS almost 20 years ago, EXCEPT two schools now require biochemistry. Both OHSU and U Arizona, Phoenix require some form of biochemistry. Genetics is recommended. I had to take a biochemistry class. The only way to fit it into my schedule was to take it in a 4 week summer school course.

With the new MCAT coming on-line, many schools are adjusting the required classes to include some upper level biology and some of the social sciences (sociology/psychology) look at the new requirements for U of Arizona, Phoenix. I think they have started what will become the new standard for medical school prerequisite classes.

The point stands that right now you don't need those courses in order to go to medical school. I didn't have them. Maybe that will change in the future.

 

[malaika]

I am in your shoes bebrave. Serious culture shock. I haven't studied this hard ever (not even in my undergrad and i know it's going to double up in medical school). But i am grateful to be able to do this. I made a difficult decision recently. I cancelled a non-refundable plane ticket 4 hours till i was to catch a flight (booked months before) to a friends wedding recently because i had a test and it was critical that i spend ALL weekend studying for that test. It made me sad that i didn't go but i knew i'd be miserable if i didn't put the time necessary towards the test. Talk about sacrifices.

I have a very demanding day job (which i need to maintain until i matriculate) so i need to gear up on my time management skills now in other to be successful at my premed classes and still have a social life.

 

[JourneyAgent]

I entered the first molting stage in 2002. It is strange. You're definitely entering a culture of audition at that point. You look around and you know a handful of you in any grouping will actually do what you say you will and carry it the whole way. Nothing at all bad for those that don't.

I can particularly relate to how Q describes the identity progression. I used to cling to some sort of alienation. I think I just hated the stress of putting all of my resources on the line and dragging my SO along with me with so little reassurance of success. And then the continued alternation of boredom and fear of failure.

There is a gold rush mania to it at first. Attenuation to disappointment. Then a long seduction of carrying the professional duty with honor and integrity. At least that's been my sexlife with madam medicine. It's much more loving and sensuous for me and her now. Even if like Q, I have my suspicions of the reality of it. Particularly in relation to its predominant mythology.