Those who chose to go into medicine late: why?

[qweewq11]

Lots of folks on here knew they were headed for med school from the beginning and haven't had other experiences.

But for those who chose med school later (after working at some other job after graduation, for example), what made you decide to abandon what you were doing and go the premed route?

On another premed forum and there was a banker, a consultant, and an architect that later decided to go into medicine!

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[lola]

medicine is something i've always wanted to do but wasn't sure i wanted to put in the time or deal with the stress. after sitting in front of a computer for the last few years, i'm definitely ready for the challenge. it will be so nice to have a job where i get to talk to people and hopefully help them. computer work is VERY unfulfilling.

 

[JmE]

Originally posted by lola
medicine is something i've always wanted to do but wasn't sure i wanted to put in the time or deal with the stress. after sitting in front of a computer for the last few years, i'm definitely ready for the challenge. it will be so nice to have a job where i get to talk to people and hopefully help them. computer work is VERY unfulfilling.

Similar situation here, except I had lost touch with what I wanted to do since childhood. I had wasted years because I was too unsure of myself combined with a little laziness.

I also found computer work very unfulfilling (I put in over 15 years)...

For me, being a Dr. is what I should have been working on all these years.


-JmE-

 

[AlternateSome1]

I had a similar revelation. I started out my college career as a Computer Science major. After working for a gov. contractor for two summers I couldn't imagine continuing. (Maybe the clinical experience IS important! ) From that point I started looking into other interests. Psychology was already my minor, so I bumped it up to my major and started to examine what drew me to it. Once I determined that the one on one interaction was such a big factor, medicine popped up as an alternative. So I am not far out of college, but I have had a big change as I've had to fit all of my prereqs into a year and a half. Hurray for masochism!

~AS1~

 

[Taty]

Here is my story,

I had a simular situation... When I was 17 I did not know what I wanted to do with my life... after 4 years as a computer science major I understood that CS is not for me...I like work with people. I decided that I better go to law school. So,I took some classes, bought some books, started LSAT preparation. A year ago I spent almost all my spring semester caring for my grandfather who had a gastric cancer.

I think it was my turning point because I became really interested in doing cancer research. After 3 month of volunteering I decided go to the medical school. My pre-med advisor told me that there is no point to change my major in my senior year, so,I declared the second minor (chemistry) and will take MCAT in April 03 and apply for 2004. Right now it's my 5th college year, I don't have significant extras because I have to work through college and my gpa is average, but if I'll not get in I'll do Ph. D in the Tumor Biology.

 

[agent]

Originally posted by lola
medicine is something i've always wanted to do but wasn't sure i wanted to put in the time or deal with the stress. after sitting in front of a computer for the last few years, i'm definitely ready for the challenge. it will be so nice to have a job where i get to talk to people and hopefully help them. computer work is VERY unfulfilling.

im currently a computer tech and i have slowly learned to hate it..

everyone is very demanding and the job is thankless.

so im working on getting my requisites done and hopefully ill do well.

 

[tBw]

well, I was tired of giving lap dances and being asked if I gave "private dances", so I thought "what would be the complete opposite of what I'm doing now?"

and then I realized - a doctor! Then when I go to work, it's the *other* people that take their clothes off.....

 

[tBw]

ok, I admit it, that wasn't a serious reply.

The truth of the matter is, I'm tired of doing rocket science, so I thought I'de be a brain surgeon....

 

[Zoobaby]

Same thing here.

Long time desire, but the economy was kicking so much butt when I graduated (98) that I figured I'd take my chunk of the pie. The business world does not really agree with me so I figured, why not dust off that long time desire??

I'm glad I did it that way though. When I graduated I was WAY burnt out on school, plus now I know that my desire was based on something, and that business (read: money) will not fulfill me completely.

 

[agent]

yeah business sucks. thats my deal now.

 

[brontehardyeliot]

My story's not too different from everyone else's, but different enough to warrant telling, I think. I'd always thought about medicine, but I really lacked the confidence to pursue it. At one point in college, I even tried to go into nursing, thinking that it was a viable alternative for someone who wanted to be a doctor but was afraid that he/she couldn't handle the stress and responsibility. How wrong I was! I quickly became frustrated. Nursing and medicine are such totally different professions after all, and I wasn't going to into nursing because I wanted to be a nurse. I was just a very scared wannabe doc. In the end (or so I thought), I decided to scrap the medical field altogether. I majored in English, which I absolutely love, and had very few doubts while I was actually taking classes in Victorian literature and writing my thesis. Then I graduated. I tried many different things with my degree: teaching, copyediting, etc., but I just never felt fulfilled. Ending up chained to a desk reading advertising disclaimers with a magnifying glass, on the lookout for errors, was the low point. My life was nearly stress and responsibility free (at least compared to one where your work decisions can save lives), but I wasn't the least bit happy career-wise. So I decided that I wanted to try to go into the medical field a second time, but now I was married with a mortgage and bills and no kids but some very emotionally and financially demanding pets. How was I going to tell my husband and family that after spending four years getting an honors degree in English, I wanted to go back for several more years and be a doctor? So I wimped out (yes, I know) and enrolled in a nursing program at my local community college, thinking that I would just have to try to make it work. After five weeks, I went and sat down with my husband and told him that I really wanted to be a doctor. He was extremely supportive (my family was less so, but very understanding) so now here I am, glad that I'm finally on the right track! It took long enough.

P.S. I guess I'm still an English major at heart though, with my superlong, novel-esque posts.

 

[Coalboy]

It's funny that there are so many computer science people here. I too am a comp sci guy, with four years in the industry since college. I start med school in a week, so I guess I'll soon discover if I made the right decision or not.

It wasn't computer science that turned me of so much, it was mainly the business world. Unfortunately, I'll probably find a lot of that in medicine, but given the ends of medicine, I might find myself better able to suck up and deal with it.

 

[lola]

I'm not computer science, but spend a lot of time in front of the computer as an epidemiologist. I guess I just didn't know what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this...

 

[qweewq11]

I'm in a similar situation. Did you write about your disenchantment with your job in your PS? I want to show the med schools that I am interested in medicine and that my previous jobs were not fulfilling, yet I don't want to sound like a whiner!

Originally posted by Coalboy
It's funny that there are so many computer science people here. I too am a comp sci guy, with four years in the industry since college. I start med school in a week, so I guess I'll soon discover if I made the right decision or not.

It wasn't computer science that turned me of so much, it was mainly the business world. Unfortunately, I'll probably find a lot of that in medicine, but given the ends of medicine, I might find myself better able to suck up and deal with it.

 

[Nanon]

Originally posted by the boy wonder
well, I was tired of giving lap dances and being asked if I gave "private dances", so I thought "what would be the complete opposite of what I'm doing now?"

and then I realized - a doctor! Then when I go to work, it's the *other* people that take their clothes off.....

Did you write that before or after you visited my website? Hmmmm... Sometimes truth IS stranger than fiction, no?

Nanon

 

[tBw]

definitely after, but as with all jests, there's always an element of truth

...glad you saw this post...thought you might get a kick out of it

 

[CD]

My story differs enough that I think I'll tell it for the first time in this forum. Medicine interested me from childhood (in fact, everyone has always called me the resident doctor because I tended to remember "useless" medical stuff) but after highschool the idea of being responsible for someones life was a terrifying thought. When I voiced my concern to an academic advisor he responded, "if you have ANY doubts, then you have no business in medicine... perhaps you should try engineering". In retrospect I think my fear was a healthy attitude to have for life. I pursued Civil Engr. half heartedly while raising my high school sister (my mom was undergoing radiation treatment for Hodgekins at Stanford). I graduated in 1991 with a B.S. in Civil Engr. but knew from my Junior year on that I HATED engr. With my graduation in 1991 I (and my husband) faced a decision. Did I return immediately or wait a few years to go back to school? Since I didn't have a clear vision for what I would do (still afraid of the responsibility) I chose to stay home and have my children. God has a strange sense of humor sometimes! In 2000 my eldest son was diagnosed with a rare life threatening disorder. (it occurs 1 in a million!) I went on the attack looking for help and contacted over 35 physicians who personally took the time to talk with me. One of them (after talking for over an hour!) made the statement that I was either an engr. or a fellow Dr.. I confessed that my background did indeed consist of engr. training. He asked the question, "have you ever considered medicine? I think you would be great". I realized that my fear of responsibility had faded. AFter all, I was responsible for my childrens life... I was responsible for my ill childs life ... his disorder was so rare that no one seemed to have a complete picture of what to do. I formed my own treatment for him based on the discussions with the various physicians and presented it to our local expert who agreed to the regimen. (my son has reponded well and it looks like he may indeed make it!) Last year when my two children were both in school I decided to forage back into the educational arena and try my hand at that long lost dream.... this time with anticipation rather than fear! It's been an incredible journey, I can't wait to see where it ends.....

 

[mpp]

Originally posted by qweewq11
I'm in a similar situation. Did you write about your disenchantment with your job in your PS? I want to show the med schools that I am interested in medicine and that my previous jobs were not fulfilling, yet I don't want to sound like a whiner!

Although I discussed my previous work experience in my personal statement, I did not complain about what I had done. Rather, I used it to show how I have the capabilities to excel in medical school. I also explained why I want to go to medical school.

The one caveat is that I feel my personal statement was a huge piece of crap. However, it did get me accepted...

 

[mpp]

Oh yeah, forgot to add that I also worked as a computer consultant for four and half years, although that was ten years ago.

 

[Pembleton]

I simply want to leave the 9 to 5 corporate world of advertising and marketing and learn something interesting and meaningful

 

[kito]

CD that is a compelling story, i have no doubt that you will be a fine doctor for a long time. we wish your child the very best.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

I was a woman's shoe salesman and that is sad.

I had to redeem myself somehow...


btw: when I hear my 1,000,000th Al Bundy joke, I promise to laugh again. only 8,013,743 more to go.