Time is precious, and I don't want to waste mine...

[itsbnotr]

First of all, this is NOT one of those threads where the poster begs the SDN community to help her make a life decision, even though it's impossible for complete strangers to know what's best for her.

I'm just a little lost, and if I could learn from your experiences, it would be greatly appreciated.

The fact that I'm unsure about medicine doesn't mean that I should waste time that could be spent studying! I want to keep moving. So if I'm unsure and don't have my eye on any particular med school, would I be safe by taking the typical required courses, doing well, and then choosing a school later? Or do I really need to pick a school and make focused attempts/efforts to get in? Have any of you continued your pre-med, even though you didn't know if it was what you wanted? In short, I suppose I'm asking if the process of becoming a physician can be taken in baby steps. When I see the long road ahead of me... I panic.

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[OrdinaryDO]

You almost have to take it in baby steps, the process from start to finish is a very long journey and it can become very overwhelming if you don't handle the stress properly. To address your first question, you don't really need to do anything different to apply for different medical schools as long as you take all of the prerequisites. if you have a school you are just dying to attend, then I would take extra steps to get my face or name known within the facility and make sure I am competition for the program I am aiming for. Said differently...do well and choose your school later. So, as for your second question, in my own honestly opinion I don't see how someone could go through all of the stress and strenuous studying for the MCAT if their mind wasn't dead set on medical school, but I would also like to add that if you aren't dead set on this career path and you feel like there is a good chance you may end up hating your career, then I would do yourself and everyone else a favor and choose a different path. Becoming a physician is hard work, there will be times when you question your sanity for choosing medical school and if you have any doubt in your head then your chances of breaking down and failing out or just being misreable greatly increase.

If you feel like becoming a physician is something you are passionate about, then by all means dig in and get it done! Best of luck to you!!

 

[VagabondKing]

Can you see yourself doing anything else? Are you in it for the right reasons and aren't just doing it for the prestige/salary? These are questions that you will need to ask yourself and reflect upon.

Med school is a really long marathon, the only way to get through it is to pace yourself and take baby steps.

 

[any022]

Hi,

First off take a deep breathe! i think it is a good thing you are asking these questions now! Im gonna keep this as clearly logical as possible im not trying to scare you but reality can be scary sometimes.

From your question i will make an assumption that you are an undergradaute and deciding if you should pursue the typical pre-requisite for medical school [Bio,Chem,Physics,O-Chem etc]

1. "If I'm unsure and don't have my eye on any particular med school, would I be safe by taking the typical required courses, doing well, and then choosing a school later?"

Right now, you should not be focusing on choosing a school that comes later. The MOST important question right now is... can i TOLERATE 4 years of medical school + 3-7 years of residency + 1-2 years of OPTIONAL Fellowship?

Sure 7-10+ years might seem better than doing nothing but believe me you don't want to be hundred of thousands of dollar in debt before you figure that you will hate being a doctor [Believe me it happens, job dissatisfaction is very high, you can google it

My recommendation? You sound like you are on the fence if medicine is right for you. Have you had any exposure to the field? Interned at a hospital/free clinic, shadowed a doctor etc? If not I HIGHLY recommend you shadow a doctor [5+ times] if you are having trouble finding a doctor speak to your primary care physician let him/her know you are pre-med and interested in learning more about the profession. Even if he/she isn't able to let you shadow, they will most likely point you in the right direction and recommend someone else you can shadow/intern with.

2. "Have any of you continued your pre-med, even though you didn't know if it was what you wanted?"
Certainly, and it wasn't just me. When you enter undergraduate many students will say they are pre-med, pre-health etc but many drop off of the wagon over the course of undergraduate for multiple of reasons. Some common ones i will discuss below

Money: Many pre-med believe doctor make amazing amount of money but while doctors do make alot of money after years of training, it is not the most EFFECTIVE way of earning money as compared to the cost and time needed to reach that stage [Engineers from a prestigious University can easily make over 60k a year] while physicians not only have to pay back student loans but also lose years of valuable earning potential

Freedom: There are ALOT of barriers and governmental oversight surrounding healthcare and many people dislike being told where/what they have to do and that is one of the main reason doctors and pre-med grow disenchanted with the profession

Time-Commitment: I talked a little bit about it above but 7-10+ years of further educational commitment is a long time... may not seem so now but it will take a toll.

So in the end, i think you need to do some soul searching, get some exposure to the field and go from there, if after shadowing a doctor you are still ambivalent then definitely try envisioning the lifestyle of a doctor [Patients you will see, hours you will work, amount of family commitment you will have, work-related stress] can you imagine yourself experiencing those things for many years after your medical school education?