What part of the medical field should I do

[sunnyfebruary13]

Ok so I am a junior in high school and I have just recently decides that I want to do Pre-Med in college and I have no idea how I am supposed to prepare now and what specific part of the medical field I should go into. I am currently in A.P. Chemistry and I'm taking A.P. Physics next year. How else should I prepare and should I study in my free time? Also, I kind of wanted to do neurology or neurosurgery, but I know that is a hard field to get into and it requires extensive training. I like the idea of a job in the medical field, I just don't know what part or how to narrow it down.

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[radkat101]

Study what in your free time??? The best thing you can do is slow down and enjoy the rest of high school. When it's time, pick any major that interests you from any college, and keep your grades up (in college, high school doesn't matter). When you start college, you can work on getting some exposure to the medical field to make sure being a doc is REALLY something you want to do. You have another 8 years or so before you need to start thinking about what field of medicine you want to go into. Most medical students don't even know that.

 

[onceawolverine]

Hi Sunny,
Just so you know, it is not at all necessary for you to make up your mind at this point in your life. Many applicants to medical school don't even have their "dream specialty" nailed down - often, medical students make this realization after matriculating, even as late as during their clinical/clerkship years. So you, as a Junior in HS, certainly don't need to narrow anything down yet**

That being said, you can begin looking for various ways to get involved inside the hospital (as actual exposure really is the only way to make an educated, tentative decision). Look for volunteering opportunities at your local hospital. Reach out to physicians for potential shadowing opportunities. Stay updated on "movements" within the field, whether it be research, policy, or educational shifts. These sorts of things will help you become more educated about the various different roles that a physician can play and, potentially, help you realize which particular niche you see yourself in.

Finally, to echo radkat, make sure you take the time to slow down to enjoy your final years of HS and college. It's a cliche, but you really will never get this time back. Don't burn yourself out just to get to med school, only to realize that you'll never be 18-21 again.

**This is just a personal (n=1) opinion, but I think that it's extremely unwise to try to force yourself to narrow down your options at this stage in your life. Perhaps thats not how you intend to sound, but it's how you come across. "Liking the idea of a job in the medical field" is enough for now. Do NOT (again, in my opinion) just blithely, almost casually, pick neurology or neurosurgery because it sounds impressive. Every time a freshman tells me that they want to do neurosurgery, I ask them why. It infuriates me (strong word, perhaps "irks" is better) when they just shrug and say "it sounds cool." Get a strong idea of what each specialty entails, the lifestyle, typical cases, etc before you set your heart on anything. And that, I think, should take you several years to accomplish.

 

[AlteredScale]

Ok so I am a junior in high school and I have just recently decides that I want to do Pre-Med in college and I have no idea how I am supposed to prepare now and what specific part of the medical field I should go into. I am currently in A.P. Chemistry and I'm taking A.P. Physics next year. How else should I prepare and should I study in my free time? Also, I kind of wanted to do neurology or neurosurgery, but I know that is a hard field to get into and it requires extensive training. I like the idea of a job in the medical field, I just don't know what part or how to narrow it down.

You don't narrow medical specialties down in undergrad, you narrow down during medical school. But it's OK, I was in the same predicament as you because my first exposure to medicine was neurosurgery and I KNEW (at the time) I wanted to do something with the brain. As I went through college and received advice from mentors (med students and physicians) I realized how vast medical education is and how much I had yet to be exposed to.

I suggest reading a few medical books including: "When the Air Hits your brain" and "Doctored" in your space time. It will keep you motivated .

I will also suggest trying to spend some time volunteering in the hospital if you can or want to. The hospital environment is hard to acclimate to.

 

[TeddyBoomBoom]

Most students change there mind during medical school anyway.

Start getting a variety of different shadowing/medical experiences when your schedule allows it

You have PLENTY of time to decide lol

 

[superpom_7]

People change their mind about specialties a lot during the academic career, and by the time you get through med school you will probably have changed your mind. Don't stress about it.

 

[MedAhmed]

Ok so I am a junior in high school and I have just recently decides that I want to do Pre-Med in college and I have no idea how I am supposed to prepare now and what specific part of the medical field I should go into. I am currently in A.P. Chemistry and I'm taking A.P. Physics next year. How else should I prepare and should I study in my free time? Also, I kind of wanted to do neurology or neurosurgery, but I know that is a hard field to get into and it requires extensive training. I like the idea of a job in the medical field, I just don't know what part or how to narrow it down.

Focus on getting into college first. Even medical students aren't 100% sure of what specialty they'd like to go into. Enjoy your time now, you'll never get it back.

 

[NervousWreck6]

I think the average number of times a medical student changes their mind about going into a specialty is 7. So even if you've "narrowed-down" your specialty in HS now, you will most likely not stick with it. That being said, it is still good to get a sense of what you would like to be because it will be helpful when applying to medical school. They want to know that you have an idea of what you want to go into. I would shadow a few doctors in different field to get some ideas. Family physician, general surgeon, and OBGYN are three that I looked into shadowing first.