What will med schools think of this?

[luvmyleaguer]

---

Members do not see this ad.

.

 

[mimelim]

What does logic tell you? Is it logical to think that someone who is hard working and changes their mind about their career path is not committed? Not everyone knows from age 3 that they want to go to medical school. I would say that the people that figure it out really early probably run the biggest risk of needing to bail from medical school because they really had no idea what they were getting into.

You changed your mind about you want to do with your life. It is not a crime. You sound like a dedicated student and a hard worker. Do not be dishonest about your past. You are not doing yourself or medical schools ANY favors. Being pre-vet was a big part of your life prior to your decision to go to medical school. You probably have a decent/great story about your change of heart and THAT is what helps people get into medical school. Do not try to hide the fact that you were a non-cookie cutter cut out pre-med.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I agree with the poster above me. It sounds like you are clearly a dedicated student and are willing to go the long road. I wouldn't be too worried about what med schools are going to think; plenty of people switch.

Just curious, why did you decide to go human instead of animal?

 

[penguinism]

I had veterinary experience before deciding on medicine, and this was discussed at several of my interviews (as well as addressed briefly in my PS). As long as you have a legitimate reason as to why you want to do human medicine, you will be fine. You have not started vet school so adcoms will not think they are "stealing you" from another program.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Don't attempt to hide your prior interest in veterinary medicine. That will only hurt you. However, don't try to make broad generalizations about the similarities of human and animal medicine. You aren't yet familiar with human medicine, so if you attempt to equate procedures, philosophy, or treatments between the two, chances are you'll get it wrong and offend someone. You can certainly mention your experiences in interview, but you'd be well advised to restrict yourself to using your veterinary experience to justify why you believe veterinary medicine is not for you.

On a related note, your veterinary hours do not apply as a qualification for medical school. You may already know this, but many believe their experience in veterinary medicine is of some value to their application to schools of human medicine. It is not. Imagine if you had hundreds of hours of dental experience. The principles and concepts of care are similar, but the fundamental practice of medicine is very different, so your experience would only be useful insofar as it would justify your disinterest in dentistry. Expect to have to accrue the same number of hours in human medicine shadowing and clinical experience that all others do.

If you start from the beginning and begin to build your experience to demonstrate your understanding of medicine, you won't have any additional trouble in medical school admissions due to your veterinary background. If you try to cut corners because you think your experience is equivalent, you will. Welcome to the pre-medical cohort.

Qualifications for medical school?... Not any significance to an application? While not a substitute for experience in a hospital and direct patient contact, it surely is not insignificant, if anything it is unique enough for a conversation during an interview...

 

[luvmyleaguer]

.

 

[luvmyleaguer]

.

 

[luvmyleaguer]

.

 

[GiantFetus]

We are at different points in our education but I was in the EXACT same position as you. I interned at a small vet clinic during high school and found myself enjoying talking to the owners of the animals more than caring for the animals themselves. I have been riding competitively my whole life, and the only way to "make it" in that business is to be at the very top of the competition world. Most students overlook the notion of being kicked in the back and being paralyzed the rest of their lives. That certainly shouldn't keep anyone away from equine medicine but it's a very prevalent concern for someone that isn't totally sure the passion is there.

Just as an aside, maybe think about getting involved in a therapeutic riding program. It's a wonderful way to tie your love of horses with the disabled.

I think it is very important to include the switch in your personal statement (somewhat briefly) especially because of your extracurriculars are so geared towards the veterinary spectrum.. Follow that up wth a substantial amount of extracurriculars focused on human medicine and you'll be in a good spot. There are plenty of ways to express this, you are not dumb and you'll figure that out.

Plus, it's a bit fun to keep the horses as a hobby instead of a career. 🙂

 

[NightGod]

I think of something to add every time I hit send! I do realize not everyone is 100% in love with their careers, but I also think ignoring several vets of different genders/ages concerns would be a little naive.


Sent from my iPad using SDN Mobile app

To be completely fair, you'll hear the exact same thing from a fair number of doctors, too.

 

[gumbyj]

To be completely fair, you'll hear the exact same thing from a fair number of doctors, too.

Agreed.

 

[luvmyleaguer]

.

 

[Praefectus]

As long as you show that you're committed to human medicine rather than vet medicine (i.e. you're not shadowing a neurologist this week and then shadowing a vet next week), you should be fine.