wow, so many questions

[joemac4401]

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ok, so quick back story....childhood illness leads to wait for kidney transplant (4 years in the wait....) just turned 21 now. struggled all through grade school and HS....finally just got my GED and got a job. Figured I might as well work at a job and save up for school instead of taking out loans and having my numerous health probs keep me from classes.
First I thought I would go into nursing and become a nurse practitioner specializing in organ/marrow transplant. then that sounded too much school, so just a registered nurse, then I wanted to be a talent agent....see I kinda didnt think Id make it this far in life to have these decisions so i never gave it much thought lol.
but the more I think about it, and the more doctors I have to tell basic medical knowledge too, the more I think I can do better. problem is i don't think i have the ability to connect to people. like I dont see myself as a GP, maybe deffinatly stick to accute care, like ER medicine, or a hospitalist, see you for your stay then not see you again.

sorry for the novel, main question is, what chance to i have to even get into and survive med school being I hardley have a HS transcrpt to show? is it worth all the hard work? I hated school, but i dont know if thats cause i was hardley there and catch up always sucked.
i guess im a nontrad student since im 21 and not even in undergrad yet....any advice anyone?

 

[hilseb]

No med school I applied to asked for high school transcripts. Focus on doing great in your undergrad and there shouldn't be a problem with your high school records.

 

[Nasrudin]

ok, so quick back story....childhood illness leads to wait for kidney transplant (4 years in the wait....) just turned 21 now. struggled all through grade school and HS....finally just got my GED and got a job. Figured I might as well work at a job and save up for school instead of taking out loans and having my numerous health probs keep me from classes.
First I thought I would go into nursing and become a nurse practitioner specializing in organ/marrow transplant. then that sounded too much school, so just a registered nurse, then I wanted to be a talent agent....see I kinda didnt think Id make it this far in life to have these decisions so i never gave it much thought lol.
but the more I think about it, and the more doctors I have to tell basic medical knowledge too, the more I think I can do better. problem is i don't think i have the ability to connect to people. like I dont see myself as a GP, maybe deffinatly stick to accute care, like ER medicine, or a hospitalist, see you for your stay then not see you again.

sorry for the novel, main question is, what chance to i have to even get into and survive med school being I hardley have a HS transcrpt to show? is it worth all the hard work? I hated school, but i dont know if thats cause i was hardley there and catch up always sucked.
i guess im a nontrad student since im 21 and not even in undergrad yet....any advice anyone?

You are 21. You've got a clean slate. The world is your oyster. All you need to do is study hard, take all your prereqs, pick something you're interested in and major in that--doesn't matter what it is as long as you like it and do well in it. Take your time and do it right and make good grades. With that as a base everything else can be sprinkled on for superb flavor including your experience as a patient.

 

[dancinRN1022]

problem is i don't think i have the ability to connect to people.

----one thing...highschool doesn't matter....just do well in college and you will be okay as far as grades...if you ever get a chance to mess up its highschool...it can be easily forgiven...however...that statement... I don't think I have the ability to connect to people...then why do you want to be doctor/nurse/NP??? you HAVE to be able to connect to others...whether you are a GP or a ER doc or a surgeon...you patients need you to connet to them...for the most part GP's ER doc and surgeons spend the same amount of time with theyr patients in a visit...and your patients need to feel conncted to you in that small amount of time... when you ask people why their doctor is a good doctor, or why their nurse is a good nurse...they don't mention anythin about schooling or clinical skills...they say "he made me feel better", "he was sooo nice to me".."he talked to me"..."he was so genuine"... I would shadow a doctor for a while and make sure this is what you really want to do...because you have to connect to people...

 

[t33sg1rl]

but the more I think about it, and the more doctors I have to tell basic medical knowledge too, the more I think I can do better. problem is i don't think i have the ability to connect to people. like I dont see myself as a GP, maybe deffinatly stick to accute care, like ER medicine, or a hospitalist, see you for your stay then not see you again.

Try volunteering or working where you have to "connect to people". One great way to do this is to volunteer to help old/sick people with activities of daily living-there are usually tons of these organizations serving people with different conditions like AIDS, and you go to people's houses that are frail/dying and do their laundry, etc, and chat with them for an hour or two. I wish I had done this-I thought I had trouble connecting with people, too, and it kept me from applying to med school straight from undergrad. Finally I went into medicine anyway, and I thought I'd do lab medicine or something. Now I realize I really love "connecting" and I'm not nearly as bad at it as I thought! My problem is, I don't do well in groups of people, I'm very introverted, and I hate sharing personal information about myself (and I consider my food allergies and car make/model personal information)... but it turns out I'm just fine one on one, especially when the conversation has nothing to do with me. Give the old people laundry volunteer thing a try for a few weeks, and if you hate it, then rethink things... but I have a sneaking feeling that you'll be awkward at first but get very good very quickly.

 

[njbmd]

sorry for the novel, main question is, what chance to i have to even get into and survive med school being I hardley have a HS transcrpt to show? is it worth all the hard work? I hated school, but i dont know if thats cause i was hardley there and catch up always sucked.
i guess im a nontrad student since im 21 and not even in undergrad yet....any advice anyone?

Your chances to get into and survive medical school are most dependent upon your work ethic and desire to practice medicine. High school makes no difference in terms of admission to medical school. Your undergraduate grade point average (GPA) in your major and the pre-medical courses (1-yr General Biology with lab; 1-yr General Chemistry with lab; 1-yr Organic Chemistry with lab; 1-yr General Physics with lab).

As for "hating" school, you need to explore why you believe this might be the case. Medical school is "school on steriods" as there is nothing that compares to the amount of study both in medical school and life-long, that you will be required to accomplish. If you "hate" school and study, you might want to look at other careers that are not so reliant on academics.

If your dislike of school is because you have had bad experiences in the past, then college is a great opportunity to make some good experiences with your academics. You can use your undergraduate experience to hone your study skills and explore almost any area or discipline that you enjoy as long as you take (and do well) in the pre-medical courses.

Medicine is an extremely long-term goal. It is accomplished by day-to-day work toward that goal. Many have described the process of becoming a physician as a marathon as opposed to a sprint. I can tell you from experience, that I enjoyed my undergraduate, graduate and medical school experiences. Residency has been great too and I am looking forward to fellowship at this point. Doing well wasn't always easy but challenges always bring growth and in looking back, I actually enjoyed the challenges.

Since you are 21, you have plenty of time to explore what you like and dislike before you commit to one career or another. Take this time, write down what you NEED in terms of a career and what you LIKE in terms of a working environment. From there you can do more exploration and make a decision. The more informed, the better your decision-making process.