So today, in continuing my trend of being a bum since it's summer, I spent a good hour flipping through facebook pictures. My journey took me through engagements, weddings, births, etc. Now, I am still getting used to the fact that these three things are happening to people my age and younger, and it still slightly freaks me out. Sure, there is a good number of people in medical school that are non-traditional and begin medical school married, a few even have kids. Three people in my class are getting married this summer. But, for most of us, the concepts of marriage and babies are slightly terrifying and distant. For the most part, we all want to get married and have babies, but DUDE, NOT YET! It's hard enough to take care of yourself in medical school, let along juggle a significant other and a family. Sometimes, I will be studying for ten hours straight and think, "OMG, I haven't peed or eaten all day. I should probably do both of these things." Then, I do them as fast as I can, so I can return to the books. Imagine that mentality with a baby - not prime parenting. In no way am I saying it can't be done - I see people do it very successfully everyday, especially with the relatively new decelerated programs being offered. This is just a generalization. Anyway, back to facebook. These weddings and babies make me smile and feel happy for everyone else who is at this point in life. Great for them! Adorable. Part of me wishes I was there, almost. But, like I said, most of me is pretty terrified by the concept and just wants to focus on the MD.
So, then I get to my college roomie's albums. She got married our senior year and she and her husband basically took off to travel and explore the world. Jerusalem, Panama, Egypt, Italy, Spain, you name it. They've been gone for over two years doing this. At first, the Sensible Me was flipping through these pictures thinking "How do they afford this?" and then the Inner Wild Child Me thought "Why the hell am I in medical school when I could be DOING THIS!? I want to travel! I want to use my language skills! I want to eat real pizza and pasta and food that I have no clue what it is! I want a mud bath! I want that watermelon-shaped popsicle!"
The point being: the most important part of the pre-med years is to make sure, with 110% confidence, that medicine is what you want to do. Life as a physician is not full of watermelon-shaped popsicles (unless you are an awesome pediatrician and make a point to hand these out). Life as a physician comes with sacrifices, and those start in medical school. Those wedding albums? I was only able to make it to one of the weddings, and only because it was my best friend's and she would have shot me had I not been there. It's hard. A lot of people do not understand why you can't fly across the country for their big day. They don't get the concept of weekly exams, catching up on sleep during the weekends, and 70K/year in loans. You need to be okay with the fact that someday you will get to see the world, have that mud bath, and eat those popsicles because someday you will be able to afford it, but in most cases, that isn't going to be anytime soon.
I made the decision to become a physician after I spent quite a bit of time as a patient during my youth. At 13, I knew I would become a subspecialized pediatrician, and that still holds true. Even though I have never been interested in anything else, I still explored other opportunities. I made sure I spent a lot of time in the hospitals during undergrad (~10 hours/week) and I applied for medical summer internships, landing one in organ transplant. I made sure that medicine was the career path I wanted to take. I even took a year off after undergrad to save up some cash and experience "real life." I taught high school science and coached, and it was an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. Even if you are sure you want to be a doctor, I still recommend taking time off, as it will not only help you mature and further solidify your decision, but it will strengthen your application, and admissions committees usually eat it up.
It may seem cliche that my first piece of Pre-Med Advice is "If you want to be a doctor, make sure you want to be a doctor," but truly, it is the most important piece of advice out there. There are many other options for those interested in healthcare that are not as demanding as being a physician. After completing the first year of med school, I see firsthand how bad it sucks for my friends/classmates who did not make sure, with absolute certainty, that medicine was the life for them. Here they are - some of them because their parents pressured them, others because they thought the lifestyle would be glamorous - thousands of dollars in debt, unhappy, frustrated and confused. Don't let it happen to you. If you cannot imagine doing anything else in life but being a physician, then it probably is the right career path for you. I remember at the end of every day I was teaching I thought, "Wow, teaching is a lot of fun and hard work... Boy, teachers do not get enough credit... Fun for now, could not do this forever... I cannot WAIT to be a doctor." Get exposure. Get experience. Get confident that this is the right choice.
Here is a great website for Pre-Med and Medical Internships:
Click HERE for a list of awesome Pre-Med and Medical Internships!
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| http://www.sirinthada.com/post/12586040084/a-little-public-service-announcement-today |
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