Pre-medical students are often too stressed when it comes to their futures. They eat, sleep, and breathe "Pre-med." Ironically, being "Pre-Med" is like a disease.
Here are just a few "symptomatic" thoughts of someone infected with "Pre-Med Anxiety."
When do I take my MCAT? Oh my God I'm taking it in a few months!
I need more summer classes to raise my GPA!
I need volunteer hours!
I need to shadow doctors!
I need to do scientific research!
I cannot waste my summer doing something NOT for my medical school application.
The only way to cure this case of "Pre-Med Anxiety" is to take a deep breath and remember these 11 things:
1. Remember you are in this to save lives.
Your patients are not going to ask you your grade in organic chemistry. There will come a time in your life when multiple choice tests won't determine your abilities. All these tests are there to see if you can survive and perform above the average in your classes. A minor in psychology won't prove that you are empathetic and have bedside manner. You will need to treat your patients like someone's son or daughter, or someone's husband or wife, or someone's father or mother, not a multiple choice question. After all the prerequisites are over, someone is going to ask you, "why do you want to be a doctor"? It's not going to be "because I made all A's." or "I want to make money." (Obamacare will crush that dream, y'all).
Your answer should be, "Because I want to save lives."
2. There are many different routes to medical school/other health professions.
One-year post-baccalaureate programs: They can help you raise your GPA, raise your MCAT score and determine if medical school is really your place. About 60 percent of UNT's students who got their "Masters in Medical Science" got into medical school. Since those students had to take one or two medical classes, they tended to perform as well or better than those who just came from college. Those programs tend to require a 3.0 overall GPA.
Caribbean: Yeah, it's "hard to get into a residency program", but people do it. I have a doctor who got her degree from the Caribbean and she's one of the best in Fort Worth! (This is probably your last-resort option, though).
PA: Physician assistants can have their own practice, see patients, write prescriptions and specialize, all with less school, no MCAT, and better work hours.
NP: Nurse practitioners can also have their own practices, see patients, write prescriptions and specialize, with less school and better work hours. No MCAT is needed. Like nurses, they have a deeper connection with patients because they have experience taking care of them personally.
Go into the work force: Teach for a couple of years, work in a lab, or enter the business world. This is a great way to earn money for medical school and make sure it's really what you want to do. This "break from school" will show medical schools that you took years off and still want to be a doctor. That's passion and determination! Plus, maybe your debt won't be as bad.
Apply multiple times: Most people apply more than once. Just don't give up!
Travel/volunteer abroad: Join the Peace Corps or find a program that will help you escape the stress of college. Volunteering abroad rather than rushing to medical school will show how much you care about the world.
3. Do things you love while you can.
If you get involved in non-premedical things in college, they aren't a waste. There is no definitive amount of "volunteer hours" or "shadowing hours" that you need. As long as you have volunteer hours and shadowing hours to show you are interested in the profession, you're fine. Being involved in interesting, random clubs will show you are well-rounded and have multiple interests, like a normal human being. Life is too short to not participate in things you enjoy! You won't have the time in medical school.
4. There are two types of medical degrees: D.O. and M.D.
D.O. degrees are the equivalent of M.D. degrees. You are still a doctor. There are less D.O. schools, but they are "easier" to get into. Their average GPAs and MCAT scores are slightly lower, but that doesn't mean they don't turn out to be good doctors. They have the same opportunities for residencies as everyone else. The D.O. degree involves extra education in medical ethics and philosophy. These are the doctors that will put their hand on your shoulder when you are crying. Their focus is to not overload patients with medications and to form closer relationships with them. They are also more open to experimental treatments.
5. Making a B or (God forbid) a C, or multiples of both...will not kill you.
I cannot tell you how many doctors I've asked about this. I've had some that made all A's, some that made C's in physics or organic chemistry, and some who had to...dare I say it...RE-TAKE CLASSES! It's been done. It's harder to get in, but IT HAS BEEN DONE! BY MANY!
6. DO NOT GOOGLE ANYTHING ABOUT GETTING INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL!
Seriously...this will give you major anxiety. Reading all those statistics and student doctor FAQ's will have you in an emotional breakdown within seconds. It's not worth it. Other people aren't you. They are in different situations. If you are really passionate about this profession, you will get there. Also, if you have taken a statistics class, you should know that statistics cannot predict the future.
7. Worry about RIGHT NOW, not NEXT YEAR.
This will really get you. Constantly worrying about the future will prevent you from focusing on what you need to do RIGHT NOW. Right now, you need to study for that genetics exam. Go learn about mitotic recombination. NOW!
8. Work Out.
Make time to be healthy and relieve stress. Walk, run, lift, play a sport, swim, or bike...just do something that's NOT STUDYING!
9. You can study for 20 hours straight and still fail.
It's not HOW MANY HOURS you studied, it's HOW EFFECTIVELY you used those hours. Some people can focus and get their studying done in less time. Turn off your social media and cell phone and focus on the science. Then you will get it all done in time to go out later.
Yes, you can go out. It won't kill you.
10. Do not ask other people what they made on that test. Do not compare yourself to others.
Again, those people are not you. No matter how well they did, it doesn't matter to you. Medical school is competitive, but as they say in track, "you're only racing against yourself." You only worry about YOUR highest scores and how well YOU need to do on that next test. Everyone else is irrelevant.
11. We all have that semester where we want to "give up pre-med."
I had that semester in the spring. It was nice to not think about it and look at my options. After a while, I missed the idea and came back. Everyone has this breakdown where they think they aren't "good enough" or "want to pursue other things." You ARE good enough. It's OKAY if you eventually decide not to go "pre-med." You gave it the ol' "college try."
Remember, this is YOUR future and it's only up to YOU.
College is fun. Live it up. But remember to prioritize. I wish there was someone to tell me these 11 things when I was a freshman. After two years of being "pre-med", I cannot tell you what is in store for me next, but I can tell you that I'm doing my best to pursue a career that I am passionate about. It's all going to work out in the end.
