Gap-Years til Medical School

premed08
Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:05:42 +0000

Hey all,

I’m currently a graduating senior at a prestigious small liberal arts college and I’m deciding what sort of path to take the next two to three years before I’d be applying/attending medical school.

I’m a bio/chem major, have done well in my pre-med classes and my major courses, worked in many clinical settings (both in the US and abroad), published my own research in a major medical journal, and generally feel like I am well equipped to apply and be accepted at least some medical school with my current credentials.

I came into college with the intention of pursuing research in biology, which developed into an interest in becoming an MD/PhD, which now has developed solely towards an MD program. I love the rigor and creativity of research, but I’ve more recently felt disconnected in research world from the ultimate goal of improving health. And, probably more importantly, disenfranchised by the culture of funding and competition that seems to pervade major research institutions. Over the past year or so, through both volunteer and formal course work, I’ve become increasingly interested in the political and business sides of practicing medicine…in both the sense of global health and domestic health policy issues in regard to the development, distribution, etc. of new medical advances.

In light of this all, I’ve decided to take time off before applying to medical school to re-evaluate my goals and set a new (or re-affirmed) path. I’m deciding between a extremely varied set of job opportunities that build different skill sets (research, leadership, etc.). These range from helping to establish a new human embryonic stem cell research group at a major academic center, working as a research tech in a dermatology department (both of which do not pay particularly well), or joining the management team of a 2 billion dollar corporation that does nothing related to medicine (which pays extremely well).

I guess my question is really…how do medical schools feel if an individual takes time off and works in a non-medical setting? Would this time be valuable for someone interesting in medical leadership roles, like a MD/MBA?

A part of me wishes to pursue a leadership position in business and save money before applying to medical school, while another part feels as though it is greatly disconnected from my ultimate goals. How would medical schools see this? Are there other careers related to medicine that seem to fit within my interests?

Thanks!