Need Help Graduated High schooler asking for help about medical school

WayOutWestMom
Thu, 16 Jul 2015 14:06:56 +0000

It’s just I read from articles ppl kill themselves because of premed and from ppl saying that quit have all said it was miserable.

Pre med is miserable. Not only do you need to a dedicated enough student to end up in the top X% of the class that gets As and have strong standardized test-taking skills, you need to develop a portfolio of other activities that demonstrate your fitness to be physician. (Research, community service, clinical volunteering, physician shadowing, leadership roles……)

Oh and you need excellent oral & written communication skills, and excellent “people” skills too.

It’s a lot, and it takes a great deal of time, effort and dedication to achieve. Whether this is too much “crap” for you, only you can decide.

BTW, the “crap” doesn’t stop after pre med either. There’s a lot of “crap” expected from med students, particularly during clinical training when you’re at the top of everyone’s “let’s dump on….” list. Ditto that for internship and residency. Even attending physicians are expected to do a buttload of “crap” (administrative work, insurance paperwork and the like).

I don’t mind studying as long as I’m sure I know what I need to know.

You’ll never know everything you need to know. Physicians study their entire careers. (Mandatory continuing education to maintain your medical license and board certifications. Majors exams to requalify in your specialty every few years. The testing never stops.) The more you learn, the more you realize that you know so little.