Premed dreams....

kristin5792
Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:23:27 +0000

If that’s what you were betting, I would certainly take that bet. If “all” you want to do is help people, there are much more efficient and probably much more fulfilling ways to do it than by becoming a doctor (eg I volunteer with an agency that runs programs for pregnant teens and teen parents–their social workers profoundly help their clients each and every day for their entire shift, and have way more interaction with their clients than any doctor I’ve worked with has with his/her patients). If “all” you want to do is make a lot of money, go into i-banking or marry someone with tons of money. Sure, doctors tend to be well-compensated, but the training, sacrifices, and commitment they must endure to achieve that level of compensation is extraordinary.

I interviewed at a few top schools when I applied in 2010. I have hundreds of volunteer hours on my CV and started a service-oriented nonprofit my junior year of college. At one of those schools, I was asked “So, kristin5792, what do you think is the most common reason people say they want to go into medicine?” “To help people?” “Yes, exactly. I can see you have a lot of service work on your CV and you wrote extensively about it in your essay. Clearly, you know there are many ways you can help people. So, why medicine?”

The thing is, helping people is great. Medicine is quite a service-oriented career. I personally think you have to be pretty selfless (and a little crazy…) to go into medicine. WOWMom hit it on the head that helping people is necessary but not sufficient for going to med school. There has to be more to it! And, if there’s not, I doubt you’ll get any further than an application or an interview.