Why Medical School? 5 Great Reasons

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If you’ve made it to this page, you’re probably a high school or a college student looking to learn more about what medical school ACTUALLY is. What do you learn? When do you get to be in the hospitals? When do you start working with patients? Look no further as we delve into what medical school is!
Why Medical School?
So, ironically I'm starting with a question that I can't answer for you. There are as many good reasons as bad reasons and at the end of the day, only you know why you want to become a doctor.Â
Or maybe you're not so sure you want to be a doctor. That's fine too! I have a feeling you're pretty smart if you're taking a pre-medical prep class. I also have a feeling that no matter what you chose to do, you'll be pretty successful at it. So don't fret too much about your future right now. Again, don't worry if you can't answer the question "Why medical school?" You'll find your answer soon enough.
You're going to be asked this question a lot - by many different people - including your advisors and admissions committees. In this post we'll go over some of the different reasons people pick medical school and a future career as a physician. This is not a complete list of course.
5. Interest:Â Finally you may just be drawn to science and medicine in particular. That's a fine reason too!
6. Many More Reasons:Â This list is not exhaustive! There are so many more reasons for wanting to go into medicine.
Remember There Are NO BAD REASONS, only priorities that change with time.
Did You Know: Many successful physicians found their passion while in medical school! One of the biggest reasons why medical students rotate through different fields (surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, etc) is to give them a chance to discover their passion.
So, my medical story won't be like yours. No two people's stories are going to be alike. Mine is going to be especially different from a high school student's who is interested in medicine right now!
High School: I graduated high school in 2000, perhaps before even your parents graduated themselves. I was pretty much a C+ / B- student in High School and had ZERO interested in medicine. Computers and video games were my thing and I started on a career path towards computer science.Â
College: While in college I continued to have no interest in medicine. Also my interest in computer science really began to fade about 2 years into college. So I switched to Philosophy. I graduated from college in 2006.
After College: I began mentoring with a program called Van Go. It was with an art therapy program for children and this was probably the first time where I found a real passion for work. I enjoyed working with people, I really liked the therapy and psychology part of it. This motivated me to go...
Back to College: I decided I wanted to pursue a master's degree in psychology. To prepare for this I began taking classes at Rutgers. While at Rutgers I took a class called physiological psychology. This class had such an impact on me that for the first time I started seriously considering medicine. Took a full stop on the psychology degree and instead started getting ready for medical school.
Working: While taking classes and between classes I was working full time as a family counselor, mentoring, and social worker. I even took a year to teach English in Japan in 2011 right after that big earthquake. That was an exciting year!
Post-Bacc:Â In 2012 I started my coursework for medical school in earnest. I was very strict with myself and told myself if I couldn't maintain an A average I would seriously reconsider this career path. I maintained a 4.0 GPA as a premed while working full time. In addition to the premedical classes I was also taking business classes. I learned about dual degrees and decided I wanted to pursue a DO/MBA degree.
Medical School: I applied to and was accepted at my top choice medical school, Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine. I completed two years, then finished my MBA, and as of the writing of this I'm nearing the completion of my final year. While in medical school I had many adventures, pioneered many different projects, and learned a tremendous amount about myself, and was mentored by many fantastic physicians. I feel truly honored to be here and to be sharing this story with you!
So why did I go to medical school? It was definitely a combination of interest, passion, prestige, and income. Have my reasons for wanting to be a doctor changed since then? Sure, they've definitely matured and grown - but the passion remains!Â
You don't want to force yourself to pursue medical school if you are find something else you're happy at. Keep exploring your options!
Medical school mentors, pre-med mentors, mentors in different disciplines... all of these people can help give you clarity.
Keep asking yourself this as you near completion of high school. Then after each semester in college. Keep track of how your answers change to the question "why medical school".
One of the best ways to discover your reason for medical school is to involve yourself in different experiences. This course is a good example of one of those experiences.
But never forget that we're here to help. Do you have a question about something you just read in our BreakThru Learner Series?
Use the BreakThru Feed to Ask and Inspire others with your questions. Our Medical Student Mentors are always here to help you, for free, anytime.
-BreakThru,
Where Mentoring Happens
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