My Journey to Medical School (learn from my mistakes!)

The success of any dream or goal is often reliant on good planning. Needless to say, plans will change and will sometimes fail, but planning for your future is still important. Whether you are just entering college or are changing majors halfway in, it is important to figure out a reasonable timeline for the completion of prerequisite classes and other extracurricular activities that will help you achieve your goal of becoming a physician.

1) Assess when you want to apply to Medical school. For freshmen this will probably be in your junior year as it is for me, or in your senior year.

2) Select a number of Med schools that you are interested in and review their prerequisites

3) Choose a major or course of study that will prepare you for Med school and fulfill the typical prerequisites (I wouldn't get too set on any one Med school at this point).

4) Plan to get involved in supplementary activities early on.

5) Plan to devote a large amount of time to study and be willing to sacrifice in other areas of life when necessary.

While there is no definitive list of prerequisite classes to take in order to be accepted to Medical school, there are a number of courses that are common among the majority of schools. Choosing a major (I am majoring in Biology with a Chemistry minor) that incorporates all, or most, of these classes is one way to fulfill the requirements set forth by many Med schools, but it is not the only way. A seemingly unrelated major (English, Geology...) that interests you can be chosen with the addition of Med school prereqs as electives. Just remember that this will likely increase your overall course-load and possibly push out your graduation date and Med school application year. Don't take too many classes per semester, quality over quantity.

Courses you probably will need to take:
Biology (2-4 semesters)
General Chemistry with Lab (2 semesters)
Organic Chemistry with Lab (2 semesters)
Physics with Lab (2 semesters)
Psychology (1-2 semesters)

Courses you may need to take:
Calculus
English (you will probably need this for your undergrad degree anyway)
Foreign Language

Courses that look good on med school applications
Biochemistry
Anatomy and Physiology
Neuroscience
Genetics
Additional Lab Courses (more on this later)

When you are deciding what to do to prepare for a Medical school, one of the best techniques is to try to understand how admission committees think. They of course want to see a strong academic background with an overall high GPA and especially good marks in prereq classes. However, this is not their only concern. The medical world would not be a very happy place if all the MDs were brilliant but hated medicine and patient care. The only way to know if medicine is a good fit for you is to experience it on some level. This could be as simple as frequent interactions with physicians (either your own appointments or those of a loved one). Probably the easiest way to get more experience is to volunteer in a medical setting that interests you. This is a great way to meet a doctor who you can shadow and who can write a letter of recommendation for you (this is important for your application). Another option is to find a job in a medical setting (this is what I did). Whatever route you choose, make sure to get early and extended exposure to medicine while working on your undergrad degree. This way you will have confidence in your decision to become a physician and will have proof for the admission committee that you are serious about medicine.

Ideas for medical experience

1) Volunteer at a hospital

2) Talk to your family doctor about shadowing her

3) Look for entry level jobs in the medical field (CNA, orderly, scribe...)

4) See if you can become involved in your school's clinic (great option for local networking)

5) Volunteer at a nonprofit health organization (Red Cross, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association...)

One-hundred years ago medicine was a different beast entirely. In a small town a physician would make house calls and bring with him a small bag of equipment and wear a stethoscope around his neck. Today doctors have at their command a slew of lab tests and diagnostic tools that until recently were unheard of. This foundation of advanced science presents the modern MD with a huge toolkit for diagnosing and treating patients. Depending on your specialty, you will experience varying levels of the plethora of scientific accoutrements at hand. What is important, is that you have a working knowledge of science and how research is performed. A great way to do this is by way of an undergraduate lab. To become involved in a lab, it is helpful to build a rapport with an instructor who performs research that you are interested in. I propositioned several of my teachers and ended up landing a research role in an axon guidance lab studying developmental neurobiology. This sort of lab is especially suited to a pre-med because of the biomedical application of the research. You may have a different experience, but I found that there seemed to be more people who desired lab experience than there were lab openings, so be persistent. Additionally, the relationships that you build with your professors will prove invaluable when it comes time to get letters of recommendation.

The life of a pre-med is not easy. There are many demands that are required of students applying to Medical school. These issues are compounded if you, like me, support yourself financially in school. Trying to do all of the things that I suggested to prepare for the day when you apply to med school will take a lot of planning and incredible time management. Its easy to get lost in all of the things that need to be done and forget to enjoy life and pursue interests outside of school. By doing activities outside of what I have mentioned you will not only find life more fulfilling, you will be able to show a med school admissions committee that you can multitask very effectively. Medical schools aren't looking for robots, they are looking for exceptional people. So make sure that you make the time for family, friends and yourself. Have fun, but stay focused. I wish you luck on your journey.