One bad year in college?

[Azadre]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 EDIT* the doctor is just one part of the medical team, one who arguably has the least patient contact time. Don't go on believing that a doctor is some sort of savant and all the other team members are just eye-candy. Well.... some are

I got this from a friend at Vandy:

"Cost of one lawsuit in terms of insurance impact: $250,000 per career. Cost of spending an extra 5 minutes per patient: $1,800,000 per career."

[Duncan McDonuts]

Lol Saxena is super easy. I made A's on his first two tests and drew hand-turkeys for the third one since he takes best 2/3 midterms, then aced the final. If you're struggling in those semi-upper division classes, good luck on the rest. Seriously.

[Invisible Fan]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 Wow that's a steaming pile of admission essay if I ever heard it. You have an incredibly over-idealized image of medicine. Talk to those disgruntled doctors, ask them why they feel the way they do. Ask doctors how it affects their marriages and family lives. Ask them what it was like getting paid $40k and working 80+ hour weeks in their late-20's. Ask them what its like to have insurance cut their CPT codes by 50% forcing them to either see 50% more patients or lose 50% revenue. Ask them what they think about the future of healthcare and insurance. I'm not saying all the things you use as motivation don't exist, but for Christ's sakes you appear to not know any of the downsides other you'll "have to work hard". EDIT* the doctor is just one part of the medical team, one who arguably has the least patient contact time. Don't go on believing that a doctor is some sort of savant and all the other team members are just eye-candy. Well.... some are

No wonder we're facing a doctor shortage. I think medical school should be free....contingent upon a 3.0 GPA.

[Azadre]

Originally Posted by Invisible Fan No wonder we're facing a doctor shortage. I think medical school should be free....contingent upon a 3.0 GPA.

Tell me about it. My COA is $73,000 for next year.

(but to be fair, resident salaries have increased to almost $50,000 these days.)

[krnxsnoopy]

If med school doesn't work out, I heard they're casting for Slumdog Millionaire 2.

[xcrunner51]

Originally Posted by Azadre Tell me about it. My COA is $73,000 for next year. (but to be fair, resident salaries have increased to almost $50,000 these days.)

Still slave labor. At 80hr's a week (49w/year), a $50k salary comes out to $12.75 an hour. And resident salaries start much closer to $40k and hours can easily top 80.

It is borderline ridiculous that people pay upwards of $75k per year for 4 years to make $12/hr for the next 3-7 years after that.

It's easy to question why we do this sometimes. I can firmly say I don't do it for my potential doctor-patient relationships. (Stupid ethics says you can't even date the hot ones).

[HombreDeHierro]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 Wow that's a steaming pile of admission essay if I ever heard it. You have an incredibly over-idealized image of medicine. Talk to those disgruntled doctors, ask them why they feel the way they do. Ask doctors how it affects their marriages and family lives. Ask them what it was like getting paid $40k and working 80+ hour weeks in their late-20's. Ask them what its like to have insurance cut their CPT codes by 50% forcing them to either see 50% more patients or lose 50% revenue. Ask them what they think about the future of healthcare and insurance. I'm not saying all the things you use as motivation don't exist, but for Christ's sakes you appear to not know any of the downsides other you'll "have to work hard". EDIT* the doctor is just one part of the medical team, one who arguably has the least patient contact time. Don't go on believing that a doctor is some sort of savant and all the other team members are just eye-candy. Well.... some are

scrubs medical school new seasons FTW

[jdh008]

My advice would be to stick it out and bust your rear end. The worst thing you can do is give up on what you love because of one lousy semester. As others have said, the fight isn't over. Getting into medical school isn't this mythical, unachievable goal.

Worst case scenario, the med school route doesn't work, but you have enough credits to be pretty close to graduating in some other science discipline (or even in bio if your grades are good enough to graduate, but not to move on to med school). You'll have a degree and if you really want to be a part of the medical field, there are other ways to do it.

[Azadre]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 It's easy to question why we do this sometimes. I can firmly say I don't do it for my potential doctor-patient relationships. (Stupid ethics says you can't even date the hot ones).

This is the best quote of the thread.

[vstexas09]

If I keep trying, I should eventually get in right?
I'm willing to make sacrifices; and willing to work hard at it. I have cousins who are doctors and in med school, and I hear countless loads of crap about it. But I'm willing to go through that. I feel as though the reason I slacked off this year, was because that medicine was so far off into the future, and I feel as if I had no control. I think this is a valuable lesson to learn.

[Invisible Fan]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 It's easy to question why we do this sometimes. I can firmly say I don't do it for my potential doctor-patient relationships. (Stupid ethics says you can't even date the hot ones).

Does that mean you feel them up, uhhh professionally?

[pouhe]

Switch back to some major with a defined "pre-med" curriculum, start reading JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine or Lancet, go to the bookstore and get an MCAT practice test book, give up your social life and spend any down time at all studying. If you really want to be a doctor, this shouldn't be a problem.

[arif1127]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 Still slave labor. At 80hr's a week (49w/year), a $50k salary comes out to $12.75 an hour. And resident salaries start much closer to $40k and hours can easily top 80. It is borderline ridiculous that people pay upwards of $75k per year for 4 years to make $12/hr for the next 3-7 years after that. It's easy to question why we do this sometimes. I can firmly say I don't do it for my potential doctor-patient relationships. (Stupid ethics says you can't even date the hot ones).

My intern year in surgery: 90 hrs/ week (49 weeks), $35K, comes out to $7.94/hr. That was in 2005. Thankfully I can see the light at the end of the residency tunnel.

[xcrunner51]

Originally Posted by vstexas09 If I keep trying, I should eventually get in right? I'm willing to make sacrifices; and willing to work hard at it. I have cousins who are doctors and in med school, and I hear countless loads of crap about it. But I'm willing to go through that. I feel as though the reason I slacked off this year, was because that medicine was so far off into the future, and I feel as if I had no control. I think this is a valuable lesson to learn.

Short Answer: No.

Sounds like your biggest problems are goal-directed task completion, true understanding of whats involved process-wise and overall maturity.

Your current motivation sounds like this "I want to do _______ in the future because of _______ experiences and I'm willing to work hard". You could fill in the blanks with anything. You don't appear to grasp the step-wise approach to getting into med school, residency, etc.

Hard work is difficult enough on its own but damn near impossible if a) you don't set small achievable goals b) know what your goals are and c) know what the end result will get you. This aspect isn't diffrent from success in any other field.

Your current thought process on getting into med school:
"I need to work hard to get into med school"

The multifactorial process to getting into med school:
"I need to make A's in classes X, Y, Z but can slack in Class DD's"
"I need to volunteer X amount of hours each week"
"I need to set up some research project whether over the summer or during the school year"
"I need to kiss as much professor as I can to get a decent rec letter"

Set realistic goals, reward yourself when you achieve them, manage your time better, etc...

Right now a career in medicine is not totally impossible if you were to consider DO schools or Carribbean MD programs. But you gotta get your ***** together.

You need one of your cousins to sit your ass down and tell you what he did step wise to get into med school. Don't worry about his currents trials/tribulations, focus on what he did to get into med school in the first place.

[SuperBeeKay]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 Short Answer: No. Sounds like your biggest problems are goal-directed task completion, true understanding of whats involved process-wise and overall maturity. Your current motivation sounds like this "I want to do _______ in the future because of _______ experiences and I'm willing to work hard". You could fill in the blanks with anything. You don't appear to grasp the step-wise approach to getting into med school, residency, etc. Hard work is difficult enough on its own but damn near impossible if a) you don't set small achievable goals b) know what your goals are and c) know what the end result will get you. This aspect isn't diffrent from success in any other field. Your current thought process on getting into med school: "I need to work hard to get into med school" The multifactorial process to getting into med school: "I need to make A's in classes X, Y, Z but can slack in Class DD's" "I need to volunteer X amount of hours each week" "I need to set up some research project whether over the summer or during the school year" "I need to kiss as much professor as I can to get a decent rec letter" Set realistic goals, reward yourself when you achieve them, manage your time better, etc... Right now a career in medicine is not totally impossible if you were to consider DO schools or Carribbean MD programs. But you gotta get your ***** together. You need one of your cousins to sit your ass down and tell you what he did step wise to get into med school. Don't worry about his currents trials/tribulations, focus on what he did to get into med school in the first place.

It's all about finding out what the admission committee wants, and showing them that you have the desire and passion. People won't believe anything you write on your personal statement unless you can actually back that up with experience, things such as spending multiple hours shadowing, endless amount of time volunteering or working at a pharmacy/hospital/etc.

I had a crappy GPA but I managed to get into my #1 choice of pharmacy school this past month... and I think it's because I made myself a very well rounded applicant and backed up my personal statement with the things I mentioned above.

[Mr. Brightside]

Originally Posted by vstexas09 If I keep trying, I should eventually get in right? I'm willing to make sacrifices; and willing to work hard at it. I have cousins who are doctors and in med school, and I hear countless loads of crap about it. But I'm willing to go through that. I feel as though the reason I slacked off this year, was because that medicine was so far off into the future, and I feel as if I had no control. I think this is a valuable lesson to learn.

It's not about working harder, but working smarter. When I was in med school, the smartest kids didn't study the most, but rather knew what was high yield and low yield and what was effective studying.

In undergrad, I initially had alot of trouble with classes like Gen Chem. I was just reading the book and didn't understand the concepts. But then I started watching chemistry tutorial videos and learning the concepts became so much easier since I'm a visual learner.

Basically, I realized that for me I would be able to master a concept more easily through a different medium other than a book. You have to see what is effective for you. If going to class and reading a book isn't allowing you to master the subject then you need change your methods of learning. For me in Organic Chem, I had to visit either the professor or TA's office almost every other day for help. In the end I got an A in both O-chem I and O-chem II. For me science was foreign, because I was an Economics major. But in the end I was able to do well, because I figured out what worked for me.

Also I realized that class lecture wasn't worth it's time for me. I stopped attending class in undergrad and even in med school I only went to about 10% of classes since we didn't have an attendance rule. I spent those 4-5 hours extra studying instead and basically having more free time to regroup myself.

[randomdude]

Originally Posted by SuperBeeKay Finals sucks man... UT sure knows how to make smart people feel dumb. Giving people only 2 days for "dead week"... it's ridic considering the competition here

Maybe they just know how to make the dumb people feel dumb

[mylilpony]

Originally Posted by randomdude Maybe they just know how to make the dumb people feel dumb

also, i am applying to dental school next year, and i've got two letters of recommendation. one from the dentist i worked for and one of my organic chemistry teacher. Should I get upper level teacher recommendations or does it matter?

[Crudder]

Originally Posted by xcrunner51 The multifactorial process to getting into med school: "I need to make A's in classes X, Y, Z but can slack in Class DD's" "I need to volunteer X amount of hours each week" "I need to set up some research project whether over the summer or during the school year" "I need to kiss as much professor as I can to get a decent rec letter"

+1 to everything xcrunner51 said and some more to add to the list:

"I need to volunteer X amount of hours in a clinical setting"
"I need to volunteer X amount of hours in a non-clinical setting"
"I need leadership experience"
"I need to get some shadowing experience"

[Azadre]

The irony of it all is that you need no organic chemistry knowledge to succeed in medical school or on the wards.