That's true. About 15-20% of my med school class did coke. About 40-50% heavily abused alcohol as well. I don't have the greatest of trust in doctors after having been through med school.
This is common knowledge amongst med students. My ex is a Dr and he turned cynical pretty quickly, he hates the institution of medicine. He would quit (he is doing his residency now) if he could. Just be ready for it.. Dont be blindsided like he was.
I dunno but probably good to start prepping for med school now as well; MCAT practice tests, medical journals, scanning the med school degree plans and bookstores for courses and texts.
Yup med school students are big drug addicts. With the course load and stress it really isn't that surprising. Take rezdawg's advice, and don't major in science, just take the pre reqs. Here's what it mostly comes down to, it's a harsh reality, but it's true. GPA. Should be above a 3.7 MCAT Should be above a 30 ( top schools 33 or 35) You need to be well rounded and do other stuff, but if you have the gpa and mcat you are pretty much set. If you don't, it is very difficult to get it. The plus of doing a science major is that it well help you on your mcat, probably the most stressful and difficult test people have to take. With the way it keeps getting harder and harder people tell me they had more trouble with it then their STEP 1. Good luck and know what you are getting yourself into.
Yes, but I know what kind of doctor I want to be. Trust me, there are more stressed/ pressured people in the world than med students. I've seen some of the chillest, most friendly, moral people be doctors- A few neurosurgeons even. Boston University is somewhat friendly to Canucks like myself, so it's somewhere that I'm planning to apply to. Even if I get in though, I don't see my self doing drugs and procrastinating. Nothing wrong with partying, I love it. But I don't think what you do should determine who you are. Just because you have shyteloads of work doesn't give you an excuse to disrupt the healthy flow of your life. Another thing, I'm totally aware of the corruption that exists in the medical community. Personally I think doctors shouldn't be paid so much, but eh, it's just an opinion. Truthfully, alot of people really shouldn't be doctors, and are in it for the wrong reasons. Too many focus more on earnings than patient care. Alot of doctors also forget that they are there to serve the people, not to stand above people...The arrogance in the community is something that really pisses me off. CF doctors, what are you opinions?
I'd say get ready to get knocked off your moral high horse. It's easy to complain about how much doctors get paid when you're not getting crushed under $300k in debt, trying to raise a family, and starting your regular adult life in your early to mid-30's. Doctors get dumped on just as much as anyone else. It's a job. A job with a noble purpose but its a job. There's a grind that wears you down just as much as anything else, so if there's something you'd be happier doing then do that. Mid-level providers encroach on your practice, Medicaid/Medicare want to reimburse you less as time goes on, bureaucracy means you're spending 60+ percent of your day doing paperwork. And most doctors don't "stand above people". They want to help people but lets be honest there are a lot of crappy patients out there that ruin it for the bunch.
...and dealing with insurance companies. As of today, I am currently owed 72k by PPOs. Getting them to make payment costs money and time...and you end up getting the short end of the stick regardless. And physicians have it worse than I do.
I see. I did overreact in my previous post, and am sorry if I offended any MD's here. It's just that I've developed a really good life outlook in college, and would like to keep it when I enter medical school and through the rest of my career. Maybe it's youthful optimism, but I believe I can succeed without becoming one of those over stressed, seemingly disinterested doctors. Call it youthful integrity. Again, I apologize if I came across as offensive.
I dont think anyone is getting offended...rather, I think people are trying to give you a more realistic prognosis. Regardless of how moral and optimistic you are, there will be difficult challenges ahead that will change your perspective on things as you go through the process.
Biology major is pathetically easy.. I have completed my degrees in engineering as well as Biolgical sciences so I am speaking from experience. I hardly went to any classes in Biology I kid you not. I used to go on the exam days and the mandatory labs only andm y GPA as a biology major was close to 4.0. The only courses that even come close to challenging you in the Biology curriculum is Organic Chemistry 1 and Organic Chemistry II. Here is a tip if you want to inclrease your chances of getting into medical school: Dont be a biology major. You will be one of thousands with the same major. You are not setting yourself apart, neither talent wise, nor application wise. Instead major in engineering while taking the required med school courses as electives (Biology, OChemI, OchemII) for the folowing reasons: 1) You have already set yourself apart. Your application will look a lot better than the countless others who are applying to med school. You are showing them that you can do well in more challenging courses and they you can think critically and are a problem solver. My wife has a PhD in engineering and is considering going to med school. She is going to have a much easier time getting in med school than the other bio folks. 2) You will be more prepared for med school. Skill-wise, engineering courses will prepare you better for med school than most of the generic and boring biology courses. My wife works with both MDs and PhDs at Harvard Medical school and she tells me the difference in thinking processes between the docs and engineers is very apparent. Engineers approach and break down problems in much more logical manner. MDs at her place have a lot of respect for engineers. Your medical school interviewer and folks that review your application will have the same respect for you. 3) If you fail to get into med school, because of your grades or what not, you will have more job opportunities if you are a Engineering major than if you are a biology major. More job opportunities and much much better salary. If I apply to a job using my biology degree, my options are limited, competition is very high, and salary is very low. With my engineering degree, I can apply to most any companies, see a lot more job openings, and salary is significantly more. 4) If you are an engineering major and you go on to do a Masters, you will be rewarded. If you are a biology major and you go on to do a Masters, you have most likely wasted 2 years. Masters in Biology with a few specialized ones( Forensics or genetic counseling) dont really mean much, unless you plan on doing a PhD. Recommended Engineering majors for med schools: Biomedical or bioengineering, Mechanical engineering, Material science and engineering, Chemical engineering. Chemical engineering is the hardest, Biomedical engineering is the easiest, while mechanical and materials is somewhere in the middle.
Youthful integrity? I could call what I'm inferring from you as blissful ignorance, uneducated enthusiasm or any number of banal terms. I know its hard to envision what life as a doctor is really like, but you talk about medicine the same way a 10 year old talks about professional athletes. Just no concept of what it takes day-in, day-out to do the job. No one glamorizes getting woken up every 30mins during the 5 hours you're home to renew pain medications or prescribe anti-emetics. No one glamorizes going to work at 4am and leaving at 10pm. No one glamorizes replacing the packing on a butt ulcer or sticking your hand up a 400lb man's rear end or a 500lb woman's vagina. Do that enough times and then ask yourself if you think it's fair that medicare is decreasing your compensation. Like I said, if you can derive enough satisfaction from the good moments to outweigh the bad then great. But the crappy moments happen to every doctor whether your an optimist, pessimist or just plain anhedonic.
I was doing a Biology major in UH before transferring to A&M. The major can be very tough for most people, but for me personally I studied my tail off and did fine. I was like you early on in my freshman year of college. I slacked off a lot in High School/some of first semester of college, but I changed my work ethic etc. I studied 2 hours a day for each science class, and 1 for each math class I had that semester. Try to write notes when reading a Biology/Chemistry etc. textbook (Helped me retain information a lot). And read the chapters etc before class so you have a rough understanding off whats going to be covered. After you get home, study the notes that day. I read if you go over what you learned that day in the next 24 hours, it will significantly increase retention (Worked for me). And this one was I never saw the point in until I tried it: GET 6-8 HOURS OF SLEEP! This helps you focus in class without daydreaming about stupid things. I currently have a 3.8 GPA from all of that work. I was a 3.0 GPA kid back in high school before I had a reality check. Good luck!
Again, no offence meant. I never said it was an easy or glamorous job. All I'm saying is that I hope to never become one of those easily irritated, disinterested docs that I see too often at the hospital. I hope. Also, I don't know why you assume I'm going to specialize in proctology or work in a delivery ward. Maybe I'll do some of what you say in residency, which will be a hard time for sure. In plain English, I hope to remain the same person regardless of what job I do or what my schedule is. I can't deny that many people are changed by their job, but I also can deny that some people aren't. I hope to be the latter, if that's understandable. But don't fault me for optimism? It's one of the best things to have, especially when one's young.
You'll be doing a bit of everything, regardless of what specialty you eventually choose. Point being that you will be getting used and abused during your training...and all that will shape your opinion of things. I think after going through all the rigors of becoming a physician and then dealing with life on the side, you wont think that physicians are getting paid too much. It's great that you are optimistic and I hope you can maintain that level of optimism.
