PreMed or no Premed

[biofanatic]

Hi there, I am a grade 11 honours/AP student who has a passion for sciences and medicine. Recently I've been browsing these forms and I've seen that this site is generally a good place to gain advice from former students about University and post graduate endeavours, so I thought, 'hey, why not give it a try'.

 

I am here to ask if anyone knows of any successful and fulfilling (financial and personally fulfilling) fields to go into after an undergraduate program such as Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences and/or Biochemistry. I am also open to taking/planning on attending graduate school after undergrad if needed. I, of course, know that I can go to medical school and become a doctor (which in and of itself features a wide variety of specialities). However, I want to keep my options open. I really enjoy biology, chemistry and mathematics. I also love researching and working hands on in labs to find solutions to problems (so I looked into working in a hospital laboratory but the income wasn't too appealing). I just feel like the only medical career that will allow someone to be fulfilled (and financially successful), is a doctor [re-reading that statement I realize that it makes me seem very closed minded, which is why I need help]. Hopefully someone on here can shed some light on careers that are often over looked when choosing a career in Science and Medicine.

 

Thank you for your help.

[freewheeler]

Study whatever interests you.

Also get off of this forum and fool around. You're in highschool.

There will be plenty of time for existential crises during university and medical school, should you pursue it.

[robclem21]

There are a lot of jobs that you can do with a science degree. Most of them will require at least a little more training after undergraduate, though some you can enter straight from high school. Don't close yourself off to other healthcare professions aside from medicine (dentistry, PT, OT, chiropractics, optometry, nursing, respiratory therapy, med tech, speech and language pathology, etc.). There are also a lot of options in research related to healthcare and other science fields.

As others have said, there will be a lot of time for you to figure out what you like and what you want to do with your life. Right now have fun. Its good you are thinking about this, but much too early to get stressed about it.

[NutritionRunner]

There are plenty of allied health professions that make more than enough money to live a very comfortable life, even if they don't quite earn what doctor's do.  The bonus is that most of those allied health professions, depending on workplace, will have things like supplementary health insurance benefits, pensions, etc.  I work at a Community Health Centre, and in addition to MDs we have Nurse Practitioners, Nurses (RNs and RPNs), OTs, PTs, registered dietitians, health promoters, pharmacists, RN or RD CDE (certified diabetes educator), social workers, etc.  So there are lots of careers in healthcare that have a direct impact on the health of clients/patients.  As an allied health professional (I'm a registered dietitian), I like that I have much more time with clients than the doctors do (I typically have an hour to discuss nutrition issues and concerns with clients, doctors only have 15 minutes).  I also like that I can help to prevent disease - I've had clients with pre-diabetes who were able to reverse their pre-diabetes and therefore prevent diabetes through lifestyle changes (diet and exercise).  I like that I teach clients life skills (i.e. cooking skills) with cooking classes - something that can have an enormous impact on both their physical and mental health (as they develop self-efficacy).  While some doctors do talk to their patients about diet and execise, most don't have the luxury of hour-long appointments where you can really use motivational interviewing skills to help clients set achievable goals that will have a significant impact on their health.

[Snowmen]

1 hour ago, NutritionRunner said:

There are plenty of allied health professions that make more than enough money to live a very comfortable life, even if they don't quite earn what doctor's do.  The bonus is that most of those allied health professions, depending on workplace, will have things like supplementary health insurance benefits, pensions, etc.  I work at a Community Health Centre, and in addition to MDs we have Nurse Practitioners, Nurses (RNs and RPNs), OTs, PTs, registered dietitians, health promoters, pharmacists, RN or RD CDE (certified diabetes educator), social workers, etc.  So there are lots of careers in healthcare that have a direct impact on the health of clients/patients.  As an allied health professional (I'm a registered dietitian), I like that I have much more time with clients than the doctors do (I typically have an hour to discuss nutrition issues and concerns with clients, doctors only have 15 minutes).  I also like that I can help to prevent disease - I've had clients with pre-diabetes who were able to reverse their pre-diabetes and therefore prevent diabetes through lifestyle changes (diet and exercise).  I like that I teach clients life skills (i.e. cooking skills) with cooking classes - something that can have an enormous impact on both their physical and mental health (as they develop self-efficacy).  While some doctors do talk to their patients about diet and execise, most don't have the luxury of hour-long appointments where you can really use motivational interviewing skills to help clients set achievable goals that will have a significant impact on their health.

The part about diet and disease prevention is especially true. In fact, I one of my professors mentioned yesterday that in patients with a high risk for type II diabetes, an improved diet was enough to prevent 60% of diabetes cases whereas a drug (metformine) was only half as effective.