Guest terminalprep Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 I'm a senior in high school, and began contemplating a career in medicine after working with some of the residents in the hospital over my summer break. I've done level 1 or AP (Advanced Placement) classes all through school, am great with English, and have a genuine interest in sciences. In short, I'm a smart girl. However, the thought of med school makes my head spin-- I've done quite a bit of reading and research on the subject, and the amount of work seems tremendous. Anyhow, I've always wondered if anyone with the right degree of motivation and who made an honest effort could successfully make it through med school and become a physician, or if there has to be a special something else... As much as science intrigues me, I do need to put in an effort to make sense of it; I doubt I could just pick up, say, an organic chemistry text and understand what I'm reading first time around. That's my possibly-stereotypical view of medical students. *L* Nobody seems to doubt me except myself, and I almost feel like a fake, waiting to be found out. Is this making sense to anyone? I first became attracted to medicine because it would allow me to constantly learn and contribute to my field, which I had already determined was important to me, and I am truly excited about having that as a perk of my career... It's only the actual medical school that worries me. Did anyone else have doubts when they first began? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lactic Folly Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 I've always wondered if anyone with the right degree of motivation and who made an honest effort could successfully make it through med school Can't think of anything else you'd need.. I doubt I could just pick up, say, an organic chemistry text and understand what I'm reading first time around. That's hardly to be expected! Don't worry - anything worthwhile requires effort, talent or no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phantom8 Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 I daresay that the feeling of "being a fake" doesn't necessarily fade once you're admitted to med school. I remember our Associate Dean telling our class when we first entered med school that "a lot of you might be wondering why you were admitted to med school and are just waiting to be tapped on the shoulder and told that your admittance was all a mistake." Strange as it sounds, I certainly had that feeling my first few weeks in med school. (luckily, it goes away) At any rate, if you're motivated and put in effort, I would certainly say that you can make it in med school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CaesarCornelius Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 The worst feelings of being a fake come once you're in medical school... The first time in the hospital with the white coat.. I swear that everyone knew that I was a 1st med student AND THEY ALL WERE LOOKING AT ME... I was seriously the biggest poser there was. The feeling has subsided a bit, but I still think I get glared at. CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 We had a similar speech to the one phantom8 described. We all laughed as many/most thought it was true - "was I a mistake in the system?" From my perspective in 3rd year, med school is not about brains at all but rather about hard work and organization. Most of the material isn't all that intellectually challenging, but there's so much of it that you end up memorizing a whole lot of lists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blackbird15 Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Heh... our dean gave a similar speech during the first day of classes... To answer the question, I still feel like a fake... I'm definitely not that smart or that special, and contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be mother theresa with a 4.0 to get into meds. All it takes is motivation, hard work, an inquisitive nature and a desire to help others, which you seem to possess. Don't let the admissions process, or the gruelling nature of the program intimidate you Blackbird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marbledust Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 This is a major problem for me. It actually seems to be getting worse than better as I progress through first year. :lol I've spent some time shadowing a psychiatrist and he would always introduce me as his "student physician". I always wanted to look around and see if he was talking about somebody else because of the word "physician". When I asked him if he could just introduce me by my first name he said "well you are a student doctor no?" I never became comfortable with it. And incidentally, I felt kinda like an idiot shadowing although it was a fascinating experience. I sometimes wanted to run out of the hospital and back to my old job where I wouldn't feel like a fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Wait until you get to clerkship and are on call, the nurse mistakes you for a resident, and introduces you to the patient's family as "Dr. Marbledust." It's actually quite a scary experience. (And yes, I did correct the mistake with the patient's family) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest terminalprep Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Thank you all SO MUCH... Your words are more encoraging than I can express. It's great to know that I'm not standing alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marbledust Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 lol that would freak me out UWOMED2005 If it was me I would probably bungle the explanation then go hang my head in shame somewhere :lol Although the thought of one day actually being a real "Dr. Marbledust" is equally troubling to me lol He will kill me for telling this story - for the first bit of his residency my partner admitted he wanted to run and hide everytime somebody called him "Dr." or he heard his name called over the PA system because he felt like a "fake doctor." Thankfully for the patients, he got over it It's an uncomfortable, but sound like not uncommon, feeling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Marbledust, considering you're at Calgary I can pretty much guarantee an incident like that will probably happen to you NEXT year when you start clerkship. As well, the OMA life insurance screwed up my file. I got a piece of mail addressed to "Dr. UWOMED2005" from them as well. Scary to think in 15 months all my mail could be arriving with that address. :eek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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