If You Couldn't Be A Physician, What Would You Be?

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I think in all honesty that if you are able to even come close to medicine or be able to get through a difficult university program you shouldn't be to worried. If you generally like learning you will continue to learn and this will give you the upper hand on the other 90% of society (knowledge is power after all)

I 100% agree with this. It takes a special kind of person to apply to medicine to begin with. Subjecting themselves to endless studying, taking the MCAT, putting the most perfect statements together, doing a ton of ECs, etc. I think it's safe to say most premeds have a drive that's far beyond most of their non premed peers and that's probably why you never hear about washed up individuals who sit around doing nothing because they didn't get into medicine. Of the individuals I know who applied to medicine and never made it, they're all happy and doing very well in areas such as science, health, and academia. While some med school graduates I know aren't even practicing medicine and are doing things unrelated to their MD degree.

 

It's hard to imagine yourself doing anything else as a premed because this is your 1 dream. For some, it really is and I encourage them to apply as many times as it takes until they get in. But for others, the process of applying and waiting almost gets traumatic after a while. My point is, getting into medicine isn't the only route to feeling fulfilled or happy.

 

Most of us inherently have what it takes to succeed in other areas we decide to pursue and are passionate about, if not medicine.

[katakari]

Chef or bartender. The culture didn't really fit my personality however, and the jobs themselves are not secure or lucrative unless you make it big -- so I decided in high school that medicine was a more direct way to a comfortable life, with the freedom to pursue my hobbies on the side.