What made you all decide on medicine as non-trads?

[AcneRosaceaDermatitis]

I'm 23 and graduated from college with a BA in economics in December 2021. I took some premed prereqs, but definitely not all of them.

I'm somewhat considering medical or nursing school and want to know what made you all consider a career in medicine - any perspectives are welcomed! Bonus points if you started out in a business field like I'm in right now.

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[emailsemailsemails]

On my first day of work, I helped out an old lady who was having chest pain and nearly collapsed on the stairs. I had taken an EMT class 7 years ago so I helped her in whatever way I could, giving aspirin, water, telling her to rest, etc. but she didn't wanna call an ambulance cause she was a refugee and was afraid of what would happen to her and didn't have insurance.

I thought about that moment for two years and how I was able to still recall basic information that helped save her life. I thought it was something I could get over and return to my regular career (international relations), but I realized that I loved what I had done, and I had grown so much as a student that I would be able to handle the academic rigor of medicine. At first, I just wanted to volunteer at my local hospital, and saw how nurses and PA's perform their work, but when I was able to shadow doctors and see the level of mastery they have, there was no doubt in my mind I wanted to pursue medical school.

 

[AcneRosaceaDermatitis]

On my first day of work, I helped out an old lady who was having chest pain and nearly collapsed on the stairs. I had taken an EMT class 7 years ago so I helped her in whatever way I could, giving aspirin, water, telling her to rest, etc. but she didn't wanna call an ambulance cause she was a refugee and was afraid of what would happen to her and didn't have insurance.

I thought about that moment for two years and how I was able to still recall basic information that helped save her life. I thought it was something I could get over and return to my regular career (international relations), but I realized that I loved what I had done, and I had grown so much as a student that I would be able to handle the academic rigor of medicine. At first, I just wanted to volunteer at my local hospital, and saw how nurses and PA's perform their work, but when I was able to shadow doctors and see the level of mastery they have, there was no doubt in my mind I wanted to pursue medical school.

How old were you when you decided to go into medicine and how many of the pre-reqs had you taken?

 

[emailsemailsemails]

How old were you when you decided to go into medicine and how many of the pre-reqs had you taken?

I was 25, and I’d taken both bio and Chem 1 and 2 but they were so long ago that they don’t count towards disqualifying me from formal PostBacc programs (I took them 7 years ago)

 

[wanderer534]

There are many reasons why I switched out of my previous field of study and career to medicine but one seminal essay that clinched it for me was David Graeber's "Bull**** Jobs". He later expanded it to a book but you don't need to read the entire book; just the essay will suffice. The essay will comment on business jobs for sure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull****_Jobs

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

I was 22 and cooking chicken at a grocery store. I never went to middle or high school. I had a coworker who was going through a lot, and I was the only person that had ever actually listened to her and accepted her for who she was. One day she showed me the marks on her arm and said I was the reason she was still alive, and hugged me before she went home. I had a late shift that night working alone, a lot of time to think while was scrubbing the fryer, I kinda had a moment of "what am I doing?". I realized I had something inside of me that could actually make a positive change in the world. It was the first time i'd ever thought I was capable of anything meaningful.

I spent the following weeks researching psychiatry and learning about the entire process, wondering if I could even do it since I'd had no real education my whole life other than kindergarten. Six months later I started my first semester as a full-time student at community college, and knocked it out of the park.

 

[chicandtoughness]

Hi! I had a BS in Economics and worked on Wall Street for a bit :3

I actually knew I wanted to do healthcare, but had no idea what. I was pre a lot of things.. pre-PT. pre-OT, pre-nursing.. eventually somehow stumbled upon mental health counseling and have been doing that for a while. I work in higher levels of care (inpatient psych) and get to interface with physicians on the daily. I love my job but I want their job more It's awesome to see them lead a team and synthesize information from multiple disciplines to come up with a comprehensive and effective treatment plan.

 

[Apprentice of St. Luke]

38 years old currently. I currently work as a grill cook in a fast food place.

I have wanted to be a physician since kindergarten (my late father was the town general practitioner - he did one year of rotating internship then one year general surgery internship in the U.S., preceded by practice or residency in the Philippines - at the time). I went off to college in 2002, my high school graduation year, but I was not focused on my studies. A couple of transfers later, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Major: Psychology) in 2009 with a decent enough GPA to graduate. My medical interests are varied: I have at one point or another taken an interest in: pediatric oncology & hematology; performing arts medicine (medical care of artists as opposed to art or music therapy - I am particularly interested in the treatment and prevention of musicians' injuries); ophthalmology (I received ophthalmic scribe certification in 2016); oral & maxillofacial surgery (yes, I know that is a DDS/DMD specialty - after my now late father who let me shadow him and take vitals in the ER sometime in 2002, dual degree oral and maxillofacial surgeons were the first M.D.s for me to shadow in 2008); otolaryngology; emergency medicine; PM&R (mostly related to my performing arts medicine interests); emergency medicine; neurology; neuro-/critical care; pediatric critical care; neonatology as well as general pediatrics. Also, over twenty years ago, general surgery or cardiothoracic surgery. More recently, interventional radiology. And I am quite sure I left something out. Sleep medicine. Hyperbaric medicine. Medicine-pediatrics. Right now, I am interested in the long term effects of COVID-19. I briefly considered being a PA-C, but ultimately decided not to go that route - I do not wish to be legally constrained by supervision requirements regardless of how much autonomy I may be given. Whatever my specialty will be, I want to be excellent at it while at the same time having a broad enough medical knowledge base to deal with changing conditions (before ophthalmologists were staffing ICUs during COVID-19, radiologists were irrigating eyes in the wake of 9/11).

For those of you who pray, I ask you to pray for me so that an over thirty year old dream will come to fulfillment and that if admitted to medical school, His Divine Majesty will lead me to a specialty most suitable for me and that He will help me to endure the stresses of medical school, residency, and practice.

 

[Rside]

TLDR, I witnessed someone close to me get assaulted with a baseball bat. Pt. didn't want medical attention / ambulance to be called since PD would be involved. I had been a scribe years ago and after pt calmed down I explained possibilities that could happen if he didn't go to an ED. Pt. finally agreed for one of us to take them to ED. Pt. got part of skull cut out and replaced with metal plate after several weeks in ICU, Pt. now has made nearly full recovery.

I decided my life would be better spent helping people get back to doing what they love.

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

So I'm a little different. I knew as a child but life doesn't take you quite on the smooth straight path you thought you were going to go. I was a STEM major and everything but life happened and I struggled for various reasons.

However, I never figured out my exact "why medicine" until my first gap year. (Literally felt like a fraud for years because I didn't have anything other than the cliche "i want to help people") My 2nd year in an ED scribe. I worked the overnight weekend shifts Most of the patients were young and intoxicated (not etoh), a few GSWs, several arrested, and some on vents. Whole team felt defeated and upset, including the ICU doc who was downstairs with us. I remember him yelling out "what is going on?! is this was life has come to?!" To provide more context, the hospital served a prodominantly Black community in the city and all of the staff (docs, nurses, techs)were Black as well.

That moment struck a cord in me. Continuing to pursue medicine was beyond watching my family members be sick from heart diabetes and diabetes, but it was also about my entire community, especially that part of the city, and knowing our history in the US and with healthcare. It was wanting to establish trust between doctors and the community, and provide representation. Having those desires and passion is what keeps me going.

 

[Tryhj11]

I was 22 and cooking chicken at a grocery store. I never went to middle or high school. I had a coworker who was going through a lot, and I was the only person that had ever actually listened to her and accepted her for who she was. One day she showed me the marks on her arm and said I was the reason she was still alive, and hugged me before she went home. I had a late shift that night working alone, a lot of time to think while was scrubbing the fryer, I kinda had a moment of "what am I doing?". I realized I had something inside of me that could actually make a positive change in the world. It was the first time i'd ever thought I was capable of anything meaningful.

I spent the following weeks researching psychiatry and learning about the entire process, wondering if I could even do it since I'd had no real education my whole life other than kindergarten. Six months later I started my first semester as a full-time student at community college, and knocked it out of the park.

A community college without attending middle or high school?

 

[bomba]

A community college without attending middle or high school?

It's certainly possible with a GED--some people are resilient.

 

[bomba]

I'm 23 and graduated from college with a BA in economics in December 2021. I took some premed prereqs, but definitely not all of them.

I'm somewhat considering medical or nursing school and want to know what made you all consider a career in medicine - any perspectives are welcomed! Bonus points if you started out in a business field like I'm in right now.

I could write a novel on this, but I'll try to keep it brief. I've always wanted to be a physician, but kept letting life get in the way. My first attempt at university was a spectacular failure, so I went into the construction industry. I did well for myself, but the 2008 Financial Crisis vaporized my income overnight. After that I went back to university with renewed focus/maturity and did exceptionally well, eventually graduating with a BBA in accounting. I progressed in my accounting career--got promoted a few times and earned an MBA, but still had this lingering beacon in my heart calling me to medicine. Due to a combination of the pandemic and supporting both my father and mother-in-law through cancer treatment, I decided that my dream shouldn't be left to die. My spouse knew this was something that had been eating at my soul, so we had a long discussion about what it would take and the sacrifices involved. Thankfully I married an awesome lady who is my biggest advocate.

The first step I took was to begin volunteering at a hospice to ensure I really want to dedicate my life to medicine, and that I'm not making major life decisions based on a romanticized notion of the profession (I thank @Goro for this advice). That turned out to be the most meaningful thing I've done in my life. I've grown close to the nurses and physicians at the facility while getting experiences that have fundamentally changed the way I view death, grief, and the human condition. I also have a renewed sense of empathy for my fellow human that felt muted in the corporate world. All around it has been a great experience that I highly recommend.

Next, I made a financial plan, accumulated the needed financial resources, and quit my job to go back to school. So I'm currently 36 and taking bio II, ochem I, and microbio with a bunch of 18-20 somethings. It's definitely an adjustment being the "old" guy, but my semester is going exceptionally well and I've even made a few friends. If all goes to plan, I'll be ready to apply after three additional semesters.

The best advice I can give is prove to yourself that this is something you truly want to before making any major commitments. The best way to do that is likely volunteering in a clinical setting.

P.s. Sorry, I tried to keep it brief.​

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

Insufficient income as a barista

 

[ridebiker]

Mine is pretty different and multifaceted. I didn't grow up wanting to be a doctor, nor in a household that valued my education at all. I was told my entire childhood that doctors were bad and basically schilling poison to people, so I was never allowed to go for my own health care.

As a teenager I battled pretty severe depression (and CPTSD but I had no idea at the time) and I knew something was off with my mental health. Like every teen who is depressed/unhappy I decided I should become a psychiatrist because fixing other people would surely fix me. I also loved grey's anatomy (yes, please eye roll at 16 year old me) and thought being a doctor looked like fun. I literally had *no* idea what being pre-med entailed, but at 17 I decided that's what I would do and started college with those plans. I should also say, I was homeschooled for most of my life, heavily religion-based, so I was WAY behind in terms of normal education standards. I loved reading, so no issues there, but I had never experienced the rigor of classes at the undergraduate level. I also had NO idea how to study. So after a semester of pre-med I switched to pre-PT, then got scared off by Ochem, and switched to exercise science which I did really love and I excelled in.

Throughout my 20s I worked in the outdoor/fitness industry and often times worked 2-3 jobs at a time to make ends meet, but I was happy because I was competing in mountain biking and running, and kind of living a dream life. I never really gave a lot of thought to what I wanted to do for my "career" because my focus was on myself and racing. Going back to school was always in the back of my mind, but I didn't want that more than I wanted to be an athlete. In my late 20s I was unfortunately badly injured, and after multiple surgeries I am no longer able to compete or really ride bikes or run anymore. This threw my life into a total tailspin. I literally had no idea who I was outside of my identity as an athlete and it took me years to find out who I was as a person, outside of my external abilities. Anyway, through this process I also went to a LOT of therapy, and figured out that a lot of my pain/other issues was caused by the abuse I experienced as a child (which I literally had never talked about/processed). I had an *amazing* psychiatrist who was the first person to talk to me about how trauma lives in our bodies and can manifest as illness and chronic pain. She really opened up my eyes to this whole world of healing/possibility that I'd never experienced, and it inspired me to learn more about specifically trauma/ptsd and pain. This was hugely helpful for me in my journey of acceptance of my pain, and also how to live a full life despite the fact that the one thing I loved most had been taken away.

So that was one big inspiration for me, just having this incredible doctor caring for me, and that made me want to train and do the same for others. I feel like trauma/ptsd/pain are not widely talked about *still* and there is still so much new research and information coming out. I would love to be able to help others the way she helped me. Additionally, in my years dealing with chronic pain/injuries, I have sadly had so many bad experiences with doctors. I hope with my personal experiences dealing with pain that I can be an empathetic ear to patients who are dealing with similar things, and not treat them as if they are just "stressed" or "crazy" which has sadly been how I was treated by some doctors.

I also personally really needed *something* more in my life. I've been working a very boring corporate job for the past few years, since I quit bike racing. During Covid we started working from home, and my life became so small. I woke up one morning and realized....I cannot do this for the rest of my life. I have always been an extremely driven person, and I had no where to focus that drive onto anymore, since I couldn't train as an athlete. I didn't feel like my job was making a difference in anyone's life, and I needed more purpose to my work. I decided that I would start focusing that extra drive/energy towards school to prepare for med school, and it's been the best decision I ever made. I am the kind of person that needs something in their life that is consuming and a driving force. Some people love down time and work/life balance, I personally hate it. So that was another thing that factored in for me.

Lastly, I lived in a rural community for 5 years, and the health care situation was terrible. I had many friends with mental health issues that could not get in with a Dr for multiple years. Just getting in to see an OB or a family med doctor would be months and months. When I had my injuries I had to drive 2-3 hours multiple times a month to see an actual doctor who was qualified. So I'd love to work in a rural community after graduating, either practicing family med or psych. I've always wanted to have land and live rurally, so that would be a dream come true for me.

 

[AcneRosaceaDermatitis]

Mine is pretty different and multifaceted. I didn't grow up wanting to be a doctor, nor in a household that valued my education at all. I was told my entire childhood that doctors were bad and basically schilling poison to people, so I was never allowed to go for my own health care.

As a teenager I battled pretty severe depression (and CPTSD but I had no idea at the time) and I knew something was off with my mental health. Like every teen who is depressed/unhappy I decided I should become a psychiatrist because fixing other people would surely fix me. I also loved grey's anatomy (yes, please eye roll at 16 year old me) and thought being a doctor looked like fun. I literally had *no* idea what being pre-med entailed, but at 17 I decided that's what I would do and started college with those plans. I should also say, I was homeschooled for most of my life, heavily religion-based, so I was WAY behind in terms of normal education standards. I loved reading, so no issues there, but I had never experienced the rigor of classes at the undergraduate level. I also had NO idea how to study. So after a semester of pre-med I switched to pre-PT, then got scared off by Ochem, and switched to exercise science which I did really love and I excelled in.

Throughout my 20s I worked in the outdoor/fitness industry and often times worked 2-3 jobs at a time to make ends meet, but I was happy because I was competing in mountain biking and running, and kind of living a dream life. I never really gave a lot of thought to what I wanted to do for my "career" because my focus was on myself and racing. Going back to school was always in the back of my mind, but I didn't want that more than I wanted to be an athlete. In my late 20s I was unfortunately badly injured, and after multiple surgeries I am no longer able to compete or really ride bikes or run anymore. This threw my life into a total tailspin. I literally had no idea who I was outside of my identity as an athlete and it took me years to find out who I was as a person, outside of my external abilities. Anyway, through this process I also went to a LOT of therapy, and figured out that a lot of my pain/other issues was caused by the abuse I experienced as a child (which I literally had never talked about/processed). I had an *amazing* psychiatrist who was the first person to talk to me about how trauma lives in our bodies and can manifest as illness and chronic pain. She really opened up my eyes to this whole world of healing/possibility that I'd never experienced, and it inspired me to learn more about specifically trauma/ptsd and pain. This was hugely helpful for me in my journey of acceptance of my pain, and also how to live a full life despite the fact that the one thing I loved most had been taken away.

So that was one big inspiration for me, just having this incredible doctor caring for me, and that made me want to train and do the same for others. I feel like trauma/ptsd/pain are not widely talked about *still* and there is still so much new research and information coming out. I would love to be able to help others the way she helped me. Additionally, in my years dealing with chronic pain/injuries, I have sadly had so many bad experiences with doctors. I hope with my personal experiences dealing with pain that I can be an empathetic ear to patients who are dealing with similar things, and not treat them as if they are just "stressed" or "crazy" which has sadly been how I was treated by some doctors.

I also personally really needed *something* more in my life. I've been working a very boring corporate job for the past few years, since I quit bike racing. During Covid we started working from home, and my life became so small. I woke up one morning and realized....I cannot do this for the rest of my life. I have always been an extremely driven person, and I had no where to focus that drive onto anymore, since I couldn't train as an athlete. I didn't feel like my job was making a difference in anyone's life, and I needed more purpose to my work. I decided that I would start focusing that extra drive/energy towards school to prepare for med school, and it's been the best decision I ever made. I am the kind of person that needs something in their life that is consuming and a driving force. Some people love down time and work/life balance, I personally hate it. So that was another thing that factored in for me.

Lastly, I lived in a rural community for 5 years, and the health care situation was terrible. I had many friends with mental health issues that could not get in with a Dr for multiple years. Just getting in to see an OB or a family med doctor would be months and months. When I had my injuries I had to drive 2-3 hours multiple times a month to see an actual doctor who was qualified. So I'd love to work in a rural community after graduating, either practicing family med or psych. I've always wanted to have land and live rurally, so that would be a dream come true for me.

I've also suffered from depression and CPTSD and had an interest in psychiatry/psychology as well at that age.

Also was premed initially in college, also was stronger in humanities and also got scared by o-chem after I earned a B- in Orgo 1!

I'm also in corporate and feel like I'm just flinging my residual drive into medicine. I also really hate down time (though I can't work 24/7; I need my rest and break time).

I feel like we're similar in some aspects except that I'm not sure if I wanna live rurally or do family med lol

 

[ridebiker]

I feel like we're similar in some aspects except that I'm not sure if I wanna live rurally or do family med lol

While it's what I think I want to do, I'm definitely still giving myself the option that I can change my mind once I am in clinical rotations and seeing other specialties. I am also interested in psych or neurology given my background, or PM&R.

What specialties are you most drawn to?

 

[AcneRosaceaDermatitis]

While it's what I think I want to do, I'm definitely still giving myself the option that I can change my mind once I am in clinical rotations and seeing other specialties. I am also interested in psych or neurology given my background, or PM&R.

What specialties are you most drawn to?

Lol I think it's still too early for me to decide, but I've liked dermatology, oncology, and ER in the past, as well as maybe neurology

 

[Apprentice of St. Luke]

While it's what I think I want to do, I'm definitely still giving myself the option that I can change my mind once I am in clinical rotations and seeing other specialties. I am also interested in psych or neurology given my background, or PM&R.

What specialties are you most drawn to?

For me, as mentioned above, a boat load, but the ones which currently catch my attention include (in no particular order): 1) Medicine/pediatrics or family medicine 2) ophthalmology 3) PM&R and 4) neurology.

I will most likely be the one waiting until the last minute to decide during residency application season. Really. Too many things in medicine I am in awe of. When I was a child some thirty years ago, I was fascinated with the work of Drs. Denton Cooley and Michael DeBakey, among other things. Then head trauma caught my attention, and I noticed more in the news regarding concussions in athletes - I think this was around the start of this century? Then my eye turned to the search for a bionic eye.

The most important thing is I want to be excellent at what I do and have both the depth of knowledge of one area while knowing how it interacts with other medical disciplines (how the eye is really an extension of the nervous system, for example, or even the possibility of an eye injury causing heart rate to slow down - the oculocardiac reflex), and the why behind it.

MD or DO for me or go home.

 

[AcneRosaceaDermatitis]

@ridebiker would I be able to DM you about stuff since I feel like we're in a similarish situation?

While it's what I think I want to do, I'm definitely still giving myself the option that I can change my mind once I am in clinical rotations and seeing other specialties. I am also interested in psych or neurology given my background, or PM&R.

What specialties are you most drawn to?

 

[ridebiker]

@ridebiker would I be able to DM you about stuff since I feel like we're in a similarish situation?

Sure thing!

 

[JustintheDoctor]

I'm an ICU nurse - so I basically live with sick patients. But I really want to do something more than just task checking for the majority of the time. Also want to have the background knowledge to know more, for example, I study critical care drugs in my off time but much of the time certain things get mentioned and i have zero clue what they mean because of nursing school, only med school (or pharmacy i guess) would provide that background knowledge.
So I'm currently still working full time, and finishing up my BSN online, and I will also be starting UNE post-bacc classes these next 1 - 1.5 years. Already bought the kaplan box set to keep pushing myself to study, oh and downloaded the miles down deck to go along with it. Gonna be a crazy road these next 2 years; literally a whole ass degree, a post bacc certificate, full time critical care nursing along with the studying that comes with that, and then mcat studying

Have been interested in CRNA since starting nursing school, and many of them require ochem, so basically just adding on physics and biochem to the backup plan of crna school. If I actually get into med school current interests are Anesthesia, Radiology, and surgery.