What would you want to hear from a Med Student?

The Knife & Gun Club

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Hi All,

I'm a rising MS2 (just finished 1st year) and am giving a talk to some high school juniors and seniors about medicine/med school soon.

What are some important topics and questions I should cover? I have to give a short lecture on neuroscience, followed by a Q&A session.

Thanks!

PS I'll answer whatever questions you guys ask on here too, for completeness and because I'm procrastinating from my research project.

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I think you should really delineate the medical path and what it's like as a medical student and as a doctor, thoroughly explaining to the students that it's not like Grey's Anatomy or House in any way. Many high schoolers who watch those shows think that being a doctor is all about saving lives, intense moments, and crazy scenarios, not knowing what a career in healthcare is really about and what it takes to get there.

The road to becoming a physician is long and not for everyone—nobody can dispute that. Touching upon that is, in my opinion, imperative. On the flip side, explaining the rewards and positive aspects of being a physician is also important. Find a way to strike a balance, going over what being a physician entails both positively and negatively, neither strongly encouraging nor discouraging going into medicine; simply tell them how it is and don't sugarcoat things. Personally, I think that would be one of the best ways to help them in deciding whether or not a career in medicine is suitable for them.
 
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Socialized medicine and the phasing-out of small private practice
 
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Is Organic Chemistry as bad as they say it is?

Not trying to high jack thread but just finished Orgo 2, so I'll throw my hat in the ring. It depends on college and professor first and foremost, beyond that yes and no. It's not impossible like it can sometimes be made out to be. I hated it. I didn't really enjoy any of it honestly, I would much rather take an anatomy or physiology class. I'm in biochem right now and even though there is a very slight orgo carry over it is worlds better than orgo. I know people who loved it and maybe when I look back on it, it won't seem so bad. But right now, after studying for the ACS final, I do not have fond memories. However it is not impossible, challenging to me, but was still able to do well.
 
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I think you should really delineate the medical path and what it's like as a medical student and as a doctor, thoroughly explaining to the students that it's not like Grey's Anatomy or House in any way. Many high schoolers who watch those shows think that being a doctor is all about saving lives, intense moments, and crazy scenarios, not knowing what a career in healthcare is really about and what it takes to get there.

The road to becoming a physician is long and not for everyone—nobody can dispute that. Touching upon that is, in my opinion, imperative. On the flip side, explaining the rewards and positive aspects of being a physician is also important. Find a way to strike a balance, going over what being a physician entails both positively and negatively, neither strongly encouraging nor discouraging going into medicine; simply tell them how it is and don't sugarcoat things. Personally, I think that would be one of the best ways to help them in deciding whether or not a career in medicine is suitable for them.

Yeah, good luck asking a first year med student to explain this. I'm graduating from medical school next month and still have very limited insight on what being a physician entails.
 
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You should definitely explain MD/DO/Carib (and misleading Carib stats). Everyone on the forums knows it, but not everyone's on the forums. (But be prepared for "my dad's a doc who went to a Caribbean school"--my response is usually something like "the doctors are just as good--everyone in the US has to pass the same licensing test. It's just that Carib schools nowadays (esp. in the past 15 years) tend to let a lot of students fail out so they can collect a tuition check, not factor those kids into their test scores, and pay for expensive residencies in the US for the few remaining.)
 
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Explain to them that ALL college courses they take will go on their med school app. Doesn't matter if they took them in HS as dual credit, or in the summer at a local CC.
 
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That they should go out and have fun and play in the sun, and not worry about medical school until they're finished college orientation. That's what I'd like to hear as a rising senior in HS.

Are you a sadist, OP?
 
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Yeah, good luck asking a first year med student to explain this. I'm graduating from medical school next month and still have very limited insight on what being a physician entails.

I agree; obviously a medical student can't clearly explain what it's truly like to be a physician—after all, they're in training to become one. Having said that, most undergraduates shadow physicians and volunteer or work in clinical settings, so medical students still know what job they signed up for when they applied to and enrolled in a medical school. A first-year medical student definitely knows a lot more about what being a physician entails as opposed to a naive high school student who watches medical dramas on TV, thinking that that's what being a physician is like.
 
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