Tag Archives: #medicine

Science Paths Beyond Graduate or Medical School

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Hello Scripps! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends and are ready to take on the last bit of the semester. After that, it’s a month of relaxation and rest. I was able to celebrate thanksgiving with my flatmates and a few other friends who live down the hall.

  In the spirit of thanksgiving, I’ve been reflecting on the things that I’m thankful for in regards to my education and the opportunities that a place like Scripps has to offer. As I’ve mentioned in some of my earlier posts, I have worked in a research lab at Keck since the spring of my first year and have had multiple opportunities to present my research and experience what life is like in a full blown lab. I have also mentioned my hesitation in attending graduate school after I am done at Scripps and have had some wonderful conversations with friends that have really helped make it more clear what I want to do, while simultaneously making me more uncertain and stressed about my future (quite like Schmidt in this scene).I have a friend from home who is working towards his Masters degree in Dublin and we arranged to meet for breakfast one weekend, as it has been years since we’ve really had the chance to catch up. He attended Oregon State University and was a double major in chemistry and biology. He did not go to graduate school for either subject and has since spent his time working at companies where policy making and science overlap. I was very excited to get the chance to probe him about his own experiences in deciding not to attend graduate school and where that has taken him after college. Similar to me, he mentioned that he knew he didn’t want to attend graduate school after his undergraduate education and felt overwhelmed by the seemingly low number of options he might have for a career.

It was very nice to hear about the experiences he has had since graduating and the ways in which he knew if a job was a good fit for him. The one thing he said that really stuck with me was actually a piece of advice his professor gave him when he was trying to decide whether he should go to graduate school. She told him that, because he didn’t want to go to graduate school or medical school, his path was going to be more difficult to figure out. She was not saying that his path was going to be easier per se, but in terms of figuring out the necessary steps to take, it would be a challenge, which honestly made me feel like Michael Cera below.

As she noted, and as I have noticed through my research on graduate programs and medical school, the paths are relatively straight forward. If you want to be a doctor, you get an undergraduate degree, take the MCAT, apply to medical school, do your residency, and are a doctor. For graduate school, you get your undergraduate degree, take the GRE, and then apply to different programs. Although these steps are very rigorous, time consuming, and academically challenging, there is a sense of security in knowing that your path to get there is clear.

For me, I feel pretty lost in what I am going to do after I graduate from Scripps, especially when I am asked what I hope to do with a chemistry major and an English minor. I hope that with exposure to more interdisciplinary fields and the work that I will need to do for my thesis, I will find more of what I’m passionate about. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it’s all right to not be sure of your future and can even help you be more open to new opportunities when they arise.

Best of luck in these last few weeks! I’m rooting for you all from Dublin!

Medical School or a Masters Program?

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Happy Wednesday Scrippsies! I’m sure the weather is as beautiful as ever, but it’s been pretty cloudy in Dublin and I am definitely missing the sunshine.

  vs.  As promised, I will be sharing with you my list of pros and cons that I’ve made for myself regarding medical school. It ended up morphing into a list of things that I want from a job and questions I had about whether or not my life goals would fit into the timeline that medical school inserts into your life. Without further ado:

What do I want from my job?

-I want to be challenged daily

-I want to work with people, preferably kids

-I want to be able to help people

-I don’t want to do the same thing every single day

-I want to develop a relationship with the people I work with

What do I want out of my 20’s? Could medical school hinder those plans?

-I want the opportunity to travel

-I eventually want a family

Although this is a pretty short list at this point, it has given me a good idea of whether or not the medical field might be right for me. I believe that most of the things I want from my job would be fulfilled by working in medicine, which is promising.

Being away from Scripps, surrounded by new people, I’ve had the chance to reflect on myself in a completely new way and find that I am more sure of myself and my abilities as a student and more confident in who I am as a person than I might’ve realized at Scripps. I think that these are key qualities for anyone working in medicine, which is also promising.

Besides medicine, I have also been considering a Masters program, run by MIT, that specializes specifically in teaching students how to communicate science to the general public. I’d be particularly interested in examining how this sort of communication, be it writing, museum exhibits, or other forms of technology, can be geared towards kids. The program is only nine months and connects graduates with a local business or corporation at the end, with examples such as The Boston Globe and Boston Children’s Hospital. This program is of interest to me because of the interdisciplinary approach taken to science and the arts. I have also felt torn between the two worlds and this program seems to offer a solution to the strain I often feel.

Working with kids this summer at a summer day camp, I knew that I needed to find a way to incorporate working with kids into my future occupation. At the start of the summer, I assumed that I would get bored of watching them at a certain point, or run out of things to do with them, but they always kept things lively and interesting and I always looked forward to going to work. That was the first time that I felt so certain about my future and why I would hope to work with kids if I choose to work in medicine.

Based on what I’ve just written, it’s easy to see that I am conflicted about what my future might, or should, hold. But knowing that that’s okay and giving myself time to really think about what I want for my future is comforting.

Have any stories or questions about your own path, or just want someone to bounce ideas off of? Shoot me an email, or comment below! I’d love to hear from you! ([email protected])

When I Grow Up: Pursuing Your Childhood Dreams

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When I was younger, I wanted to be everything.  I went through phases pursuing every career path in the book, bouncing from doctor to archaeologist to dancer and back again, just as many kids do.

When I was in 6th grade, I thought that I found my life’s calling.  I had always loved to read, and I though being at school was quite fun.  Me, being a fairly practical child, already understood that teachers didn’t make a whole lot of cash, so I went and declared that my ultimate goal was to become an English Literature professor.  I had my whole life plan set out: attend undergrad, get my doctorate, and then get hired at a prestigious institution where I would become world-renowned as one of the most prolific, young, and hip members of my academic community.  Any of you who have read my past posts, or know me at all, will recognize that this is not at all the path that I have been pursuing as a young adult.  Nonetheless, I followed my path of literary classics all the way until second semester of my second year of high school.3-1

Sophomore year, I was enrolled in AP Biology. I realised that I loved books, but I loved biology even more. I decided I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. I saw a life filled with genetics and diagnostics flash before my eyes. I basically wanted to be House, except with a better bedside manner and a tad less cynicism.3-2

I once again threw myself into pursuing the path that I thought was “the one.” However, one of my good friends told me that I would never be a human doctor because I was meant to be a veterinarian. I laughed and blew him off every time that he said this, which was a lot more frequently that you would think. Little did I know that he was 100% correct. But hey, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Throughout high school, I volunteered at a hospital, read anatomy books, and looked for colleges that I thought would best situate me to get into medical school. I did all of the right things, but something still didn’t feel right. Every so often, my friend would nudge me toward animal medicine, and every time, I would shut him down. I couldn’t be a vet, I thought. It’s too sad, too depressing, and even though I love animals, I know I couldn’t handle it.  If I cry just at the thought of that Sarah McLaughlin SPCA commercial, how could I ever see sick animals on a daily basis?3-3

Then, during the second semester of my first year at Scripps, I was offered a veterinary summer internship at my local animal shelter. I felt so conflicted, but finally decided to take the plunge and try it out. On my first day there, I fell in love with the world of veterinary medicine and haven’t looked back since. My friend has never let me forget it.

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Looking back, I laugh at how silly and stubborn I was when I was younger, always chasing the dream of the year. As funny as I think it was, truthfully, I learned so many lessons from those dreams, most importantly how to pursue true passions. It might take some time to find the right career fit, but when you do, give it your all. I am meant to be a vet, and I truly believe that the joy that I have found in this career path is special and waiting out there for everyone. If there is one thing to take away from this post, let it be this: believe in your dreams just like you did as a kid and pursue your passions. Your drive will take you far, and you will never regret it.

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Health & Medicine Expo Review

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So you want to be a doctor? So you want to fulfill your lifelong, childhood dream? So you are going to be in school for what… twelve years? So you want to be a doctor?

Ever since I was in preschool I wanted to become a pediatrician. I could take care of all of my babydolls so I could obviously take care of other, real, live children. As I grew up, I realized that entering the medical field would be a very rewarding career filled with excitement, joy, and interesting case studies. This summer I got a first-hand look at a day in the life of  a physician when I shadowed a neurologist. The experience really made me consider which field of medicine I wanted to enter–or if I even wanted to enter the field at all… but that’s a story for another day.

In science there are so many different opportunities; there are not only positions in research or as practicing physicians. Under the umbrella of “health and medicine” there is a huge range of fields and careers.  At Career Planning & Resource’s Health and Medicine Expo held in Seal Court on Friday, October 24, CP&R did a fantastic job of offering information and hosting representatives from a variety of fields, careers, medical schools, gap year organizations, and local volunteer opportunities. I stopped by the tables University of San Diego, Hahn School of Nursing & Health Science, Gap Medics, Casa Colina, and Loma Linda University School of Public Health. Those were just a handful of great organizations that you should really check out if you’re interested in a career in medicine or healthcare.

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This was the view of Seal Court during the Health and Medicine Career Expo.

Going to CP&R event made me realize the huge differences that exist between each field. For example, the qualifications for occupational therapy graduate programs differ greatly from those of public health, although they are both rooted in the sciences. I talked to many people representing their respective organizations and discovered that each had a special emphasis in a particular field, yet they all had the same science roots.

The Health & Medicine Expo helped to dispel my preconceived notions about the medical field and the health field. The Expo made me realize that by narrowing my academic focus to pre-health or pre-med, I actually do the opposite! The decision opens countless doors to explore with my passions for science and helping others. If you didn’t go to the Expo you missed out on an eye-opening experience.