How to survive pre-med without compromising yourself

Pre-med. For some students, it was a lifelong dream. But for those like myself, it was acquired in a serendipitous stumble.

I, being an extremely indecisive person, applied to 15 colleges, all strewn haphazardly across the nation. All had excellent psychology programs, which at the time I was sure I wanted to pursue. 

But the summer before beginning at Pitt, I summoned my parents and declared, “I want to be a doctor.”

My mother, who had long determined that medicine was my destiny, gave me a self-satisfied grin.

“I always knew that you were going to be a doctor,” she insisted, going on to note, “you even have bad handwriting like a doctor.”

My father shrugged, but shook his head in approval anyway. Still, the physicist in him had to mutter, “Well, it’s not physics, but that’s OK.”

And just like that, I was pre-med. 

But the past two years have shown me that there are a number of snags lining that path. Out of those snags, however, I learned a few lessons:

1) What you did in high school doesn’t matter. 

The first week of my Freshman Biology lecture, our professor faced the class and asked, knowingly, “How many of you were in the top 10 percent of your class in high school?” Hands popped up throughout the lecture hall, filling the majority of the space. She went on to declare that we were among the “best of the best,” but would no longer be considered “special.” 

Yet, her explanation was unnecessary — the realization had already struck us. 

College is not like high school — it’s significantly more difficult. Many students will struggle, regardless of how easily they excelled in high school. Don’t arrive at Pitt expecting to breeze your way through college. Odds are, you won’t. Instead, use the opportunity to develop necessary study skills and acclimate to the academic rigor.

2) If you want to make a lot of money, go into business. Don’t become a doctor.

A new version of the MCAT, the Medical College Admission Test, launched on April 17. Changes to the exam included the addition of a Psychology and Sociology section, as well as a Verbal Reasoning section focused more intensively on the humanities and social sciences. It is now more necessary than ever for doctors to be socially conscious, and not simply knowledgeable. 

When you choose to pursue a medical profession, you have to understand that you will often be the only connection between suffering patients and a contentious health care system. You must also understand that a variety of social factors will have touched a number of patients you encounter. Those situations can’t be treated with a prescription. If you’re not innately passionate about working with people and helping people, the experience will only be emotionally taxing, for you and your patients.

3) Find what makes you unique.

When you eventually make your interview rounds for medical schools, interviewers are going to ask you about the items on your resume. Don’t allow pre-med expectations to be the only reason you choose to pursue an experience. There’s a reason why advisors recommend experiences like research, volunteering, leadership and community work. But if you can’t see the value of an experience to your personal development, don’t pursue it. You would just be wasting your time, and the lack of passion will result in lackluster work. 

Instead, find opportunities that fit your passions. Even if those pursuits stray from the purely scientific, they will give you a unique perspective that will shape the way you approach medicine. At the end of the day, medical schools absolutely require only one thing — completion of the coursework. Everything else is completely up to you. 

4) Work hard, but not too hard. 

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.” That goes for any career path one may choose to pursue, including medicine. You will face obstacles that will push you, frustrate you and test your resolve, so arrive at Pitt prepared to work hard. 

It’s also important to maintain a work-life balance, though. After all, you don’t want to run the risk of “burning out” in undergrad, long before the pressures of medical school, residency and the profession itself demand new degrees of intensity. 

So, make time for friends, exploring Pittsburgh, food, sleep and all of life’s little pleasures, but don’t aimlessly waste away the day’s hours. 

5) Spend time with patients. 

Patient interaction is a key aspect of treatment, but attaining “patient skills” is nowhere near as clear-cut a process as attaining knowledge. To supplement your education, pursue experiences — like volunteering and shadowing — that will put you in direct contact with patients. 

Through this, you are able to communicate with patients to get a sense of their concerns, grievances and needs. Observing doctors as they work will also provide you with a model of effective methods for communicating information to patients. Patients are ultimately autonomous beings. As a doctor, making sure that your patients understand and feel comfortable with their treatment is the most that you can ever hope to do.

6) Pursuing medicine is akin to online dating.

I’m sure you already have your dream medical school in mind, but it’s likely not the medical school you end up attending. Dreams are always great to have, but don’t allow them to dictate your experiences at Pitt. If you focus on crafting yourself into the perfect medical school applicant, you miss out on the opportunity to discover yourself and your interests. 

Swipe right or left? That’s for a medical school to decide. 

Bethel primarily writes about social issues and current events for The Pitt News. 

Write to Bethel at beh56@pitt.edu.