The long road to medical school

have never applied to medical school, but I suppose there is a first time for everything, right? As a sophomore, I know that, on average, 32,000 people apply to medical school every year, and on average, half of them will never get into even one place of their choosing.

For me it doesn't matter if these statistics are true; the whole prospect is nonetheless daunting.

If you're interested in going to med school, the process starts early. The typical medical school requires a certain "pre-med" track of courses to be eligible. This checklist normally includes a year of classes and labs in biology, chemistry, organic chemistry and physics, in addition to a year of English.

I have taken my year of chemistry, and am now fighting in the trenches of organic chemistry, or "orgo" to those in the know. Many medical schools don't require an undergraduate degree, but good luck making up for it in other credentials.

As I tackle this and that question in my various required courses, there is one question always on my mind: Is this all worth it? Everywhere I look, my fellow classmates and friends from home are dropping the pre-med track.

The consensus seems to be that it's easier to become a lawyer, businessperson, etc. But still there is something about sticking people with needles and injecting them with chemicals you can't pronounce that intrigues me. Don't ask me why I want to be a doctor, maybe it's the prospect of hanging out with nurses and drug-addicts, but I do. So I press on with my friends who are still in the running.

Aside from courses, which will hopefully be completed by the time I graduate, there is the dirty business of the MCAT. Those four letters can make or break the whole admissions process for a hopeful medical student.

The MCAT is broken up into three sections worth 15 points each, so that the whole test is worth a total of 45 points, and a nice score is a 30. A fantastic MCAT score has the potential to negate a low GPA, but a low MCAT score can cancel out a high GPA. This test is normally taken a year prior to applying to medical school. After grades and scores comes a potential interview.

The interview has sometimes been a subject of controversy. In the older days, the interview was more a psychological workout than a "get to know you" tool. I once heard a story from an older physician who remembers his first medical school interview very well. As he sat down in a small office, the grey haired man asked him, "Have you ever worked in medicine?"

"No," was the reply.

"OK, do you know the symptoms of appendicitis?"

Again, the reply, "No."

"OK, why do you want to be a doctor?"

"Because I want to help people." The standard answer, but not good enough.

"Hold on. You have never worked in medicine, you don't know anything about medicine and you really don't know why you want to be a doctor. The door is over there -- if you want to help people, go be a priest."

My friends who have had interviews lately have had a much more pleasant experience talking about baseball or their family pets.

So, after a few years of applying, a few more years of classroom and clinical work, you will receive an MD. After that, you have a year of internship, and then another four or so years of residency -- it's a piece of cake, really!

But that is at least ten years in the future, and current trends show that many more students are taking time off between college and medical school.

I am always concerned that I will get burned out during medical school, and continue to wonder if it is worth the effort. But then I think: What do you call the person who graduated last in their medical school class? A Doctor. (Don't tell any of my future patients I said that.)