I like to give advice. I like to give advice about any subject I feel I'm well enough informed upon to give meaningful and helpful information. I think that makes medicine a good fit for me since a lot of what a physician does is counsel patients or other health care providers. At my stage of training, I don't know all that much medicine, so there's not much I can competently advise on from a medical perspective.
So, I tried to stick to something I knew very well - how to get into medical school. Since I started my applications to medical school nearly 3 years ago, I've talked to dozens of people either in person or online about how to get into medical school, where they could improve their application and where they were fine. I suggested schools to apply to, schools that weren't worth applying to, and schools that might become an option with some additional work.
In the past 3 years I think - or at least, I hope - that the information and advice I have given has been helpful and accurate. Yet, as the next cycle of medical school applications starts up, I'm finding myself falling behind. I've forgotten some details about going through the application process. Some of those details have changed. Some aspects of applying which are fairly major have changed. Heck, the MCAT has gone through two versions since I wrote it. I'm still knowledgeable about the school I attend and I'm fairly up-to-date when it comes to the schools I interviewed at, but even that will start to fade the further I get from my time applying.
Point is that it doesn't take long for knowledge to disappear without use and applications to medical school are no different. Anyone in residency or beyond has information that is at least 4 years out of date. If you're looking for help with applications, it's tempting to call on an experienced physician, but chances are they know the least about how getting into medicine works today. The best sources are often the people who just got in, or are still trying to get in themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment