Time to Drop Some Knowledge (AKA How Did I Get Here?) - Part One: Pre-Med

     It's my last weekend of "freedom" before residency officially starts next Friday, July 1 (which just so happens to be my birthday... "Happy Birthday, here's a whole boatload of responsibility"), so I'm trying to make the most of it by visiting the farmer's market, doing some cooking, maybe taking in a movie, and hitting the gym.... and, oh yeah, sleeping!  I also figured it'd be as good a time as any to fill you all in on what it takes/ what the process is to get to the terrifying exciting position I'm in now.  The soundtrack for this post is currently being provided by my musically not-so-gifted neighbor as (s)he practices the drums.... neighbor ain't got no rhythm.... just to set the scene for you.
     Before applying to medical school, there's this little, 4-year, process known as college.  Many people - high school guidance counselors, parents, friends, doctors, etc - will tell you that in order to get into medical school, you have to major in something like biology or chemistry.  So, I did....and turns out, it's a lie.  Yes, you need to do the pre-med requirements which vary from college-to-college, but typically include things like chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus, english, and various biology courses.  But, you can do these things via a concentration in pre-med, or by taking them on your own outside of a structured program if your college doesn't have one(just peruse through the "admission requirements" section of a few medical schools, and you'll get an idea of the courses that most of them require).
     Trust me when I say that if you don't LOVE biology or chemistry and you choose one of these as your major in college on the misguided information that you have to do so in order to get into medical school, it will be a loooooong four years.  I majored in biology because, I liked it well-enough, and I thought that that's what all future-docs major in.  Well, looking back, I think I would've enjoyed majoring in sociology/ anthropology a whole lot more, and would've probably enjoyed my priceless 4 years of college more.  Obviously I still would have had to suffer through organic chemistry, but I would have had the balance of a non-science major I was more interested in to help me keep my sanity.
     The upside to majoring in something other than biology, chemistry, etc when it comes to interviewing for medical school is that you are able to talk passionately about your major and medical schools are able to see that you are a well-rounded individual.  Now, I'm sure there are plenty of medical schools out there that love, love, love to see students who did nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe science during their undergraduate days, so I can't speak for them or the students who are crazy enough to want to go to a school like that, so take my advice with a grain of salt.  Any other medical students, residents, doctors out there echo my sentiments or have anything to add?
     But what if you're sitting there thinking "When I went to college I had no idea I wanted to be a doctor, and I never took any of these pre-med classes?"  Don't despair.  There are these convenient little programs called post-bacs, and they were designed just for you!  They are often a year or two long (depending on if you go full-time, or half-time, etc) and include all of the pre-requisite courses for entrance into medical school.  They are also good for people applying to medical school as a mid-life crisis career change after being out of school for a while.
     A lot of medical schools like to see that you have interests outside of school, so just like when you were applying to college, they appreciate things such as volunteering, mission trips, research, jobs that you may have had, and so on.  So keep these things in mind as you go through your four years of college.  That being said, don't just do these things to pad your resume, it's more important that you do things that you are interested in - if volunteering at a soup kitchen isn't for you, don't do it, medical school admissions folks will be able to see right through you, choose something else to do.  If the thing you do includes leadership, all the better.  For example: I was an RA in college - I loved it, and it showed leadership and an ability to balance work and school, as well as training in how to resolve conflicts, and enforce school policies.
  All right, that's enough information for one post.  If you have specific questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them - remember, I'm old, college was a while ago for me, and information may have changed since "back in the day," and my memory may be a bit rusty.
     Some good websites for more information are: https://www.aamc.org/about/medicalschools/, http://www.aacom.org/Pages/default.aspx and http://www.studentdoctor.net/.
     Take the Student Doctor Network (SDN) website with a grain of salt - there is a lot of good information on there, but a number of people who post on there do so to brag about grades, test scores, and the like and to make people who aren't the valedictorian at Harvard or Yale or Princeton feel bad about themselves.
     I included the links for both allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) schools, so you can read about both and be better informed.  I went to an osteopathic school, and am very glad I did - it fit my philosophy of why I wanted to practice medicine, and what kind of doctor I wanted to be, and I think I got an excellent education.  I suppose at some point I should probably do a post about what osteopathy is, and how it's similar to/ different from allopathic medicine, but for now just know that there is more than one set of schools out there.