A step backwards? Warning: a LOT of text!
03-12-2012, 10:36 PM
Hey everyone! You may have seen me around the forum, though I have never taken the time (until now) to post anything serious - that is to say, my posts have usually just involved the "word games" section. I have a bit of a dilemma that has been going around my head for the last month and a half. I'll try to keep it short and sweet but I have a horrible hereditary habit of rambling on.
Here's the situation: I am a second year pharmacy student. In the last year of high school I applied to study medicine. I was allowed to choose to apply to four universities for this subject, and then chose Pharmacy as my last "backup" subject. In short, I received three out-right rejections, and was given an interview for the university of St. Andrews, but ultimately didn't make the cut. So I accepted the unconditional offer made to me by RGU, and settled for becoming a pharmacist.
I kind of figured that being rejected by medicine meant that it wasn't meant to be, which is why I attempted to forget about the whole thing. The ordeal of applying for medicine - the specific hoops that had to be jumped through, the ridiculously high standards set by the various schools, and the fierce competition for such a small proportion of places - had made me doubt myself and my eligibility to study this subject.
I've had several placements, and learned quite a bit about the role of the pharmacist in community and hospital settings. But the problem is that these have not met my expectations. They are not hands-on in the same way as medicine, and try as I might, it's a substitution - but not a replacement for the career I had originally imagined.
I don't feel I fit in with the other pharmacy students; someone in my class once said to me(in fact, 2 different people on separate occasions said this) that the reason they like pharmacy is because of the fact that they don't have to touch the patients. This is the reason I DON'T like pharmacy.
The truth is that, while everyone else already has at least a vague idea of the area of the profession they find fits them, I am still struggling to relinquish my original plan for my future. I have always seen myself as being a physician, working in a hospital, dedicating my logical mind and keen interest in human biology to improve the welfare of the general public.
With all that has happened over the last few years in mind, I have decided to re-apply for medicine in September. I have the full support of my dad on this, and my mum has also offered any help she can give, however little. I've arranged a meeting with my tutor to discuss it next Wednesday. To be honest, it feels great to get back on the horse, if a little scary.
Despite the unanimous rejection received by my last application, I take consolation in the fact that St. Andrews emailed me after turning me down to let me know that they would be willing to re-consider offering me a place in August providing I had not accepted a place at another university. All of the rejection letters (bar Aberdeen university, which had explained that I did not have a satisfactory level of work experience) had explained that while I did meet their qualifying standards, the intensity of the competition was such that they could not consider me.
These are all very mixed signals, and so I suppose it is not surprising that I am a little confused about whether it is really a good idea trying to re-apply for medicine. I should really be grateful that I made it into university at all; I am the first person in either side of my family to make it to this level of education - no one else has even applied to university before me. But all this makes me doubt whether I am really prepared to enter the field of medicine.
Unlike a many of the other prospective medical students, I have only known that I wanted to go to university since I was 15; before this I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. They seem to have had their whole life planned since much earlier, and many have family ties to respectable professions, such as teaching or other areas of medicine or dentistry. By contrast my mum is disabled/unemployed and my dad is a jack-of-all trades, you might say (he prefers the term "employed bum").
My mind is quite divided (am I being stubborn? Should I settle for something which doesn't fully satisfy me?) and although I know that no one can make up my mind for me on this vitally important matter, I was hoping the perspectives of some of the more experienced members of this forum would offer another dimension to my train of thought. Hell, even typing all this has helped me loads already! Any and all opinions are welcome - thank you for your time
mile:
Here's the situation: I am a second year pharmacy student. In the last year of high school I applied to study medicine. I was allowed to choose to apply to four universities for this subject, and then chose Pharmacy as my last "backup" subject. In short, I received three out-right rejections, and was given an interview for the university of St. Andrews, but ultimately didn't make the cut. So I accepted the unconditional offer made to me by RGU, and settled for becoming a pharmacist.
I kind of figured that being rejected by medicine meant that it wasn't meant to be, which is why I attempted to forget about the whole thing. The ordeal of applying for medicine - the specific hoops that had to be jumped through, the ridiculously high standards set by the various schools, and the fierce competition for such a small proportion of places - had made me doubt myself and my eligibility to study this subject.
I've had several placements, and learned quite a bit about the role of the pharmacist in community and hospital settings. But the problem is that these have not met my expectations. They are not hands-on in the same way as medicine, and try as I might, it's a substitution - but not a replacement for the career I had originally imagined.
I don't feel I fit in with the other pharmacy students; someone in my class once said to me(in fact, 2 different people on separate occasions said this) that the reason they like pharmacy is because of the fact that they don't have to touch the patients. This is the reason I DON'T like pharmacy.
The truth is that, while everyone else already has at least a vague idea of the area of the profession they find fits them, I am still struggling to relinquish my original plan for my future. I have always seen myself as being a physician, working in a hospital, dedicating my logical mind and keen interest in human biology to improve the welfare of the general public.
With all that has happened over the last few years in mind, I have decided to re-apply for medicine in September. I have the full support of my dad on this, and my mum has also offered any help she can give, however little. I've arranged a meeting with my tutor to discuss it next Wednesday. To be honest, it feels great to get back on the horse, if a little scary.
Despite the unanimous rejection received by my last application, I take consolation in the fact that St. Andrews emailed me after turning me down to let me know that they would be willing to re-consider offering me a place in August providing I had not accepted a place at another university. All of the rejection letters (bar Aberdeen university, which had explained that I did not have a satisfactory level of work experience) had explained that while I did meet their qualifying standards, the intensity of the competition was such that they could not consider me.
These are all very mixed signals, and so I suppose it is not surprising that I am a little confused about whether it is really a good idea trying to re-apply for medicine. I should really be grateful that I made it into university at all; I am the first person in either side of my family to make it to this level of education - no one else has even applied to university before me. But all this makes me doubt whether I am really prepared to enter the field of medicine.
Unlike a many of the other prospective medical students, I have only known that I wanted to go to university since I was 15; before this I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. They seem to have had their whole life planned since much earlier, and many have family ties to respectable professions, such as teaching or other areas of medicine or dentistry. By contrast my mum is disabled/unemployed and my dad is a jack-of-all trades, you might say (he prefers the term "employed bum").
My mind is quite divided (am I being stubborn? Should I settle for something which doesn't fully satisfy me?) and although I know that no one can make up my mind for me on this vitally important matter, I was hoping the perspectives of some of the more experienced members of this forum would offer another dimension to my train of thought. Hell, even typing all this has helped me loads already! Any and all opinions are welcome - thank you for your time
mile:
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Virgo
