Lessons Learned Part One - All in

Hi there..

So today is kind of a crappy day at work.
So instead of thinking about how much I want to quit, I will start my lessons learned page.
I wanted to make this really organized and release it in parts...

But "aint no body got time for that" lol   jk ( kind of)  

But I do want it to be clear, concise, and organized. ( not sure that happened here)


First Lesson Learned :  If you are going to Do it.  DO IT 100%

This is a crazy journey and if you want to be successful at it you have to go all in.

I tipped my toe in and tried the safe route and now I regret not just going for it from the begning.
I feel that the part-time approach put me at a great disadvantage and extended my attempt far longer than it should have.

Group 1: Ideally, If your young and about to start college
- establish a relationship with your advisors and/or premed committee
- take advantage of reputable student pre-health organizations
- follow your degree plan
- Shoot for the best possible grades
- build relationship with your professors
- build a good relationship with a few good community organizations, find something you love and really give it 100%
- find interesting ways to gain exposure to medical field
- study diligently for the MCAT, take lots and lots of practice test
- start writing Personal Statement early, and let as many people critique it as you can.
- apply early & turn in secondaries early
- practice interviewing ( professionalism, communication, concise answers, etc)

Group 2 : For late entries, with no major hindrance
- come to terms with your decision and be certain it is what you want
- then say good bye to the old life and start your new one
- basically just get in there with the "ideal" crowd and kick A$$

Group 3. For late entries with major challenges like families, little to no support, financial constraints, etc
- See Group 1 & 2
- get in there with the other two groups, and do WHATERVE you have to do to kick even MORE A$$



When I started writing Group 1 I thought I would write something different for each group, but as I was writing the list for the ideal group, I thought WE ALL have to do that.  But sometimes as a non-traditional students we let our "real lives" keep up us from being just as diligent as others.

If I would have applied those principles when I first started this journey in 2005, I would be blogging about surviving residency by now.

Why didn't I? 
I think some of the things I allowed to hinder me were

1. being a parent.
- I felt I needed to stay employed for money, insurance, and to be responsible.
- so I drew my basic preqs out over 2 years (2 per semester in the evening)
- working jobs, volunteering, taking classes, and studying for MCAT while still trying to be a good mom I did not give school and MCAT 100%. 

 ----  I feel like I would have been better off, If I would have just resigned at that time, went back to school full time and just focused on being a mom and getting into medical school.


Unfortunately I have to go back to work.

In conclusion

If you happen to be reading this and you KNOW that you want to be a doctor. Really consider going all in.  Part-time half-hearted attempts are a waste of time and money.