Don't Keep Your Aspirations of Becoming a Physician a Secret

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* Listen to this podcast episode with the players below, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

Highlight & Takeaways

Session 91

When you decided to pursue this path, who did you tell? Maybe you kept it a secret and I’ll tell you why you shouldn’t in today’s podcast episode.

And if you haven’t yet, go ahead and check out our other amazing podcasts on the MedEd Media Network including The Premed Years Podcast, Specialty Stories, and The MCAT Podcast. Also listen to The Short Coat Podcast, hosted by Dave Adler at the Iowa Carver College of Medicine.

[01:28] OldPreMeds Question of the Week:

“I haven’t told anyone (except my spouse and a few very close friends) that I’m even considering this. Currently, I’m a 35-year-old stay-at-home mom of five. Two years ago, I went back to school with a nursing degree. Sometime in the last twelve months as I aced Science and Math prereqs without really trying. I began to let that old childhood dream of being a doctor flicker awake. I’m just finishing micro and planning to enter my second semester of nursing school. I have requested information about completing a human bio degree at my local four-year university hoping to be able to complete the ADN so I can pay for more school. I’m feeling apprehensive and excited and just a little crazy. Anyway, I’m glad I’m not the only nontrad working towards a dream.”

[02:26] A Personal Experience

I want to share with you my journey. After the first time I didn’t get into medical school, I was working in Boston. I was a fitness program manager at a gym. It was me and the general manager running the gym. I was applying to medical school but I didn’t tell her. I thought I was being sneaky. I didn’t want to hurt my chances of promotion or anything in the company just in case.

Eventually, I got in. I took some time off. I traveled for the one interview that I got that cycle. And got into New York Medical College. I got my acceptance. And I told her that I got into medical school and I’m quitting in a few months to start medical school. And she asked why I didn’t tell her I was applying to medical school. Because her dad is a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis.

[03:40] Put It Out in the Universe

Put it out in the universe that this is what you want. Don’t be scared that your coworkers or your boss or whoever it is, is going to reject you for pursuing this. There are some caveats obviously.

If you know 100% that if you’re distracted from work because you’re chasing this dream and you’re boss is going to say no and you’re going to be fired. But you need that income. In this case, keep it from him or her.

But put it out in the universe!

[04:21] Success the Second Time Around

Two cycles ago, I worked with a student who applied and didn’t get in. The next cycle, she applied and got in. She was working as a pathology assistant. And she was working at the big academic medical center to the school she wanted to go to. But she didn’t tell anybody about it.

The first thing that I helped her with when we started working together was to tell anyone she worked that she wanted to go to medical school. So she applied to two schools and got into her dream school.

She put it out there. She let people help her. She let those connections drive her, motivate her, connect her with people she needed to know. And it went back and helped her.

So if you’re on this journey, don’t hide it from people. Let people know what you need and what you want. You’d be very surprised at the connections that people have.

[05:28] Final Thoughts

Visit our Hangout Group at or go on Twitter @medicalschoolhq and let me know who you told right now, that you’re planning to apply to medical school, because of this podcast.