Mikaela, a former athlete, discovered her passion for medicine after an injury led her to work as a scribe in the emergency department. Her story is a testament of how unexpected challenges can inspire life-changing career decisions!
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Mikaela’s years as an athlete deeply influenced the direction of her early academic and career interests, naturally steering her toward a major in kinesiology and a focus on physical therapy. As someone who spent countless hours in training and cared about optimizing physical performance, she found real meaning in understanding the science behind rehabilitation.
It was during a pivotal rehabilitation period, after a serious injury ended her competitive running, that Mikaela’s path began to shift. She interacted with a range of physicians – sports medicine doctors, orthopedic surgeons, and others – in ways she hadn’t before.
Gradually, what began as standard follow-up appointments became opportunities for exploration. Mikaela found herself genuinely curious about the daily life of a physician: what drew them to their work, how they managed the diverse challenges they faced, and the ways they contributed to patient care.
This curiosity pushed her to seek hands-on experience. Working as a scribe in the emergency department, she gained first-hand exposure to the pace and complexity of medicine. She then realized she was drawn to the wider scope and impact that physicians could have. The experience planted the seed for her transition from physical therapy to medicine, having seen the potential to blend her scientific interests, empathy, and determination into a different kind of career in healthcare.
When Mikaela began working as a scribe in the emergency department, she quickly realized that shifting from pre-physical therapy to premed required additional planning. She met with her kinesiology advisor to understand what steps were needed and discovered she would have to complete prerequisites like organic chemistry and biochemistry.
Though her pre-physical therapy coursework had covered many requirements, these core science classes demanded an adjustment to her academic path. Determined to stay on track, Mikaela was able to fit these extra courses into her schedule, even though it meant a heavier workload.
Despite the difficulty of transitioning to rigorous science classes, Mikaela found herself enjoying the challenge. Taking courses such as chemistry, biology, and organic chemistry not only strengthened her academic foundation but also boosted her confidence as she prepared for the medical school application process. This period marked a significant growth in her interest and abilities, setting her up for success in the next stages of her journey.
When Mikaela first entered college, she faced the dual challenge of pursuing a demanding academic path as a premed student and maintaining the grueling schedule of a collegiate athlete.
The transition was far from easy – moving away from home required her to quickly adapt to independent living while juggling early morning practices, classes, study halls, and relentless training schedules.
Free time was scarce, and personal space was a luxury she rarely enjoyed. Over time, however, Mikaela developed a resilient routine. She grew accustomed to going directly from practice to class, sometimes still in her athletic gear, and then straight into study halls, repeating the process day after day. This demanding lifestyle pushed her to refine her time management skills, ultimately helping her thrive amidst the high expectations placed on both her academic and athletic performance.
As much as she was committed to her team, Mikaela realized early on that her academic goals were just as important as her athletic commitments. Many of her teammates gravitated toward sports medicine or business careers, but Mikaela made it clear to her coaches that her academic growth was a top priority.
By setting expectations and maintaining open communication with her coaching staff, she ensured that her schedule could accommodate demanding classes and study time, even if it meant being extra early for practice or multitasking between athletic and academic requirements.
A significant factor in Mikaela’s confidence and ability to advocate for herself stemmed from her upbringing – both her parents served in the military, fostering a household environment where being direct, disciplined, and assertive was encouraged. She recognizes that these traits, though ingrained from childhood, became essential assets during college.
Mikaela, who describes herself as a natural “yes” person, realized that learning to establish her boundaries early on allowed her to excel in her studies and maintain her well-being. This realization shaped her entire approach to college, empowering her to balance her ambitions and responsibilities with clarity and self-assurance.
“I had to give myself those boundaries in order to be able to succeed.”Click To TweetBy her junior year of college, Mikaela had made the transition from athletics to working full-time. She was initially juggling roles as a teaching assistant and leasing agent before stepping fully into the scribe position in the emergency department.
Taking on full-time work while being a premed student required significant discipline. But Mikaela pursued it both for financial support and as a deliberate career move to immerse herself deeper in the healthcare environment.
Mikaela’s decision to become a scribe, rather than pursue other common premed jobs like medical assisting or EMT work, was rooted in her desire to maximize her exposure to real-world medicine. She valued the unique opportunity scribing offered to learn actively in a fast-paced clinical setting, observing patient care, following complex cases, and closely interacting with physicians, medical students, residents, and fellows. This environment allowed her to absorb daily lessons in diagnostic reasoning, patient interaction, and the inner workings of a hospital.
Through her role as a scribe, Mikaela not only learned the language of medicine and the essentials of clinical documentation. She also became comfortable navigating the electronic medical record system – a skill that would set her apart in her future medical training.
Scribing is like “shadowing on steroids,” while not hands-on like some clinical roles, the learning is constant and invaluable.
Mikaela didn’t know much about being a scribe at first, but her curiosity led her to emergency medicine because of its variety and excitement. The experience showed her she wanted to become a physician.
“The emergency department is a fast-paced environment… there’s a lot of chronic conditions that are treated.”Click To TweetMikaela describes the journey of a premed student as much more than keeping up with tough classes. She highlights how the “hardest thing” was learning to balance academic work with the many other expectations: volunteering, engaging in research, and making time for clinical experiences.
These competing demands meant constant multitasking and little time to pause, making the process both stressful and all-consuming.
Among the challenging courses, organic chemistry stood out for Mikaela not because of its workload, but for its abstract and complex content. She found it especially difficult to grasp while simultaneously managing her various other commitments – shadowing, working, and more.
Outside of her coursework, Mikaela became highly active in a variety of extracurricular activities. She volunteered at a physical therapy clinic and participated in Special Olympics events. Both of which drew on her background in athletics and helped her stay connected to the world of sports and health. Mikaela also joined a student organization focused on orthopedic and athletic medicine, where she built leadership skills and formed important connections.
After stepping away from competitive running, she took on a greater range of commitments – working full-time as a scribe in the emergency department, holding jobs as a teaching assistant and leasing agent, and seeking out research and further clinical experiences. These activities not only provided hands-on exposure to healthcare, but also allowed Mikaela to develop time management, teamwork, and leadership skills essential for her growth as a future physician.
As Mikaela mapped out her path to medical school, she realized that completing biochemistry – a required premed course and a major component of the MCAT – was essential before taking the exam. Because biochemistry was slotted for her senior year, she scheduled the MCAT for early in that final year, making a gap year necessary.
For Mikaela, the most difficult part of applying to medical school was crafting essays that revealed her true self. She found it hard to express her story, values, and motivations in a way that was both genuine and memorable for admissions committees, knowing her application would be judged by just a few written paragraphs.
On top of this, she worried about the difference between her strong GPA and a lower-than-expected MCAT score. Such a gap caused her to question whether to delay her application or try for a higher score.
Ultimately, she decided to apply, trusting the strength of her experiences and authenticity.
During her medical school interviews, Mikaela faced questions about her MCAT score. She responded with honesty, explaining that test anxiety played a role and openly sharing her disappointment with her performance.
“I didn't make any excuses. I should have done better. I thought about retaking it – I decided against it.”Click To TweetRather than making excuses, Mikaela took responsibility for her decision not to retake the test, and found that interviewers appreciated her candor and straightforward attitude.
As Mikaela approached medical school interviews, she received an unexpected offer from a DO program with an open seat to start a year early. It was a rare and surprising opportunity that initially left her feeling overwhelmed.
After careful consideration, she declined due to concerns about the program’s location, but was reassured when the school offered her an interview for the next cycle instead. Ultimately, Mikaela’s decision didn’t hurt her chances. She was later accepted, and the experience taught her to trust her instincts when evaluating significant life changes.
DO programs sometimes reach out to newly applying students if they have open spots shortly before a new class starts. While these offers can be surprising and stressful, especially when applicants are preparing for interviews or haven’t anticipated starting early, they represent a real opportunity rather than a negative judgment.
Mikaela’s experience illustrates this process,in that declining such an offer does not harm an applicant’s chances and can lead to acceptance in a future cycle.
Mikaela decided early on to consider both MD and DO medical schools, recognizing that each path had unique strengths and opportunities.
After receiving her MCAT score, she expanded her list even further to include more DO programs. She was aware that they tend to be more accommodating to applicants with lower scores. This strategy allowed Mikaela to apply broadly, increasing her chances of admission and showing her openness to different medical philosophies and training environments.
Mikaela applied to 29 medical schools in total, targeting both DO and MD programs to maximize her chances. Her strategy paid off – she received 20 interview invites, completed 16 interviews, and was offered acceptance at 15 schools, with one additional waitlist.
During medical school interviews, Mikaela was surprised to find that her experience as a student-athlete generated as much, if not more, interest than her clinical roles like scribing. Interviewers frequently asked about how she balanced rigorous athletics with academics, seeing it as a testament to her discipline and resilience.
This focus showed Mikaela that her unique personal background and life experiences could be just as compelling to admissions committees as her traditional premed activities.
“For most schools and most interviewers, they don't really care why you want to be a doctor… They just want to get to know you.”Click To TweetMikaela’s medical school interviews turned out to be more relaxed and genuine than she expected, often feeling like natural conversations rather than formal interrogations. Her approach was to stay authentic, know her reasons for pursuing medicine, and research each program ahead of time, enabling her to engage meaningfully with interviewers.
She also treated the interviews as opportunities to ask her own questions, ensuring each school was the right fit for her too. This perspective helped her fully enjoy the process and connect with each program on a personal level.
“I was asking them questions as much as they were asking me questions. And I think that really showed how interested I was in going to their school and the program.”Click To TweetMikaela recalls the powerful moment she got her first medical school acceptance call: at home, anxiously awaiting the news, she was overcome with excitement and relief. The first person she shared it with was her mom, who had been by her side throughout her journey.
To Mikaela, the acceptance felt like winning a major athletic recruitment, symbolizing the payoff for all her dedication and hard work.
Looking back, Mikaela wishes she had approached her application cycle with greater confidence, rather than letting self-doubt cloud her decisions.
While a higher MCAT score might have opened more doors, she believes that trusting her overall strength as an applicant – from experiences to character – would have made the process less stressful and helped her perform better, especially during her early interviews.
Mikaela’s final advice to aspiring premeds is to never underestimate the power of authenticity. She urges students to embrace every part of their journey – strengths, setbacks, and all – and to be fearless in showing who they truly are, both on paper and in person.
Rather than shaping themselves to fit what they think admissions committees want, Mikaela believes applicants should focus on communicating their genuine passions, values, and stories. She knows it’s natural to feel anxious or to compare oneself, but reassures others that hesitation is part of the process and that being open and real attracts the opportunities that are meant for you.
Ultimately, Mikaela emphasizes that heartfelt effort, self-acceptance, and resilience are far more valuable than perfect scores. And that these qualities will guide students to the places and paths where they truly belong.
“Being yourself opens so many doors.”Click To Tweet
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