By Keely Greiner, Health Professions Peer Ambassador
It is easy to get caught up in hustle culture. We feel like we need to rush in order to get to where we need to go. Our society praises achievement in proportion with the age at which you have achieved something. We rush through life, always grasping for the next thing, and forget to enjoy life as it happens. At least, this is how I’ve felt.
Learning how to go at my own pace has been life-changing for me. It’s still so easy to compare myself to others, but ultimately, I have to remind myself that there is no one path to get to where I’m going. I’m not even completely certain about where I’m going. I’ve had to unlearn the obsession with speed and with out-competing my peers. I’ve had to learn to take things one day at a time. That’s not to say that I don’t plan for the future, but that I accept that things can and will change.
There is no rush to become a doctor, PA, dentist, nurse, etc. Medical or other schools will be there for you after you do your post-bacc program, get a master’s degree, travel the world, try a new job, start a small business, build your family, spend time growing as a person, and most importantly, rest. Don’t rush into it before you’re ready. Take time to grow.
This is why many pre-health advisors have been trying to change the terminology from “gap” year to “growth” year. You are not taking a gap in your path, but you are taking time to grow as a person. You’ll have time to think about what medicine really means to you. Maybe you’ll even decide to try something else, but if you come back, you’ll be a stronger applicant for it. In our “Chat with Alumni” session on February 23 with two UConn alumnae in DO school, one of them said that she took several years to pursue other ventures before applying to DO school. She said that she ultimately decided to come back around and apply because she felt that no matter what else she was doing, she still wanted to practice medicine. Take time to learn these sorts of things about yourself.
The average age of medical school matriculants is currently around 24, but people start medical school in their 30s and even 40s as well! My dad started medical school as his second career at 31 after spending 9 years in the Navy and getting married and having a child. (For any interested, he says that his medical school, Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is very friendly and accommodating to medical students with families. Many residencies are as well. Do your research!)
Do your own thing, folks. You are not robots. You need time to rest, too. Go see the world, find love, and learn new things. Medical school isn’t going anywhere.
Remember, you are a person first and a student second. Take care of yourself.
Keely is a senior in the honors program with an individualized major, health systems and disparities, and a minor in asian studies. Click here to learn more about and connect with Keely.
To learn more about the value of growth years, visit our page here.