Applying to Medical School...Do We Have Unattainable Expectations of Our Future Doctors?

I was just reminiscing about a tool pivotal in my journey from high school all the way to medical school...my typewriter :).

I still remember typing carefully to complete my application for medical school, aligning the font to stay within the allotted space and hoping to avoid the use of White-Out for any mistakes! Now, thanks to technology, the advent of online applications seem to have made the process easier. But I believe that though the completion of an actual application can be done with greater ease due to technology, the complexity of the medical school admissions process is much greater. One example of this is that there are several applications that can be completed to apply to medical school (e.g. AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS), each with its unique requirements and expectations and followed by several additional steps. Navigating the current medical school application process requires careful preparation and is definitely not for the faint of heart.

I recently came across my application for medical school, saved from years past. At the time when I applied, I had submitted my primary application, a few letters of recommendation, my transcript, a personal statement, and had included my college research and service. I had been invited for interviews (usually one-to-one with an interviewer) and then waited until I received admissions offers. It seemed daunting at the time, but in retrospect, I believe it was a simple and straightforward path.

Now, the application process for medical school has developed into an entity by itself. It seems as though applicants for medical school must be "perfect" (or at least almost perfect). With the expectations of academic excellence, strong MCAT scores (with the challenging CARS or Critical Analysis and Reasoning Section) for schools that require MCATs, service, leadership, research, clinical experience, shadowing (DOs, MDs), multiple letters of recommendation, strong personal statement/essays, and the ability to perform well in various interview settings including MMIs or Multiple Mini-Interviews, current applicants to medical school have to spend countless hours and extensive effort to rise to the level of expectation that exists. So much so that a gap year or gap years may be necessary (or desired) in order to increase medical school competitiveness and help ensure the maturity needed to handle the rigors of medical school.

Are the expectations too great? Perhaps we need to consider the cost to our future generations of healers, those who will care for us as we age. Medical school itself is challenging, followed by years of residency and, for some, subspecialty training. Hence, shouldn't we take care to not burn out students before they even enter into medical training?

As the parent of an aspiring premedical student and as a medical school Assistant Dean who is passionate about medical student well-being, I hope that we are able to better nurture and support those who are inquisitive, bright, caring, and have a heart for service to others. Providing encouragement and support to our future healthcare workforce seems rational and kind, especially as the expectation that we have is that we will be cared for in the future by these very same individuals. It is important to have expectations of our future doctors, perhaps even necessary, but it is important to keep in mind that no one is perfect. My hope is that the journey for those who wish to pursue medicine as a career and calling will be smooth, joyful, and rewarding. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you would like to discuss your path to medicine (and would like to do so in a supportive environment). I would be happy to help. And thank you for those who have provided service through medicine and continue to do so. I know what it takes to get through the process - it is not easy. And you are appreciated.