As promised, here is the awaited continuation of my blog! (My significant other actually reminded me, so if she hadn't then I wouldn't be posting again) In any case, I know a lot of you pre-meds are having the same struggles that I am so here is a little bit that will hopefully help you.
I recently attended a keynote for HOSA (previously known as Health Occupations Students of America) when I attended a conference a few days ago, and was posed with this question: What is motivation? Now I know we all have some sense of what motivation is but have we really evaluated our motivation in our own lives, let alone our own career pathways? I'm not going to be like the pre-health advisors that may discourage you from the healthcare field, but if you are thinking about going into medicine for money, power, etc. things that you have seen on medical dramas or TV shows then this field is more than likely not for you. The truth is that the medical field is pretty rigorous and you will really need to find your niche as to why you enjoy it and want to make a career out of it (partially why the advisors ask why you want to go into medicine).
I had previously written that I volunteered at a number of different places and most of them were in the clinical setting. There will be times where you will be bored out of your mind (but find things to do) and times in the clinical setting where you may think there is not enough time in the day to do all the tasks you need. I found that a great deal of my time as a volunteer in the emergency department was spent thinking that there was simply not enough time to do all the tasks that I wanted/needed to do. There were tasks I was required to do (delegated by the volunteer coordinator and ER staff) and others that I simply wanted to do (shadowing, interacting with patients, learning from nursing staff). Doing this week after week, I began to question why I came into volunteer every week; what motivated me to come every week and give some of my time which could be used for something else or even working to make money. This is something to think about. What is your motivation for the healthcare field?
Motivation is only one side to this; you must also show initiative through actions, not only the mindset. Everyone has great ideas and you are all amazing people but to put your thoughts into practice may take a little practice itself. I know for myself, I deal with some confidence issues so I am always trying to better myself and show initiative. The best way to do this is to get yourself out of your comfort-zone. Definitely easier said than done but if you are motivated for change then it will come in time. Medical schools will definitely pose to you the question "How has your past actions shown your motivation towards medicine?" In my previous post, I said that the experiences that you engage in doesn't even need to be related to the clinical setting; some schools prefer that it not be related. This adds to the whole holistic model; by engaging in other activities than your peers, you will contribute different experiences rather than all doing the same activities then there is no change.
My tidbit to all of you is to keep true to your motivation to medicine and show it through action. These actions need not be related to healthcare so pursue different activities and experiences that you are interested in and see how it may fit towards your motivation for the healthcare field. To keep you thinking about this I'll throw some ideas your way (are you interested in service? do you want to look more into research? Are there any injustices you wish to address? Any topics that aren't being addressed or need awareness? What are some issues in today's society that you can promote change?) As you can see, there are many avenues that you can take and there is no "one right answer" when you are thinking about medical school. Be yourself because in reality you are all smart and beautiful people who deserve what you are motivated and willing to work towards.
-Michael Shimoda
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