On being a medical student with a bachelor's in the humanities

my bookcase

I graduated from college in 2010 with a degree in art history & archaeology, a minor in international studies, and enough credits to minor in foreign languages but unfortunately "French-Spanish" is not a minor.  I completed the prerequisite medical school courses (chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, calculus) and MCAT exam before the start of junior year, allowing ample time to deeply explore the humanities via upper-level courses.  It definitely was not time lost: I became a stronger writer and more critical thinker by exercising the non-science part of my brain.  And as I recently learned in school, yes, language processing indeed is in a different part of your brain from number processing.

Four years after taking the MCAT, four whole years after finishing organic chemistry and statistics, I matriculated into medical school.  That is a long gap to have been without science for someone about to be a doctor.  To make matters worse, I had never taken more than two science classes at a time - I always had a writing-based class to round out my schedule.

Medical students are expected to begin school with a running start.  Our first quarter was heavy on biochemistry and molecular & cellular biology, two subjects that required some background knowledge to understand terms such as "enzyme kinetics," "feedback regulation," and "immunoassay."  It. was. hard.  Here I was, surrounded by neurobiology and chemistry majors, trying hard to understand the basic steps of glucose metabolism while everyone else was light years ahead because they already mastered that material.  They could spend their time memorizing details such as which GLUT transporter protein carries fructose across the intestinal epithelium.  I failed a few exams.

It took me about six months to get into the swing of things.  I had been immersed in science for long enough that I now can read a paragraph quickly without stopping to figure out a definition.  I had spent enough hours in the library that I can now pass an afternoon sitting down without getting antsy.  I can ask questions in class because I can keep up with the lecture instead of being stuck on slide #6.

After becoming comfortable with the pace of school, another problem arose: relearning everything from the first half of the year.  Everything we learn here is relevant to treating patients (and will be tested before third year begins).  Nearly everything builds upon each other, so it is hard to make a stable house without a strong foundation.  Catching up is one of my goals for the summer.  I already finished reviews of biochemistry, molecular & cellular biology, and half of physiology but there are still four more classes I'd like to cover.

Every day I must remind myself of the reasons why I chose medicine because these first two years are rough for someone not strong in the sciences.  I have to remember that the admissions committee chose me out of the 12,000 students who applied to this school because they see in me the can-do spirit of a student and the empathetic persona of a good physician.  Studying the humanities helped develop those traits.  I am so glad to not have been science-heavy as an undergraduate because it would have given me just a six-month edge in school, which is not much in the grand scheme of my career.