The Pressure of Pre-Med |
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The many academic and extracurricular requirements to get into medical school create pressure for pre-meds.
Most medical students now do a gap year between college and medical school to complete these requirements.
Parents can be critical in teaching students healthy habits around sleep, exercise, and social connection.
Healthy habits will reduce the pressures inherent in a medical career.
Early in my sophomore year of college, I was taking an organic chemistry test. Halfway through the exam, a classmate a few rows behind me stood up and started shouting in an agitated state. He was escorted from the class. I found out later he had consumed a large amount of caffeine during the last few days while studying around the clock. Fortunately, he went on to become a doctor, and we all learned a lesson about the dangers of excessive caffeine use and lack of sleep. That memory stays with me as a reminder of the intense pressure we pre-meds were under to perform, particularly in organic chemistry, which was considered the “weed out” class.
Having worked as a psychiatrist providing care to university students for several years, I have witnessed pre-med pressure rise. Medical school admissions in the US are highly competitive, and to make matters more challenging, schools have added requirements on top of outstanding grades and high MCAT scores. According to the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), medical school requirements may include many hours of extracurricular........