How to Approach a Negative Encounter With a Medical School Adviser

Chances are that you have spent the first two years of your Undergraduate studies kicking around the idea of becoming a doctor as you move through your core sciences.  There will be a moment when the "switch flips on" and you realize that you cannot get into Medical School without having a competitive application.  While you were bar hopping and recovering from a hangover, your competition is out there already volunteering, researching, and shadowing.  Nevertheless, this is a "better late than never" situation and you still have an opportunity to build a very strong application in order for you to get into a US Medical School.  Eventually, you should meet with a Medical School Adviser to get an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of your application.  A nerve-racking 30 minute interview can quickly escalate into a Medical School Adviser criticizing every aspect of your resume and promising you that you will never get into a Medical School.  Luckily enough, time does pass and eventually your meeting will conclude.  You may feel like you have fallen into a never-ending abyss but fear not, I will explain some different approaches to follow so you can turn some of this criticism into a positive experience.  

Number 1:  Take Everything With a Grain of Salt. 

It is never a fun experience when you are criticized by anyone.  When you meet with the Medical School Adviser, you may be experiencing this level of hostility for the first time in your life.  Every decision that you have ever done will most likely be wrong and the Adviser will paint you a picture of your life in 3 years in any other profession but Medicine.  

My best advice for you in this situation is to just make sure you do not take this criticism as a personal attack.  At the end of the day, most Medical School Advisers are working in their cubicles instead of on the wards because they were not skilled enough to get into a Medical Program.  They may use their position as a way to launch a vendetta against the Medical community because they were written off long before settling for a Medical Adviser's title.  

An Adviser also will be one of the busiest resources that are used in the University.  When I started by Undergraduate studies, it seemed that half of the student body was some version of Pre-Med and all already gunning to improve their CVs.  I was advised to meet with an Adviser after the first semester to get an update on my chances to get into Medical School.  Even after completing a semester of your studies, and Adviser already could predict that "you are not qualified to become a Doctor."  Perhaps they use this rhetoric at such an early stage to motivate you to use their negative words as a type of reverse psychology.  It may be easier to make you anger to push yourself harder to show them that they were wrong later on than say "you are on the right track" so you become complacent and stop trying to improve yourself.  

Another Tip to Use a Medical Adviser's Negative Words to Your Advantage 

Number 2:  Listen to the Messages Without Getting Angry 

This is going to be a hard challenge to meet but in reality, there will be multiple times in your life where someone may say something to you that infuriates you and you are much more interesting in attacking someone instead of listening to them.  If this describes you, it is in your best interest to learn how to more efficiently respond to the negatively.  In your meeting with the Adviser, even if they may question your merits for getting into Medical School, they will often say tidbits of useful information about you needing to volunteer more, or get involved in more research projects.  It is your responsibility to separate the emotions from the messages and use that as information to better yourself.  "Your volunteering is disastrous" should make you separate the anger you may feel and to just try to find a more worthwhile volunteering experience to become more competitive.  

I had this very thing happen to me when I met with my Medical Adviser and it did feel unpleasant while sitting through the onslaught of criticism.  At the time, I had already been published in two very prestigious Medical journals and the project I had worked on had won a "Best in Category" Award at the International Anesthesia Research Society's meeting.  Even with all that, the Medical Adviser picked me apart in each of the research projects that I had participated in.  I was criticized that I had not taken it upon myself to start my own side research project and coordinate the investigation myself; something that all of my peers had already done (apparently).  At the time, I was dedicating 20 hours a week to the research team so I was amazed I was still being criticized for something that was one of my biggest strengths.  I decided to ignore the Adviser's opinion because I was confident that I was well-equipped in that aspect of my application to hold my own in an interview.  Sure enough, when I did interview for Medical School, the Board member was very impressed at the research I had done and we spent nearly 45 minutes of the hour solely on that aspect because he had an interest in the field.  I received an Acceptance Letter a few months later.  

The most important to take from this article is that every Medical School has a different list of requirements and preferences for all the applicants coming into the program.  Some programs may focus on volunteering and research while others can put an emphasis on how you did in your core classes and your Science GPA.  It is impossible to meet the specifications of all the Medical programs so all you need to focus on is to make sure you have the most competitive application you can.  The most important favor you can give yourself is a strong MCAT score when you applying to these programs and that may not even be a death sentence if the scores are low.  One of my colleagues scored a 27 on his MCAT and was admitted into a US MD program because he knew one of the members on the Admissions Board.  What is stopping you from volunteering in a hospital to get to know some of the influential members on the Admissions Committee to give yourself a better chance?  An unfortunate truth is that there is a great deal of politics that goes on within the hospital walls so you can use this to your advantage.  Just remember that "the medical school student who graduates with the lowest scores in the class is still called a doctor."  All you have to do is get in the door.