I'll be applying to medical school in the UK this year, and it's pretty much the same. Even though Medicine is something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember; not just because 'I want to help people' or because I'm concerned with the money and status that doctors have, but because I genuinely have a fascination with the human body and a real interest in people; I feel as though I'm checking boxes to get in. Work experience, check. Grades, check. Selection exams, check. Interview, check.
It feels to me as though for many people are just using work experience and A-levels as a means to an end, and not actually enjoying it. I've volunteered in a hospice for nearly six months, and it's been so interesting and rewarding. Plus, I genuinely enjoy my schoolwork (currently doing AS-levels in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and German). I just feel as though I may not get a place at medical school, despite how much I want it, because I have no medical connections (i.e. no one in my immediate family is a doctor, or works in a medical setting), and I'm hoping that this won't be a hinderance.
CharonY, I don't know what it's like in the US, but in England it's so hard to get any work experience in a hospital that to get any medical work experience, a lab is often the only viable place. I know what you mean about the amount of people who aren't serious about applying for medicine! I just hope that our varying attitudes will come across in the interview!
