Dedication, determination, and devotion to helping people through medicine are of paramount importance. Without these, your training and resulting career will not be very enjoyable or rewarding. Although formal training will not begin until medical school, personal traits such as character development and leadership ability can be honed even before entering medical school. As a clinician, your ability to reach out to patients, gain their trust, and effectively communicate are of critical importance. The time and financial commitment involved in this pursuit can be staggering.
Most students accumulate a large amount of debt while in medical school.
This debt, coupled with four years of training and a variable number of years spent in residency training, can seem daunting. Yet with confidence and motivation, these will appear only secondary in importance when you consider what you are gaining in the long run. The time and financial commitment can be viewed as an investment in your future. When applying to medical school, first understand that there are a lot of untrue myths about applying to medical school. This handbook is intended to dispel a lot of these myths which many pre-medical students may encounter.