I'm slowly but surely beating this myositis thing. This evening Matthew and the newest love of his life, along with Jared and me, got into the hot tub for awhile. My dad didn't want me in for too long because the whole thing started with a flu, so it seemed contraindicative to get into a really hot place for too long and potentially bring a fever on again. We stayed in for half an hour, which was probably about right. .It seemed to make my muscles move a little better. The boys were doing the back and forth between the unheated pool and the hot tub, Our pool has the capacity to be heated, but we don't heat it in winter except for special occasions because it's really costly to do so. I would not have wanted to do that anyway in the winter even in a relatively mild weather locale such as hours. i=It did it a couple of times in my younger and stupider days (near Sacramento, where it's much colder in the winter) , and it's painful.
Matthew had a baseball game in the LA area earlier today, but he's finished for the weekend. I think he's getting tired of it all. He needs to maintain the 4.0 GPA for med school, and it's tough to do so when you're having to miss class so regularly. With the various things that go wrong for me, I miss more class than is optimal myself, so I can relate, but for me it's unavoidable. I know Matthew likes the scholarship thing and that his education isn't costing my parents much if anything, but they've been putting money away for awhile, he doesn't HAVE to play baseball if he doesn't want to. He also has the option of graduating after three years, which would be in spring of 2014. That's when I'm graduating. His manager and coaches would not be happy with him, as they weren't pleased when he refused to redshirt. If he checks out after three years, it will make them angrier. It will free up a scholarship for them, which is a plus for them, as opposed to if he simply dropped out. I don't know how confidential anything like that is. It seems unlikely he could process his paperwork to graduate without the athletic department learning about it. If he decides to graduate early and they learn about it, it will cut into his playing time in a big way.
My dad suggested that he graduate at the end of next summer (2014)so that his baseball program could be kept out of the loop.. He can still take the MCAT. Most likely he could still get into a good medical school. If he didn't, he could pick up a quick master's in biochem or some related field, then reapply to medical schools the next year as a much more competitive candidate. Something tells me he won't have to do that, anyway. He'll get into a really good med school without even having stellar MCAT scores.
I'm not feeling particularly competitive toward Matthew where med school is involved. We'll each be accepted wherever we're accepted. Chances are that his school will be better or at least more prestigious even though my course load is more impressive and my MCATs should be considerably higher, but that's life. Besides, participating in intercollegiate athletics while maintaining a 4.0 has to be worth something, and finishing early, if that's what he does, makes it all the more impressive. I'll finish early, too, and with a double major plus, but more is expected of female candidates even though no one comes right out and says so. It would be just as well if we didn't end up in the same med school. My tendency would be to want to help him, but it would be stupid to help someone so that he could finish higher than I did even if he is my brother.
Decisions can be tough, including my decision as to whether to choose law school or med school, which has been more or less made though not finalized, but, as Judge Alex said to me, it's a really nice problem to have. I haven't actually ruled out obtaining both law and medical degrees. there's a doctor who works with my dad who has both, and he did the law school part of it while practicing medicine and raising six kids. the main issue is I don't yet know what wuld be the advantage of dual doctorates in that regard. i suppose i could defend myself in a malpractice suit, but she who defends herself in a case has a fool for an attorney. I don't know whatwould be the implications as far as medical research would be. I'm also considering that it might make me a really high-priced attorney to have the MD in my credentials, if practicing law were my ultimate goal. I would not work in the plaintiff side of medical litigation, but it might make me a hgighly qualified defender in medical malpractice suits.
I'm getting way ahead of myself here. I haven't been accepted into either medical or law school, and now I'm talking about completing both programs..
Matthew had a baseball game in the LA area earlier today, but he's finished for the weekend. I think he's getting tired of it all. He needs to maintain the 4.0 GPA for med school, and it's tough to do so when you're having to miss class so regularly. With the various things that go wrong for me, I miss more class than is optimal myself, so I can relate, but for me it's unavoidable. I know Matthew likes the scholarship thing and that his education isn't costing my parents much if anything, but they've been putting money away for awhile, he doesn't HAVE to play baseball if he doesn't want to. He also has the option of graduating after three years, which would be in spring of 2014. That's when I'm graduating. His manager and coaches would not be happy with him, as they weren't pleased when he refused to redshirt. If he checks out after three years, it will make them angrier. It will free up a scholarship for them, which is a plus for them, as opposed to if he simply dropped out. I don't know how confidential anything like that is. It seems unlikely he could process his paperwork to graduate without the athletic department learning about it. If he decides to graduate early and they learn about it, it will cut into his playing time in a big way.
My dad suggested that he graduate at the end of next summer (2014)so that his baseball program could be kept out of the loop.. He can still take the MCAT. Most likely he could still get into a good medical school. If he didn't, he could pick up a quick master's in biochem or some related field, then reapply to medical schools the next year as a much more competitive candidate. Something tells me he won't have to do that, anyway. He'll get into a really good med school without even having stellar MCAT scores.
I'm not feeling particularly competitive toward Matthew where med school is involved. We'll each be accepted wherever we're accepted. Chances are that his school will be better or at least more prestigious even though my course load is more impressive and my MCATs should be considerably higher, but that's life. Besides, participating in intercollegiate athletics while maintaining a 4.0 has to be worth something, and finishing early, if that's what he does, makes it all the more impressive. I'll finish early, too, and with a double major plus, but more is expected of female candidates even though no one comes right out and says so. It would be just as well if we didn't end up in the same med school. My tendency would be to want to help him, but it would be stupid to help someone so that he could finish higher than I did even if he is my brother.
Decisions can be tough, including my decision as to whether to choose law school or med school, which has been more or less made though not finalized, but, as Judge Alex said to me, it's a really nice problem to have. I haven't actually ruled out obtaining both law and medical degrees. there's a doctor who works with my dad who has both, and he did the law school part of it while practicing medicine and raising six kids. the main issue is I don't yet know what wuld be the advantage of dual doctorates in that regard. i suppose i could defend myself in a malpractice suit, but she who defends herself in a case has a fool for an attorney. I don't know whatwould be the implications as far as medical research would be. I'm also considering that it might make me a really high-priced attorney to have the MD in my credentials, if practicing law were my ultimate goal. I would not work in the plaintiff side of medical litigation, but it might make me a hgighly qualified defender in medical malpractice suits.
I'm getting way ahead of myself here. I haven't been accepted into either medical or law school, and now I'm talking about completing both programs..
Have you ever heard of Betty and Dan Broderick? They are notable because Betty Broderick murdered her husband, Dan, when he cheated on her and married his secretary. Apparently, she worked to send him to law school after he decided he didn't want to practice medicine. Betty Broderick probably has narcissistic personality disorder... Anyway, my point is that Dan Broderick made a lot of money as a medical malpractice lawyer. You could also work in organizations that do health and legal research.
ReplyDeleteOf course... with what higher education costs these days, I'd give serious consideration as to how you will pay for everything. I have three degrees that I'm paying for and I'm just a freakin' housewife.
The Brodericks are new to me. As far as Betty is concerned, I'm happy I never knew her.
ReplyDeleteEducation costs are always an issue, but less of one for me than for some, not because my family are the local equivalent to the Vanderbilts or the Rockefellers, but through a sheer stroke of luck and a National Merit Scholarship. I received enough scholarship money (between the biggie and several smaller ones that added up) that I can't use it all on my undergrad degree. This is all the more true because my dad is affiliated with the University of California system, which gives me a tuition discount. (If he were an actual full-time professor, I think I could attend free, although I'm not sure and never worried too much since it doesn't apply in my case regardless.) Anyway, whatever is left over of my scholarship money after undergraduate studies can go toward grad programs.
My university offers, through private sponsorships from financially successful alumni (because the state of California can't even afford to pay for paper clips, much less for financial incentive awards), major cash awards for the top ten or so finishers in each graduating class at my university. There's a computer-generated algorithm for deciding who those top ten finishers are in order to avoid the decision becoming political or corrupt, because 4.0's are a dime a dozen around here. The formula has to do with the [pre-determined] degree of difficulty of courses, a student's respective ranking in each course taken, and in the amount of time it took a person to complete his or her undergraduate degree. Since I'll finish in three years, since I'm taking ridiculously tough classes, and since I've finished number one in every class I've taken thus far, in addition to my completion of a dual major as well as dual minors, my chances for at least one of the top ten finishes is better than average, although one can never consider it in the bag until one has the check with one's name on it, and the bank has cleared the check.
TO BE CONTINUED
I'm in a long-winded mode and can't do much.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteSomeone I know through a musical group in which we both participated, who is now in law school, won a cash award two years ago for being the #3 graduate. (She, too, finished school in three years.) She got $80,000 dollars out of the deal. She didn't need a cent of it to pay for law school because she's the granddaughter of a singer/songwriter whose identity I've been told not to disclose (think "If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can't I paint you?"), and all money that came in to this artist was invested so wisely that even the grandchildren's graduate educations have already been covered. The singer/songwriter's children have done well professionally, too, which may have added to the lack of need for funds.
While I feel a little guilty for someone with so obviously little need for money to be receiving such a large wad of cash, and even for me to receive it if I'm fortunate enough to be a recipient, the sum of everything that is given in terms of even bona fide academic scholarships and awards, much less other financial aid, is weighted incredibly heavily in favor of those who are determined to have financial need. If a few loaded alumni wish to reward outstanding performance regardless of race, creed, or parents' financial status, I'll take their money if it's offered to me.
My family is generous. My parents have helped more relatives and unrelated individuals (usually kids my mom knew through her work as a school administrator) through college than I'll ever know/ All my parents ask in return is that if the student is ever in a financial position to help another needy student, to please do so. If i'm in a position to do the same, I plan for the bulk of my charitable contributions to go in that direction.
Anyway, once this girl finishes law school, she has eighty-thousand dollars plus whatever trust fund is in her name that might exist to set up a practice and a household.
I'm not nearly so pecuniarily fortunate as this girl, but my parents budgeted for my education and are having to pay absolutely nothing for my undergrad degree (nor for my brother's; he's no Einstein, but he's a good lefty pitcher), so the money they've put away can be used for medical school. They planned for private universities, so there's a decent chunk of money in the account, though it may not cover the entirety of medical school. If I'm fortunate enough to receive a cash award next year, it can make up the difference. If not, I'll get a loan for the balance.
Part 3,which is continued evidence of my verbosity and/or boredom today;
ReplyDeleteMy dad says that, even more so, it's likely evidence of bi-polarism.
My way of paying for law school would be to get through medical school and my internship, which is the initial year of residency. Once the year of internship is successfully completed, one is a licensed physician (albeit a G.P. with no specialty) pending passage of state board exams, etc. At that point, I would enroll in law school and work about three shifts a week as an ER physician. I would, just to hedge my bets, enroll in a law school not too far from my parents' home so that, if worse came to worse, I could invade their empty nest for a few years.
After finishing law school, I would apply for a residency program which would, since I would already have completed year one, last from two to four years depending upon the specialty I chose and/or into which I was accepted. My first choice would be pathology, with radiology being my second choice. (My interpersonal skills are not my forte; radiology and pathology would minimize my deficits in this area.)
I'm not even sure I want to do this, but if I did and if it went off without a hitch, I would be a licensed attorney and board-certified physician in my specialty somewhere between the ages of twenty-nine and thirty-one. This is something I wouldn't consider were I not getting a head start of sorts, but since the typical physician becomes board-certified in a specialty between the ages of twenty-nine and thirty-one even without a law degree, it's a viable option. Still it's a lot of hard work when a lot of people of the same age would be having a lot more fun. On the other hand, academics are fun in a way to me.
If I chose anything related to medical malpractice, it would only be to defend doctors against medical malpractice. I'm not such a Pollyanna that I believe that all doctors are good guys who never do anything wrong, intentionally or otherwise, but I am a part of a family of doctors with whom I have close relationships. It would be a figurative slap in the faces of my dad, my Uncle Scott, my Uncle Steve, my Uncle Michael, my Aunt Joanne, my Uncle Jerry, all my uncle Jerry's sons, and even more were I to pursue a career in going after doctors accused of medical malpractice. It's a job that must be done, but by someone other than I.
My dad thinks this is more drudgery than anyone needs to undertake in order to have a fulfilling career, but he thinks that if I were to undertake this option (and he has questions as to whether or not I'm physically strong enough to do everything my plan entails), there are tons of options in the research branch of medicine that would be open to a person with both medical and law degrees, and that I would end up being a very wealthy woman were I to follow this course and actually complete it.
You might also want to see if there are any universities out there that offer joint MD/JD degrees. I got my dual master's degrees that way and pared off some of the work somewhat. I don't actually know if there are any in existence... but it wouldn't hurt to research it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Brodericks, if you're interested in their story, you could see the TV movie made about Betty Broderick, A Woman Scorned. It stars Meredith Baxter as Betty Broderick and the repulsive Stephen Collins as Dan Broderick. I've seen it posted on YouTube, but it's also on Netflix, I think. There's also a sequel, which is about Betty's trial. Some people hold her up as sort of a feminist hero for killing her ex husband and his wife. Personally, I think she's crazy and I'm glad she's in prison.
If you're really bored, it might be interesting/educational for you.
I love your description of Stephen Collins as repulsive.
ReplyDeleteWell, he is... I just started watching reruns of "7th Heaven". It's one of those shows that is so annoying it's good. I like snarking on it. I find him extremely irritating, though, especially when he's playing "RevCam".
ReplyDeleteIf he were my pastor I would quickly change churches. If he were my father I would do whatever necessary to become emancipated even if I were only about five years old.
ReplyDeleteMe too... I have to admit, though, 7th Heaven had its moments. From neurotic obsessions over their kids' sex lives to stalking behavior to bratty kids, this show could be pretty funny...
ReplyDeleteI have sadistic fantasies sometimes when I listen to RevCam speak, though... He's such a sanctimonious jerk.