The interview team at Inspira Advantage recently met with Dr. Rachel Langley to learn more about the application process. Dr. Langley is a family medicine practitioner and the owner of Homestead Direct Patient Care.
What motivated you to pursue a career in medicine?
When I was 10, I burned myself pretty badly and had to be seen for years by plastic surgeons to allow for full healing without limitation to my range of motion. Even as a child, I was shocked at just how poorly my doctors related to me. I couldn't help but think, I could do better than that. Looking back, I can see just how uncomfortable they were trying to comfort or relate to a kid, and that has been part of what has driven me to be the physician that I am. I am the one sitting on the floor playing Legos while we talk about how school is going. I am the one who brings up just how awkward it is to be in middle school and doubt everything about yourself. I am the one who isn't afraid of a patient's passing reference to how hard life is right now, and I don't refrain from diving right in to talking about the recent trauma, grief, unexpected death, or whatever it is that's holding my patient back from reaching their best health. It's not comfortable, but it's worth it.
What do you wish you had known about the medical school application process before you applied?
I wish I had been more gentle with myself. I didn't realize that aspects of my application that I thought were obviously good things—taking two years to teach middle school science to make sure that medicine was really the right road for me—were seen as nothing more than a lack of commitment to the field and so counted against me. When it came down to it, I still would have spent those years as a teacher because even if admissions committees didn't see it, I knew they were valuable. But I wish I had accepted that my priorities for my value weren't the same as the reviewers, and that was OK.
What was the biggest challenge that caught you off guard when you sat down to write the MCAT?
The amount of time that I spent studying for the MCAT was massive, unlike anything I had ever considered before. I couldn't believe there was any body of knowledge that would really take that much time to learn and prepare for. I obviously couldn't comprehend the amount to learn in medical school, as that was even greater!
How much work experience did you gain before applying to medical school? What opportunities did you pursue, and what helped you the most during the application process?
I attended a high school for science and technology, which allowed me to do some really basic help at the National Institutes of Health in one of their labs. I worked with my mom, an RN, checking blood pressures and glucose sticks at company health fairs. I did additional lab work on larger animals surviving induced cardiac arrest in college. I got a job as an intern and then a CNA at a local home health agency. The latter work as a home health aide was the most helpful—when doing the boring, gross work of cleaning up dirty diapers, the humbling work of scrubbing the back of an old lonely lady in the shower, and the tedious work of cleaning out her coffee maker of grounds that she spilled every day, did I still enjoy this work of caring? In my case, I resoundingly did.
Did you have any setbacks or rejections during the med school admissions process, and what did you learn from those experiences?
Although I had never previously heard of DOs, the application process led me to learn much more about osteopathy. I was encouraged that osteopathic schools seemed to value my work and life experience as much as I did and not depend so highly on the perfect GPA and direct path from undergrad to med school without gap years. I didn't get into many MD schools, but every DO school wanted me, and so I learned to appreciate even more the osteopathic method of practice, as we seemed to have many of the same values.
What led you to specialize in [your specific area of medicine]? What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue your specialty?
I enjoyed something about every field of medicine—the technical skill of surgery, the complexity of internal medicine, the aesthetics of dermatology, the great relief brought by gastroenterology, and the creativity required by pediatrics. I couldn't decide between them, so I get to dabble in all of it in family medicine! Prospective family medicine physicians need to get comfortable with never being the expert, always having more to learn, and being willing to do more reading every day.
If someone wants to start their own practice, what does that path look like after finishing medical school?
I highly recommend the path that I followed: devoting years of service to the military in exchange for finishing my commitment debt-free. Although those first years without an income are still painful, they are so much more free without huge negative numbers weighing you down.
What advice would you give to someone who’s looking to start their practice today?
When starting your practice, I encourage you to learn and do everything you can yourself. I have had many prospective patients comment on how they really felt they knew me after reading over my website—makes sense, I wrote every word and took every picture myself! I did all my own taxes for a few months and am still finding papers I filled out incorrectly and am still paying fines on payments I missed, but now I appreciate my accountant infinitely more.
Inspira Advantage is proud to interview experts like Dr. Rachel K. Langley to help future doctors understand the challenges and rewards of a medical career. Learn more about how our experts can help you get into medical school today.
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