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I am currently applying to medical school and will hopefully have the chance to interview with various schools this fall. Medicine is definitely on the more conservative side and I want to give myself the best chance possible to be accepted and have thought about cutting my hair. I began growing it my senior year of high school at the suggest of several friends who said it would look good long, got it long and have kept it about 5 or 6 inches passed my shoulders since. I am torn about the decision because I love my hair, but on the other hand it can grow back and I have been working for the chance to get into medical school for a long time with a lot of effort. While I would hope they wouldn't discriminate because I have a ponytail I don't know if I want to take the chance. I figured you guys would understand better than most and wondered if any of you had had an experience like this or perhaps even work in the medical field?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Steven
In thinking about what you said, I remember our son's pediatrician has long hair--always has had since we've been acquainted with him, anyway. I personally don't think cutting it would be that necessary, especially if it was tied back in a neat looking tail.
Steve
I would agree with Steve; unless hospitals are extremely against male health professionals with long hair, a ponytail would seem like a reasonable mode of presentation in a work environment.
С уважением, and good luck!
Venya
Hey Steven,
Pray about your decision.
I serve as a chaplain in a hospital. I know of one (1) male nurse who wears his hair in a simple ponytail and it reaches almost to midback. I noticed a doctor who is sporting a ponytail today.
My advise is not to cut. Pray about it.
Raymond
Hardly very helpful. You make an assumption that he follows your 'views' on religion which is very silly.
Raymond, you are a man of the cloth and a servant of the lord,you have every right to mention prayer as way of making decisions in everyday problems of life. god bless you and keep you. James / Tampa,Fl
Agreed. Raymond, you definitely said the right thing in your response. God bless.
Hi Steven,
I am a registered nurse, and one of the reasons I finally feel "ready" to regrow my once-long hair is the fact that the medical industry is, for the most part, extremely tolerant of male employees wearing their hair long. I feel safe in doing so, without jeopardizing my ability to provide for my family's financial well-being.
One of the best emergency room doctors I've ever known, in fact, has hair to the bottom of his shoulder blades, and a full, bushy beard at least 6-inches long. If you have set your sights on becoming a physician, I'd say you have nothing to worry about regarding hair length.
Currently, my hair is smack-dab in the middle of what some refer to as the "awkward stage," and I have taken to wearing a surgical scrub cap while working, just to keep it out of my eyes until it's long enough to pull back into a half-tail and, eventually, a full ponytail.
Good luck in all of your endeavors!
--Val
All I can say is that getting into med school is insanely competitive (or worse for certain schools). You know your scores and application strengths and weaknesses, so you probably have a good idea of your chances and where. Obviously, if you are a rockstar they won't care about a ponytail, otherwise, it is going to be a value judgement by an interviewer or panel...
I assume that you are in the USA - a land not not for its willingness to accept this sort of challenge. I can only advise you that in the UK I have seen (and unfortunately been treated by) both male doctors and nurses with long hair.
To discriminate here would probably not be acceptable.
Leave it as you want it and, if challenged, I suggest that you turn it back on the interviewer by asking whether a female would be so challenged. You could add to demonstrate some level of thought that you would accept that you would have to take similar precautions but that, in the event, it makes no difference to either your potential abilities or suitability to be in the profession. Rational argument, quietly expressed should save your hair readily - unless you get some old fart of an interviewer to whom anything less than a three piece suit would appear under dressed. In that case you have more problems than your hair.
Make sure it is tied back in a tail, and that you wear a suit or whatever is normal and therefore look quite unexceptional.
Good luck.
I am a former long-haired man. My business partner and I disagreed/fought daily about the length of my hair to the point where I finally cut it and it remains short today. So, I'm probably not the best person to add my comments in support.
I can tell you that after I cut my hair, while at a local restaurant/bar, I met a gentleman who had a beautiful head of hair. The gentleman appeared to be my same age. I learned years ago that you don't compliment men about their long hair because you get responses like, "Yeah, my wife/girlfriend likes it too," or "My girlfriend/wife wants me to cut it," or "I'm getting it cut in a few days," or just plain "Faggot."
So, instead, I made the comment that the man's employer must be very tolerant of his long hair. He then lifted his hair over his ears and showed me his pierced ears, three on each ear.
He then told me he was a doctor. What he said to me next I'll always remember. He said, "My patients come to see me because of my education and skill. They don't come to see me because of my long hair."
And I live in conservative CNY.
Just my two cents.
//-//
Very wise advice - follow it and use it at interview.
A few months ago i went to see my doctor, and to my surprise
he had his hair in a pony tail.
That was new.
Higher ed is very tolerant of long hair. I cut mine for my first job interview and realized afterward that it was totally unnecessary. Also, I see lots of doctors and lawyers with long hair on various TV news stories. I really do not believe they would discriminate based on that. In my experience of interviewing potential graduate students, I want competence, dedication and an expression of sincere interest in studying.
You got to be a man and stand up for yourself. Don't let jobs etc determine your lifestyle choices.
Darrin
You will or will not get into uni or medical school depending on your grades, education and personality at interview(s).
If you make it to an interview and you are an ar*e, you will not get in.. if you are clever and have a personality and (most importantly) be genuine and be yourself (and they like you because you shine amongst others) you will get in.
Its got nothing to do with looks so get over it. Just be yourself, stop whining and please note that medical students don't all make it, most drop by the wayside as they can't handle what they have to deal with. I would hope that a potential medical student would know this already .. hmmmmm..