MD & DO Shift in career choice

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Hello everyone. This is my first post here, I have been a member for a whole 2 minutes and found this site to be very interesting. Currently I am 23 years old and working as a FireFighter/Paramedic at a fire rescue department in South Florida. I have been on the department for about 2.5 years now and have had many great experiences and learned so much from it. Recently I have been thinking about furthering my education and going after my dream of being a doctor. Ive been thinking about it for about 6 months now and recently have requested a 12 month leave of absence from the department to get started on all my pre-med courses. I work per diem as a Paramedic in the ER on my days off so I have been around the hospital setting and working close with doctors which has fueled my fire even further. I have a passion for medicine, to help people and to understand the human body. I love what I do and cannot imagine the feeling of being "the one" to call the shots and make the treatment decisions. I love to investigate and find cause. I feel that Emergency Medicine could be my calling. But am I dreaming too big? Am I biting off more than I can chew? I hope not, anybody have any advice? The thought of entering a burning building to save a life does not phase me at all but the thought of entering medical school and being amongst all these white coats...that is terrifying! Not to mention pre-med prerequisites, I hope I can handle the math and chemistry. Agh! I need words of wisdom

-Allan

Originally Posted by drumset55

Hello everyone. This is my first post here, I have been a member for a whole 2 minutes and found this site to be very interesting. Currently I am 23 years old and working as a FireFighter/Paramedic at a fire rescue department in South Florida. I have been on the department for about 2.5 years now and have had many great experiences and learned so much from it. Recently I have been thinking about furthering my education and going after my dream of being a doctor. Ive been thinking about it for about 6 months now and recently have requested a 12 month leave of absence from the department to get started on all my pre-med courses. I work per diem as a Paramedic in the ER on my days off so I have been around the hospital setting and working close with doctors which has fueled my fire even further. I have a passion for medicine, to help people and to understand the human body. I love what I do and cannot imagine the feeling of being "the one" to call the shots and make the treatment decisions. I love to investigate and find cause. I feel that Emergency Medicine could be my calling. But am I dreaming too big? Am I biting off more than I can chew? I hope not, anybody have any advice? The thought of entering a burning building to save a life does not phase me at all but the thought of entering medical school and being amongst all these white coats...that is terrifying! Not to mention pre-med prerequisites, I hope I can handle the math and chemistry. Agh! I need words of wisdom

-Allan

Do you already have some college credits completed? If so, what cGPA have you already earned? What science and math have you already taken?

I have my AS in Emergency Medical Services which is a quite a common degree to have in Fire Rescue. My last GPA was a 3.8 from last year and I have only taken basic Math and Anatomy 1. I am just now starting my endeavor towards my pre-med courses such as Chemistry, Calculus, etc. Still have a long way to go but I need guidance. I have doctors from the ER I work at telling me if I keep my GPA up they would write letters of recommendation for me.

-Allan

If your cGPA includes all college coursework taken, including any dual enrollment in HS, then you're in very good shape starting off. Your priority is to get a high GPA. The average for MD school acceptees is 3.67 and for DO school matriculants is 3.47. The higher it stays, the more selective the med schools you have a chance at. It's also important to get great grades in science and math, and to do well on the MCAT. All these stats are taken into account.

Besides stats, you'll need appropriate ECs. It sounds like you'll have clinical experience taken care of through your paid paramedic work. You'll also want to do some formal physician shadowing across a few specialties, including office-based primary care. About 50 hours is the average for this. Keep track of the hours and contact information. It would also be wise to engage in some volunteer work for a cause you care about, averaging 1+ hours per week.

Besides this, try to get in a research experience, even if only for a summer, as 73% of acceptees listed it. A year is the average. Leadership and teaching also benefit an application: you may already have some through the workplace. Interesting hobbies can make you stand out.

First priority: high grades. ECs can come later, if you can't fit them in and still do well academically.

Wow! I cannot thank you enough for that post, it was very informative. I have been told before that good grades in Math and Science are a must. As far as shadowing, do you mean just asking a physician from my ER if I can just follow them around? I volunteered for a year as a Firefighter/EMT, will that count? I also teach EMT students at the local fire college. By EC I am assuming you are speaking of extra curricular activities which I have read could make a difference on your med school app. I am kinda that guy that people say "Oh he does it all!" You name it Ive probably done it. I fly planes, freedive, scuba dive, spearfish, build cars, play drums (16 years), guitar (18 years), piano, trumpet, bass, carpentry, hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, drawing, designing, salesman, paintball, surfing, cooking, the list goes on forever! I think now that I have taken the first step and am getting ready to start my transition from working fire rescue to the ER, I have to take it day by day. Sometimes the thought of being 23 now and not being done with school until I am in my 30's is mind boggling. But the goal is in the end and if the journey was easy, anybody could do it!

Originally Posted by drumset55

Wow! I cannot thank you enough for that post, it was very informative. I have been told before that good grades in Math and Science are a must. As far as shadowing, do you mean just asking a physician from my ER if I can just follow them around? I volunteered for a year as a Firefighter/EMT, will that count? I also teach EMT students at the local fire college. By EC I am assuming you are speaking of extra curricular activities which I have read could make a difference on your med school app. I am kinda that guy that people say "Oh he does it all!" You name it Ive probably done it. I fly planes, freedive, scuba dive, spearfish, build cars, play drums (16 years), guitar (18 years), piano, trumpet, bass, carpentry, hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, drawing, designing, salesman, paintball, surfing, cooking, the list goes on forever! I think now that I have taken the first step and am getting ready to start my transition from working fire rescue to the ER, I have to take it day by day. Sometimes the thought of being 23 now and not being done with school until I am in my 30's is mind boggling. But the goal is in the end and if the journey was easy, anybody could do it!

Since it seems we have similar personalities (many of our interests are shared), I figure I can give you a bit of advice. Much of what it takes to get accepted into medical school is mundane and boring. I thought that medicine ideally suited my personality because it would be high stress / high stakes, but ended up struggling my first couple years in college because the rote memorization, boring classes, and lack of excitement bored me. Don't fall into that trap, doing what it takes to get into medical school is mundane and boring, NOTHING like being a paramedic... So good luck maintaining focus. My recommendation is to couple your education with things that you really love to do but don't detract from your study time (for me it was surfing, because it included an adrenaline component, a workout component, and a "this world is bigger than the friggin' library" component.

The end is worth the means, just don't forget about the importance of the means

Originally Posted by drumset55

1) As far as shadowing, do you mean just asking a physician from my ER if I can just follow them around?
2) I volunteered for a year as a Firefighter/EMT, will that count?
3) I also teach EMT students at the local fire college.
4) By EC I am assuming you are speaking of extra curricular activities which I have read could make a difference on your med school app.
5) Sometimes the thought of being 23 now and not being done with school until I am in my 30's is mind boggling.

1) That is one specialty, and I'm sure you have contacts that would make this easy to acquire. Also, try to find an internist/peds/family doc and maybe a hospitalist or surgeon.
2) This is community service, so yes it strengthens your application.
3) Good for Teaching.
4) Yes. It refers to all activities outside the classroom.
5) Average age of matriculants is 24, so you won't be far off.

Originally Posted by MalibuPreMD

Since it seems we have similar personalities (many of our interests are shared), I figure I can give you a bit of advice. Much of what it takes to get accepted into medical school is mundane and boring. I thought that medicine ideally suited my personality because it would be high stress / high stakes, but ended up struggling my first couple years in college because the rote memorization, boring classes, and lack of excitement bored me. Don't fall into that trap, doing what it takes to get into medical school is mundane and boring, NOTHING like being a paramedic... So good luck maintaining focus. My recommendation is to couple your education with things that you really love to do but don't detract from your study time (for me it was surfing, because it included an adrenaline component, a workout component, and a "this world is bigger than the friggin' library" component.

The end is worth the means, just don't forget about the importance of the means

That is one of my worries about medical school, that I will become overwhelmed with the non excitement of book work and pretty much everything you stated above. I need to look past it and see the goal in the end. That is great advice you have about keeping up with something I love to do, that is going to help keep my sanity. I am an adrenaline junkie, I love to be thinking on my feet and ready to take on any new challenge. Im excited for this change and welcome it with open arms! Still will be a few years before I can apply to med school because I am currently starting all my premed courses, but Im sure that time will be here sooner than I think! Thank you so much for the advice!

Originally Posted by Catalystik

1) That is one specialty, and I'm sure you have contacts that would make this easy to acquire. Also, try to find an internist/peds/family doc and maybe a hospitalist or surgeon.
2) This is community service, so yes it strengthens your application.
3) Good for Teaching.
4) Yes. It refers to all activities outside the classroom.
5) Average age of matriculants is 24, so you won't be far off.

I just spoke with the Medical Examiner of the county I work at and he mentioned he would love to have me come by and witness some cases. Im very excited for that. I will keep all of your advice close at hand and will slowly be working towards my new career. Thank you so much for the advice, it is so much appreciated!