Med School help!

[jmccue7]

I need some help with a career path and i'm hoping someone can give me some guidance. I am a recent college grad with a BS in bio and an overall GPA of 3.2. up to this point i had always envisioned a career in biodefense or public health while obtaining a phD, but i've had second thoughts about this. I'm currently a research assistant at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and am now contemplating med school to become either a general practitioner or pathologist. something to do with either being a physician or working with infectious disease.

i'm new at this, so i don't know whats out there. so if anyone could help me with these questions that would be great.

1. what should be my next step in getting into med school? i was thinking about continuing my research here so i could get published, then volunteering at a local hospital several nights a week.

2. could i even get into med school with my grades?

3. where should i look at going?

4. what is the timetable for med school? how long does it take to complete


thanks so much for the help!

Jeff

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LJDHC05]

1. what should be my next step in getting into med school? i was thinking about continuing my research here so i could get published, then volunteering at a local hospital several nights a week.

2. could i even get into med school with my grades?

3. where should i look at going?

4. what is the timetable for med school? how long does it take to complete

1) Plan sounds good...if your alma mater has a pre-med committee they'll help you out with things that you can do. I'd look into shadowing a pathologist and a general practioner to make sure that's what you're into. But you forgot a big step: the MCAT...I'd take that too

2) depends on alot of things, but it is conceivable. Rock your MCAT and you'll be all set

3) worry about that one later

4) Med school is 4 years: 2 years classroom basic science education, 2 years clinical rotations (generally) with a board exam following each called the USMedical Liscensing Exam (USMLE) at which point you are a Doctor. Then you go onto a residency to specialize in your field, so you'd have work for 3-5 years (or more) in the field of pathology and take another exam to become a pathologist. Then you're on your way!

hope that helps, cause it's a LONG road

 

[truckibear]

1. what should be my next step in getting into med school? i was thinking about continuing my research here so i could get published, then volunteering at a local hospital several nights a week.

2. could i even get into med school with my grades?

3. where should i look at going?

4. what is the timetable for med school? how long does it take to complete


thanks so much for the help!

Jeff

1. Volunteering would be great because then you will have a better idea of whether you really want to become a physician or not. If you would like to apply during 2006 (for 2007), you should prepare for the April MCAT in 2006 (ie by taking MCAT course) and apply that summer.

2. It's possible but you may want to consider some osteopathic schools. DOs are as qualified as MDs but a different philosophy exists, etc. Look into this. If you do not get in or do not plan to apply to matriculate until 2008 or later, you may want to consider some kind of post-bacc program for the fall of 2006 to boost your GPA. Otherwise, if you would like to apply for med school in '06, I would take some extra courses this year. Your science GPA is definitely a consideration as well.

3. Like I mentioned, you may want to look into DO schools or schools like Drexel.

4. LJDHC05 did a great job of explaining this one. If you are referring to the actual process of applying, let me know.

Good luck