New here!!

[thebluestate]

Hi there! I'm totally new to the forums. Here is a little background on me- I'm a 26 year old female and am still at community college- I am two classes away from my associates in psychology and just changed my major to biological sciences in hopes of getting into my school of choice to complete my BA. I have a 3.3 now and should have it raised to 3.4 at the end of this semester/summer and will be filing a transfer agreement to go to UCI fall 2016. I have chosen to major in public health sciences there, not only because it has many of the science requirements of bio and chem, but it seems more diverse and interesting to me. I also want to minor in psychology. My ultimate goal is to become a psychiatrist. I have been a drug and alcohol counselor for three years and find that talk therapy is something that I am naturally great at and am extremely passionate about. The concentration of psychiatry is the ultimate goal to me because I find it so rare to come across great talk therapy and proper medication together. Usually it's a psychiatrist dispensing the medication and referring to a therapist. Anyways, I know I am older and behind the curve on things, but I know that this is what I want. I didn't start college until I was 23 and am focused and determined. (It is a little hard to do full time school and I'll time work though) I guess my questions are 1.) Does a public health science major look good to med schools?
2.) Is my goal even attainable?
3.) Will my clinical experience help me get into Med school?

I have had a hard time finding a school counselor to give me good advice so I am looking to you guys for help. Thank you in advance! Any ideas help!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[IntriguedStudent]

1) Undergraduate major doesn't really matter very much to med schools. However, a public health major could open up great research opportunities to you, which does look very good to med schools.

2) Yes. Your goal is definitely attainable. I'm not sure when you graduate, so if you're looking at MD, you'd probably need to pull up your GPA. However, you'd probably be a good candidate for DO schools assuming you do well on your MCAT.

3) I don't know that being a drug and alcohol counselor counts as clinical experience. Do you have any other clinical experience? If not, I suggest getting some.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drghost]

1) Undergraduate major doesn't really matter very much to med schools. However, a public health major could open up great research opportunities to you, which does look very good to med schools.

2) Yes. Your goal is definitely attainable. I'm not sure when you graduate, so if you're looking at MD, you'd probably need to pull up your GPA. However, you'd probably be a good candidate for DO schools assuming you do well on your MCAT.

3) I don't know that being a drug and alcohol counselor counts as clinical experience. Do you have any other clinical experience? If not, I suggest getting some.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As a former med student who took a left turn into population health, I agree.

Honestly, med schools care about undergrad gpa and mcat scores than anything else. In your situation I would recommend getting that gpa as close to a 3.8+ as you possibly can and nailing the mcat. The clinical experience will help you figure out where you want go as a physician or public health professional though so it is also important in the long run.

 

[thebluestate]

1) Undergraduate major doesn't really matter very much to med schools. However, a public health major could open up great research opportunities to you, which does look very good to med schools.

2) Yes. Your goal is definitely attainable. I'm not sure when you graduate, so if you're looking at MD, you'd probably need to pull up your GPA. However, you'd probably be a good candidate for DO schools assuming you do well on your MCAT.

3) I don't know that being a drug and alcohol counselor counts as clinical experience. Do you have any other clinical experience? If not, I suggest getting some.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Forgive

 

[thebluestate]

Forgive my ignorance, what would be the benefit of becoming a DO rather than MD? Would that have any effect on my ability to open a private practice? Is it just easier to become a DO? I am positive I want to be a psychiatrist and feel like medical school is just a huge hurdle I have to get over in order to do that. I love the idea of being an MD though, in case for some odd reason I don't enjoy psychiatry- highly doubtful though. I will graduate withy BS in public health science in three years. I have one more year of prereqs (all science) at my cc then transferring to UCI next fall.

 

[oceanhue]

Thought you should know, but when you transfer to a UC from a community college, your GPA resets. This is what happened to me and many other students. This was over 4 years ago, but I highly doubt they have changed this rule.

Also, I'm pretty sure they upped the guaranteed admissions requirement to 3.5GPA (do they even still do that?). So, it may be beneficial to go ahead and bring it up. It was 3.0 when I was in a CC.

 

[thebluestate]

Thought you should know, but when you transfer to a UC from a community college, your GPA resets. This is what happened to me and many other students. This was over 4 years ago, but I highly doubt they have changed this rule.

Also, I'm pretty sure they upped the guaranteed admissions requirement to 3.5GPA (do they even still do that?). So, it may be beneficial to go ahead and bring it up. It was 3.0 when I was in a CC.

I had no clue they reset GPA after community college, that is helpful! Thank you for that information. The transfer agreement I will be signing in September for UCI requires a 3.4 GPA which will be doable. I have been looking at the school WesternU, does anyone have any opinions on this?

 

[thebluestate]

Also, what steps would I need to take in order to get my shadowing/clinical experience? I work closely with a psychiatrist at my work and have for the last two years, acting as a pseudo assistant to him. Is there specific paperwork he could sign saying I shadowed him? Is there a proper etiquette to asking another medical professional if you can shadow? I have another psychiatrist in mind that I know personally and my friend's husband is an orthopedic surgeon and I know he would be a great asset in shadowing aswell so I have a more rounded resume ofexperience.

 

[TheWorldWarrior]

Just tell him that you are interested in medical school and if, when you apply, he would write a recommendation for you; this is the best kind i think, as you worked 2 years with this person who is able to evaluate you on your work ethic, compassion and empathy for patients, which med schools love. My school is all about empathy and emotions and all that stuff. Realistically it sometimes feels more preach than practice...still good though.

 

[oceanhue]

I had no clue they reset GPA after community college, that is helpful! Thank you for that information. The transfer agreement I will be signing in September for UCI requires a 3.4 GPA which will be doable. I have been looking at the school WesternU, does anyone have any opinions on this?

Yea, we didn't know either. Hence, our confusion when the fall semester began.

 

[Vespasian]

Forgive my ignorance, what would be the benefit of becoming a DO rather than MD? Would that have any effect on my ability to open a private practice? Is it just easier to become a DO? I am positive I want to be a psychiatrist and feel like medical school is just a huge hurdle I have to get over in order to do that. I love the idea of being an MD though, in case for some odd reason I don't enjoy psychiatry- highly doubtful though. I will graduate withy BS in public health science in three years. I have one more year of prereqs (all science) at my cc then transferring to UCI next fall.

Osteopathic (DO) medical schools offer grade replacement, ex: if you receive a C in Chem 1, retake and receive an A your most recent grade would count. Allopathic (MD) schools do not offer grade forgiveness, ex: you receive a C in Chem 1, retake and receive an A you would then have 6 credits (assuming Chem 1 is 3cr) and a B. Osteopathic schools also tend to have lower MCAT/GPA standards for admittance. A DO in the US (and most countries) has the same practice rights as an allopathic physician. If you elect to go the DO route you would be able to pursue psychiatry as a specialty. There are other differences between osteopathic and allopathic medical education (such as the option to learn OMM, COMLEX vs USMLE, etc.) as well.

I'm not a medical student so take my post with a grain of salt. I'm relaying the information I've gathered from my research, SDN threads, working with physician-researchers and the AAMC/AACOMAS sites as I plan on applying to med school in the future.

 

[Orchidmph]

Just to chime in quickly though your GPA rests at the University you transfer too; it's accumulated to the medical schools you apply too. So it will all count in the end. So the rest button doesn't really make a difference.

 

[thebluestate]

Just to chime in quickly though your GPA rests at the University you transfer too; it's accumulated to the medical schools you apply too. So it will all count in the end. So the rest button doesn't really make a difference.

That is good information. Is that the same for DO school as well? I am okay with that as I clearly have an upward trend in my gpa and by the time I transfer to UCI next fall my gpa will be at a projected 3.7. Thanks for the helpful tips!

 

[Orchidmph]

Every school no matter where you go you have to hand in all your transcripts and they'll calculate everything. And no problem! Best of luck !!!