Thoughts on Lawyer to Doctor

[Law2Doc]

I'd look at it as a successful applicant giving advice on the process who is around doctors all day long.

I have no axe to grind with lawyers and I'll I was doing was giving my advice on getting into med school.

A couple of facts, in med school I'm around physicians all the time that constantly bash lawyers and make decisions and hide things from patients so they won't get sued.

Just to give you an example of the lawyer who taught our medmal day said "it is better to kill a patient then cripple them" ... because of course that would cost you less legally.

One guy even pre-screens his patients and won't establish a doctor-patient relationship if the person is a lawyer. Good luck sitting down with him as your adcom.

Don't underestimate the animosity towards the law profession.

Many of us on this thread were also successful applicants who are at least as far down the road as you and can tell you that the experience of being a lawyer applicant was simply not an impediment, but a huge benefit, if played right. In case you didn't notice, there are multiple lawyers already in med school who have weighed in on this thread. Someone who has never been a lawyer applicant and yet is giving advice as to how a lawyer applicant will be perceived or should conduct themselves in an interview is what I found troubling with your posts. I mean, I wouldn't come onto a thread of computer scientists and presume to tell them how they will be perceived by adcoms regardless of how many doctors I am "around" in med school. You are entitled to your opinion, but it is not an informed one. But good luck on your journey to becoming a physician.

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[vtucci]

I'd look at it as a successful applicant giving advice on the process who is around doctors all day long.

I have no axe to grind with lawyers and I'll I was doing was giving my advice on getting into med school.

A couple of facts, in med school I'm around physicians all the time that constantly bash lawyers and make decisions and hide things from patients so they won't get sued.

Just to give you an example of the lawyer who taught our medmal day said "it is better to kill a patient then cripple them" ... because of course that would cost you less legally.

One guy even pre-screens his patients and won't establish a doctor-patient relationship if the person is a lawyer. Good luck sitting down with him as your adcom.

Don't underestimate the animosity towards the law profession.

I agree with both Law2Doc and viostorm.

There are a lot of unsaid prejudices out there against lawyers. It would be esp. tough for med mal lawyers. I was only an intellectual property lawyer and still felt that one interviewer I had (at a school that I will not name) viewed my prior experience as a liability and not an asset.

However, like Law2Doc, I believe that most physicians are enlightened enough to realize that having an MD/JD can be a real asset in a medical department. Most physicians are very welcoming and have even told me point blank that the profession needs more people with a legal background to even the playing field.

To OP, I say go for it. Welcome to the ranks.

 

[scgirl722]

I think that a law degree could provide very useful background for a physician. Lawyers are well-trained in verbal reasoning and communication. Uunfortunately this is often screwed up by the actual language they are forced to use in their practice... Most of my medical colleagues have trouble writing and communicating clearly (because they haven't been trained to do so, AND their language is also screwed up by the demands of medical writing).

For that reason, I would view a law degree about as favorably as I would a degree in English, Rhetoric, or Philosophy. If you can demonstrate competence in the science prerequistites with one of these non-science degrees, that should help, not hinder, your application to med school. I majored in English and got a second BA in Biology, and I feel that it was my training in literature that has helped me most in being a physician. I think a lawyer might feel the same way about his or her legal training.

Nick

Hi, I graduated with a B.A in English but now I want to go back and go into the medical field. Should I get a second B.A in Biology or just finish pre-reqs (basic science) for the particular graduate school?

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi, I graduated with a B.A in English but now I want to go back and go into the medical field. Should I get a second B.A in Biology or just finish pre-reqs (basic science) for the particular graduate school?

Start a new thread -- this is a totally different topic than lawyers going to med school. But the answer to your question is, it depends on your background, stats, etc. Most people would just do a postbac and get the prereqs. However if your stats are very low, you may need more coursework than that.

 

[kidthor]

In my now almost complete experience as a law student, I've seen that most of my classmates are very ethical and we all have serious discussions about the ethics of things in class. Also, most of the lawyers I've met are very ethical, though some might be admittedly a bit obnoxious.

Anyway, it is noteworthy as Law2Doc mentioned that lawyers must pass an ethics exam before they can be admitted to any bar. I'm taking the exam myself in a week, and although it's not overly difficult, it is definitely something that needs to be studied for and requires a would-be-lawyer to know all of the ethical rules pretty well!

Maybe I was fortunate, but in my career I worked with some of the most ethical people I've ever come across in my life in that field. I maintain that it is only a small fraction that are unethical -- but a small fraction of a huge number of lawyers out there admittedly is going to be enough to get noticed. At any rate, when med schools give talks on medical ethics, much of the time the lecturer is someone from the law school - this is not accidental. The prior poster clearly had an unfounded axe to grind with lawyers, and additionally, was a non-lawyer for some reason trying to give advice to lawyers on the impact of being a lawyer in the process, which was the impetus of my last post.

 

[Shpamme]

I would tell them you are coming over from the dark side-- if nothing else, it should engender a laugh. I recommended ED physicians because they have the most flexible schedules to work with your job. That is what I did.

OMG. My parents are both physicians, and they have repeatedly called my transition "coming over from the dark side" or "seeing the light." It DOES get a laugh during interviews for sure.

 

[booby79]

Many of us on this thread were also successful applicants who are at least as far down the road as you and can tell you that the experience of being a lawyer applicant was simply not an impediment, but a huge benefit, if played right. In case you didn't notice, there are multiple lawyers already in med school who have weighed in on this thread. Someone who has never been a lawyer applicant and yet is giving advice as to how a lawyer applicant will be perceived or should conduct themselves in an interview is what I found troubling with your posts. I mean, I wouldn't come onto a thread of computer scientists and presume to tell them how they will be perceived by adcoms regardless of how many doctors I am "around" in med school. You are entitled to your opinion, but it is not an informed one. But good luck on your journey to becoming a physician.

I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a licensed attorney and practiced for about 2 years before deciding to head back and finish my MCAT reqs. Right now I'm finishing up classes and will be applying to schools shortly with the MCAT in August. Right now I'm tackling the personal statement and I'm having a tough time explaining the switch from law to medicine. How did you guys tackle this issue? Any advice would be much appreciated, especially from people with a legal background.

Thanks

Bobby

 

[Law2Doc]

"Right now I'm tackling the personal statement and I'm having a tough time explaining the switch from law to medicine. How did you guys tackle this issue?"


If you don't have a good reason in mind, you probably shouldn't be making the switch. The answer to your PS question has to start with you, not us.

 

[biasab]

I am bumping this thread to see if anybody has had any success switching from law to medicine. Obviously I am contemplating the idea and was wondering what other people's experience has been.

 

[futureboy]

Wow, a 7 year thread bump, lol. I just applied to a post-bacc/MD program and waiting until mid-May to find out if I got in. Wish I would have done this years ago...

 

[alakipalaki]

@futureboy,
How has the schools reaction been? Receptive? Welcoming? Skeptical?

 

[alakipalaki]

Looks like the lawyers are sticking to the law...pretty quiet around here.

 

[jddoc2015]

nope, we're not all sticking to the law, I think this is just an old thread. I can't give you any thoughts about med school reactions/receptiveness as I am only going to be applying in June so hopefully I will have some more input then. I am finishing out my prereqs this year, after practicing law for almost a decade. I would be curious to hear where former lawyers actually got in as I am somewhat geographically restricted due to my husband's job . I can tell you that it does happen, and at some very impressive places. A friend of a friend is a practicing physician now, Harvard law, few years of practice, followed by Harvard med. My own former dermatologist was also a Harvard law guy, few years of practice, followed by Yale med.

 

[futureboy]

@futureboy,
How has the schools reaction been? Receptive? Welcoming? Skeptical?

I had two interviews, one at the postbacc school and another at the med school itself. One was a panel of interviewers that were a bit more serious than I expected. They asked pointed questions about my law background, which I answered reasonably well. To be fair, they asked pointed questions of everybody.

The other interview was more laid back, and was was with an individual faculty member. He was quite impressed with my academic background.

We'll see what happens...they accept about 50% of who they interview.