Thoughts on my plan.

[danthemanwhocan]

Hello!
I have been reading through these forums which great interest. Its time I started my journey to a career that has, since I was child captured my imagination and so many times sent a visceral feeling to my very core. I can’t quite put into words what thinking about medicine and being a Doctor does to me. I love the thought of helping people who are in need, but I also have a very strong moral philosophy on Health Care in general.
I guess I have this view that all Physicians are how do I say this come from affluent families, lead the perfect life and get it all done clean cut. Have no issues in their lives did not deal with anything that us normal people deal with. This (wrong) assumption has put me off from pursuing what I wanted to do as a child. I elected to not attend a Public secondary school in The UK, opting to move to London with my mother instead, and then I found soccer. I found I was pretty decent at the sport then went and played Semi-Professionally.
I then relocated to the US to coach college soccer and my studies absolutely fell behind. I am now 25 years old, I have two kids and a Wife now and no matter where I look I am drawn to Medicine and Health Studies. It has been 6 or so years since I last looked into a text book in an academic setting (although I do read biology text books and Medical Journals in my free time).

So I guess I am asking, is it too late to start my career in Medicine as a MD or DO?
I did not finish my BS in The States as I ended up moving around to coach soccer throughout the Pacific NW. I would obviously have to pick up the bachelors side of things again.

If you have read this far thank you!
I guess this is my plan.
1, Attend school at a Community College (cheaper and works with my schedule, hope there are no negative aspects of doing it this route)
2, Transfer credits to a 4- year institute and finish my degree (questions on that in a second)
3 Do Pre-Reds for Med School, Bio, Chem, Physics, and Math etc.
4, Take my MCAT
5, Apply for Med Schools
Hopefully graduate with an MD or DO and practice Pediatric Medicine.
I hope this makes sense, I am at work and I can’t really put it all down.

Is there any advice, steps I have missed out? Or anybody been in a similar situation and have a story to tell?

Thanks in advance guys!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[operaman]

Sounds like a decent plan overall. A big factor will be what your current undergrad GPA is. You say your studies fell behind; does that just mean you didn't take as many classes or that you did poorly in the classes you had? If your GPA is <3.0 you will have a huge uphill battle, though with grade replacement, some DO schools may be within reach. Hopefully you're over 3.0 and this is a moot point.

Otherwise, it sounds like a pretty good plan. Some adcoms will balk at doing the pre-reqs at a CC, though if you take upper level courses at a 4 year school and earn As in them it should be okay.

Don't forget to carve out time for volunteering, shadowing, clinical experience, etc. There is no clear cut number of hours needed; the longer you've been planning to be a doc, the more I would expect to see someone getting patient exposure.

Good luck!

 

[danthemanwhocan]

Thank you for your response. Sorry I was rather vague. When I said they fell behind what I mean was I actually dont have an undergrad GPA. I fiugued it would be better to leave and drop out, especiually as I was unsure on my academic future.

I have heard that a CC pre req is less than ideal. If I only did my two tears at CC and then did my two years of pre reqs at a 4 year would that look better?

Also I am unsure as to what degree I would like to do, I was thinking Biology as I have been conditioned to think that way, however speaking to my Dermatologist he said that is slowly becoming not a big issue, he him self has a degree in History. I am currently looking for ways to volunteer in a clinical setting to get Patient interaction, although my PCP did state that I should not bother shadowing an MD/DO until I finish my BS/BA. Would you suggest otherwise? Or am I missunderstanding the two?

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Thank you for your response. Sorry I was rather vague. When I said they fell behind what I mean was I actually dont have an undergrad GPA. I fiugued it would be better to leave and drop out, especiually as I was unsure on my academic future.

I have heard that a CC pre req is less than ideal. If I only did my two tears at CC and then did my two years of pre reqs at a 4 year would that look better?

Also I am unsure as to what degree I would like to do, I was thinking Biology as I have been conditioned to think that way, however speaking to my Dermatologist he said that is slowly becoming not a big issue, he him self has a degree in History. I am currently looking for ways to volunteer in a clinical setting to get Patient interaction, although my PCP did state that I should not bother shadowing an MD/DO until I finish my BS/BA. Would you suggest otherwise? Or am I missunderstanding the two?

If you are shooting exclusively for MD, CC prereqs are less than ideal... However, you seem to be ok with DO; therefore, CC prereqs won't be an issue as long as you rack up mostly As on them... I had a mixture of CC/University prereqs and I was accepted to both MD/DO...and CC prereqs were never brought up during my interviews...

Find a major you will enjoy and also you can get a good GPA on... I think bio should be good since you said you enjoy reading bio books...

 

[operaman]

Thank you for your response. Sorry I was rather vague. When I said they fell behind what I mean was I actually dont have an undergrad GPA. I fiugued it would be better to leave and drop out, especiually as I was unsure on my academic future.

I have heard that a CC pre req is less than ideal. If I only did my two tears at CC and then did my two years of pre reqs at a 4 year would that look better?

Also I am unsure as to what degree I would like to do, I was thinking Biology as I have been conditioned to think that way, however speaking to my Dermatologist he said that is slowly becoming not a big issue, he him self has a degree in History. I am currently looking for ways to volunteer in a clinical setting to get Patient interaction, although my PCP did state that I should not bother shadowing an MD/DO until I finish my BS/BA. Would you suggest otherwise? Or am I missunderstanding the two?

Ah, if you have no GPA then you're in a GREAT position because you can go into this whole shebang with a clean slate. It's really easy to have a high GPA with the right combination of hard work and strategy. I think the CC/4yr plan sounds solid. Whatever qualms programs have with CC classes, earning As in 300/400 level classes at university should clearly demonstrate your aptitude. Well, that and a solid MCAT.

Major really doesn't matter, though science majors are traditionally what people do. Whatever it is has to fit your story. If you're someone who loves science and loves biology and then you go major in theater, well, you get the point. Whatever you do, you'll need the pre-reqs and you'll need enough GPA-boosters to make up for any low grades that happen (low grade = not an A). I hate being so grade-centric, but it's such a crucial part of the application that it, along with MCAT, need to be foremost in your mind at all times.

Another thing that catches some off guard: timeline. Know your timeline as far as when you're taking what, when your MCAT is, when you're submitting your AMCAS application, etc. Basically, aim to submit your application on June 1st prior to your senior year. That means you'll need to take your MCAT >60 days before that, etc. Some people stretch things out and end up taking the MCAT after their junior year and wind up applying late in the cycle, limiting their opportunities.

Your PCP is dead wrong about shadowing, I'm afraid. You will need to demonstrate a substantial amount of clinical exposure by the time you hit 'submit' on June 1st of your senior year. For DO schools, you will need DO-specific shadowing as well. So all of it: volunteering, clinical-volunteering, shadowing, any other clinical exposure...it all needs to be done by June 1st prior to your senior year. Since you have time and are doing a whole degree from scratch, you may want to get involved with some research as well. It's not required but it's another feather in your cap and you may actually enjoy it.

 

[danthemanwhocan]

I had a feeling my PCP advice was not really on the mark as I could quite put together how all that can be done after my BS was earned when I am in Med School. Either way. I attempted to reach out to my friend who is a Radiologist, however he has not got back to me. Is there any recommendation you have to be able to shadow an MD and or DO?

I appreciate your advice!

I guess I now need to have a chat with the ball and chain. I am the main bread winner and I tend to get obsessedm for want of a better word. She may have to find a higher paying job as I am unsure I can work Full time with a Bank ( I know, I know I hate my job...) for my education years.

Do you have a similar stroy? What is your journey so far?

 

[operaman]

I had a feeling my PCP advice was not really on the mark as I could quite put together how all that can be done after my BS was earned when I am in Med School. Either way. I attempted to reach out to my friend who is a Radiologist, however he has not got back to me. Is there any recommendation you have to be able to shadow an MD and or DO?

I appreciate your advice!

I guess I now need to have a chat with the ball and chain. I am the main bread winner and I tend to get obsessedm for want of a better word. She may have to find a higher paying job as I am unsure I can work Full time with a Bank ( I know, I know I hate my job...) for my education years.

Do you have a similar stroy? What is your journey so far?

I found most/all of my shadowing opportunities through my volunteer work. You could probably also cold-call local docs and see who bites. If your school has a premed advisor who's any good, he/she may know who the students usually spend time with. Radiologists are fine but even better would be to see interaction with patients themselves (I'm assuming your friend is not an interventional radiologist). In fact, your friend might be a good resource for other docs to shadow. Given your background, you may want to try to follow some ortho or sports medicine guys around.

Good luck with the wife! Mine was pretty shocked when I brought up the whole medicine thing but she has been 110% supportive. No kids yet though, which is huge, but I have classmates with kids and they do just fine. I have seen some non-trads with kids pull the ripcord after seeing the hours it would require, so do understand that there will be many sacrifices. You are very young, but then again you will need to finish your bachelors before matriculating to med school. You're looking at a minimum of 8 years before finishing your MD and starting residency, and another 3-7 years after that. The amount of time sucks, but the plus side is you have a chance to do it right the first time. So many non-trads look great on paper save for the 2.2 GPA they got for bad decisions when they were 18. You can avoid all of that.

I have an odd story and, frankly, got very lucky and was able to do things very quickly. I left my old job summer of 2010 and am typing this post while waiting for ERAS to chug along because tomorrow we submit our applications for residency positions! It all happened very quickly although it took a mind blowing amount of hard work since I hadn't set foot in a science classroom since sophomore year of high school (that was a few presidents ago...). Now I'm 30ish weeks away from my MD.

Never underestimate the power of human interaction and networking combined with insane amounts of hard work. I think our ability to network and relate well with adults is our biggest advantage as non-trads and I continue to use it whenever possible.

Definitely consider other careers within healthcare that might appeal to you. There are plusses/minuses for all of them, but they are worth considering since they would shave substantial time off your plan. Timing all of this with family stuff may be tricky. If your kids are 5 years old, they will be seniors in high school when you finish training as an MD, versus 6th grade if you went the PA route. Lots of things to think about and talk about.