What Should I Do to Become an MD?

[NumeroNoventa]

Well, I suppose a bit of background information is in order here. I was born abroad but received my primary and secondary educations in the United States. I graduated summa cum laude from a highly-lauded (for its region) public school in the South. I gained entrance to and attended one of the top-ranked Universities in North America. Johns Hopkins University, to be precise. While I had excelled in high school, evidently I was woefully unprepared for undergraduate college. The fact that I entered freshman year as a 17-year-old likely didn't help matters.

I worked hard & I studied hard, but I just couldn't make it in the freshman year pre-med curriculum. I wasn't burning the midnight oil, but I did try. Obviously trying isn't the same as succeeding, and I guess my experience completely tore my self-esteem to shreds. I came back to school under academic probation and never got off of it. I decided to drop out after a few years without a degree because it was just extremely depressing: the cycle of going to school, trying & failing to succeed. I did have semesters with good grades, but I just couldn't get a second wind & flunked the following semester. Being away from family and trying to get away from the history of earlier semesters probably had something to do with it. I just couldn't find my stride, in addition to the fact that it's a really grueling school, plain and simple. Many of the Professors are certainly tops in their field, but they couldn't teach worth a damn. Not that it excuses me from any of my failures. Several of my friends who are in medical school now state that medical school is certainly easier because they went to Hopkins: they believe that it would be much more difficult if they didn't have such an intense undergraduate education. Which I couldn't hack, apparently.

I left school at the age of 21; I'm 24 now. I've been employed in healthcare for a few years in various positions: as a PCA, as an EKG technician & as an insurance data entry guy for my parents' private practice. I've had a lot of practical non-student experience in the intervening years. And at the risk of sounding cliched, I know now, more than ever, that I really do want to be a physician.

My mom believes that I should try to become a PA. I, however, think that I should do my best (and succeed!) to be a licensed MD, because on my deathbed, I'll be wondering, "Man, why didn't I go all the way? Why didn't I try?" The question is, how do I get an MD?

I can do college over again & try to apply and get into medical school, which will take 8 or 9 years, or never. I can't get away from my flawed history. It will always be with me. Or I can go to my home country & get an MD there, from the same medical school my mother & grandparents achieved their MDs.

I fully realize that medical school grads from abroad are at a disadvantage compared to American medical school graduates. My step-grandfather, who's an orthopedic surgeon, says that it's not as much of a disadvantage as one might think: most foreign graduates have trouble finding a residency in America because their English simply isn't up to par with Americans. This wouldn't be the case with me. Assuming that I do what it takes & get excellent grades & ensure that I make my summers productive with research and work or something similar, why shouldn't I be able to obtain a decent residency? And with the current physician crunch in America, wouldn't it be somewhat slightly less competitive? Or maybe I shouldn't try to count on that, not that I am trying to. But it could help make things easier.

Anyways, I just got off my night shift job & I just wanted to type this out & see what sorts of answers/advice I could get. I welcome everything: honest stuff, trolling, goofy jokes. I've been lurking on this site for a long time now & I think it's amazing, with some very interesting people on it writing some very informative posts. Would love to hear from you, with the best advice you could give, if you think any applies to me.

Thanks in advance. And have a great day!

P.S. I do wish I could have found this site 9 years ago. Oh, well. Better late than never!

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[PingPongPro]

Thats quite an essay! 24 isn't that old. There are a ton of non-traditional applications that are much older that apply and get accepted every year. I think you should try again here in the US and start college over if you are truly serious about becoming an MD. Your past grades cant be erased but you can raise them and a serious upward trend would be good for your application. You could use the change in grades to show how you have matured and learned from your mistakes.

 

[ur2l8]

Tl;dr (skimmed)

But you'll most likely hear: get a good mcat, increase your gpa if not already done to a 3.5 at least if possible for MD, clinical and non clinical volunteering xp, shadowing hours, some leadership, and a cool hobby to make you standout.

Just peruse these forums and you'll see. Since you're non trad maybe check that forum out too

 

[NickNaylor]

Step 1: get back into school and finish your bachelor's along with your pre-reqs. Get involved on campus and start doing some activities; though your time since leaving school will no doubt he helpful (especially your significant medical work), you will likely still need a few ECs to beef up your app, especially with a less-than-stellar GPA.

Step 1.5: talk to the pre-health advisor/director at the institution you do #1 at and try and get a realistic critique of your app thus far

Step 2: if necessary, do a post-bacc to try and boost your GPA (which I'm assuming is low based on your story)

Step 3: take the MCAT

Step 4: apply

Step 5: ???

Step 6: begin medical school or repeat #4

Your best bet would be to prowl SDN and try and find as much info as possible. Check out the non-trad forum for more specific advice for applicants that aren't going the traditional route of applying during/shortly after graduating undergrad. You should spend significant time getting a plan together to prevent more wasting of your time and money - don't apply to a random school on a whim to get this process started ASAP. Have a plan, be intentional about what you're doing, and make your dream happen.