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[House.0]

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[Goro]

Nope, not in the least

 

[M&L]

my question is, will pursuing a JD and expressing interest in medical patents give an edge/help me get into medical school? do they like to accept a student here and there with a law degree to do this, or will this have no affect on my competitiveness at all? 513/3.6, reapplicant from before law school

update: and does anyone have any advice on how to 'frame' my application using my law degree? should I talk about only patents or also other things like health policy? what about being an actual doctor?I have not applied yet

Do you already have a law degree or contemplating getting it and then going to medicsl school ?

 

[House.0]

Do you already have a law degree or contemplating getting it and then going to medicsl school ?

I'm a first year law student

 

[Ms Procrastinator]

my question is, will pursuing a JD and expressing interest in medical patents give an edge/help me get into medical school? do they like to accept a student here and there with a law degree to do this, or will this have no affect on my competitiveness at all? 513/3.6, reapplicant from before law school

update: and does anyone have any advice on how to 'frame' my application using my law degree? should I talk about only patents or also other things like health policy? what about being an actual doctor?I have not applied yet

An unused law degree will not increase your competitiveness. If anything people are gonna question it. Why would you get a law degree if you were interested in pursuing medicine?

 

[House.0]

An unused law degree will not increase your competitiveness. If anything people are gonna question it. Why would you get a law degree if you were interested in pursuing medicine?

.

 

[Ms Procrastinator]

the true answer is I guess I'm a polymath with a lot of interests. I've always been academically interested in both law and science/medicine and I just wasn't sure what career path I wanted, but now I want to learn both

...you want to learn both? You're interested in going to both law school and medical school? You plan on pursuing both law and medicine because... you've always been academically interested in both?

 

[KnightDoc]

the true answer is I guess I'm a polymath with a lot of interests. I've always been academically interested in both law and science/medicine and I just wasn't sure what career path I wanted, but now I want to learn both

Sounds great. It also sounds like you are a little bit all over the place, which will not give you an advantage in something like med school admissions, which are intensely competitive. Med schools are looking for a level of commitment that a polymath will be unable to demonstrate, by definition. Given the relative difficulty and competitiveness of admission into the two professional schools today, my guess would be that law schools would probably be very impressed by MD applicants; med schools not so much with JDs, and that's without the stigma associated with being a reapplicant.

JMHO, and I'm not an adcom, but I actually think being a failed applicant, then pursuing law, then coming back as a reapplicant, will be fatal. OTOH, it will only cost you time and money to test my theory! 🙂

Have you considered an MBA by any chance? That seems to have a more natural synergy with a law degree than a medical degree, which you certainly do not need to pursue patent law. An engineering degree would probably actually be more far suitable for that. Given that you are a polymath, why limit yourself to medicine and law when there are so many other disciplines you can pursue?

 

[M&L]

I know a person who practiced for a few years and then applied to medical school (by they did practice ). And their pitch was that they thought that law would be more rewarding as far as helping people, but it’s not. Snd they want to have more impact on people’s lives and their health . That plus incredible mcat (520 plus, plus shadowing and clinical experience showing commitment) did get them an acceptance .

 

[gyngyn]

I guess I'm a polymath

Aren't we all!

 

[M&L]

Aren't we all!

I am not. My backup plan was phd in mathematics/biochem if Med school doesn’t work out . But I am horrible and pretty much everything else. hahaha . Like, horrific

 

[candbgirl]

Actually, I think you’ll be spending lots of time trying to convince ADCOMS during interviews that you aren’t running from Law to Medicine. ADCOMS are going to want to believe that you won’t bail on medicine like you did on law. I’m not sure a patent lawyer needs a medical degree, even a patent lawyer focusing on medical devices. I think either a degree in engineering or business would be better if you even need another degree . And less time consuming. You probably should have just reapplied to medical school before you applied to law school.

 

[Goro]

Actually, I think you’ll be spending lots of time trying to convince ADCOMS during interviews that you aren’t running from Law to Medicine.

Or are a degree collector/professional student.

 

[candbgirl]

Or are a degree collector/professional student.

I so wanted to say that.🤣

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I think OP is going about the process backwards. Med school first, then law. One of my roommates was a flight surgeon, later went to law school and is a principal in a big DC law firm. However the old saw goes like,... publish for show, patent for dough. One of my former colleagues holds a patent an a medical device. The JD degree won't help much for med school. I endorsed a lawyer in an international firm for admission at our school at behest of a family friend. Lawyer left after 1st yr with with like a 3.5 avg. I think most schools would be suspicious of a candidate like OP. Just my 2 cents.

 

[ampersandwich]

I applied to med school last cycle with a medical device patent (former life as a bioengineer, not a lawyer) and got asked about it approximately zero times in my interviews 😆 I don't think it impacted my application at all.

 

[Ganon]

I met a JD/MD who completed JD prior to graduating medical school. They had no regrets, got a lot of attention for their prior education, and encouraged me to pursue a JD if I found it fascinating.

My experience is that being interesting on the application trail is a huge boon. JD/MDs have unique career opportunities post training as well.

Doctors tend to hate lawyers, though. lol

 

[proudofmykids]

I would think a statement of interest to use your JD background to pursue both public health policy as well as medical ethics within a career in medicine would be a much stronger story.

 

[LondonVibes]

I met a JD/MD who completed JD prior to graduating medical school. They had no regrets, got a lot of attention for their prior education, and encouraged me to pursue a JD if I found it fascinating.

My experience is that being interesting on the application trail is a huge boon. JD/MDs have unique career opportunities post training as well.

Doctors tend to hate lawyers, though. lol

Well yeah doctors don’t want to be sued lol.

 

[LondonVibes]

But at what point does a former job become a hindrance? Like why is being a specifically a job that would be a hindrance in medical school admissions anyways?

 

[Lucca]

Another way to summarize this thread is: It's fine to be a good med school candidate who happens to have a JD. But it's not sufficient to be a JD to make yourself a good med school candidate.

There are ppl at my school who did JDs first. Some practiced, some didn't. But you have to find a way to sell yourself. It'll be a hurdle to do so because changing professions before even practicing in one is a difficult thing to explain. Med to Law is a much easier transition that is easily explicable by patent law because MD and PhDs alike are both highly marketable (albeit unecessary) for patent law. For MD admissions they want to see that you're interested in practicing medicine.

 

[Goro]

But at what point does a former job become a hindrance? Like why is being a specifically a job that would be a hindrance in medical school admissions anyways?

It's a hindrance if it looks like you're fleeing a professiont hat is glutted and has poor job prospects. IAs I like to say. you have to look like you're running TO Medicine and no merely running away from Law/Pharmacy etc"

 

[candbgirl]

But at what point does a former job become a hindrance? Like why is being a specifically a job that would be a hindrance in medical school admissions anyways?

In OPs case it isn’t a former job. I don’t think he’s graduated yet. Then there is the bar.

 

[Ms Procrastinator]

In OPs case it isn’t a former job. I don’t think he’s graduated yet. Then there is the bar.

OPs a 3rd year law student so they're probably planning to apply next year.

 

[LindaAccepted]

rising 3L

It's not clear what's motivating you to become a physician and how you intend to use your degrees. If anythign, it seems like you don't know why you want to get an MD.

If you come across as a degree collector or someone fleeing legal practice as has been said above, you're going to have a problem. If you come across as someone who has a legal degree, but is changing directions because you've concluded that medicine is your calling and a passion and you have the experience to back up that claim, then your legal background will not be held against you. If you want to use your legal education to influence healthcare policy while also being a practicing physician that could also be plausible approach.

I'm not encouraging you to just mouth these lines if they aren't genuine. Why now that you (almost) have a legal degree do you want to pay for and go to medical school for 4 years? Academic interest? or avoiding adulthood? Or?

 

[ADSigMel]

I went to law school, but then worked for nearly a decade before applying to medical school. As many of the above commenters have mentioned, I was worried that it would look like I was running away from law rather than toward medicine. I'm starting M4 year and STILL constantly explaining to people that I left law because I felt unfulfilled both intellectually (I missed the sciences) and ethically (wasn't really helping anybody, blah blah blah).

Medical schools want to train doctors, not patent lawyers. Honestly, if I didn't want to actually take care of patients every day for the rest of my professional life, medical school would NEVER have been worth it to me. I truly don't understand people who go to medical school with no intention of ever completing a residency or practicing medicine. That just sounds like an absolutely miserable waste of time and energy.

 

[candbgirl]

It's not clear what's motivating you to become a physician and how you intend to use your degrees. If anythign, it seems like you don't know why you want to get an MD.

If you come across as a degree collector or someone fleeing legal practice as has been said above, you're going to have a problem. If you come across as someone who has a legal degree, but is changing directions because you've concluded that medicine is your calling and a passion and you have the experience to back up that claim, then your legal background will not be held against you. If you want to use your legal education to influence healthcare policy while also being a practicing physician that could also be plausible approach.

I'm not encouraging you to just mouth these lines if they aren't genuine. Why now that you (almost) have a legal degree do you want to pay for and go to medical school for 4 years? Academic interest? or avoiding adulthood? Or?

OP is actually going to be a reapplicant. He applied and wasn’t accepted before he went to Law School. (“513/3.6, reapplicant from before law school”) So now he seems to be circling back to medicine. But why did he do law in the first place(because he had to keep busy, parent pressure, who knows) and why not practice a few years before jumping into 8+ year journey to medicine.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Good questions. I think more important than why he went into law is why OP wants to do medicine now. And how has he tested that interest?

I saw that he was a reapplicant, and it's good that you highlighted that fact in your post. However if I were reviewing his file, I'd like to know what's his motivation today. That fact that OP applied several years ago, got rejected, and then went in a different direction is less important to me than why medicine today. And how committed is OP today. We've worked with non-traditional applicants who came from law and engineering and different fields. Their current motivation and commitment as well as how their previous education and work experience are going to make them better physicians is usually more relevant than why they did what they did four or more years ago. The latter illuminates their journey, but that current motivation is primary.

 

[babagandu2424]

the true answer is I guess I'm a polymath with a lot of interests. I've always been academically interested in both law and science/medicine and I just wasn't sure what career path I wanted, but now I want to learn both

Why not brush up on core sciences yourself on the side? If you went to a brand name law school, you can break into any one of these options with good networking without another degree (I’m assuming you have at least a science undergrad):

- healthcare consulting (patent knowledge can be very useful for biotechs here)
- finance (think ER or buyside VC/HF….. though, def not easy)
- big pharma

 

[KnightDoc]

Good questions. I think more important than why he went into law is why OP wants to do medicine now. And how has he tested that interest?

I saw that he was a reapplicant, and it's good that you highlighted that fact in your post. However if I were reviewing his file, I'd like to know what's his motivation today. That fact that OP applied several years ago, got rejected, and then went in a different direction is less important to me than why medicine today. And how committed is OP today. We've worked with non-traditional applicants who came from law and engineering and different fields. Their current motivation and commitment as well as how their previous education and work experience are going to make them better physicians is usually more relevant than why they did what they did four or more years ago. The latter illuminates their journey, but that current motivation is primary.

In the abstract, this sounds great. In practice, did you ever successfully work with someone who jumped from a failed med school application right into law school, and then right back into medicine?

I don't have your years if experience, but, to me, the application would be DOA because, no matter what he said or wrote, he is clearly just flailing around without direction. Not dedicated enough to medicine to stick with it after one failed cycle. Not dedicated enough to law to even give it a try after obtaining a degree.

I honestly don't think there is anything he could do now to convince me his motivation is anything more than a realization that medicine would be a more lucrative and stable career path than law. The rest of us could hide that behind a veneer of altruism, research, shadowing, etc.. It's way more difficult to do so after jumping from a med school cycle to law school and then back again.

The polymath has many different bridges to potentially cross. My bet is that the med school one has been burned.

 

[LindaAccepted]

I agree that from his posts he seems to be flailing around or is a committed perennial student . That's why I keep asking about his motivation for medicine now. And the experience to back up that motivation

I can't tell you for sure that we have worked with someone who applied to med school, tried something else, and then went back to medicine. However, we have worked with people, including lawyers and PhDs and engineers and applicants from a wide variety of fields who decided on medicine later and applied successfully.

I don't believe he has permanently burned the med school bridge IF (and that's a big if) he can demonstrate genuine commitment to the field and the ability to do the work.

 

[Doctor-S]

My initial comments:

In addition to your JD degree ... demonstrate passion, dedication and clear commitment to medicine ... and being genuinely and truly interested in the profession of medicine as a clinical, research or academic career.

Can you do that?

How have you done that?

Next:

Provide "clear and convincing evidence" of the above because a "preponderance of the evidence" does not satisfy the standard of proof for admission to medical school. These are words of wisdom from my former professional career if you know what I mean. 🙂

What do you plan to do with MD/JD? What are your realistic and actual goals?