A little advice goes a long way!!!

[MSProspect]

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Hi Everyone!
I'm new to the network and feel that I can get a lot of valuable advice and some sense of direction about my situation from this forum. Here it goes:
I graduated in May of 2007 with a degree in education, taught for a year and decided I wanted to pursue something a bit more challenging and intese that gave me the same social connection as teaching did. I started volunteering/shadowing at local clinics and hospitals and have been on one medical missionary trip and decided that I have my heart set on medical school.
***My question is (I'm sure this has been brought up before somewhere that I can't find): I took some science courses as an undergrad but blew those courses away with Horrible grades B,B,B,B,... C,C,DD, ect. (I was a forensics major at one time too). Is it okay to finish out the rest of the pre-reqs at a community college? I would love to go to a 4-year university, but with my student loans pouring in and having to apply as a "special graduate" with no financial aid, I would never make it! Also, I am still teaching (so I can pay my loans off) and can't leave work until 3:45 and would never be able to make it to the university which is an hour and a half away from my work. So, basically I would be late, extremely late to every class.***
***So if a CC is an option what can I do to ENHANCE my credentials for next year?*** I feel this will weigh my application down big time, but with no money for tuition and living almost 2 hours away I really have no other choice!

Thanks so much for your advice!!!🙂

 

[NTF]

Hi Everyone!
I'm new to the network and feel that I can get a lot of valuable advice and some sense of direction about my situation from this forum. Here it goes:
I graduated in May of 2007 with a degree in education, taught for a year and decided I wanted to pursue something a bit more challenging and intese that gave me the same social connection as teaching did. I started volunteering/shadowing at local clinics and hospitals and have been on one medical missionary trip and decided that I have my heart set on medical school.
***My question is (I'm sure this has been brought up before somewhere that I can't find): I took some science courses as an undergrad but blew those courses away with Horrible grades B,B,B,B,... C,C,DD, ect. (I was a forensics major at one time too). Is it okay to finish out the rest of the pre-reqs at a community college? I would love to go to a 4-year university, but with my student loans pouring in and having to apply as a "special graduate" with no financial aid, I would never make it! Also, I am still teaching (so I can pay my loans off) and can't leave work until 3:45 and would never be able to make it to the university which is an hour and a half away from my work. So, basically I would be late, extremely late to every class.***
***So if a CC is an option what can I do to ENHANCE my credentials for next year?*** I feel this will weigh my application down big time, but with no money for tuition and living almost 2 hours away I really have no other choice!

Thanks so much for your advice!!!🙂

My advice would be this. If you're really serious about medicine than you should cut the cord to your teaching job and try to get a job at a university hospital. You'll get valuable patient care and health care exposure and almost definitely tuition benefits for taking undergraduate coursework at a 4 year college. You'll really need to prove to adcoms that you're up to medical school curriculum and taking courses at a CC may not allay those doubts. Plus, patient care gigs at hospitals have flexible hours, the ability to work nights or weekends that will free you up to take classes during the week. Also with evening & weekend pay differentials you'll actually probably be making more money than you are now as a teacher. So you'll support yourself get free tuition on classes and get valuable ECs. That's how I did it, and yes I'm a former HS science teacher.

Another piece of advice I have is to take your time. You want to make sure that you give yourself the best opportunity to get A's. Don't overload your plate trying to apply too soon. The last thing you want to do is dig yourself a bigger hole by getting mediocre grades in your new coursework. You want the last thing the adcoms see on your transcript is a long string of A's. Remember you're commiting to a 20+ year career. Getting into and starting med school is just the beginning.

Also, don't forget DO schools.

 

[MSProspect]

Thanks for the advice! Now where do you go about looking for a job at the hospitals, I applied for several positions last summer and did not get a response and most positions require some type of experience, ie. EMT, previous hospital work, ect. Thanks for the help!

 

[ChairmanMao]

Thanks for the advice! Now where do you go about looking for a job at the hospitals, I applied for several positions last summer and did not get a response and most positions require some type of experience, ie. EMT, previous hospital work, ect. Thanks for the help!

You can do an employment search on the website of most hospitals or medical center. If you live near a research hospital, you can contact their HR office and ask them to refer you to their employment website. Understand that most hospital jobs require some kind of certifcation (EMT, nursing, X-ray technician etc...), however there are also lab jobs and patient transport jobs that require nothing more than a bachelor or a high school education.

If you have a science degree and live near a hospital affiliated with a university, you're in luck. A lot of those types of hospitals hire research assistants or research coordinators to run experiments and studies, so you may be better qualified for those. I would try to find the employment websites for those types of jobs and send out resumes and cover letters. Be aware that you may have to send out dozens of letters and wait for several months before you hear back. Be persistent and don't hesitate to follow-up by phone or in person.

 

[NTF]

Thanks for the advice! Now where do you go about looking for a job at the hospitals, I applied for several positions last summer and did not get a response and most positions require some type of experience, ie. EMT, previous hospital work, ect. Thanks for the help!

Aside from sending in resumes online (almost all university hospitals have job application portals), here's some potential backdoors. Keep in mind that the nurse managers on any given unit are the gatekeepers for hiring, so getting to know them is the key.

1) Volunteer at the hospital - anything on a patient floor where you'll be able to meet patients and nurses. Hopefully you'll be able to meet some RNs or PCAs who can introduce you to their nurse manager.
2) Temp agency - Call your local temp agency and ask if they staff the university hospital. A temp gig may allow you to make a good impression on a nurse manager
3) Work your connections - if you have any friends who are RNs or work at the hospital, see if they can put in a word for you to a nurse manager they know.

Some positions to consider that you may be able to transition into a patient care gig:

(I myself worked as a temporary unit clerk, eventually got a full-time gig, then transitioned to a patient care gig)

1)Patient transport - self-explanatory
2)Pharmacy tech - basically walk around a hospital and deliver meds to the units
3)Unit clerk - secretary for the patient units
4)Supply tech - stock unit servers and storage units
5)Dietary tech - delivery meals to patients
6)Housekeeping - clean patient rooms, etc.