A Little Advice....

[FlightMedic11]

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I've been reading these forums a lot lately and still havn't found quite what i'm looking for. I'll just give you the back story and then go from there. I'm currently a flight paramedic with the busiest service in my state and the busiest ER in the state. I've been doing this for about 2.5 years and it really is one of the coolest jobs in the world. Before that I was a rural medic and before that I was an EMT-B in college. My professional career has been great and I have found myself really comfortable and successful in health care.

About 2 years ago I decided that looking far into the future I'm going to have to get out of being a paramedic. Few options to advance and the pay is lousy. Ask and medic and I guarantee they will say the same thing. Also, there are few medics who i have ever known to have retired. This field breaks you down mentally and physically long before retirement age. I decided to get myself back into college and try to get into PA school. My GPA was lousy in undergrad, majored in Bio (cGPA 2.5). Accepting that I went back to try to raise that up. Here is what I have taken:

Gen Psy: A
Social Psy: A
Gen Chem 1 & 2: A, A
Gen Bio 1 & 2: A, A
NeuroPharm: A
Organic 1: A

Currently in O-Chem 2 and Micro. This summer I hope to take Physics 1 & 2. MCAT in late summer.

So really gunning for PA. A couple of weeks ago the Docs I work with really started pushing the Med School thing. A lot have them have sat me down and really encouraged me to give it a thought. I've been quite shocked by all of this. My wife and I talked about it and decided to do it. Looking for advice from other non-traditional folks who have gone back to med-school at a later age. Anything from someone who has gotten into med school with a tainted educational past? Anyone's personal opinion? Feel free to post again or PM me.

Thanks all!

Adam

 

[cabinbuilder]

Forget the past, can't be changed. You have a great current GPA - that's what you use. Be a doctor do what you want to do if it's feasible for you. If you love ER and trauma, there is no need to limit yourself by being a PA (although there is nothing wrong with that route either). Explore your options and really think about your long term personal goals as far as practice type. I was in your shoes, prior poor grades, older student (started at 32). Went DO and am so happy I didn't take a friend's advice to be a PA. PM with ??

 

[chrissyxf]

I was also an EMT in high school and then progressed to EMT-Cardiac in college (RI's version of a mini-paramedic, everything but surgical airway). Anyway, med school scared me so I went for PA. Big mistake for me and I'm now less than a year after finishing PA school, applying to medical school. I was unhappy with how being an EMT would limit advancement options and now I'm just as frustrated with how being a PA limits advancement options.
Now my disclosure is that I'm only one person and definitely there are PAs who are really happy with our lifestyle and salary (which is pretty awesome for family life). I recommend shadowing both PAs and doctors (notice the plural on both) because 1 PA's day is not the same as anothers and the same for docs.
With that said, with your new GPA, you could shoot for either PA or med school and will get in somewhere provided your GRE (PA) or MCAT (m.d.) are matching up with the gpa so explore both options to find out which one will really bring YOU satisfaction. (don't rely on others' opinions here because we don't know you- if your wife or parents or whomever say that they could picture you being a doc, not a PA or vice versa, take their advice)
Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

You have a solid background.

For med school you need to raise your total GPA and get a good MCAT, but I think it's within reach.

You should also consider DO programs in addition to MD programs, since they seem to place more value on life history and they will accept lower grades/MCATs if you need them to.

 

[DrMidlife]

If you'd be happy as a PA, then going to med school is overkill. If you'd spend your PA career wishing you'd gone to med school, then PA school is impractical.

You have a cumulative GPA that is far below the average for people who get into med school. You're going to have to fight for it, and I strongly advise you to educate yourself about what you're in for with med school admissions. I like your story, and I love all those A's you're getting, but please ignore the practicing physicians who are telling you that you'll get into med school, no sweat. These folks don't have a 2.5 GPA back story. You might get into med school, with a boatload of sweat, money, time and luck.

Strategy advice:
1. Make sure that your application package presents you as a powerfully compelling candidate, so that your cumulative GPA gets drowned out. Consider hiring an app consultant such as MedEdits or Judy Colwell.
2. To help drown out your cumulative GPA, make sure your MCAT score is as high as you can possibly get it. You shouldn't apply for fall 2012 with a late summer 2011 MCAT, so consider taking more time for prep.
3. To help make sure that actual human eyeballs have a chance to see your powerfully compelling story, and to avoid GPA autoscreens, choose your schools wisely. Your public state schools may be your best bet. DO schools are a good bet. Schools that get 10,000+ apps are a horrible bet.
4. Consider doing more work to improve your cumulative undergrad GPA, and consider doing a one year medical masters (sometimes called an SMP).

Best of luck to you.

 

[DrMidlife]

Forget the past, can't be changed. You have a great current GPA - that's what you use.

Incorrect. The current GPA isn't what med school admissions use; old crappy grades are more permanent than a tattoo. MD and DO schools require every college transcript to be submitted. Cumulative undergrad GPA is reported and emphasized. It's non-trivial to get an MD or DO school to overlook old bad grades when the supply of candidates vastly exceeds demand.

DO schools will forgive an old bad grade if you retake the course, but you can't get yourself from a 2.5 to a 4.0 without retaking every non-A.

 

[canjosh]

So, those chem and bio classes are retakes, correct? If so, many of the DO schools do grade replacement (most recent grade counts in GPA calculation). MD schools take every grade into consideration.

As far as going back to med school at an older age, it's definitely possible. I was a medic for 12 years, and now I'm an MS-1. Married with 2 kids. Admissions committees look for people to diversify the ranks...you just have to play the numbers game in order to get your file into somebody's hands. PA school is generally not any easier to get into with a 'tainted' past, at least from what I've heard.