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Warning, Long post. I am wondering what advice anyone has to offer regarding the reality of what I hope to accomplish.
I’m a 25 year old male, returning student. 7 years ago I went out of state to do a traditional pre-med program; unfortunately it did not go well for me. For reasons to be described later. I ended up on academic probation and moving back home to try and straighten things out. In the mean time I went through the EMT-Basic program followed by the accelerated paramedic coursework. I have always been a hands on learner and done fantastic in lab or such hands on courses. Labs were always close to perfect scores, lectures not so much. I was doing fantastic in the A.S. Paramedic program until we got through the skills and got into the more lecture style courses. I went from an almost perfect score to almost being dropped from the program again. My instructor recommended I see someone for depression and was concerned with me. I was always falling asleep, which may have been from staying up late trying re-learn what I didn’t pick up in the lectures the previous day. By this point I had worked in EMS for 2 years and loved it. I did anything I could to stay in the program so I went in, turns out I have ADHD. I began medication for this and other lifestyle changes to give myself the best opportunity to succeed and it worked. Since the day of my first appointment, I have been a 4.0 student. Great! However, has to contend with the 2.46 from my previous attempts at school. To this day, I have completed my Paramedic A.S. and multiple other courses for the Fire/EMS field including incident command and FEMA programs. These small classes have brought my cumulative GPA up to a 2.97. Many times I have contemplated if I have everything under control enough to go back to school and am now taking the jump. Going to school for my B.S. Emergency Management. Two years of school plus the necessary sciences for medical college admission…
Work has included lifeguarding, teaching first aid/CPR classes, working as a Firefighter/Paramedic, teaching EMS courses and most recently, working in a hospital ER. I volunteer on the State Special Olympics Medical Team and travel to the larger events with athletes.
I can still honestly say that today I wake up with the same desire to be a physician as I have had for the last 10+ years. I know it will not be easy, but if you don’t try the answer will always be “no”.
So, Questions…
1) Medical School Admissions are not the kind to send the sympathy card and take you under their wing, so first and foremost, does attending medical school in the near future even sound realistic? I was hoping to have my B.S. done and most sciences in the next two years to start applying.
2) I have read that having ADHD is not beneficial to disclose when it comes to applying for medical school. Given my circumstance, would disclosure of it be beneficial or no?
3) Is there anything that can be done about the original not so favorable bad grades? I will obviously be re-taking the classes, but that can only do so much.
4) Does anyone have any advice for succeeding in school with ADHD that would help? Any medical students that have overcame it? There are varying severities so I’d prefer not to hear “it’s over diagnosed” or “anyone can succeed with medication.” I hear those more than enough as is.
5) What could be done to make myself more marketable, besides rocking the MCAT… I have considered research jobs around my area, however, there are none within a feasible driving distance.
6) Do medical schools prefer B.S. degrees that do not contain online learning? The degree I am looking at, to be able to work while going to school, is primarily an online program. Very self(and fast) paced.
Thank you for reading this and offering any advice you have!
I’m a 25 year old male, returning student. 7 years ago I went out of state to do a traditional pre-med program; unfortunately it did not go well for me. For reasons to be described later. I ended up on academic probation and moving back home to try and straighten things out. In the mean time I went through the EMT-Basic program followed by the accelerated paramedic coursework. I have always been a hands on learner and done fantastic in lab or such hands on courses. Labs were always close to perfect scores, lectures not so much. I was doing fantastic in the A.S. Paramedic program until we got through the skills and got into the more lecture style courses. I went from an almost perfect score to almost being dropped from the program again. My instructor recommended I see someone for depression and was concerned with me. I was always falling asleep, which may have been from staying up late trying re-learn what I didn’t pick up in the lectures the previous day. By this point I had worked in EMS for 2 years and loved it. I did anything I could to stay in the program so I went in, turns out I have ADHD. I began medication for this and other lifestyle changes to give myself the best opportunity to succeed and it worked. Since the day of my first appointment, I have been a 4.0 student. Great! However, has to contend with the 2.46 from my previous attempts at school. To this day, I have completed my Paramedic A.S. and multiple other courses for the Fire/EMS field including incident command and FEMA programs. These small classes have brought my cumulative GPA up to a 2.97. Many times I have contemplated if I have everything under control enough to go back to school and am now taking the jump. Going to school for my B.S. Emergency Management. Two years of school plus the necessary sciences for medical college admission…
Work has included lifeguarding, teaching first aid/CPR classes, working as a Firefighter/Paramedic, teaching EMS courses and most recently, working in a hospital ER. I volunteer on the State Special Olympics Medical Team and travel to the larger events with athletes.
I can still honestly say that today I wake up with the same desire to be a physician as I have had for the last 10+ years. I know it will not be easy, but if you don’t try the answer will always be “no”.
So, Questions…
1) Medical School Admissions are not the kind to send the sympathy card and take you under their wing, so first and foremost, does attending medical school in the near future even sound realistic? I was hoping to have my B.S. done and most sciences in the next two years to start applying.
2) I have read that having ADHD is not beneficial to disclose when it comes to applying for medical school. Given my circumstance, would disclosure of it be beneficial or no?
3) Is there anything that can be done about the original not so favorable bad grades? I will obviously be re-taking the classes, but that can only do so much.
4) Does anyone have any advice for succeeding in school with ADHD that would help? Any medical students that have overcame it? There are varying severities so I’d prefer not to hear “it’s over diagnosed” or “anyone can succeed with medication.” I hear those more than enough as is.
5) What could be done to make myself more marketable, besides rocking the MCAT… I have considered research jobs around my area, however, there are none within a feasible driving distance.
6) Do medical schools prefer B.S. degrees that do not contain online learning? The degree I am looking at, to be able to work while going to school, is primarily an online program. Very self(and fast) paced.
Thank you for reading this and offering any advice you have!
