Advice please?

[asg78]

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Hello,

First of all, thank you for reading this. I am just not sure where to go and I was hoping you all could give me some advice here. I'm 29 , and I am a nurse (RN, BSN). I have experience in working in the acute care medicine setting at a teaching hospital, as well as an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Currently, I am a diabetes educator. Though this is somewhat fulfilling, I just can't see myself doing this for another 30 years.

I have always wanted to pursue a career in medicine, though right now I am a just plain terrible candidate. Graduated with a BA, a BS, and a BSN. Cumulative GPA: 3.0.

Tried to take the MCATs...bad idea..scored a whopping 17. I could give you all a myriad of reasons as to why these things are not working out, but I keep telling myself that someone pursuing medicine cannot be using reasons for failure. I think one big thing is that there is just too much time I couldn't make up between the time I took my pre-reqs for school and my MCAT (~6 years) and I forgot quite a bit.

Bottom line is: I want to start over, and I don't know how. I know with my experience I'd be a good candidate. I still need to work 9-5 so the classes I take need to be at night.


What do you all think? I feel pretty down, and I know I'm older and I just need a confidence boost. Once I get it, I know I can succeed. I just need help formulating a plan. This is something I need. I don't think I can respect myself until I try again. It will be something I will continue to regret doing, so I need to fix it. So any advice on how would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[J ROD]

With your stats, I would focus on DO. US MD is going to be hard to get.

You need to get a 27-28 MCAT to make up for the 3.0 for DO.

Good luck!


You could always look into the Caribbean MD route as well. It would be easier to get into but a more difficult journey. Depends on how bad you want it. You do have some options!!

 

[njbmd]

Like J DUB said, DO is your most viable option at this point and it's a doable option (definitely not a chip shot) if you can get your MCAT score up provided you have some recent coursework that is excellent. That being said, you need to do a thorough review (with plenty of practice tests and solid scores) before you make another attempt on the MCAT. The longer between your coursework and your anticipated MCAT test date, the more imperative a review course becomes. What you cannot do, is post another MCAT score of less than 20 so get your deficiencies worked out before you retake this very important exam. The good thing is that you have plenty of time. The bad thing is that the MCAT tests far differently from college coursework and thus its preparation requires plenty of practice with the testing methods that this test employs. If you need to work, then take your time with the preparation.

 

[gorillaRN]

asg, I am a BSN as well wishing to head to D.O. school. I haven't taken my MCAT, but am in January. I have to retake two of my chemistry class as well as take Physics and a handful of other "essentials". Keep in touch and let me know how you are doing.

I am also doing KAPLAN for MCAT review, so if you happen to take another route, please let me know how it goes.

 

[asg78]

Thank you all so much for your support... I am thinking Im going to retake my prereqs and ace 'em...then I'll take a couple of upper level bio and chem classes that I didnt have the guts to take before, and then score my 30+ on the MCAT--I KNOW I can do this...and then lay it all out...

I will keep you all posted on how it goes... In the meantime, I'll have to take an exam next October to pass as a Certified Diabetes Educator and become a certified insulin pump trainer--something I'm workin on now....so my resume looks nice, and I'll be certified in the field by the AA of Critical Care Nurses... wish me luck 🙂

Thank you all once again!!

 

[p30doc]

Thank you all so much for your support... I am thinking Im going to retake my prereqs and ace 'em...then I'll take a couple of upper level bio and chem classes that I didnt have the guts to take before, and then score my 30+ on the MCAT--I KNOW I can do this...and then lay it all out...

I will keep you all posted on how it goes... In the meantime, I'll have to take an exam next October to pass as a Certified Diabetes Educator and become a certified insulin pump trainer--something I'm workin on now....so my resume looks nice, and I'll be certified in the field by the AA of Critical Care Nurses... wish me luck 🙂

Thank you all once again!!

I think that is a good course of action, setup an informal post-bacc for yourself, redo the prereqs ace them THEN take the MCAT (of course make sure to properly prepare for it!). I don't know how many credits you already have to your name, but acing all the pre-reqs will surely bring up your 3.0 a little bit. I think you will have a shot at both DO and MD.

My gpa was ~2.8 and I had ~160 credits, I did an informal post-bacc a total of about 70 credits got a ~3.9 in those, and it brought my overall gpa up to a ~3.3. I currently have an interview invite to a DO and MD school with hopefully more to come. So there is hope, it is a long road and it isn't easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is. Good luck!