Advice Request for DO hopeful

[kflow]

I’m currently a captain serving on active duty in the Army. In 2009, after a few years of soul searching, I decided that I wanted to fulfill my dream of becoming a physician. I had a couple former college roommates attending osteopathic medical schools at that time, and after talking to them, visiting with an Army DO buddy of mine, and reading about the profession, I decided that it was for me. I had a B.S. (non science major) from BYU-Idaho and basically needed all of the required prerequisites. I took BIO I &II with labs at the University of South Carolina at night. I loved the classes and did well, but then I got orders to move to KY. After a tour in Afghanistan and another move, it’s been two years since I’ve had to stop my studies. I can’t leave active duty for another three years, and my new line of work will have me overseas every 3-6 months. I’m not willing to postpone my preparation any longer, but attending college courses in the evenings aren’t an option. I recently stumbled on the UNE COM’s website and saw they had an online post bacc sequence available. I would much rather physically attend lectures and labs; it’s just not feasible for the foreseeable future.
I was interested to hear any thoughts on these courses and this potential route for fulfilling the prerequisites. Thanks for your time.

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[sylvanthus]

You will have to take O chem and physics with lab, so I don't believe what you are planning will work, at least for those courses.

 

[gdfernan]

Check the postings of LupaCupCake who is in a similar position, but is continuing with her classes/pre-reqs

 

[Total180]

I’m currently a captain serving on active duty in the Army. In 2009, after a few years of soul searching, I decided that I wanted to fulfill my dream of becoming a physician. I had a couple former college roommates attending osteopathic medical schools at that time, and after talking to them, visiting with an Army DO buddy of mine, and reading about the profession, I decided that it was for me. I had a B.S. (non science major) from BYU-Idaho and basically needed all of the required prerequisites. I took BIO I &II with labs at the University of South Carolina at night. I loved the classes and did well, but then I got orders to move to KY. After a tour in Afghanistan and another move, it’s been two years since I’ve had to stop my studies. I can’t leave active duty for another three years, and my new line of work will have me overseas every 3-6 months. I’m not willing to postpone my preparation any longer, but attending college courses in the evenings aren’t an option. I recently stumbled on the UNE COM’s website and saw they had an online post bacc sequence available. I would much rather physically attend lectures and labs; it’s just not feasible for the foreseeable future.
I was interested to hear any thoughts on these courses and this potential route for fulfilling the prerequisites. Thanks for your time.

You might be able to find courses that have an accelerated timeline. For instance, all of the classes I took in the summer were only 4 weeks long (1 summer session only had 15 days of actual class time but normally science classes weren't offered because that really just isn't enough time to learn all the info). Also, some schools have winter sessions. I would look into those for your classes that have labs. Taking a class in that short of a time period is really difficult though, and usually require a lot of time commitment, so if you are also working, it might not be feasible. But, I would check out the schools you are wanting to apply to, because most schools require that the pre-req classes be done in a classroom setting and not online.

 

[TriagePreMed]

You will have to take O chem and physics with lab, so I don't believe what you are planning will work, at least for those courses.

UNECOM has O. Chem but not physics.

I would recommend looking around for places that have accelerated courses. There's one place in California where all the requirements can be done in 10 months or you can do 2 at a time in a 2-2.5 month period.

 

[Arovetli]

UNECOM has O. Chem but not physics.

They now offer Physics 1 and I spoke with 2 members of the faculty who indicated the second half of physics is in development. I spoke with a few DO schools who accept these courses. Obviously its not ideal but for those of us who have employment obligations it seems to be sufficient for some schools. However there are some schools who do not accept these courses.

OP I would encourage you to contact your prospective D.O. schools and ask them if the courses are sufficient given your situation and I would also encourage you to contact the faculty/coordinators of the UNE courses. I have found them to be very helpful and willing to discuss the program.

 

[kflow]

I really appreciate all the feedback. I will definitely contact every DO school I would even think about applying to and see if these courses will work. As long as there is a hand full that accept them, then its worth the try.