Allied Health (OT) to medical school (DO): a path worth taking?

[lightredfloyd]

Hi, SDN

I am an occupational therapy (OT) student finishing their final clinical rotation in a hospital setting, with my previous rotation being in an outpatient orthopedic clinic. I enjoy this profession, and I find great value in the work that I do. However, there has been a lingering curiosity that has lasted throughout the course of my OT education: what if I had gone to medical school instead? As I complete my hospital rotation, this question has once again entered the forefront of my mind as I find myself more immersed in medical culture than ever before. As such, I am wondering if transitioning to medicine is a worthwhile path to take after a few years of OT practice. In this post I will provide some information about myself and my potential plan for applying to medical school. Please let me know what you think.

About Me:

• B.A. in Psychology
  • 3.61 GPA (~3.7 counting my DIY community college postbacc in preparation for OT school)
    • Community college postbacc included A&P I and II and Chem I, meaning I would still need a good deal of prereqs
• M.S. in Occupational Therapy
  • 3.95 GPA
  • Leadership positions held throughout grad school
• Inpatient & outpatient experience conducting evaluations and providing direct patient care
• ORM (white), however Spanish speaking
• 2 research posters
  • APA conference (psych project)
  • My state's OT association (OT-related project)
  • 0 publications
• 0 physician shadowing hours

My Plan:

Like I said, I enjoy OT and I do not take the decision to leave it lightly. As such, I plan to work for a few years before undergoing the transition process to see if medicine is something that I truly want to do instead of OT, as well as save money and pay my loans. If I decided to leave, I would likely do a postbacc and prepare for the MCAT while working part-time and gaining physician shadowing hours. I would like to apply to DO schools primarily because I believe their frame of reference aligns closely with that of OT. They also are more geared toward primary care specialties, which I would be most interested in.

As for the application process itself, I recognize that justifying my transition might be a hard sell. As such, I plan to focus my narrative in my personal statement on how I found OT and then subsequently how my clinical experience and direct exposure to the work of a physician/collaboration with medical professionals has made me gravitate toward medicine.

My Questions:

• Are my stats competitive enough as they are? Moreover, does having a graduate degree help my chances at all?
• Is a DIY postbacc or a formal postbacc better for a career changer? Also, is taking classes at a community college a death knell for an application?
• How do ADCOMs view career changers from allied health professions?
• Is my narrative for leaving justifiable enough to use in a personal statement?
• Is research looked upon less favorably if it does not concern the hard sciences (asking because my posters are more social science related)?

Thank you for your consideration.

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[paradoxic_toxic]

Are my stats competitive enough as they are? Moreover, does having a graduate degree help my chances at all?

Hard to say without an MCAT, and what's your sGPA? You cGPA is fine for all DO schools.
Yes having a graduate degree with a high GPA helps.

Is a DIY postbacc or a formal postbacc better for a career changer? Also, is taking classes at a community college a death knell for an application?

A formal postbacc is better for career changers.
It's best to take classes at a 4 year college. Going to a CC won't necessarily kill your app if you have no other choice.

How do ADCOMs view career changers from allied health professions?

Usually favorable especially if they did well in their studies and have some working experience (although I'm not an ADCOM).

Is my narrative for leaving justifiable enough to use in a personal statement?

I'd say so. There are a lot of other allied health professionals who find their calling to medicine shortly after graduating.

Is research looked upon less favorably if it does not concern the hard sciences (asking because my posters are more social science related)?

Any research experience is a plus - doesn't matter what subject it is. Having a poster is a bigger plus.

Some thoughts:

1. Don't limit yourself to DO schools. I feel like you can get into a MD school depending on what your MCAT score is. The difference between DO and MD is largely philosophical. In practice there isn't much difference. DOs have much more hoops to jump through than their MD colleagues - don't make your life unnecessarily hard.
2. Go shadow a physician if you're on the fence about switching. It's practically a requirement for all med schools, it'll show you what medicine is really like, and it gives you chance to secure a MD/DO letter.

 

[walnutfloor]

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[lightredfloyd]

Hi, I'm currently a practicing OT and will be applying next cycle, but I also know several OTs who have made the transition into medicine. I know you're just considering it now, but I would highly recommend working as an OT for at least a year to see if it is something that you want to transition out of. I worked part time for about a year, and even that was difficult with trying to juggle not only seeing patients/documenting/treatment planning, but also post bacc courses, studying for the MCAT, and shadowing (which was highly recommended by several admissions members). It's been almost 2 years since I've made the decision to pursue medicine, and I'm just now feeling ready to apply. If I really enjoyed OT (like you say you do currently), I don't think that I would have made this decision.

Thank you for your perspective! It's nice to hear from another OT practitioner. I have a few questions if you don't mind indulging me:

1) What made you want to switch, and what setting were you practicing in?

2) Did you do a formal or a DIY postbacc? Which would you recommend?

3) Was OT your first career?

Thank you!

 

[lightredfloyd]

Hard to say without an MCAT, and what's your sGPA? You cGPA is fine for all DO schools.
Yes having a graduate degree with a high GPA helps.


A formal postbacc is better for career changers.
It's best to take classes at a 4 year college. Going to a CC won't necessarily kill your app if you have no other choice.


Usually favorable especially if they did well in their studies and have some working experience (although I'm not an ADCOM).


I'd say so. There are a lot of other allied health professionals who find their calling to medicine shortly after graduating.


Any research experience is a plus - doesn't matter what subject it is. Having a poster is a bigger plus.

Some thoughts:

1. Don't limit yourself to DO schools. I feel like you can get into a MD school depending on what your MCAT score is. The difference between DO and MD is largely philosophical. In practice there isn't much difference. DOs have much more hoops to jump through than their MD colleagues - don't make your life unnecessarily hard.
2. Go shadow a physician if you're on the fence about switching. It's practically a requirement for all med schools, it'll show you what medicine is really like, and it gives you chance to secure a MD/DO letter.

Thank you so much for this reply! I appreciate all of the advice. I'd say my sGPA is about a 3.9 right now but again I've only taken 3 courses that count so not that big of a sample size.

I'm definitely planning on shadowing a physician after I graduate. I assume this would be easiest in outpatient settings right?

And you're right, predicting my chances right now is hard due to a lack of MCAT, but depending on how I score I'll definitely be applying both MD and DO given the chance.

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

I'm definitely planning on shadowing a physician after I graduate. I assume this would be easiest in outpatient settings right?

Yep! Best of luck!