Ask A Non-Traditional, Newly Accepted Med Student Anything

[victorypolka]

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Hello all, I've noticed that there are a lot of these types of threads popping up. I'd like to throw my proverbial hat in the ring and try to answer some of your guys' questions.

A little background: I graduated from my state university in 2011 with a BS in Neurobiology and a minor in Psychology. My final cGPA was around 3.5 but I didn't have a great MCAT score, so I spent a summer to retake. I got a 30+ last semester and applied to a few DO/MD schools before accepting a seat at a midwest DO school. I will probably defer this year and start next year (I'll explain).

During my sophomore year, I started a research job in pathology, mostly focused on cystic fibrosis. I kept this job until graduation when I was hired as a full time researcher in another CF lab on campus. Since then, I have numerous publications and have even given an oral presentation at a national scientific conference. This is partly why I will probably defer my acceptance to medical school for next summer, so that I can continue with my research.

Hopefully that can give you am idea of my situation. I will answer any of your questions to the best of my knowledge, and hopefully I can provide some insight into what it's like NOT going directly to medical school after graduation.

 

[Medstart108]

You don't really sound like a non-traditional applicant. just someone who took a gap year.

 

[JPodel]

Midwestern University? AZ?

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Hello all, I've noticed that there are a lot of these types of threads popping up. I'd like to throw my proverbial hat in the ring and try to answer some of your guys' questions.

A little background: I graduated from my state university in 2011 with a BS in Neurobiology and a minor in Psychology. My final cGPA was around 3.5 but I didn't have a great MCAT score, so I spent a summer to retake. I got a 30+ last semester and applied to a few DO/MD schools before accepting a seat at a midwest DO school. I will probably defer this year and start next year (I'll explain).

During my sophomore year, I started a research job in pathology, mostly focused on cystic fibrosis. I kept this job until graduation when I was hired as a full time researcher in another CF lab on campus. Since then, I have numerous publications and have even given an oral presentation at a national scientific conference. This is partly why I will probably defer my acceptance to medical school for next summer, so that I can continue with my research.

Hopefully that can give you am idea of my situation. I will answer any of your questions to the best of my knowledge, and hopefully I can provide some insight into what it's like NOT going directly to medical school after graduation.

How is this non trad? Didn't you just basically take a gap year?

 

[victorypolka]

How is this non trad? Didn't you just basically take a gap year?

Or three.

 

[victorypolka]

Midwestern University? AZ?

A med school in the Midwest. Not Midwestern.

 

[Ismet]

Or three.

Well you took 2 gap years and you're just deferring a year. Usually just taking a couple years between undergrad and med school isn't considered a non-traditional student.

 

[victorypolka]

Well you took 2 gap years and you're just deferring a year. Usually just taking a couple years between undergrad and med school isn't considered a non-traditional student.

Fair enough.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Fair enough.

Would you say that you made the right choice deferring a year?

 

[victorypolka]

Would you say that you made the right choice deferring a year?

Absolutely. I was very fortunate to find a great research group with a novel project that I could truly get involved in with designing my own experiments, not just running PCRs or gels all day. This is an incredibly valuable resource, not only in applying to medical school but also applying to residencies, that becomes more competitive and tougher to complete when you get to medical school.

In hindsight, it was very scary to deviate from the med school path. When I graduated, I was unsure whether I really wanted to go to med school or grad school, especially with the huge changes down the road in the medical world. It's especially scary to think about trying to find a stable job and switch gears after a year back towards academia. I was taking a huge risk, but I stayed focused on my end goal and had a lot of help from my mentor/boss.

 

[iArtemisHunter]

What was Pathology like? I'm thinking of going into Veterinary Path. but I'm a bit apprehensive about dedicating my entire career to sitting behind a microscope playing match it. So can you elaborate the pros and cons? Will not go unappreciated.

 

[victorypolka]

What was Pathology like? I'm thinking of going into Veterinary Path. but I'm a bit apprehensive about dedicating my entire career to sitting behind a microscope playing match it. So can you elaborate the pros and cons? Will not go unappreciated.

I can provide insight into the situation in which my boss at the time worked. Keep in mind, I knew a couple other vet paths at the time, and I can only provide a fairly generalized point of view from a research angle. None of them were actual clinicians at the time.

Pros: a lot of expertise in a very narrow, very specialized area. There is a shortage in the research world for vet paths, with all the new disease models coming out. A lot of diagnostic medicine and pathophysiology in very new projects. Good salaries and stable jobs, a lot of opportunity for teaching and education at research institutions.

Cons: like you said, a LOT of time behind the microscope with little time for anything else. Most of the vet paths I knew we're very hands off when it came to dealing with animals; they had entire labs dedicated to this task. Very busy days; I had to schedule 15 minute meetings a week in advance. A lot of time off spent in their offices and on weekends sometimes.

If you have the heart for medical or vet research, it's a great opportunity to make a name for yourself. A lot of publications came from that group. Be warned: it is a long, bumpy road.

 

[iforget2]

I'm also thinking of taking a gap year. How did it feel when your high school friends/ college pre-med friends got into med school and were all happy and celebrating and asked you where you're going to med school? I feel like I will have to deal with that during my gap year and probably feel inadequate

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm also thinking of taking a gap year. How did it feel when your high school friends/ college pre-med friends got into med school and were all happy and celebrating and asked you where you're going to med school? I feel like I will have to deal with that during my gap year and probably feel inadequate

The sooner you stop worrying about where others are in life, the easier things will be. You don't have to keep up with the Joneses. There is no set time frame. You probably will achieve a lot of non career goals before them. BFD. And in med school due to geography and time constraints, and people drifting off to other things, the friends you have now likely won't be the friends you will benchmark yourself against in a few years. They will just be people you see a few times a year, if that. They will more likely just become friends on Facebook, and folks you see at the few class reunions you attend.

 

[victorypolka]

I'm also thinking of taking a gap year. How did it feel when your high school friends/ college pre-med friends got into med school and were all happy and celebrating and asked you where you're going to med school? I feel like I will have to deal with that during my gap year and probably feel inadequate

Inadequate? No, I didn't feel inadequate. I felt like I was taking a different path with the same endpoint. Once you stop worrying about everyone else, you'll feel a whole lot better about your situation. In fact, most of my friends that rushed off to med school right out of undergrad started to feel burnt out pretty quickly, and most wished they would have taken a year off. Don't overthink things too much.

 

[CHCOOH]

Man! I'm really impressed... Maybe because I'm planning to major in neurobiology and minor in psych too.

How'd you land that research job? I'd be interested in doing something similar to that but I dont think I'd ever make publications or things of that sort. :/

 

[victorypolka]

Man! I'm really impressed... Maybe because I'm planning to major in neurobiology and minor in psych too.

How'd you land that research job? I'd be interested in doing something similar to that but I dont think I'd ever make publications or things of that sort. :/

I enjoyed neurobiology as a whole. I even took a graduate level neurophysiology course when I was a senior. Super complex stuff, but really interesting. I didn't care much for the psych minor, I was much bigger on biological bases of things, while it seemed like most of my psych classes focused on cognitive psych.

In sophomore year I applied for a research tech job for the mentioned vet path. It wasn't anything major, just did some basic histology procedures (stains, processing, etc). When I graduated, my boss put in a good recommendation to another researcher in the same group and I got a research assistant position with that doc.

As far as publications, it's all about the time you out into it. You get out what you put in ten-fold. Basically, I had some contributions towards writing manuscripts, but I conducted all the experiments. Hence, I get credit for the manuscripts.

My advice is to look into getting a research position or a lab tech job early in college if you can balance it with school work. That way you can build up a repertoire with your boss and allow you significant contributions to important research.