Bachelor's in perfusion technology prior to medical school

[michaelf]

I haven't found a thread, yet,on perfusion technology in relation to medical school admission.

I am almost done with Chem I during this summer and will start my first undergrad. year in the upcoming fall. I have over 100 in the class so far.

My plan is this: Go to CC for 2 years taking pre-med reqs after which I will transfer into a bachelor's perfusion technology program at Rush university. Total time spent taking courses at cc and Rush will be about 4 years.During the period I would be volunteering about 100 hours a year at Rush Medical Center. After all this I will have met all the pre-med reqs, have taken intensive upper division science courses at Rush, and will have plenty of clinical experience alongside surgeons. I will then try to apply to Rush's Medical College.

The perfusion technology degree and clinical experience that comes with it should help me stand out since from understanding it's rare.

What do you think of this plan? Any thoughts, errors you see, etc.?

Much Appreciated. I am new here.

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[doc05]

I would only do this route if you plan on becoming a perfusionist.

I doubt you will have any meaningful experience alongside surgeons as a perfusionist student. I don't know what the training entails, but I doubt you will see much/any patient interaction.

 

[LizzyM]

The point here is that you are taking a major that is vocational (toward a specific profession). While we generally don't care what you majored in, adcoms do seem to be pretty hard on health professions majors. They may be rare but it doesn't mean they are desirable as medical students.

 

[candbgirl]

On the off chance you might want to expand your application view from one specific school, I'd hold off on the the premed reqs until you enroll in a 4 year college/university. Some med schools don't look kindly on pre reqs being taken at a cc. You might want to take Gen Ed requirements at the cc.

 

[Goro]

Based upon my school's experiences with EMTs, this may be due to the mentality of "I already know that, so i don't have to study [subject X]. Gives them trouble in years III and IV.

Applicants with specialized health sciences as a major have the worst acceptance rate to medical school

(https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstable18.pdf)

The point here is that you are taking a major that is vocational (toward a specific profession). While we generally don't care what you majored in, adcoms do seem to be pretty hard on health professions majors. They may be rare but it doesn't mean they are desirable as medical students.

 

[LizzyM]

Based upon my school's experiences with EMTs, this may be due to the mentality of "I already know that, so i don't have to study [subject X]. Gives them trouble in years III and IV.

Yes, plus some adcoms don't believe that the courserwork is very rigorous. Compare the chem major who takes physical chemistry to the medical technology major who takes a course in urinalysis.

 

[Mad Jack]

Applicants with specialized health sciences as a major have the worst acceptance rate to medical school

(https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstable18.pdf)

That is probably largely a function of the grade-destroying nature of specialized health sciences. The "I don't give As" mentality is rampant in many allied health programs. Couple this with the time commitment of clinical rotations, which themselves barely count as an EC but sap away valuable time for volunteering and research, and you end up with a recipe for admission difficulty. It's not the major itself, per se, but the cumulative effect it has on the rest of your app that makes things so difficult.

 

[Mad Jack]

Yes, plus some adcoms don't believe that the courserwork is very rigorous. Compare the chem major who takes physical chemistry to the medical technology major who takes a course in urinalysis.

It's funny, because liberal arts majors get a pass in regard to not taking things like physical chemistry and don't have the rigor of their major questioned so long as they do well in prereqs but health science majors tend to not get the same pass. Never quite got that double standard, but it certainly exists.

 

[Lancer]

Applicants with specialized health sciences as a major have the worst acceptance rate to medical school

(https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstable18.pdf)

From this chart, it seems like they score over 2 points less on the MCAT on avg, which might itself explain the lower acceptance rate