Chances, options, any incite?

[gonna]

I just wanted to get any info or opinions on where I should go from here or any help in general.
I graduated a year and half ago with a Bachelors in Biology heavily based in medicine. Since then I have worked at one of the area medical testing facilities as a Histologist. While in school I worked full time as a Patient Transporter, (moved patients within the hospital). I am also a certified medical interpreter (Spanish). Compared to others in these forums, I feel fairly inadequate for extras outside of my degree. I was a service non-paid clergy for a few years. I also spent eight days in Ecuador as a medical interpreter as well as shadowing several doctors and first assist in surgery. I don't even know if schools care, but I have been one of the youth teachers at my church for nearly five years now. When relaying this to non-medical individuals, I usually receive praise. Although I know this is a short list it's where I am now.
Here's my big dilemma. I have some of the most embarrassing grades I have seen in here. My overall GPA is 3.07 while my science is 2.70. I wasn't lazy in college, and I am not unintelligent. After my first year in college I started have some medical problems. I went undiagnosed/misdiagnosed for years, actually the remainder of college. With dizzying headaches, vision loss, extreme cognitive impairment, and eventually what appeared to be daily "blacking out" I pushed through college even though it was physically and mentally exhausting. After graduation, I was determined to rid myself of this roadblock and only after I took my own MRI's did I catch that I had a Chiari I malformation. Due to the years of headaches and other issues that came with it I also developed Cataplexy. While the combination of Chiari and Cataplexy made me feel like I failed college, I do actually think I did pretty good considering. I have since had brain surgery and am ready to face school again.
As I have had to deal with this for nearly nine years, I'm no spring chicken like some of you. Now 28 I would really just want to do what would get me into school the fastest. I have considered a second bachelors degree, masters degree, or maybe applying to a PhD program. I haven't taken the MCAT yet, and realize I would have to get a smoking score. I wouldn't even be opposed to starting over entirely. I just want to get into school. I know it would haunt me the rest of my life if I didn't.
Idealistically, I would love to go straight to med-school. I'm not shooting for any school specifically, although I would like to stay in my home state (AZ). I am even not opposed to Caribbean schools despite what others feel in here. I wouldn't be against a DO program although I don't really carry DO ideals and this would be a last ditch effort. I absolutely don't want to be a dentist (I have been told to try several times) and would rather stay in labs than that.
If anyone has any ideas, council, or advice on directions I should go or anything that has worked for them in the past, I am all ears. I thank you in advance for even reading my lengthy situation.

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[Catalystik]

Bachelors in Biology
I have worked at one of the area medical testing facilities as a Histologist. I worked full time as a Patient Transporter
I am also a certified medical interpreter (Spanish).
I was a service non-paid clergy for a few years.
I also spent eight days in Ecuador as a medical interpreter as well as shadowing several doctors and first assist in surgery.
I have been one of the youth teachers at my church for nearly five years

My overall GPA is 3.07 while my science is 2.70.

Now 28 I would really just want to do what would get me into school the fastest.

If anyone has any ideas, council, or advice on directions I should go

If you have a good credit score, there is a medical school in the Caribbean that will take you, some even without an MCAT score. Read about this option and its risks in the International Medicine > Caribbean Forum.

You have a lot of GPA redemption to accomplish if you want to get into a US medical school. You haven't even begun to demonstrate that you can get straight As in the sciences and I think that's one thing you need to do. It will take dedication, time, and money to fix the situation, but if you are resolved, then it can be done.

Here are some better, more-likely-to-be-successful pathways to becoming a physician;

1) Plan to apply to DO med schools. Repeat the classes where you did the worst and use AACOMAS grade-forgiveness policy that includes only the most recent retake when calculating the application GPA. If you have some Ds and Fs, this is the fastest way to fix your low GPA if you can get As the second time (note: the repeated class must have the same number or greater in credit hours). Get near-straight As in any remaining prerequisites and upper-level Bio classes due to your new work ethic over 2-3 semesters. Get a good MCAT score to prove you understood the material. Shadow a DO and get a letter of recommendation. Educate yourself on this option in SDN's PreMed Osteopathic Forum.

2) For a chance at MD: With a 3.0+ cGPA, you can qualify for a lot of SMPs (Special Masters Program). This is a 1-2 year (expensive) paid audition/redemption option which can overrride a low uGPA. You'd need an MCAT 28-30+ depending on the program requirements and some recent excellent science grades to prove you have potential to succeed in the program. If you perform well in the SMP, where you compete with first year med students at their linked med school and get a high GPA, typically 3.5-3.7 or better, you have a chance of an acceptance at an MD med school. This outcome is not guaranteed, though, but DO schools still remain an option. Read more on this approach in the Postbaccalaureate Programs Forum of SDN.

3) Another option for MD: Take two more years of full-time undergrad coursework, getting straight As. One could do this as a candidate for a second bachelors degree, but there is no obligation to complete the degree since you have one already. This could raise your cGPA to 3.33 and your BCPM considerably. With an MCAT score of 34-35+, you might get into an allopathic med school due to the steep upward trend and excellent MCAT score.

All these options assume optimal ECs and strong LORs, good PS and excellent interview skills.

 

[gonna]

Thank you for the info and hope.

I know I didn't leave too much detail as to my actual grades. I actually don't have anything lower than a C and much of my non-science GPA was B to A's.

I was also given some unfair advice by a guidance councilor who was later laid off. She advised me to drop any class I was getting a C in. I was taking, and passing O-Chem and she had me drop both semesters. My college then changed O-Chem course number which allowed me to take it again, after already passing it. So I have the first semester of O-Chem on my GPA twice, both times recieving a C. Had she not advised me to do this my GPA would have been bumped up slightly not to mention the fact that I would have done better in all my classes not having to spend five semesters in O-Chem classes.

I also don't know how this effects anything but my school used a plus/minus system. Whereas other schools which don't use this would have altered my GPA for the better. A hair better I know but better.

 

[Catalystik]

Sometimes a little hope can result in amazing things happening. For sure, if you give up hope, you'll never get where you want to be.