DIY vs formal post bacc for my situation

[guitardude1997]

Hello everyone,

I am 22 years old and I recently graduated from college with an undergraduate degree in Medical Laboratory Science. I loved the program and I love that I will be working as a soon to be ASCP certified medical laboratory scientist at a hospital in the Greater Boston area. Although while progressing through the program I started thinking about eventually furthering my education and applying to Medical school (MD or DO). Although I am not sure where to start and how I should go about this. during my undergrad the MLS curriculum included a lot of interesting science courses (Mycology, Clinical Chemistry, Hematology, Bacteriology, Immunology Blood banking, etc.) along with multiple rotations, the only problem is these courses were offered through the college of health science and not from the college of sciences so I don't think my classes will count as as prerequisites. I also did very well in my classes (due to the fact I still need to pass the ASCP exam to work in the lab) with a cumulative GPA of a 3.89 and science GPA of 3.9. Lastly I have taken physics 1 with lab, human biochemistry, and introduction to statistics.

With this in mind my questions are:

1) does it matter where I fulfill my prerequisites? I am debating between taking the classes at either Harvard extension school, or a local state school. I will be working 40 hours a week 3 - 11:30 so if I were to do continuing education courses (like HES) I'd have to swap shifts with coworkers, although if I took classes in the day with undergrads I wouldn't have to swap shifts but I would have to be on campus more often

2) does it matter if I forgo a formal post bacc program and do it the DIY route? I feel that I could only do 4 credits a semester if I am working 40 hours a week and I don't think formal programs would allow me to go at this pace

3) does it matter if I only do 4 credits at a time? I have heard mixed reviews about this but I feel that I have already demonstrated an ability to multitask during my undergrad juggling clinical and classes.

4) Does working in a hospital laboratory count as clinical experience? I know some lab techs do phlebotomy but since I am working second shift I won't be able to draw. Although I do some phlebotomy or EMT work per diem before I start taking classes (I took an EMT class hold an EMT license until 2022).

Thank you for reading the post and any advice!

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[Goro]

Hello everyone,

I am 22 years old and I recently graduated from college with an undergraduate degree in Medical Laboratory Science. I loved the program and I love that I will be working as a soon to be ASCP certified medical laboratory scientist at a hospital in the Greater Boston area. Although while progressing through the program I started thinking about eventually furthering my education and applying to Medical school (MD or DO). Although I am not sure where to start and how I should go about this. during my undergrad the MLS curriculum included a lot of interesting science courses (Mycology, Clinical Chemistry, Hematology, Bacteriology, Immunology Blood banking, etc.) along with multiple rotations, the only problem is these courses were offered through the college of health science and not from the college of sciences so I don't think my classes will count as as prerequisites. I also did very well in my classes (due to the fact I still need to pass the ASCP exam to work in the lab) with a cumulative GPA of a 3.89 and science GPA of 3.9. Lastly I have taken physics 1 with lab, human biochemistry, and introduction to statistics.

With this in mind my questions are:

1) does it matter where I fulfill my prerequisites? I am debating between taking the classes at either Harvard extension school, or a local state school. I will be working 40 hours a week 3 - 11:30 so if I were to do continuing education courses (like HES) I'd have to swap shifts with coworkers, although if I took classes in the day with undergrads I wouldn't have to swap shifts but I would have to be on campus more often

2) does it matter if I forgo a formal post bacc program and do it the DIY route? I feel that I could only do 4 credits a semester if I am working 40 hours a week and I don't think formal programs would allow me to go at this pace

3) does it matter if I only do 4 credits at a time? I have heard mixed reviews about this but I feel that I have already demonstrated an ability to multitask during my undergrad juggling clinical and classes.

4) Does working in a hospital laboratory count as clinical experience? I know some lab techs do phlebotomy but since I am working second shift I won't be able to draw. Although I do some phlebotomy or EMT work per diem before I start taking classes (I took an EMT class hold an EMT license until 2022).

Thank you for reading the post and any advice!

1)Nope

2) Nope.

3) YES. You need ot show that you can handle a rigorous curriculum. My school has rejected people who only took 1-2 classes at a time, because we were worried that they wouldn't be able to drink from the fire hose.

4) NO, if you're not in contact with patients. Culturing bugs, or doing blood gas chemistries is employment, not clinical experience. Phlebotomy, on the others had, is very much clinical experience.

I suggest that you work and save up money for a formal postbac for career changers. You should also get some feedback from med schools as to whether or not your coursework actually does count. Med schools aren't going anywhere.

 

[guitardude1997]

I suggest that you work and save up money for a formal postbac for career changers. You should also get some feedback from med schools as to whether or not your coursework actually does count. Med schools aren't going anywhere.

Thank you for the advice Goro. sounds like this would be the best route for me and I just need to accept it. In the interim, what can it hurt to do some self studying on my own time before I decide to go back and do a formal post bacc!

 

[GreenDuck12]

I suggest that you work and save up money for a formal postbac for career changers. You should also get some feedback from med schools as to whether or not your coursework actually does count. Med schools aren't going anywhere.

Thank you for the advice Goro. sounds like this would be the best route for me and I just need to accept it. In the interim, what can it hurt to do some self studying on my own time before I decide to go back and do a formal post bacc!

I did my post bac at HES. Most of the courses are not cross listed with the undergraduate classes so you would definitely be looking at switching shifts.

 

[guitardude1997]

I did my post bac at HES. Most of the courses are not cross listed with the undergraduate classes so you would definitely be looking at switching shifts.

How were the classes? were the instructors clear about their expectations? did you work at all during the program?

 

[GreenDuck12]

How were the classes? were the instructors clear about their expectations? did you work at all during the program?

I worked full time as a high school teacher and took two classes per semester at night. I really liked the program and had a positive experience. The classes were interesting and challenging and I found the professors to be accessible and willing to help students. It is definitely not an easy A program. Most of my classmates were working at one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals in some capacity of that makes a difference for you. For the most part, we all were working towards similar goals.

 

[guitardude1997]

I worked full time as a high school teacher and took two classes per semester at night. I really liked the program and had a positive experience. The classes were interesting and challenging and I found the professors to be accessible and willing to help students. It is definitely not an easy A program. Most of my classmates were working at one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals in some capacity of that makes a difference for you. For the most part, we all were working towards similar goals.

Thank you for the information. I think I will try to take this route. Hopefully I'll me able to switch to first shift so I can take multiple classes without scheduling conflicts with work! I also work at one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals!

 

[GreenDuck12]

Thank you for the information. I think I will try to take this route. Hopefully I'll me able to switch to first shift so I can take multiple classes without scheduling conflicts with work! I also work at one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals!

Since you work at an affiliated hospital, you should look into tuition reimbursement for HES.