Does My Post Bacc in Clinical Psychology Even Matter?

[AveragePerson.Psych]

My basic story is that I have been making this medical school journey alone. My undergraduate degree was psychology and I've had to teach myself things about the medical school process no mentors or advisors with medical knowledge because I am a psychology major. I graduated in 2 ½ years so I decided to pursue my MS degree and set up a backup plan in case I do not get into medical school (and because I like forensic psychology).

My question is, will medical schools care about my post-bacc because it's in Clinical Psychology and not a science area? I fear they won't. Currently my GPA is a 3.91.

The only significant things I do in my program is give assessments to clients and we volunteer at the nursing home speaking with residents; all of mine have had strokes (I have 630 hours in my clinical practicum). Also, would my clinical practicum count towards non-clinical experience since it is not medical? I feel it would be significant for my application when I apply, but I am unsure. However, my program does offer certification as a traumatic brain injury specialist and currently I am only provisionally certified.

Lastly, does medical assistant/anesthesia tech count towards clinical experience? I had been applying to get jobs that introduce me to the medical field more and I interviewed for a medical assistant/anesthesia tech at a dental office and received the job, but I would like it to count towards my application.

Thank you for your help. I hope you enjoyed your holidays!

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[Mr.Smile12]

Hi! I didn't see that you posted anything in WAMC. First, your "postbac" refers to your masters in Clinical Psychology? Second, what is your BCPM GPA?

For your question on whether adcoms would care... it's obvious you care about it and want to leverage your experiences in a way that would help you become a better doctor. I can see that some faculty will value it, and some won't. You have already had a few people give opinions on your previous activities.

In the end I think you need to be clear that your experiences are valuable in your becoming a doctor. With so much need for geriatric care and mental health care, you have training and insight. The question is why you want to be a doctor with that in mind.

 

[LizzyM]

You aren't doing a "post-bac" you are doing a MS in clinical psychology.
This will go on your application but the GPA won't mean much as there is terrific grade inflation in MS programs.

Any work or activity can go on your application (up to 15 items) and you may have to decide how to classify it (one tag per experience).

Any paid employment, even if it is part-time, can go on your application and even some tangential things can have applications for physicians (e.g. any dealings with the public such as in a retail or food service setting can teach transferrable skills).

Some people do list things among "work and activities" for which they received academic credit (research being a big one). You can always classify it as "other" if none of the tags feel right.

 

[AveragePerson.Psych]

Hi! I didn't see that you posted anything in WAMC. First, your "postbac" refers to your masters in Clinical Psychology? Second, what is your BCPM GPA?

For your question on whether adcoms would care... it's obvious you care about it and want to leverage your experiences in a way that would help you become a better doctor. I can see that some faculty will value it, and some won't. You have already had a few people give opinions on your previous activities.

In the end I think you need to be clear that your experiences are valuable in your becoming a doctor. With so much need for geriatric care and mental health care, you have training and insight. The question is why you want to be a doctor with that in mind.

My BCPM GPA is a 3.28 for AMCAS and a 3.19 for TMDSAS. Unfortunately it's quite low. I started off with a minor in Spanish to go with my Psychology major and then I changed it to interdisciplinary studies to fit in more science courses (I did this my junior semester I believe). I had to split the minor with my honors courses and the science classes so I am missing several classes. I need Physics I & II (I do have statistics), Organic Chemistry I & II, and 2 biology courses.

I graduate this spring and my plan was to take summer courses for some of the prerequisites, because if I were to apply for the Fall 2024 cycle I'd be missing quite a bit. I figured trying for competency based medical schools may make things a tad, not much, better with me not having all of the prerequisites. I appreciate your help.

Also I apologize about confusing a postbac with a MS degree.

 

[AveragePerson.Psych]

You aren't doing a "post-bac" you are doing a MS in clinical psychology.
This will go on your application but the GPA won't mean much as there is terrific grade inflation in MS programs.

Any work or activity can go on your application (up to 15 items) and you may have to decide how to classify it (one tag per experience).

Any paid employment, even if it is part-time, can go on your application and even some tangential things can have applications for physicians (e.g. any dealings with the public such as in a retail or food service setting can teach transferrable skills).

Some people do list things among "work and activities" for which they received academic credit (research being a big one). You can always classify it as "other" if none of the tags feel right.

Thank you for clarifying the post-bac for me. I appreciate all of this information because it has helped me out greatly.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for that detail. So if you are dedicated to this path, you have to take those undergraduate course prerequisites before going for the MCAT. I'll let others chime in.

 

[Med Ed]

because if I were to apply for the Fall 2024 cycle I'd be missing quite a bit.

I assume you mean the cycle that starts in the spring of 2024. At this point in every premed's plan they want to decide on a target application year, but right now you just have to put one foot in front of the other. And that means signing up for prereqs and getting A's.

Agree with @Mr.Smile12 that you need to take the prereqs then sit for the MCAT. A semester of biochem is recommended.