Medical Engineering Student to Medicine

[Catalystik]

I'm a senior in EE & CS (dual major) and I recently decided to switch over to medicine. As I am almost finished with my undergrad, I decided to complete my engineering degree and then take a year to complete the required courses.

I have already finished Physics, Calculus, Inorganic Chem, Sociology and Psych at school and my GPA is fairly high (3.9 overall, 4.0 sciences). I am planning to take the Intro to Bio and Organic Chem courses at a community college in the summer after I graduate. I decided on a community college because taking these courses at my current school would require a couple more prerequisites which would keep me in school much longer and it is far cheaper and closer at the community college. I am planning on taking Biochem and Genetics in the fall, at another university (mainly because its not offered at community college). Then I plan on writing the MCAT sometime in the fall and spend the rest of the time volunteering/working.

Do you guys think this a good idea and do you think it would be possible to apply to medical school for the 2020 year (or maybe 2021, 2022)?

Also, if you guys were wondering, I had an interest in medicine since high school but chose engineering because it felt like a safer choice (finish in four years). I only decided to switch now after realizing I really enjoyed the medical side of my previous experiences volunteering (a local hospital), at my internship (a medical tech firm) and research (which involved a combination of medicine and computer science).

Thanks for reading this and I would really appreciate any advice!

The latest MCAT test date in 2019 is in October. As the MCAT is heavy on Biochem, you'll want to wait to take the test until after you complete the class. MCAT test dates resume in January.

You'll need a year of Intro to Bio, which means you'd finish up in spring 2020.

You also need to develop suitable ECs prior to applying, with the goal that your file will appeal to a broad number of med schools. High school activities are generally not listed on a med school application (unless they continue into the college years), though they can be mentioned in the Personal Statement. About 1.5 years of clinical volunteering is the average listed by applicants, so ideally you'd get started on that now, with the intent to apply in June 2020. Physician shadowing is also expected: About 50 hours is a good goal and should include an office-based primary care doc. Nonmedical community service also strengthens an application, with more "points" given by adcoms if you give your time to those in need, preferably face-to-face and hands-on with an organization whose cause you care about. Teaching and leadership activities are also desirable. Research you already have.

Applying late in the fall is a bad idea. The best time would be June or July, in order for your application to get maximal consideration.

Are you from the USA or Canada?

 

[Catalystik]

Wow, thanks for all the information! I did not realize I need that much clinical volunteering!
I am studying at the [redacted] however I am a Canadian citizen. I am planning on attending medical school in the USA.

For my ECs:

• Non-medical volunteering (tutoring, food drives, setting up STEM activities for children, etc.) through my participation in Tau Beta Pi (an engineering honor society) for about 1.5 years.
• I was a TA for one semester.
• Summer internship with an airport control systems company.
• Summer internship with the medical tech. company I mentioned earlier.
• My research which was about applying machine learning algorithms to diagnose certain heart illnesses.

I have already set up a week of shadowing at a local clinic this summer.

Lastly, if you have the time, I have a few more questions for you.

• 1) Do you believe my research is sufficient for the application?
• 2) Do you think my engineering internships are worth including in my application?
• 3) Does the type of medical volunteering matter?

Thanks again. I am very grateful for all the information you have provided me.

1) How many months and total hours of research do you have? Was it hypothesis-based, using the scientific method? Will the project result in new, generalizable knowledge?

2) Yes. Teamwork based projects are a plus.

3) Yes. You want a position where you interact with current patients. It doesn't have to take place at a hospital. What did you have in mind?

 

[Catalystik]

1) My research was not hypothesis-based but the research did establish some new and useful techniques for classifying certain ECGs and we did have an IRB in place as we used human data in our research.

2) I do not have any clinical volunteering in mind at the moment but I will use your advice and start searching for a position this week!

3) If you have any other questions for me, I will answer them tomorrow as I am going to sleep.

1) Research: Would you eventually test whether the machine-read EKG would correlate with a human reader's classification of abnormal wave forms? It seems to me that your "hypothesis" might have been that a computer can read EKGs faster and as accurately as a human expert.

-Did you create a poster or present the data you collected?
-Is it potentially publishable?
-How long did this project take?

2) Clinical Experience can be gained at a free, family-planning, or private clinic, surgicenter, hospice, hospital, VA, residential home, rehabilitation facility, or skilled-care nursing home, among others.

Clinical patient experience is not always gained in a medical environment, eg EMT, battle field medic, home hospice care, physical therapy aide, or special camp environments.

About 150 hours is the average listed, so 3-4 hours per week is sufficient. Note that duration is more important than total hours. Your application needs to give the impression that you've thoughtfully considered medicine as a career, and that it wasn't an impulsive decision.

3) I am happy to continue the conversation if questions occur to you or you need clarification.
-Do you have dual US citizenship or a greencard?
-Do you plan to apply to Canadian schools also?
-Have you met with a premed advisor from your school.

 

[Catalystik]

Sorry about the late response. For some reason I didn't get the e-mail notification until 8pm today.

Yes we tested our machine classifications against the classifications made by humans and other classification algorithms. We also did create a poster with our results and we had to present our findings at three research events at my school.

And to answer your questions, I have a green card. I had originally wanted to attend medical school in Canada however after searching some of the Universities prior admission statistics it seemed that Canadian schools do not take many students from the USA. I have also been trying to schedule a meeting with a premed advisor but it has been difficult to find time around my senior engineering design project and some of my other ECs and classes. I will likely have time in two weeks.

Thanks for all your help and I will definitely contact you if I have any other questions (which I will have 🙂 ).

To answer your question from above, Yes, you have enough research, assuming it took place over at least a full term, so long as you aren't planning to solely target research-oriented, highly-selective schools (in which case, two years would be better). It's good that you also have evidence of productivity via the poster presentations. A poster presented at a non-campus venue would be desirable, too, as the vetting process for acceptance is more rigorous.

Green card holders are treated the same as US citizens in the med school application process. Having one vastly improves your overall chances of an acceptance.

Cheers!

-Cat