Hi all! I have been lurking here for a while, and I know there are dozens of threads like this every week, but after speaking to friends and family about my plan I'm hoping to just get some feedback from people who have already started or gone through this process as a non-trad.
About me:
B.A. in Sociology at a top school in Canada (I'm American)- graduated with a 3.6 cGPA. Took absolutely no science courses, though I took several stats courses. Most of my undergraduate coursework in Sociology was related to health or medicine (Gender and Health, Health Care Systems, etc). I also completed an undergraduate thesis on American health care reform for which I did original research. My GPA is a little low because I took a lot of very intensive/credit heavy french courses to learn the language quickly- I got a 4.0 my last year when I was taking all difficult upper-level sociology coursework.
After this, I took a 2 year break from school, during which time I worked as a clinical assistant at a medical skin care center (In other words, a medspa). I worked directly with the primary doctor/medical director there, assisting with the cosmetic procedures he did (it was a minimally invasive form of lipo). Basically I would prepare the room and the patient for the procedure (which included sterilizing the instruments he used and mixing up tumescent fluid), assist the doctor during the procedure, help the patient after the procedure and get them ready go home, and then followup with the patient the next day with instructions, arranging follow-up appointments, etc. It's not a traditional experience like working in a hospital or clinic, but I was directly involved in patient care- I just have no idea how medical schools might view this kind of work!
After working there I went back to school for my MPH in epidemiology. I went to one of the top 10 programs, but I don't know if this really makes a difference since it seems that MPH work isn't too highly valued by medical schools...? My GPA was a 3.9 (missed 4.0 by one A-, ugh!). I worked 30 hours a week the entire time I was in the program at a local state health department doing water borne disease surveillance, which involved calling and interviewing cases of certain intestinal pathogens), and as a research assistant doing research on salmonella and antibiotic resistance (also what my master's thesis was on).
Currently I am living and working for an NGO in an Asian country as a researcher, primarily working on typhoid fever surveillance in Africa. I am hoping (and it is extremely likely) that I will get to do some fieldwork in Africa sometime next year.
My plan:
My contract is up next summer, at which time I am planning on returning to the States and enrolling at a local state college to complete all of the pre-reqs I need (at this point I only have Bio 1- fortunately got an A). I will probably start out going to school full time and find a place to volunteer in a clinical setting, until I know how much time I will need to spend on my science courses to pull off the best possible grades. After that hopefully I can find some paid work doing some kind of patient care. I really wish I could start doing the courses I need now, but in the meantime I will be studying independently to re-learn all of the math and science I have forgotten from high school. By the time I apply, I should hopefully have some research publications (1 should be published early next year, and I'm working on getting my thesis research published).
My main reason for never seriously pursuing medical school previously (even though I've clearly always had a strong interest in medicine) was because I was scared away by the math/science requirements. They weren't my best subjects in high school, so I thought that I was just "bad" at them. Now I realize that I just didn't know how to study properly, and I'm confident that I can do well in the courses. I find infectious diseases to be really interesting, so at this point I am interested in pursuing a specialty in infectious disease, but I realize that could change as I continue this process.
If anyone care to poke holes in my plan, or has any advice on how to make myself a stronger candidate, I would love to hear your feedback. I am at least 3 years out from applying, so I have some time to really improve myself.
About me:
B.A. in Sociology at a top school in Canada (I'm American)- graduated with a 3.6 cGPA. Took absolutely no science courses, though I took several stats courses. Most of my undergraduate coursework in Sociology was related to health or medicine (Gender and Health, Health Care Systems, etc). I also completed an undergraduate thesis on American health care reform for which I did original research. My GPA is a little low because I took a lot of very intensive/credit heavy french courses to learn the language quickly- I got a 4.0 my last year when I was taking all difficult upper-level sociology coursework.
After this, I took a 2 year break from school, during which time I worked as a clinical assistant at a medical skin care center (In other words, a medspa). I worked directly with the primary doctor/medical director there, assisting with the cosmetic procedures he did (it was a minimally invasive form of lipo). Basically I would prepare the room and the patient for the procedure (which included sterilizing the instruments he used and mixing up tumescent fluid), assist the doctor during the procedure, help the patient after the procedure and get them ready go home, and then followup with the patient the next day with instructions, arranging follow-up appointments, etc. It's not a traditional experience like working in a hospital or clinic, but I was directly involved in patient care- I just have no idea how medical schools might view this kind of work!
After working there I went back to school for my MPH in epidemiology. I went to one of the top 10 programs, but I don't know if this really makes a difference since it seems that MPH work isn't too highly valued by medical schools...? My GPA was a 3.9 (missed 4.0 by one A-, ugh!). I worked 30 hours a week the entire time I was in the program at a local state health department doing water borne disease surveillance, which involved calling and interviewing cases of certain intestinal pathogens), and as a research assistant doing research on salmonella and antibiotic resistance (also what my master's thesis was on).
Currently I am living and working for an NGO in an Asian country as a researcher, primarily working on typhoid fever surveillance in Africa. I am hoping (and it is extremely likely) that I will get to do some fieldwork in Africa sometime next year.
My plan:
My contract is up next summer, at which time I am planning on returning to the States and enrolling at a local state college to complete all of the pre-reqs I need (at this point I only have Bio 1- fortunately got an A). I will probably start out going to school full time and find a place to volunteer in a clinical setting, until I know how much time I will need to spend on my science courses to pull off the best possible grades. After that hopefully I can find some paid work doing some kind of patient care. I really wish I could start doing the courses I need now, but in the meantime I will be studying independently to re-learn all of the math and science I have forgotten from high school. By the time I apply, I should hopefully have some research publications (1 should be published early next year, and I'm working on getting my thesis research published).
My main reason for never seriously pursuing medical school previously (even though I've clearly always had a strong interest in medicine) was because I was scared away by the math/science requirements. They weren't my best subjects in high school, so I thought that I was just "bad" at them. Now I realize that I just didn't know how to study properly, and I'm confident that I can do well in the courses. I find infectious diseases to be really interesting, so at this point I am interested in pursuing a specialty in infectious disease, but I realize that could change as I continue this process.
If anyone care to poke holes in my plan, or has any advice on how to make myself a stronger candidate, I would love to hear your feedback. I am at least 3 years out from applying, so I have some time to really improve myself.
