Future Non-Traditional, need advice

[BillingsYO]

Hi folks,

I'd like to preface this post by stating that instead of already having my heart set on medical school, I am merely trying to test the waters. I have heard how insanely demanding the path to becoming a physician. Through my own journeys thus far, I think it's better to get informed before making big commitments like this.

Here's the TL;DR questions, below is the backstory.
1.) Am I foolish for wanting to become a physician as a result of being inspired by EMS? There is a lot of nay-say on these forums towards the relationship between EMS and becoming a physician.
2.) Considering my initial inspiration, what would be a good opportunity to get a full picture of the life of a physician? I mean something to compliment EMS.
3.) 3.25 undergrad GPA in Marine Transportation (BS). What kind of academic hole am I going to pull myself out of here if I were even to consider this path? What kind of odds am I against?
4.) Would it be foolish to have medical school as a long shot idea? I mean building my 'resume' only part time over the course of the next 5-6 years while working in my current industry.

Back when I was in high school I took an EMT class for the weighted credit and it turned out to be the most fun I would have in all four years. The class was year long and not only meant to give us certs but to introduce us to health care. Instead of ride-alongs we would do shadowing and hospital rotations. Before that course I had never considered health care work a possibility, let alone becoming a physician. But nonetheless it became a distant fantasy of mine. I loved the medical aspect of the course and the patient interaction however short, was quite rewarding.

I was not a great high school student (3.0) and I rightfully ruled it out as a possibility when considering college. I decided for one reason or another that I would go to a state Maritime Academy. I definitely improved as a student during my college years but due to varying circumstances, only finished with a 3.25. Throughout college I spent some time here and there involved in EMS, but because it was difficult to draw a line between Maritime studies and the medical side of things, it was kept on the back burner.

Even when I was a freshman, the writing was on the walls. There is not much hope left for American shipping. While I can make things work in the short term, this career path wont be viable in the next 10-15 years. So long story short; I'm looking for an out. This career I'm in now can pay me nice money and give me lots of time off right now but in a few years, who knows what will happen? Why not bring my high school fantasy back?

My current situation: Waiting for a job which will give me temporary work for 5 months. Those 5 months of work is usually between 100k-70k before taxes. In the mean time I work 1-2 days a week at the docks for rent/food money and the rest of the time I do whatever I want. Currently getting involved in my town (just moved) volunteer ambulance and I may apply to be a PCT at a local hospital to earn some extra money on the side. Eventually I will be able to take extended deployments in the Navy (with a decent amount of my own discretion) to earn time towards the GI bill.

Sorry for the short novel but thanks for reading.

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[mk04447]

I not sure what you're asking? Yes, it will take you 2-3 years to take the pre-req. part-time, then you will have to study for and take the MCAT, and then the real fun starts; especially for someone who attended different colleges (not sure how many years ago, but some records were hard to obtain) some time ago, the application service is not designed for someone who didn't decide in HS they wanted to be a doc. Add in shadowing and some volunteer hours in something clinical makes the journey complete. Having said this, is it foolish, yes if you aren't successful and no if you find a home somewhere.

 

[Cboseak1]

.

 

[strider144]

You should talk to some doctors and do some shadowing to try and get a better view of the field. Ask them about what they dislike, too, so you hear about arguing with insurance, EMR, all that that's less fun in medicine as well as what is better.

It'd be a couple years of classes or a specific post-bacc. You'd need good grades going forward, preferably 3.7+. I left undergrad with about the same GPA as you and got a 3.6 or something in a diy post-bacc and got in, so it's possible.

Consider how you are at taking tests, because that will be important. Consider also how you would really feel about being in medical school with all the younger folks, having to do the student thing again and knowing you're years out from getting a decent paycheck again.

I went back to school just to test the waters. To a certain extent, you can rely on the weed-out courses to let you know if you're really not cut out for it.

 

[aformerstudent]

If you're interested in medicine, nobody should stop you.

Medical school, at least the first two years, has no correlation to anything related to EMS. Medical school for those years is academics so that comes down to how good of a student you are and how motivated you are to put yourself through that type of hell.

After the first two years, things begin to fall into place and you'll find your true interests.

Just to give you a comparison, I took the EMT-B exam about five years ago. You will study that amount of material (the whole course) in about a week in medical school and at a MUCH higher level. That's actually not even a fair comparison but just to give you an idea.

If you want to really test the waters with the medical school route, take one semester of the pre-reqs and set a goal to get a 3.6 or better. If you can do that, keep moving forward. If not, get out while your ahead.

 

[mk04447]

If you want to really test the waters with the medical school route, take one semester of the pre-reqs and set a goal to get a 3.6 or better. If you can do that, keep moving forward. If not, get out while your ahead.

Not a bad strategy at all.

 

[BillingsYO]

Thanks for all the responses folks!
I think taking a semester of pre-med courses to test the waters will be the way to go. That may be a bit so in the meantime I'll continue to volunteer with EMS and see if I can shadow or work part time as a PCT.

 

[austintr]

Start keeping track of your experiences now. I.e, start a word doc with all of your volunteer stuff/work experience/shadowing, etc. That way if you decide to apply in a couple years, you have all the info in one spot. While you're taking your prereqs, keep asking yourself "am I ok with learning this stuff and relearning it in more depth?" Because that's basically what the first year (at least) of med school is like. Don't be like me and think "hey, I got in, it's time to learn medicine!" Because you'll be sorely disappointed...there are still plenty of hoops to jump through and dues to pay in med school.

Lastly, start thinking about your story. And how you'll write essays about your experiences and whatnot, and what kind of conversations you can have during interviews. The few adcom members I know would much rather talk to a salty ole sea captain versus a 22 y/o fraternity/sorority president with 1000 scribe hours.

 

[BillingsYO]

Start keeping track of your experiences now. I.e, start a word doc with all of your volunteer stuff/work experience/shadowing, etc. That way if you decide to apply in a couple years, you have all the info in one spot. While you're taking your prereqs, keep asking yourself "am I ok with learning this stuff and relearning it in more depth?" Because that's basically what the first year (at least) of med school is like. Don't be like me and think "hey, I got in, it's time to learn medicine!" Because you'll be sorely disappointed...there are still plenty of hoops to jump through and dues to pay in med school.

Lastly, start thinking about your story. And how you'll write essays about your experiences and whatnot, and what kind of conversations you can have during interviews. The few adcom members I know would much rather talk to a salty ole sea captain versus a 22 y/o fraternity/sorority president with 1000 scribe hours.

That's a good idea, keeping a log of all my volunteer/professional experiences. Interviews can be uncomfortable when you are basically being forced to brag, could make it a little easier.

 

[BillingsYO]

You need to have a clear and compelling narrative about why you want to pursue medicine. Where I've effectively communicated this, my interviews have gone very well. Where I haven't, they've crashed and burned...hard. Working in an unrelated field will kill your chance if you don't have a good narrative, probably help your odds if you have a really compelling narrative

What are your grades like? Do you test well? You'll need to clear pretty high hurdles on both counts, then add volunteering and shadowing - which sounds like will be easy to find with your schedule.

I have no idea what to expect from a med school interview. I assume that a non-traditional applicant would have more to talk about than your typical pre-med student but I also assume that most of the folks that sit on that board are traditional students, most likely skeptical of those who didn't follow the traditional path. What do these people NOT want to hear?

My grades are all over the place. I didn't do the Academy with med school in mind. 3.25 cum., I did graduate a semester early which probably did some damage to my GPA forcing me to condense my hardest year with my capstone classes and licensing. My strong point at the Academy was in academics. The difficult, high failure rate Naval Architecture and Law courses I did extremely well in relative to my classmates. But the reality is that I am not sure how I will function in a traditional academic setting. I'm hoping some added maturity will allow me to operate at my full potential. I generally test well with adequate studying.

 

[BillingsYO]

Interesting. Even with good grades in a pre-med program MD schools would be out of the question?

 

[tryptamine]

OP, from my experience observing here and talking to my fellow students at various stages in the application process, you're in no sense eliminated. There are schools where you'll find being a nontraditional student will be a positive differentiating factor. The key thing is going to be making the call about whether you really want this. Committing before knowing that is a pretty reliable formula for failure, or at least for stumbling, which you can't really afford to do at this point.

I'm digging myself out of a deeper academic hole than you're in, but it's required busting my ass in upper division classes and putting in hundreds of hours of prep to pull together a strong MCAT score. When I apply to MD schools in June, my GPA will be probably a 3.3c/3.2s after 30 hours of 4.0. Without clear goals and perspective as to why I'm doing this, my grades now would resemble the half-hearted effort I pulled out in undergrad, and my MCAT would be 10 points lower. As others have mentioned, it might be helpful to start off slowly, putting dedicated self-reflection in all the way through. If you become sure of it along the way, then you can think about making committing moves. Until then, take full advantage of the work situation that you have for yourself, and make sure to watch your finances and save as much of a war chest as you can for the 8-10 years of meager financial times ahead.

 

[Skiiiiiing]

Interesting. Even with good grades in a pre-med program MD schools would be out of the question?

I did not say eliminated. But the road will be harder because of an existing 3.25.

 

[Medic741]

Go get your paramedic & work for a while in an urban setting, being an EMT is ***not*** a good/adequate way to test the waters if that’s what you’re going for. Also makes interviews fun/relaxing; you’ll have really worked through why medicine// guaranteed to have ‘ethical dilemmas’ to talk about etc

Plus, you’ll be proud of what you accomplished, have a good income & have a solid clinical skills foundation when you start school

 

[NightWindDriftr]

1.) Am I foolish for wanting to become a physician as a result of being inspired by EMS? There is a lot of nay-say on these forums towards the relationship between EMS and becoming a physician.

A small handful in my class have backgrounds in EMS. Pre-hospital medicine is hardly the medicine that most physicians practice, but it's certainly related (most especially to trauma and EM) and relevant.

2.) Considering my initial inspiration, what would be a good opportunity to get a full picture of the life of a physician? I mean something to compliment EMS.

Shadowing, then clinical experience. One ED I volunteered at years ago hired EMTs as ED techs, which is a great way to be in the ED and watch emergency department medicine, but shadowing is superior to get a feel for what a physician does day-to-day.

3.) 3.25 undergrad GPA in Marine Transportation (BS). What kind of academic hole am I going to pull myself out of here if I were even to consider this path? What kind of odds am I against?

Pretty tough if you're not considering a DO school. Maybe a post-bac and/or a great MCAT score would help.

4.) Would it be foolish to have medical school as a long shot idea? I mean building my 'resume' only part time over the course of the next 5-6 years while working in my current industry.

Depends on what you're willing to go through and how long you're willing to wait. I'm of the opinion that the sooner you start, the better. All the best.

 

[Blanky]

You are by no means limited or "locked out" of medical school. At the same time your reason FOR medical school seems to be half hearted and the path is rough and littered with hoops to jump through. If you are interested in the medical field start with some physician shadowing. Avoid Ortho/Cards and pick some of the more day to day specialties like family/IM/EM/Peds etc. Also consider Chem1/Bio1 with labs and see how that load feels because it will only become heavier as you continue. You CAN do this but do you want to?

 

[coppernickel]

Hi folks,

I'd like to preface this post by stating that instead of already having my heart set on medical school, I am merely trying to test the waters. I have heard how insanely demanding the path to becoming a physician. Through my own journeys thus far, I think it's better to get informed before making big commitments like this.

Here's the TL;DR questions, below is the backstory.
1.) Am I foolish for wanting to become a physician as a result of being inspired by EMS? There is a lot of nay-say on these forums towards the relationship between EMS and becoming a physician.
2.) Considering my initial inspiration, what would be a good opportunity to get a full picture of the life of a physician? I mean something to compliment EMS.
3.) 3.25 undergrad GPA in Marine Transportation (BS). What kind of academic hole am I going to pull myself out of here if I were even to consider this path? What kind of odds am I against?
4.) Would it be foolish to have medical school as a long shot idea? I mean building my 'resume' only part time over the course of the next 5-6 years while working in my current industry.

Back when I was in high school I took an EMT class for the weighted credit and it turned out to be the most fun I would have in all four years. The class was year long and not only meant to give us certs but to introduce us to health care. Instead of ride-alongs we would do shadowing and hospital rotations. Before that course I had never considered health care work a possibility, let alone becoming a physician. But nonetheless it became a distant fantasy of mine. I loved the medical aspect of the course and the patient interaction however short, was quite rewarding.

I was not a great high school student (3.0) and I rightfully ruled it out as a possibility when considering college. I decided for one reason or another that I would go to a state Maritime Academy. I definitely improved as a student during my college years but due to varying circumstances, only finished with a 3.25. Throughout college I spent some time here and there involved in EMS, but because it was difficult to draw a line between Maritime studies and the medical side of things, it was kept on the back burner.

Even when I was a freshman, the writing was on the walls. There is not much hope left for American shipping. While I can make things work in the short term, this career path wont be viable in the next 10-15 years. So long story short; I'm looking for an out. This career I'm in now can pay me nice money and give me lots of time off right now but in a few years, who knows what will happen? Why not bring my high school fantasy back?

My current situation: Waiting for a job which will give me temporary work for 5 months. Those 5 months of work is usually between 100k-70k before taxes. In the mean time I work 1-2 days a week at the docks for rent/food money and the rest of the time I do whatever I want. Currently getting involved in my town (just moved) volunteer ambulance and I may apply to be a PCT at a local hospital to earn some extra money on the side. Eventually I will be able to take extended deployments in the Navy (with a decent amount of my own discretion) to earn time towards the GI bill.

Sorry for the short novel but thanks for reading.

Just to answer questions 1 and 2, nope and go be an ED technician. It's basically nurse aide stuff but you are more involved in the team. You will learn the hospital process so much better than being an EMT. Some places have you start IVs. What you get out of it and how much you find out about physician life/job depends on the hospital environment and you. Apply everywhere local, talk to people and find out where you can get the best experience. But it is a lot of manual labor, and a lot of being at the bottom of the food chain. Oh and some people will think you shouldn't go right ahead and apply to Med school (i.e. Be a nurse, PA, x ray tech, etc).