Getting into medical school and ortho

[duckhunter25]

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I am a sophomore in college right now and want to go into the medical field. Specifically I want go into orthopaedic spine surgery. Long story- I had back surgery in high school and have followed a surgeon(who has been very supportive and positive about the medical field) a couple times and this is what I want to do. I have made some very drastic changes in my life this year so that I can improve the chances of my success in the medical field. I gave up baseball even after playing in the cws as a freshman in order to focus on preparing myself for medical school and a career in medicine. I believe this shows my committment to a career in medicine. As of now I have joined a fraternity and volunteer at a local hospital in the orthopaedics department. I am also trying to get into the Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentoring program but have not signed up for that yet. This summer I am trying to get a job at university medical center in the orthopaedic surgery department and coaching high school summer baseball. What else can I or should I do to prepare myself to get into and succeed in medical school?


I have already have done one clinical and one surgery day with an orthopaedic spine surgeon where they were 10 and 11 hour days respectively. I know that clinical experience is very important. How would I go about getting more clinical experience and would being diverse in these experiences be good? Thank you in advance for any help you can provide

 

[asdf123]

I am a sophomore in college right now and want to go into the medical field. Specifically I want go into orthopaedic spine surgery. Long story- I had back surgery in high school and have followed a surgeon(who has been very supportive and positive about the medical field) a couple times and this is what I want to do. I have made some very drastic changes in my life this year so that I can improve the chances of my success in the medical field. I gave up baseball even after playing in the cws as a freshman in order to focus on preparing myself for medical school and a career in medicine. I believe this shows my committment to a career in medicine. As of now I have joined a fraternity and volunteer at a local hospital in the orthopaedics department. I am also trying to get into the Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentoring program but have not signed up for that yet. This summer I am trying to get a job at university medical center in the orthopaedic surgery department and coaching high school summer baseball. What else can I or should I do to prepare myself to get into and succeed in medical school?


I have already have done one clinical and one surgery day with an orthopaedic spine surgeon where they were 10 and 11 hour days respectively. I know that clinical experience is very important. How would I go about getting more clinical experience and would being diverse in these experiences be good? Thank you in advance for any help you can provide

Duckhunter...as you probably know, your focus at this point should be your grades. All the other stuff is nice if you have the time for it, and certainly extracurricular activities are looked upon favorably by med school admissions folks, but ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE is what will get you into medical school. And later on when you ARE in medical school, it is the same thing that will get you into an orthopedic residency. Don't get sidetracked by the other stuff.

It is way too early for you to be shadowing a spine surgeon in my opinion. At this point you really don't have the medical background for it to be worth your time. Certainly you want to maintain the relationship with the spine surgeon you've been working with. But I'm sure he would understand if you're busy with your academic work and can't shadow him. If you have time off, do stuff you enjoy! There is no need for you to shadow a spine surgeon this early!! Trust me on this. Plenty of time for that later.

It's a long road young grasshopper and you're at the beginning of it. Again, go one step at a time and don't get ahead of yourself. At this point, focus on your grades. In a year, it's the MCATs you have to ace. The formula is very simple.

 

[duckhunter25]

thanks for the insight

to clarify, I only shadowed the spine surgeon to see what it was like to know if I wanted to go into the medical field. I didn't get knowledge out of it but i was able to see what a work day is like as a surgeon. While watching the surgery I was at the head of the table so I had a good view of what was happening and on several occassions he let me come around and view directly into the opening and look at different parts of the spine. I wasn't learning spine surgery, although I had a good idea of what was going on, but it was a great experience for me to be right there during a surgery and to see what goes on in the OR.

I only ask about clinical experience because I went to a meeting with a member of the board of admissions from a university I want to go to and he mentioned that experience is a big part. Would having a family physician or someone more general to follow once every two weeks and have as a mentor be a good thing?


I also know grades are very important. I was expecting to redshirt last year and suddenly was thrown into the mix so my gpa suffered but already this semester I have raised my cumulative to a 3.2 so I have to keep grades as a priority to get that 3.5+

 

[sscooterguy]

I'm glad to see you are interested, but you really should concentrate on grades right now in my opinion. Will getting clinical experience help? Yes, but not exactly the way you think.

Many premeds think that clinical experience and extra cirriculars look good, and thats what helps them get into medical school. I think these activities do buff your CV. More importantly though, the insite that you gain, as well as your well founded and proven interest in medicine will show in your personal statement, secondaries, and interviews. I personally volunteered in pediatric cardiology, doing ekg's on infants, but I never specifically followed one doc, and I didn't get a letter of rec either. It would have been nice to get one, but the experience was what really mattered to me, and ultimately to the admissions committee.

My advice is to follow asdf123's advice, and concentrate on academic excellence right now. You can volunteer later after you increase your GPA. Worry about the MCAT when you get to that point, and not a minute sooner. Also, don't tell yourself you'll just make up for a bad GPA with an excellent MCAT, its much harder than it sounds. As for shadowing, I don't think it will matter what kind of doctor you shadow, as long as you like it and get a good letter of recommendation if you follow one person. Now if you happen to know someone that is known in the medical school at your institution (big name, dean, etc), that may help much more to work with them, but don't sweat it if you can't.

ssccooterguy

 

[Wahoos]

Hey Duckhunter,

I would suggest not quitting from baseball if you are on the varsity team. Playing 4 years of athletics in college will help you both in the medical school application and the orthopeics application process. People really like applicants who can function in a team setting and there is nothing better than having sports background on your apps. Given that you stay in Baseball, you still need to do very well academics. 3.2 is a little low, to be competitive, you need at least 3.5 to 3.7. If you can pull off a 3.5 with playin 4 years of baseball, then this will be fine. Also doing things that show your leadership skills will help, captain of the team, president of a club, etc. Alot of times, the committee looks at the depth of involvement and not how many ext cir things you have done. I will be more impressed if you have stuck with something for 10 years vs being on 20 different clubs.

About following a spine surgeon, it can help you alot if he is involved in a orthopedics residency program, esp if he is someone well known in the ortho world. Doing some research with him early, in college, will only help you when you apply later on. But the road ahead of you is long and hard, first you need to get into medical school.... this is not an easy thing. Then you need todo very well in med school, Step I, Clinical rotations, have the right connections, research, great letters, and good away rotations..... if all those factors are in your favor, you will likely get a spot in ortho..... however, I do know a few people that were applying with me for ortho last year with all those things, and did NOT match. It can happen. Orthopedics is getting very very competitive every year, and there are 100+ apps each year per spot at almost every program. And the unmatch rate for US seniors is around 25% each year, which is probably one of the highest unmatched rates, 2nd to maybe plastics surgery or derm.

Hope this helps

 

[duckhunter25]

I already stopped playing ball this fall. I know it would have been good for me to play 4 years because it would look good but I felt I could not do everything I wanted to do and still play baseball. College baseball at a top D1 program is much more than meets the eye. It is very difficult to play 5 days a week in the spring and be on the road for the first 2 months of spring and still go to class and make it to labs. It is difficult but possible. Not only that but during the summer we are sent out of state to live with host families to play all summer long too. My main reason for not playing baseball is so I have the time to do things like volunteer at the hospital, be involved with the community and just get into the medical field. I love the time I spend volunteering at the hospital and the opportunities I have to gain experience in the field of medicine. I did not want to look back in 2 years when I graduate from college and think of the reasons as to why I did not get accepted to medical school. I wanted to make my career in medicine the main priority in my life and if I expected to be competative in D1 baseball I could not put my academics first. This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made, but I have no regrets about my decision because it has allowed me to focus on grades and getting into the medical field which has become my passion in life.


I am not going to try and cover up a bad gpa with high mcat scores I am going to get the gpa. This fall I got a 3.7 so I am in the process of getting up to a 3.5 and above.


I will not lie, some nights I wish I would have not stopped playing. I miss the game very much and dream about going back. But when I think about the schedule and time committment I know it is almost impossible to play and expect to give myself a chance at medical school. Other sports like football do not even compare to the time committment and academic sacrifice baseball players endure. luckily most baseball players are not the brightest students so they don't have to worry about school

 

[bonedoctor]

Duckhunter,

I'm a fourth year orthopaedic resident with spine fellowship lined up.

I found your post interesting because you are, somewhat, taking a similar path as I did. I mostly agree with the above post and have little more to add.

I do think it's good to shadow a doctor at some point before making the enormous effort to apply to medical school. I shadowed an orthopod 4-5 times (who also had operated on me) and knew ortho was for me. Now, here I am a 4th year resident in ortho. Ortho is a BLAST and if you are mechanically minded at all then you will find this field full-filling.

With this said, it sounds like you have an up hill battle with a GPA of only 3.2.
Things that you need to do and that can help.

1. Increase the GPA (obviously)
2. Make your major something in science
- a science major (I had a biology major/chemistry minor) is basically to prepare for the MCAT, not to mention medical school
- not to say there are not english majors in medical school but this route is the best for doing well on the MCAT
3. Do well on the MCAT, lower GPA's look better with at 31 on the MCAT (or higher)
4. Get a job at a hospital
- this will show the applicant reviewers that you are serious about medicine and will also help you make sure medicine is what you want
- i was an ED technician for for years, in the ED you see it all and begin forming your likes and dislikes in the medical world
5. Get involved in some type of research, best if in science

With a low GPA, you need all the help you can get. GPA is important but so is being well rounded. If you can't get the GPA up then you will need to knock the MCAT out of the water. I was the reverse, only 25 on the MCAT but a 4.0 GPA from a difficult university. It's all about hard work. If you are dedicated, you will find the doors open much easier.

As far as questions concerning actual medical school and is ortho the place for you, its WAY to early for these. Worry about it once you get IN medical school. If you do get into medical school, remember one thing, keep an open mind during ALL rotations or you may miss out on something.


Good luck bud!

 

[duckhunter25]

my major is nurtition science.

My gpa is on the rise. If I keep up my work ethic like this past semester my cumulative gpa will be at a 3.4 at the end of sophomore year.

I will look into getting a job at a hospital and also continue to stay in touch with my surgeon I shadowed and try to find a few other doctors where I go to school at that I can shadow

 

[CameronFrye]

my major is nurtition science.

My gpa is on the rise. If I keep up my work ethic like this past semester my cumulative gpa will be at a 3.4 at the end of sophomore year.

I will look into getting a job at a hospital and also continue to stay in touch with my surgeon I shadowed and try to find a few other doctors where I go to school at that I can shadow

You have plenty of time to bring up your gpa. After my first year of college my gpa was something like a 2.8. I then decided I wanted to go to med school, so I stopped goofing off and I graduated with a 3.5. I think admissions committees look favorably upon applicants who have "seen the light" and their transcripts can show their newfound dedication.

 

[duckhunter25]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thats great because thats what I am doing, well in the process of.

thanks for all of the replies, they have been very supportive, helpful, and reassuring.

btw, I got a name of another orthopaedic surgeon, more of a general one, to shadow from the nurse I volunteer with 😀 😀 😀

When the time comes, would a letter from the nurse that I volunteer with be a good added letter of rec above and beyond the required. I am considering it because it would be a reference to show how well I interact with the patients since the nurses love how I so easily talk and have conversations with the patients as I do my work