Getting My Feet Wet

[tarot]

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Because I didn't want to hijack the thread New Lawyer Considering Career Change, I thought I'd start a new one along the same vein.

I'm in somewhat of a similar situation as the OP in that thread (s/he is a newly minted lawyer considering a career in medicine). I'm in my final year of law school and have been volunteering in the ER for a few months now (which I love and look forward to every week!). By the time I start my pre-reqs next year, I'll have been volunteering twice a week for eight or nine months. I have a job lined up in contract compliance (J.D. preferred, but no bar passage required) so I'll have graduated from law school but I won't actually be an attorney.

When I apply during the 2019/2020 cycle, I'll have been out of school for three or four years, hopefully volunteering and shadowing at my local med center throughout that time. Is the fact that I started this non-trad pre-med process before I even finished law school a major concern? I don't think I'll hate alternative careers, but I really do love going into the hospital every week to volunteer and I can't wait to learn more skills to be of more help.

Will admins think I haven't given law "enough" of a try or will my eight or nine months of volunteering prior to starting pre-reqs demonstrate that I have thought seriously about this and am not just drifting from career to career and degree to degree? Is the fact that I don't intend to practice law another serious concern?

Is there anything else I can do to demonstrate that I'm serious about this and not just flighty?

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

I'm just a fellow nontrad applicant so feel free to take everything I say with a grain of salt. 😉

I think the best thing you can do to show med schools that you're serious and committed to a career in medicine is to gain more experience during your post-bacc years. Definitely keep volunteering but also try to shadow MDs/DOs in as many different specialties/settings as you can. Volunteering is awesome but med schools will probably also want to see that you have some understanding of what being a physician actually entails. Volunteering alone doesn't always give you that. (Although patient contact is equally important)

I think as long as you can demonstrate WHY you want to be a doctor and show evidence that you've explored the field, you'll be fine. If you're still interested in law, there are definitely ways to combine your knowledge/experience in that area with medicine, too. But if not, don't feel obligated to keep that up. Some of us take a more circuitous route to medical school and I think, ultimately, it makes for more diverse and interesting doctors.

 

[Goro]

Just continue with the volunteering and start shadowing different doctors.