How do I get over the intimidation factor?

[dreamofmd9807]

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Hi everyone,
I am at a crossroad and am needing some advice or maybe even looking for some encouragement from fellow nontrads. I have always wanted to be a physician. Since I'm a nontrad, it's led me to look at alternatives to medicine because I need a for sure route to a good job. I have a family that depends on me. Med school is not guaranteed and it's intimidating to even try because so many fail to get in. I have a choice to make and I'm struggling. I have an acceptance to nursing school to take a route to NP. In my heart I know I want to go to med school but a lack of confidence to make it keeps me from trying. I have spoken to a university to figure out an undergrad route because I only have an associates degree. I thought getting a BA in Chem would be good. I was told it would take me 3 years to finish a bachelors. My fear is having to get all A's to be competitive. I feel like I'm a decent student. I've never had below a B but that's at a community college. I know a major university is going to be a lot harder to get A's. How do other nontrads do it? Orgo, biochem, biology all have me shaking in my boots. I want it so bad but I don't know if it's possible. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

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[Robin-jay]

1. Change your profile pic
2. If you want to get a bachelors in chemistry, then that's fine. However expect a lower GPA than 4.0.
3. The only person in my class that earned a 4.0 GPA went to Harvard medical school
4. If you want to be a physician, then enroll and get to it!

 

[de Ribas]

Hi everyone,

I am at a crossroad and am needing some advice or maybe even looking for some encouragement from fellow nontrads. I have always wanted to be a physician. Since I'm a nontrad, it's led me to look at alternatives to medicine because I need a for sure route to a good job. I have a family that depends on me. Med school is not guaranteed and it's intimidating to even try because so many fail to get in. I have a choice to make and I'm struggling. I have an acceptance to nursing school to take a route to NP. In my heart I know I want to go to med school but a lack of confidence to make it keeps me from trying. I have spoken to a university to figure out an undergrad route because I only have an associates degree. I thought getting a BA in Chem would be good. I was told it would take me 3 years to finish a bachelors. My fear is having to get all A's to be competitive. I feel like I'm a decent student. I've never had below a B but that's at a community college. I know a major university is going to be a lot harder to get A's. How do other nontrads do it? Orgo, biochem, biology all have me shaking in my boots. I want it so bad but I don't know if it's possible. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using SDN mobile

If it is real pic of you, change it.

I thought getting a BA in Chem

most likely BS degree.

I was told it would take me 3 years to finish a bachelors.

Most likely 3 years, yes.

My fear is having to get all A's to be competitive.

No need to get all A's. Don't worry about that. You will do fine. A lot of people have some kind of fears, especially starting something big and unknown. Start piece by piece and you will be less stressed about it. Research about paths to medicine here on SDN. There are a lot of good stories. People come from various backgrounds and situations. You just need to learn as much as you can about the path and start this journey.

Orgo, biochem, biology all have me shaking in my boots.

I didn't find Biochem and biology courses to be very hard, though Orgo was challenging for me.

I want it so bad but I don't know if it's possible.

It is definitely possible.

I have an acceptance to nursing school to take a route to NP.

This route is also a great option.

 

[wholeheartedly]

watch some Khan Academy or other free videos on the subjects, just so you have an idea what you're getting yourself into.

One nice thing about now vs when I was in undergrad is the immense amount of online free help you can get if something isn't making sense. Of course use free tutors, course TAs, profs office hours if you're struggling, but it sure is nice to be able to sort something out at home on the computer at the time

 

[Jasmine2022]

Everyone's story is unique, which is especially true for us non-trads. This question of NP versus MD/DO is really only one you can answer. What is it about MD/DO that makes you want it more than Nurse/NP? Can you commit to 10+ years of training, likely with minimal-to-no income for most of that time? Are you willing to extend that time to take a lighter course-load if need be due to family/financial/other obligations? It's important to address these difficult questions before committing to the physician path.

Good grades and a nursing school acceptance suggest that you are likely capable of doing well in the medical pre-requisite sciences. All A's are NOT required (I am 36 and have two acceptances with an overall 3.75 GPA and a fair share of B's in my science coursework). I transferred from community college to University, and cannot say that I found university science coursework more difficult (sometimes it was easier, and I believe my university GPA is actually higher than my CC GPA when you break them apart). I loved most of my bio classes, hated most of physics, organic was challenging, but it was the key to getting to biochemistry (which I was passionately looking forward to and not disappointed!) and I got through it successfully with a little focus and hard work. GPA and MCAT are important, but they aren't everything. Will you have time to commit to volunteering/shadowing/research alongside your undergrad studies and family?

It absolutely can be done - I've read people's stories here and personally know many non-trads with varied backgrounds well on their way to becoming excellent physicians. I had an unsuccessful cycle last year, and this year received an acceptance on the very first day I could as a Texas applicant.

If you are as determined as you say you are, you will likely find a way to succeed in medicine. While I want to be your cheerleader, tell you to go for it, and provide as much positive support as I can, you have to address the source of your confidence issues. And that's going to take gathering knowledge about the process and having some really honest, in-depth conversations with yourself and relevant family members.

Feel free to PM me with any questions, and best of luck to you in whichever path you choose! You'll do great! 🙂

 

[Skiiiiiing]

Getting A's is the easy part. The MCAT is a little harder.

The interviews...are a ball of joy.

 

[RNthenDoc]

Nursing is a calling and I would not pursue it unless you know you want to be a nurse.

If you know you want to be a doctor, go for it! Totally doable.

 

[Blanky]

1. Pick a major you enjoy and take the prereqs as your electives.
2. Be confident in yourself
3. Once your bachelors is nearly complete you will have a better grasp of your options. ie fast track BSN, PA, NP, Dental, MD/DO the list is long and you may not even know what you like yet. Shadow professions and find a passion.

 

[operaman]

I think many of us have had similar feelings standing at the precipice of this whole endeavor. I’ll share my thoughts as a non trad coming into the home stretch of this thing.

1) know thyself. What do you want? What kind of doc do you want to be? What sort of practice do you envision? These answers may evolve, but non trads have that invaluable knowledge of what “day in and day out” really means and it can help us make some big decisions early. If you envision yourself a surgeon, then your path is pretty clear. If you’re thinking primary care, there are multiple routes to get there. If you aren’t sure, this is a great reason to shadow and see what feels right. Think less about the letters after your name and more about what you want your day to day to be. Even now as a resident, this is something I wrestle with on a daily basis as I make decisions about my career. I feel like in medicine you can have anything you want, but not everything you want. Guess that applies to lots of areas.

1.1) what kind of student are you? I don’t think there’s any appreciable difference in difficulty between schools. It’s not like some schools teach some super secret version of orgo. In the end, it’s a function of how good your professor is and how good a student you are. You must have some idea of how well you perform academically. Assume future classes will be kinda like past ones.

2) Utilize all the resources at your disposal. The pre-reqs really aren't that hard despite all the stories to the contrary. If you treat them like a job and put in the time, you'll do fine. There is nothing terribly mysterious or incomprehensible about any of the subjects. I did a lot of self-teaching using Khan academy and did well on the MCAT before even taking an actual science class; the free resources out there are truly remarkable. If I were in your shoes, I would use outside sources to help pre-read for coursework so you go in already familiar. I always found this pretty much guaranteed an A since class time was spent reinforcing rather than learning anew.

3) Of all the pre-reqs, I think Bio is probably the toughest simply because it covers a broad swath of information in minimal detail, yet allows your professor to dive deeper anywhere they randomly feel like it. Chem and physics and orgo are more focused; bio touches on cell bio, molecular bio, micro, physio, orgo, biochem, etc.

4) Be mindful of your time. I feel like the application process sneaks up on undergrads, even non trads. Plan your coursework so that you submit your AMCAS application June 1 before your senior year. Figure out timing for classes and MCAT based off that.

My personal 0.02 would be that if you're really envisioning yourself doing primary care, then do the NP route. I don't think the day to day is very different between that and an MD PCP even if the training is different. It's hard to argue with shaving 4+ years off the whole training process and ending up in basically the same place. If you envision a practice that you can only get via the MD, then go all in and do it. Treat it like a job with job-like hours. Utilize your resources, including the people on this forum as we all frequently help each other.

 

[LUCPM]

Where I work, FM trained physicians often do both inpatient and outpatient work as well as OB, so there is a difference between NP and MD/DO route, if you later change your mind and broaden your scope of practice.

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[AnotherLawyer]

Hi everyone,
I am at a crossroad and am needing some advice or maybe even looking for some encouragement from fellow nontrads. I have always wanted to be a physician. Since I'm a nontrad, it's led me to look at alternatives to medicine because I need a for sure route to a good job. I have a family that depends on me. Med school is not guaranteed and it's intimidating to even try because so many fail to get in. I have a choice to make and I'm struggling. I have an acceptance to nursing school to take a route to NP. In my heart I know I want to go to med school but a lack of confidence to make it keeps me from trying. I have spoken to a university to figure out an undergrad route because I only have an associates degree. I thought getting a BA in Chem would be good. I was told it would take me 3 years to finish a bachelors. My fear is having to get all A's to be competitive. I feel like I'm a decent student. I've never had below a B but that's at a community college. I know a major university is going to be a lot harder to get A's. How do other nontrads do it? Orgo, biochem, biology all have me shaking in my boots. I want it so bad but I don't know if it's possible. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using SDN mobile

You do not have to major in one of the sciences. If you really want to pursue an MD/DO rather than NP, I recommend you complete your bachelors degree in something that interests you and makes you employable if med school doesn't work out. Knock out the pre-reqs and all the other premed stuff while completing your BA/BS. If you do well and still want to do medicine, great. If you don't do well or no longer wish to pursue medicine, you'll have an alternate career path available to you.