Medical How do I switch from DPT to MD?

[Mr.Smile12]

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Hi, I’m currently a 3rd-semester first-year DPT student considering switching into an MD program. The purpose of this post is to gain advice on what and where I should focus to achieve my goal of being accepted into a medical program. At the moment, I have completed all prerequisite courses, but have yet to take the MCAT. I anticipate taking the MCAT in April of this year and have been studying 25 hours/week on top of my DPT course work. My first question is 1) is 25 hours/week across three months (Total: 300 hours) sufficient preparation to achieve a competitive MCAT score. My second question is 2) Based on the description of my experience and academies data given below, what type of experience (shadowing/volunteer/clinical experience/research) should I pursue and focus on. My third question is 3) Excluding the MCAT how competitive of an applicant would I be and what aspect of my application profile is weakest? My last and final question is 4) Will my experience and academic success (DPT GPA: 3.87) in DPT school be seen as a benefit to my application profile? I understand that the first part of question #3 is likely difficult to answer with a high degree of validity; I ask it more to elicit information on the weaker aspects of my application. Any feedback is appreciated.

The following is a synopsis of my academic information and experience:

• GPA
  • Cumulative Undergraduate AMCAS GPA: 3.78
  • Cumulative Undergraduate BCPM AMCAS GPA: 3.68
  • Cumulative Undergraduate AMCAS GPA Inc. Post Bac: 3.80
  • Cumulative Undergraduate AMCAS BCPM GPA Inc. Post Bac: 3.70
• Clinical Experience
  • Home Health Aide: ~1000 hours
  • Hospice Care: ~100 hours
  • EMT: ~150 hours
  • Student DPT: ~50 Hours in acute care
• Volunteer Experience
  • Volunteer EMT: ~100 hours
• Research
  • One semester’s worth: ~100 hours of experience
• Shadowing
  • DPT ~120 hours – not really relevant
  • Acute care DPT: ~25 hours – not really relevant
  • MD: 2 hours
• Kaplan Full-Length MCAT Practice Test
  • 500 - without study preparation

My opinion:

Most medical school admissions staff are very wary of people who drop out of other professional programs such as DPT, especially after just 1 year. It doesn't matter why usually... you chose a path and are apparently still not committed to it, so it doesn't make you look very favorable. I would always network first before I did anything.

Now if you completed your DPT and worked for a few years, you might be an interesting candidate for some schools but you would need to discover which ones, including DO programs.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the feedback. That is what I suspected. I've considered the path you mention and have not ruled it out as an option. I do not intend to drop the DPT program unless accepted to another program. Beyond networking, are there any other suggestions you have that could help compensate for the unfavorability of switching paths?

The other apparent deficiency is your shadowing. You have to do some MD/DO shadowing (like 50-100 hours at least). I'm not sure how in your current situation you can fit that in. You definitely will have a lot of PT shadowing, but MD/DO is going to be quite a different experience.

I know a few people who love being a PT and wouldn't exchange it for the lack of patient involvement that MD/DO has. You certainly can be the exception, but many med students and graduates are dissatisfied by how little patient interaction they really have early on in their education and training.

 

[MusicDOc124]

Applying while still in school suggests you want to leave. And will again reiterate above - dropping out of another professional program does not look good, and med schools will suspect you may drop out of theirs. You won't really convince them otherwise. In their eyes, you should have done your homework to know what you wanted to do before doing it.

Your best bet, especially now that you've got about a year under your belt, and would have another year for an app cycle anyway, then you only have 1-2 years left depending on your program length. At that point, you might as well finish. Because 1) see above, and 2) if the above happens, and you re-apply later, then now you're a re-applicant and you just paid for 2 sets of apps.

I work with a PMR resident who was a DPT first. She's an MD which is a little surprising considering her path from DPT to PMR physician, but nonetheless, if you like PT but want to be a physician, then you'd be well equipped from finishing PT, going DO, and heading for PMR where your PT education will be put to great use in addition to OMM from being a DO, and just being in PMR in general.

Good luck!