How to handle a glide year?

[girlsporty]

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Hi everyone,

I've been reading your posts with great interest, I'm glad to have found this site!

I'm finishing up one of those (dis)advantageous MS degrees in Exercise Science -- Applied Physiology. I'll be done with coursework this fall and will technically graduate in May. I have a short internship to complete (3 credits) which I plan to do in the winter, while studying for the MCATs in April. Great! So what's left? Well, I'd love to work as an Exercise Physiologist during my glide year, but have been roundly informed by various premedical advisors that this is not medical. Will it be enough to continue volunteering in medicine throughout this application year?

If not, anyone have some ideas on good ways to spend this year (aside from more school)? I'm 26, without ties to my local area, and think this is probably the last time I'll have this kind of choice without obligation.

Thanks for any help you may provide.

 

[girlsporty]

I'm a speech-language pathologist - it's considered medical by my pre-med advisor due to working in hospital/nursing home settings with direct inpatient contact and physician contact. Sure, it's an allied health branch (so is nursing!), but I believe that mmed schools will look at exercise phys as medical if you do it in the right setting.

If you decide to continue volunteering, that would probably be ok too! If I were in your position, and my GPA was good, and I ended up doing well on the MCAT, I would work a little and travel as much as I could afford.

If you are ever at odds about advice from your adivsor, just ask the med schools you want to apply to the same question. That's where it really counts!

Good luck! Keep us posted.

Thanks so much, good advice!

My GPA will be good but not great becuase I had one bad semester (2.2) due to illness a while back but consistent good grades (3.4-3.8) every other semester. I'm working with my premed advisor to figure out how to calculate science GPA becuase physiology et al is a grey area. Everyone's got a story, eh?

 

[jawicobike]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading your posts with great interest, I'm glad to have found this site!

I'm finishing up one of those (dis)advantageous MS degrees in Exercise Science -- Applied Physiology. I'll be done with coursework this fall and will technically graduate in May. I have a short internship to complete (3 credits) which I plan to do in the winter, while studying for the MCATs in April. Great! So what's left? Well, I'd love to work as an Exercise Physiologist during my glide year, but have been roundly informed by various premedical advisors that this is not medical. Will it be enough to continue volunteering in medicine throughout this application year?

If not, anyone have some ideas on good ways to spend this year (aside from more school)? I'm 26, without ties to my local area, and think this is probably the last time I'll have this kind of choice without obligation.

Thanks for any help you may provide.

I think your premed advisor is wrong. Exercise physiology may not be considered strictly medical, but a year working as an exercise physiologist (depending on what exactly you are doing) would be much more worthwhile than a year of volunteering at hospitals (doing menial tasks) in an attemp to pad an application. If you have an interest in Sports medicine, and allude to such in you personal statement, the exercise physiology year would serve you well and would look great on your applications.

The best of both worlds would be if you could get a job at an orthopedic hospital as an exercise physiologist. I had a classmate who did this a few years back and it worked out great for him.

 

[girlsporty]

Really?? It seems everywhere I turn, that Exercise Physiology is looked down upon by those in positions to give "medical" advice. I'd be thrilled to be in a, for example, cardiac rehab facility. I might not have the experience level to do it. Corporate fitness is more likely. Gotta try, though! But your story about your classmate was the first time I've ever heard anything like this. Thanks again!

I work at a gym part-time teaching spinning and as a personal trainer (in addition to being a TA). But I just volunteered to get involved with a new program about diabetes wellness -- how terrific?! It incorporates case-specific exercise prescription on top of individual diet counseling and other disease-related education. People essentially receive super-inexpensive personal training and nutrition consultations. They come to special group and individual exercise sessions 2-3x a week as well. It's programs like this one that just get me so excited!! Incorporating exercise and diet into pharmacotherapy and traditional disease management. Very cool. Oh yes, it is run in conjunction with a medical group. This also focuses on type II diabetes, I forgot to mention. (exercise increases insulin sensitivity over the short and long term by different mechanisms)

 

[efex101]

I think that if you were to get something in a cardiac rehab or weight management clinic or something of that nature it would be much better than the corporate fitness. I think adcoms would see more value in those...but you have to do what you have to do. You could also start your own program at X or Y club, just come up with some proposal and ask. I have many friends that are exercise science majors that have done this and most health facilities are eager for something like this. You may not make a lot of $$ but it will be rewarding and engaging.

 

[LT2]

IMO, if you can relate whatever it is to medicine, i don't think you'll have a problem! if you are working with cardiac rehab, the medical implications are obvious. if you work in corporate fitness, you can relate it to the preventative side of medicine...

i don't think there's any "wrong" thing to do, and you could always supplement whatever you are doing with a volunteer spot that's more medically related for a couple hours a week. we all have to make a living doing something in the glide year and why not put the skills we currently have to use?? most likely, i'll be working in a microbial genetics lab for the (hopeful) glide year. while the medical implications might not be immediately obvious, i can definitely relate what i'll be doing to my future as a physician.

sorry for the rant, just my $0.02 🙄

 

[kimt2234]

IMO, if you can relate whatever it is to medicine, i don't think you'll have a problem! if you are working with cardiac rehab, the medical implications are obvious. if you work in corporate fitness, you can relate it to the preventative side of medicine...

i don't think there's any "wrong" thing to do, and you could always supplement whatever you are doing with a volunteer spot that's more medically related for a couple hours a week. we all have to make a living doing something in the glide year and why not put the skills we currently have to use?? most likely, i'll be working in a microbial genetics lab for the (hopeful) glide year. while the medical implications might not be immediately obvious, i can definitely relate what i'll be doing to my future as a physician.

sorry for the rant, just my $0.02 🙄

You know this is a confusing one for me too. Since my undergrad and graduate degree are in psychology I worked as mental health specialist for two years on the child and adolescent psychiatric unit, in constant contact with patients, nurses, ot's, rt's, nurses, nursse managers, psychiatrists, social workers, med students, fellowes, etc. And I was told by the assistant dean of admission for the state medical school that I needed to do some work on a medical unit, didn't matter what I did, but just physically being present there was good enough?! I planned on doing this anyway but the fact that I worked in a hospital for two years, had my own patients, had to get certified as a nursing assistant to get the job, I feel like it is being looked down upon as something that doesn't have anything to do with medicine. Last time I checked, psychiatrists are MD's and we all will have to do a clinical rotation in psych as med students?!? Any feedback on this one?

 

[efex101]

Well, if the schools that you ARE applying to think that way..then you have to play by their rules although they may seem stupid. Unless you are willing to not apply there...that is why CALL the schools or email them about your questions...they are usually pretty nice about answering..no matter what WE think or assume it means nothing, you need to ask them for they will be the ones holding your application and seeing if you are a fit for their school.

 

[pingouin]

You know this is a confusing one for me too. Since my undergrad and graduate degree are in psychology I worked as mental health specialist for two years on the child and adolescent psychiatric unit, in constant contact with patients, nurses, ot's, rt's, nurses, nursse managers, psychiatrists, social workers, med students, fellowes, etc. And I was told by the assistant dean of admission for the state medical school that I needed to do some work on a medical unit, didn't matter what I did, but just physically being present there was good enough?! I planned on doing this anyway but the fact that I worked in a hospital for two years, had my own patients, had to get certified as a nursing assistant to get the job, I feel like it is being looked down upon as something that doesn't have anything to do with medicine. Last time I checked, psychiatrists are MD's and we all will have to do a clinical rotation in psych as med students?!? Any feedback on this one?

interesting that the assoc. dean said that.... I've had concerns about exactly what you describe. I'm very close in education to you- BSSW, MSW/LCSW and specialize in mental health. I've got 7+ years experience including, among other things, 2 years psych/CD intakes which had me in the EDs and ICUs of the 5 hospitals in our system for about 75% of my working hours. after leaving my FT job and starting a private practice, I tried to go back to the hospitals and get something more med/surg to help give me what looks like more "well-rounded" medical experience, only to be told by 4 different hospitals that I wasn't qualified b/c "you have no hospital experience". wtf? what about those 2 years? finally someone took a chance (luckily, a children's hospital affiliated with my med school of choice) and I started 3 weeks ago.

long story short- if people within our field have the attitude that "psych is not medical enough", then non-psych preconceived notions (such as your dean's) may be even harder to fight. I've accumulated a tremendous amount of non-psych medical knowledge over the years (vital sign issues, medications, side effects, med interactions, medical issues that present as "psych" until labs and tests are completed... and on..), but it's hard to quantify how much you've learned while in an interview.

 

[kimt2234]

interesting that the assoc. dean said that.... I've had concerns about exactly what you describe. I'm very close in education to you- BSSW, MSW/LCSW and specialize in mental health. I've got 7+ years experience including, among other things, 2 years psych/CD intakes which had me in the EDs and ICUs of the 5 hospitals in our system for about 75% of my working hours. after leaving my FT job and starting a private practice, I tried to go back to the hospitals and get something more med/surg to help give me what looks like more "well-rounded" medical experience, only to be told by 4 different hospitals that I wasn't qualified b/c "you have no hospital experience". wtf? what about those 2 years? finally someone took a chance (luckily, a children's hospital affiliated with my med school of choice) and I started 3 weeks ago.

long story short- if people within our field have the attitude that "psych is not medical enough", then non-psych preconceived notions (such as your dean's) may be even harder to fight. I've accumulated a tremendous amount of non-psych medical knowledge over the years (vital sign issues, medications, side effects, med interactions, medical issues that present as "psych" until labs and tests are completed... and on..), but it's hard to quantify how much you've learned while in an interview.

this is true. It is very frustrating because one of the reasons I want to become a doctor (not sure what kind yet) is because I truly believe in evaluating and treating the whole person (mental, emotional, and physical well-being) because if their is anything I have learned from my psych acdemic, work, and volunteer experience it is that there is a strong connection between the mind and the body. Since I have such a good base for the mental and emotional part of the human experience, I want to expand that knowledge and treatment into the physiological realm to aid "whole" person quality of service to people. In addition, there should be just as much emphasis on getting some volunteer or work experience that includes medical and psychological training. Maybe I am the only one who feels that strongly about it....

 

[pingouin]

this is true. It is very frustrating because one of the reasons I want to become a doctor (not sure what kind yet) is because I truly believe in evaluating and treating the whole person (mental, emotional, and physical well-being) because if their is anything I have learned from my psych acdemic, work, and volunteer experience it is that there is a strong connection between the mind and the body. Since I have such a good base for the mental and emotional part of the human experience, I want to expand that knowledge and treatment into the physiological realm to aid "whole" person quality of service to people. In addition, there should be just as much emphasis on getting some volunteer or work experience that includes medical and psychological training. Maybe I am the only one who feels that strongly about it....

I'm with you! I think people truly underestimate the role of physical health on mental health and vice versa. I had a pediatrician once tell me- "I don't work with ADHD." Hate to tell you this- but if you're a pediatrician, yes you do. I used to work in managed care as a psych case manager, and our health plans reported that somewhere around 80-90% of psychotropic meds that they paid for were prescribed by the PCPs, and (sorry, no link to support this) my understanding is that this is the norm. It's nice to see that IM, FP, OB, and peds are trying to treat the patients for continuity of care and referring out to psych when the symptoms or behaviors are outside of their scope of practice. Hopefully the trend will continue.

As far as the volunteer experiences you mention- I think finding something in a psych-related field could be great for a lot of people (not all). Examples in my city include a suicide hotline staffed by volunteers, and domestic violence shelters which need staffing. Both provide extensive training to volunteers, and are a great way to 1) learn about the human experience from a really diverse group of people, which may change how you think about things, 2) learn how to show compassion (even if you have to fake it sometimes), 3) learn how choices in wording can really make a difference in your interactions, and 4) use all of this to work on building that bedside manner that people complain so many doctors don't have. If an opportunity like this is available for people, I'd HIGHLY recommend it. Also the peds hospital I work for now has volunteers staffing the play rooms for the patients (and I think they let the sibs in there too if they're in for a visit). Another great opportunity for patient interaction.

any other non-trads coming from a behavioral health background? just curious about your experiences and whether psychiatry is your goal, or another specialty..