It Can Be Done!!!!

[burntcrispy]

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Hi Everyone,

I have only posted here a couple of times but thought I would share my experinece. I started the non-trad applicant process 8 yrs ago and have just found out that I matched into Anesthesiology for my residency.
I had previously been an RN for 6 yrs before attending medical school. I came back from a low GPA, retook alot of classes, had people (even med school programs) doubting that I would make into med school, worked full time, etc.

Well, just wanted to tell you guys to hold your heads up and follow your goal if it is truely what you want to do. For the past few years every day that I've driven to medical school for either classes or clinical rotations I've thought how lucky and thankful I am for being able to go to medical school. For me it was well worth all of the hard work and stress of the non-trad application process.

One more thing, take the doubters with a grain of salt. As an non-trad and especially an RN I would always hear how schools don't want non-trads and especially those that come from other medicine related diciplines. I was coming from a lower GPA from undergrad. Like some of you I'm sure, I didn't know what I wanted to do first time around and wasn't as committed. I retook alot of classes that I already had to bring up my grades and studied very hard. After my first year of pre-med classes I took a trip to a medical school in TX that I was interested in. I spoke with a woman in admissions there and she told me that I pretty much had no chance to attend med school and that I should work on a masters or something to even give me a sliver of hope. I was devistated for a while but I just stuck with taking the pre-med requirments and held my head up. 3 years later I got accepted to that SAME medical school and had interviews at many of the other places I applied. Unfortunately I couldn't remember exactly who I had spoken with on that dark day because I would really like to have given her a piece of my mind after being accepted. 🙂

Well, good luck guys. Keep your nose in the books and a positive attitude. IT CAN BE DONE!!!

 

[theraball]

Hi Everyone,

I have only posted here a couple of times but thought I would share my experinece. I started the non-trad applicant process 8 yrs ago and have just found out that I matched into Anesthesiology for my residency.
I had previously been an RN for 6 yrs before attending medical school. I came back from a low GPA, retook alot of classes, had people (even med school programs) doubting that I would make into med school, worked full time, etc.

Well, just wanted to tell you guys to hold your heads up and follow your goal if it is truely what you want to do. For the past few years every day that I've driven to medical school for either classes or clinical rotations I've thought how lucky and thankful I am for being able to go to medical school. For me it was well worth all of the hard work and stress of the non-trad application process.

One more thing, take the doubters with a grain of salt. As an non-trad and especially an RN I would always hear how schools don't want non-trads and especially those that come from other medicine related diciplines. I was coming from a lower GPA from undergrad. Like some of you I'm sure, I didn't know what I wanted to do first time around and wasn't as committed. I retook alot of classes that I already had to bring up my grades and studied very hard. After my first year of pre-med classes I took a trip to a medical school in TX that I was interested in. I spoke with a woman in admissions there and she told me that I pretty much had no chance to attend med school and that I should work on a masters or something to even give me a sliver of hope. I was devistated for a while but I just stuck with taking the pre-med requirments and held my head up. 3 years later I got accepted to that SAME medical school and had interviews at many of the other places I applied. Unfortunately I couldn't remember exactly who I had spoken with on that dark day because I would really like to have given her a piece of my mind after being accepted. 🙂

Well, good luck guys. Keep your nose in the books and a positive attitude. IT CAN BE DONE!!!

Hi, Burnt Crispy,

Glad to hear you made it.

Don't take what she said too personally; I think it's a reflexive response. I've heard physicians tell me not to do it, family and friends question my judgement (and sanity), and adcom people say I have no chance. It's the easiest thing to say, and your task then becomes to prove them wrong by keeping faith in yourself and your goals.

I find it ironic that older medical school candidates are considered to be unrealistic about their goals, while 19-year-olds who go premed are considered to be doing "the right thing" despite a lack of life experience and little concept of what they are getting into (in most cases).

A significant number of traditional path med students and residents experience depression and other pathologies such as drug/alcohol abuse and it seems to come from a poor understanding of what they were getting into.

Non-trad applicants who have had years to learn what they want to do, have done all the research, and have surmounted many obstacles seem less likely to fall into these holes, though they may find the academics more challenging. Rural medicine is getting a significant number of non-trad practitioners, which suggests a level of motivation to practice medicine "wherever" that is not being seen among traditional path grads.

A lot of admissions people haven't recognized these trends so don't take it too personally when you run into one! Good luck,

Therapy Ball

 

[JamieMac]

Hi Everyone,

I have only posted here a couple of times but thought I would share my experinece. I started the non-trad applicant process 8 yrs ago and have just found out that I matched into Anesthesiology for my residency.
...Well, just wanted to tell you guys to hold your heads up and follow your goal if it is truely what you want to do. ...Well, good luck guys. Keep your nose in the books and a positive attitude. IT CAN BE DONE!!!

Great story!!! Thanks for sharing and good luck.

 

[MollyMalone]

Congrats burntcrispy!!

Thanks for taking the time to post your story and encouragement. Best of luck to you in residency!

 

[mshheaddoc]

Congrats burntcrispy!!

Thanks for taking the time to post your story and encouragement. Best of luck to you in residency!

DITTO! Its nice to hear that those who make mistakes in their past can try to correct them and eventually (with perserverance) obtain their dreams!

 

[psychRN]

Hey, I really appreciate you sharing your story. Sometimes when you are down on your luck, God will send someone to give you a big dose of hope. I am proud of you. Keep up the good work. It's good to know that it is still possible after a what seems a lifetime of mess ups 😳

 

[TacoStand]

Thanks for sharing your story. Its awesome! SDN can be a little discouraging at times, so its refreshing to see someone who has perservered and succeeded.

 

[chopstick1]

great story! I went through the exact same thing, it must be something with nursing! I am an RN of 8 yrs, military vet, and about to start. I had multiple set backs with medical problems, gpa, mcat, grades, people saying it was impossible and all that goes along with it. you just gotta keep driving on despite the set backs and keep the dream alive. It definitely can be done!!! good luck in your career!!

 

[Gatewayhoward]

Many people, even doctors tell me to just go the PA route. I don't listen to them. My uncle's doctor was an RN like you who went the same path. Some premed students have been telling me that slowly but surely, older, experienced applicants are begining to become in demand.

 

[Polynikes]

It only makes sense to me to accept older, more worldly candidates. I mean hey, some kid who is 20 and applying to med school because his father is a physician has no idea what he wants to do for THE REST OF HIS LIFE!

Know how long THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IS?

Older people have worked, had children maybe, taken some years off and matured through military experience or whatever else, and then decided to go back to school while working and paying their own bills...

No comparison in my opinion...

 

[chopstick1]

great opinion!

 

[lillace]

Thanks for posting this! I needed the encouragement. Do you remember what your gpa was when you graduated college? Mine's a 2.94, and people are telling me the same thing.... I'm not sure if I am too far gone or not 🙁

 

[kelli]

Thanks for posting this! I needed the encouragement. Do you remember what your gpa was when you graduated college? Mine's a 2.94, and people are telling me the same thing.... I'm not sure if I am too far gone or not

I've done a lot of searching on these boards about low gpa's and I can tell you that it's definitely doable. I remember reading about a non-trad student that got into an allo. school with a 2.65 or so. You haven't completed the med. school prereqs yet so taking a postbac will help a lot provided you can do well in your classes. I saw you post in another thread that you were afraid DO schools were your only chance and you weren't sure even they'd take you... Score high on the MCATs (30+), get extremely involved in research/clinical activities, and apply to a wide range of schools (allo & DO), and I honestly think you could have a good shot. Just remember that since your GPA is your weakness, do everything you can to make the rest of your application look amazing -- good luck. 🙂

 

[oldpro]

I agree, I'm older and really focused (When not on the boards) I know the rest of my life I want to be a Doc I will never post "Why are we doing this?" here.

 

[lillace]

I've done a lot of searching on these boards about low gpa's and I can tell you that it's definitely doable. I remember reading about a non-trad student that got into an allo. school with a 2.65 or so. You haven't completed the med. school prereqs yet so taking a postbac will help a lot provided you can do well in your classes. I saw you post in another thread that you were afraid DO schools were your only chance and you weren't sure even they'd take you... Score high on the MCATs (30+), get extremely involved in research/clinical activities, and apply to a wide range of schools (allo & DO), and I honestly think you could have a good shot. Just remember that since your GPA is your weakness, do everything you can to make the rest of your application look amazing -- good luck. 🙂

Aww, thanks for that reply. "I think I can, I think I can..." just what I needed.

 

[Wickedgood]

After my first year of pre-med classes I took a trip to a medical school in TX that I was interested in. I spoke with a woman in admissions there and she told me that I pretty much had no chance to attend med school and that I should work on a masters or something to even give me a sliver of hope. I was devistated for a while but I just stuck with taking the pre-med requirments and held my head up. 3 years later I got accepted to that SAME medical school and had interviews at many of the other places I applied.

It is great to see that you made it, despite what your detractors thought! I sometimes get down because of the opinion of others - it is highly inspirational to see that not only did you prove them wrong, but you proved them wrong by being accepted TO THAT SCHOOL. Totally awesome 🙂

 

[LKat]

Hi,
I am currently an RN in the Pediatric ICU who decided mid-way through my nursing program (graduate-entry) that I wanted to go to med school. I already had a BS in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, but was not yet done with the pre-med requirements. So i took physics and o-chem at a community college at night and did a full-time accelerated nursing program during the day....I studied for the NCLEX and the MCAT at the same time 🙂
My decision was not well received by other RN's/classmates, and even some docs...and of course by those silly 19 year-old pre-meds who are oh-so-traditional(ha!) I was unsure if i should even waste my time and energy. However, I applied to about 20 schools, and had so many interviews i started turning them down after two acceptances by Oct. 15th. I interviewed at 6 schools, was accepted by 3 and waitlisted at 3 (outcomes still pending...) I will say, my nursing background only HELPED the interview process. If you know WHY you want to be a physician (who would think that would be a difficult question? apparently it is for some... go figure.) and can talk about health care issues, the interviews go so smoothly. Because I had so much to talk about with my nursing background, I never ever got one of those dumb theoretical "prisoner vs. old person on a transplant list" questions......It was so refreshing the way nursing was accepted by the adcom's.....
And, while i really love my job in the PICU, nursing was a stop on my journey, but not my end-point.
For all of you RN's who are thinking MD, dont be discouraged by negativity during the process, i have found half the time it comes out of jealousy and/or ignorance.
Hope this helps.

LKat
University of Rochester School of Medicine Class of 2010

 

[Law2Doc]

It only makes sense to me to accept older, more worldly candidates. I mean hey, some kid who is 20 and applying to med school because his father is a physician has no idea what he wants to do for THE REST OF HIS LIFE!

Know how long THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IS?

Older people have worked, had children maybe, taken some years off and matured through military experience or whatever else, and then decided to go back to school while working and paying their own bills...

No comparison in my opinion...

As all the career changers on this thread can attest -- the decision you make after college doesn't have to be the one folks stick to for the "rest of their lives". No reason to believe there won't be a few folks going from medicine to other disciplines down the road.

 

[billydoc]

Hi Everyone,

I have only posted here a couple of times but thought I would share my experinece. I started the non-trad applicant process 8 yrs ago and have just found out that I matched into Anesthesiology for my residency.
I had previously been an RN for 6 yrs before attending medical school. I came back from a low GPA, retook alot of classes, had people (even med school programs) doubting that I would make into med school, worked full time, etc.

Well, just wanted to tell you guys to hold your heads up and follow your goal if it is truely what you want to do. For the past few years every day that I've driven to medical school for either classes or clinical rotations I've thought how lucky and thankful I am for being able to go to medical school. For me it was well worth all of the hard work and stress of the non-trad application process.

One more thing, take the doubters with a grain of salt. As an non-trad and especially an RN I would always hear how schools don't want non-trads and especially those that come from other medicine related diciplines. I was coming from a lower GPA from undergrad. Like some of you I'm sure, I didn't know what I wanted to do first time around and wasn't as committed. I retook alot of classes that I already had to bring up my grades and studied very hard. After my first year of pre-med classes I took a trip to a medical school in TX that I was interested in. I spoke with a woman in admissions there and she told me that I pretty much had no chance to attend med school and that I should work on a masters or something to even give me a sliver of hope. I was devistated for a while but I just stuck with taking the pre-med requirments and held my head up. 3 years later I got accepted to that SAME medical school and had interviews at many of the other places I applied. Unfortunately I couldn't remember exactly who I had spoken with on that dark day because I would really like to have given her a piece of my mind after being accepted. 🙂

Well, good luck guys. Keep your nose in the books and a positive attitude. IT CAN BE DONE!!!

Hi Burntcrispy!
Wow! What a great story. You gave me so much hope!
I'm also an RN with almost 16 yrs 😱 , also got M.S. in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. But I was listening to all these doubters and Nay sayers way too much. Some of those who I really trusted convinced me to only apply to Caribbean schools, and don't even try in U.S because "you won't get in". So I applied and got accepted to ROSS, SABA, and SMU. I stuck with ROSS, but withdrew for now. All the ppl I've met over there tried and didn't get in in U.S. But only then I realized that I made such a huge, huge mistake, and gave up my chances at U.S med schools without even trying, because I'm non-trad, and it was supposed to be "quicker"

Thanks for sharing your story and the best of luck to you on this journey 🙂

 

[spo0kman]

How fantastic to hear this..

Since I was 14 years old, I've been focused on a career as a firefighter/paramedic. Now that I am one, and have been for the last 8 years, I realized its not enough, and my wife and I have talked and decided its time to take the step. I really had no idea there would be naysayers for non-traditionals. In addition to my fulltime fire/EMS job, I am a Fire/EMS instructor, and I see many students who come through straight from high school and headed straight to paramedic school after that without taking any time to gain real world experience. You can tell these medics in the field with little difficulty, they're the ones with little grasp on whats going on.

When we transport to the hospital, I see a similar parallel with doctors who go straight from high school to pre-med to med to residency. Thats not to say they're all bad, but I swear some times I wonder if they forgot to stop at the common sense tree when they were growing up.

I know without a doubt I'd be a fanstastic doctor, and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. Its good to know ahead of time that I'll meet resistance, the upside is I'm hard headed and won't listen to them anyhow 🙂

Congrats 🙂

 

[wook]

Hi Everyone,

I have only posted here a couple of times but thought I would share my experinece. I started the non-trad applicant process 8 yrs ago and have just found out that I matched into Anesthesiology for my residency.
I had previously been an RN for 6 yrs before attending medical school. I came back from a low GPA, retook alot of classes, had people (even med school programs) doubting that I would make into med school, worked full time, etc.

Well, just wanted to tell you guys to hold your heads up and follow your goal if it is truely what you want to do. For the past few years every day that I've driven to medical school for either classes or clinical rotations I've thought how lucky and thankful I am for being able to go to medical school. For me it was well worth all of the hard work and stress of the non-trad application process.

One more thing, take the doubters with a grain of salt. As an non-trad and especially an RN I would always hear how schools don't want non-trads and especially those that come from other medicine related diciplines. I was coming from a lower GPA from undergrad. Like some of you I'm sure, I didn't know what I wanted to do first time around and wasn't as committed. I retook alot of classes that I already had to bring up my grades and studied very hard. After my first year of pre-med classes I took a trip to a medical school in TX that I was interested in. I spoke with a woman in admissions there and she told me that I pretty much had no chance to attend med school and that I should work on a masters or something to even give me a sliver of hope. I was devistated for a while but I just stuck with taking the pre-med requirments and held my head up. 3 years later I got accepted to that SAME medical school and had interviews at many of the other places I applied. Unfortunately I couldn't remember exactly who I had spoken with on that dark day because I would really like to have given her a piece of my mind after being accepted. 🙂

Well, good luck guys. Keep your nose in the books and a positive attitude. IT CAN BE DONE!!!

Congrats burntcrispy!!

I would also add that don't let the age thing intimidate you either. I started med school at 36. The oldest feller in my class started med school at age 50. I'm glad I decided to finally apply and attend med school.


Wook