Lawyer to doctor postbac advice

[joelawyer]

Hey folks. I'm looking for recommendations for postbac options which would be suitable for me, and also some advice on how I can use the next few years (I am planning to apply to postbacs in 3-4 years) to strengthen my overall application. Thank you so much for any advice.

I am a young mid-twenties lawyer in corporate law at one of the big firms (think Suits). I was lucky that my legal education was free, and I want to take advantage of that flexibility by pursuing my other dream, which is med school.

My situation: grad from top 5 ugrad (if it matters), but no serious science in undergrad-- although I always got As in those like nonmajor science courses like general bio/astrophysics. I had a steady 3.7 but then my family had some drama in my last year and I finished with a 3.6.

I spent some time during law school as a STEM/AP tutor and I brushed up some of the basics. I took a practice MCAT to kind of gauge whether this is generally realistic, and it was promising.

I have strong extracurriculars including community service and running/sitting as a trustee of some midsized nonprofits (think local old lady type stuff) but nothing remotely medical. It's always been a dream.

Yes, I know I am insane. Feel free to tell me that but ... just realize I know it already. I know I am at the very beginning of this potential process.

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[hamiltonnyc]

Nothing crazy about it, the most common career changers that I see are from nursing, law, and tech.

Sounds like you know you should do a postbac, and you're gonna need clinical volunteering. Elite undergrad slightly helps with private schools. Community service is always good.

Do you have any particular questions? Did you want to work and take classes at night?

There are a bunch of former lawyers lurking around that might help with the law to med transition.

Edit: https://www.thejungdoc.com/about I think he lurks around here from time to time @jungdoc

 

[curbsideconsult]

Here are some relevant threads:

Law student wants to become med student

From law degree to med school?

Law School to Med School

As mentioned above, you need some clinical work. Continue the community service. You need to show adcoms very clearly why you want to do medicine. You can get pre-reqs from anywhere.

 

[TheRealCookieMonster]

It's always been a dream.

You need to show adcoms very clearly why you want to do medicine.

You sound like you have all the nuts and bolts figured out.
Just want to reiterate. While I’m sure you can eloquently communicate why you want to swap carreers. Your clinical/medical experience from now until your application will be the proof that back up your application/interviews. Maybe explore which programs you’d like to apply to or that can deliver what you want out of your medical education. Then pick clinical experience that will help impress those adcoms.

 

[joelawyer]

Thanks everyone for the links. My biggest question is what kind of thing could I do to get the clinical experience you guys are talking about? Is that something I can be doing on weekends while I'm working? I have looked around for volunteer type things in hospitals, but it all seems aimed at younger people like HS or undergrad. What kinds of things are you guys thinking of?

 

[hamiltonnyc]

I have looked around for volunteer type things in hospitals, but it all seems aimed at younger people like HS or undergrad. What kinds of things are you guys thinking of?

Well if you go on this route, you'll be premed so you'll be in the same boat as undergrads. Unless you're talking about scheduling is catered to undergrad, the type of work you need to do is the same. And these are pretty generic:
- hospital/free clinic volunteering (yes you'll only be doing basic stuff)
- clinical research/coordinator (these are usually paid)
- scribe (usually time commitment and paid very little)
- hospice
- medical outreach programs for homeless people

You're not going to be taking vitals and doing any extreme stuff as a volunteer, no matter where you are in an unrelated career. I'm older than you and doing a volunteering program for undergrads 10 years my junior, delivering samples, guiding patients, front desk.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Thanks everyone for the links. My biggest question is what kind of thing could I do to get the clinical experience you guys are talking about? Is that something I can be doing on weekends while I'm working? I have looked around for volunteer type things in hospitals, but it all seems aimed at younger people like HS or undergrad. What kinds of things are you guys thinking of?

You need to do work (whether paid or unpaid) that shows you've spent time around patients and physicians. There are many volunteer opportunities that happen on evenings and weekends. You just have to find one or two that tickles your fancy. To add to @hamiltonnyc 's list, you can also hit up some nursing homes or volunteer at a camp for kids with chronic or terminal illnesses. Use your legal research skills to dig around for some opportunities. Also,I think it's extremely important for nontrads to get some shadowing hours in with a PCP to show that you're at least trying to understand what it would mean to switch careers. You only need about 30 hours or so.

 

[joelawyer]

Thanks guys. I signed up for some volunteering at my city's teaching hospital. For the record I didn't consider myself above anything, just didn't know adults did those programs. The volunteer coordinator explained I wouldn't be out of place. I guess the journey begins lol...

 

[hamiltonnyc]

Thanks guys. I signed up for some volunteering at my city's teaching hospital. For the record I didn't consider myself above anything, just didn't know adults did those programs. The volunteer coordinator explained I wouldn't be out of place. I guess the journey begins lol...

Sorry for the implication, I've just seen some hot shot career changers (e.g. here) who think they get a pass from doing basic volunteering.

Just curious, since you'll be asked by adcoms and you also want to create a good narrative, why do you want to switch careers to medicine?

 

[Goro]

Hey folks. I'm looking for recommendations for postbac options which would be suitable for me, and also some advice on how I can use the next few years (I am planning to apply to postbacs in 3-4 years) to strengthen my overall application. Thank you so much for any advice.

I am a young mid-twenties lawyer in corporate law at one of the big firms (think Suits). I was lucky that my legal education was free, and I want to take advantage of that flexibility by pursuing my other dream, which is med school.

My situation: grad from top 5 ugrad (if it matters), but no serious science in undergrad-- although I always got As in those like nonmajor science courses like general bio/astrophysics. I had a steady 3.7 but then my family had some drama in my last year and I finished with a 3.6.

I spent some time during law school as a STEM/AP tutor and I brushed up some of the basics. I took a practice MCAT to kind of gauge whether this is generally realistic, and it was promising.

I have strong extracurriculars including community service and running/sitting as a trustee of some midsized nonprofits (think local old lady type stuff) but nothing remotely medical. It's always been a dream.

Yes, I know I am insane. Feel free to tell me that but ... just realize I know it already. I know I am at the very beginning of this potential process.

I suggest a post-bac program for career changers. They're a dime a dozen, so do your research and be prepared to relocate. You can also do this DIY

 

[esob]

I will say that as a high-level career changer, I got asked the same two questions about the transition in almost every interview:

1. Don't you like what you do now?
- This is a loaded question because if you say no it sounds like you are jumping ship to medicine because you dislike your current position. Personally, I always answered yes, which leads to the follow-up question

2. If you like what you do so much then why are you willing to leave that position to spend 7-10 training at the bottom of the food chain. I should add that at least 3 or 4 of my interviewers had calculated the minimum age I would be when I became an attending and said specifically; "You realize you will be at least XX years old by the time you become an attending"

You should be able to knock both of these questions out of the park before you even decide if you want to start the process. If you can't sell your family and friends on the answers, you'll never make it past an adcom.

 

[joelawyer]

1. Don't you like what you do now?

I definitely like law. I went into law planning to eventually make a career change into medicine. I found a corporate firm willing to sponsor my law degree in exchange for a two year contract so that it would be an option for me if I chose to do it. What I enjoy about law is that we apply complex, dynamic sets of principles-- essentially huge decision trees with lots of branches that involve multilayered critical thinking-- to real world, practical problems.

We are constantly learning, and staying academically agile is extremely important for us, yet everything we do is also driven by the needs of actual people (well, corporate entities usually) and by the demand to find solutions that work in the practical circumstances our client is facing-- not just ones that work in theory. So the job combines research with practicality in a way I love.

I see medicine as involving a lot of those same skills and features, but I would be working for people instead of huge public companies. I wanted to work for huge public companies for a while, don't get me wrong. I feel that understanding finance and global business is really valuable for everyone in the 21st century, but I am ready to work for people now.

As for long hours, a hierarchical structure and a long academic and practical path to becoming expert or even competent, those things were exactly what drew me to law. I thrive under pressure and I enjoy working in a setting where learning from superiors is part of the job. One thing I love about being a lawyer is that I can say I am (although just getting there) a real expert and professional in something. I can say that with credibility because of the long path it took to get there. I feel I would have that same tremendous sense of accomplishment and competence as a doctor.

Those are the honest answers. I guess as I advance along this process, I will learn more about them and also about what adcoms would be open to hearing.

 

[joelawyer]

I suggest a post-bac program for career changers. They're a dime a dozen, so do your research and be prepared to relocate. You can also do this DIY

Do you have any input on the importance of the school's reputation in where I do this? I have seen the programs at Columbia and Groucher and others which have reputations, but what if I just banged out the prereqs at some middle tier undergrad near me?

I don't mind relocating, but if possible it would be nice to save the cost.

 

[Apollo1]

I see medicine as involving a lot of those same skills and features, but I would be working for people instead of huge public companies.

Physicians still work for the man. Metrics & billing affect all specialties, don't be confused by the laypeople's perception.

I definitely like law. I went into law planning to eventually make a career change into medicine.

This doesn't necessarily come across well. You're relatively fresh out of law school (ergo, little experience), and are already looking to move into a separate career field. If you have a compelling reason why medicine is the fit for you, have it ready to share when required to.

 

[Goro]

Do you have any input on the importance of the school's reputation in where I do this? I have seen the programs at Columbia and Groucher and others which have reputations, but what if I just banged out the prereqs at some middle tier undergrad near me?

I don't mind relocating, but if possible it would be nice to save the cost.

I don't any idea as to which programs have good reputations or not

 

[hamiltonnyc]

Not related to your journey at all, but I saw this about doctors and lawyers and thought it was hilarious so I thought I'd share it.