Hi everyone,
I apologize for the length post but I come to you all looking for advice for applying to medical school. To provide some background on myself. I am a 33 year old chiropractor who has been in practice for 8 years. I own my own practice and provide evidence-based treatment (conditions treated are limited to mechanical musculoskeletal injuries with heavy emphasis on rehab). While I have been successful in practice, I feel a change is necessary for a number of reasons:
1. If providing evidence-based care, the scope of practice for chiropractors is extremely small which can make work a bit boring and promote complacency.
2. With no concrete governing body (AMA, etc.) I feel that standards of care are left to the decision of the provider which creates ethical problems. This also restricts the evolution of the profession with lack of funding for continuous research.
3. I never subscribed to the overall philosophy of chiropractic. While it's an extremely effective way to treat mechanical injuries in addition to rehabilitation, claims of treating visceral or systemic conditions are pseudoscience. I never offer treatment for any said condition but I often get pigeonholed into that group because I am a chiropractor.
4. The last and biggest reason, I want to do more for people. The most exciting part of my day is when I get to communicate with other health professionals (primary care, surgeons, physical therapists) about management of a patient's condition. I can only do so much as a chiropractor and when I can't help someone, I wish I had the training to do more.
This is why I am pursuing going back to school which is where I could definitely use your advice.
I am currently completing my B.S. in Biology. I was accepted into chiropractic school early (with completion of pre-med requirements). I am not sure if this is still the standard for chiropractic schools but this was the case in 2009. I was not a stellar student in undergrad (3.0 GPA cumulative, 3.0 science). Since I have come back to complete my upper level science courses I have maintained a GPA of 3.7. My intent is to re-take my pre-med courses online (Doane University) to provide myself a refresher course for the MCAT and to prove I am not the same student I was 15 years ago. I will likely apply to D.O. programs because I think I don't have much of a chance with traditional schools.
Am I delusional for wanting to pursue this and do you all think I am going about this in the right way? I can take hard truths if needed, I just know that I am meant to do more than what I am doing professionally and I know Medicine would provide me an opportunity to help people and challenge myself with evolving research and treatment methods for the rest of my career. Thank you all very much for any advice/guidance you can provide!
I apologize for the length post but I come to you all looking for advice for applying to medical school. To provide some background on myself. I am a 33 year old chiropractor who has been in practice for 8 years. I own my own practice and provide evidence-based treatment (conditions treated are limited to mechanical musculoskeletal injuries with heavy emphasis on rehab). While I have been successful in practice, I feel a change is necessary for a number of reasons:
1. If providing evidence-based care, the scope of practice for chiropractors is extremely small which can make work a bit boring and promote complacency.
2. With no concrete governing body (AMA, etc.) I feel that standards of care are left to the decision of the provider which creates ethical problems. This also restricts the evolution of the profession with lack of funding for continuous research.
3. I never subscribed to the overall philosophy of chiropractic. While it's an extremely effective way to treat mechanical injuries in addition to rehabilitation, claims of treating visceral or systemic conditions are pseudoscience. I never offer treatment for any said condition but I often get pigeonholed into that group because I am a chiropractor.
4. The last and biggest reason, I want to do more for people. The most exciting part of my day is when I get to communicate with other health professionals (primary care, surgeons, physical therapists) about management of a patient's condition. I can only do so much as a chiropractor and when I can't help someone, I wish I had the training to do more.
This is why I am pursuing going back to school which is where I could definitely use your advice.
I am currently completing my B.S. in Biology. I was accepted into chiropractic school early (with completion of pre-med requirements). I am not sure if this is still the standard for chiropractic schools but this was the case in 2009. I was not a stellar student in undergrad (3.0 GPA cumulative, 3.0 science). Since I have come back to complete my upper level science courses I have maintained a GPA of 3.7. My intent is to re-take my pre-med courses online (Doane University) to provide myself a refresher course for the MCAT and to prove I am not the same student I was 15 years ago. I will likely apply to D.O. programs because I think I don't have much of a chance with traditional schools.
Am I delusional for wanting to pursue this and do you all think I am going about this in the right way? I can take hard truths if needed, I just know that I am meant to do more than what I am doing professionally and I know Medicine would provide me an opportunity to help people and challenge myself with evolving research and treatment methods for the rest of my career. Thank you all very much for any advice/guidance you can provide!
