Looking for some guidelines

[didiervaron]

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Hello everyone,

I am a 33 years old software engineer very tired and bored on the field I am working right now, I've got an UG on Systems Engineering (lots of physics and math) from a foreign university and a MS on computer science from DePaul university, I did not have an interest on health sciences when I was on undergrad, but in the past years I have been feeling that I would like to work to help people rather than sit and go over some requirements to design and to implement some piece of software. It all started when my wife (who's a foreign trained dentist) was studying for the ndbe and I was helping her with some of the material and got fascinated by microbiology and pathology, but I though that is because I was good on chemistry and molecular biology when I was in UG, but on the past year my wife got pregnant and being with her through the whole process made realize that I would like to do what the doctors were doing, after the delivery unfortunately my wife got sick and we had to go to the ER four times and even though I did not get too much sleep on those days I was never tired and always amazed by the ER people's work, and ever since then when I am at my desk at work I can't take the idea of going to med school (something that can only happen in this beautiful country), what really is funny is that my brother is an IM doctor with a fellowship on ID, but I never felt a bit interested on med school until now.

Sorry for the long intro of my life, now my questions (like everybody else) are:
1. I am in Chicago, and the only realistic option for me to get the pre req is to go to a community college (like Wright college), how hard will it be to get accepted having the pre-req from a cc and is the city of Chicago colleges a good option?
2. Recommendation letters, I can get three very good recommendation letters from my UG, but the professors are from the computer science dept., are those RL good or they need to be from science prof.?
3. How hard is to get into UIC (I know I am too far thinking on med schools before having the pre-req) since I don't think I could afford a private med school?
4. Does anyone know how to do volunteer work or where to contact on Chicago?

Thanks.

 

[Vith]

Greetings!
I can relate to a lot of what you're saying, and it really has been a reaffirmation of the 'American Dream' to get started down the road to becoming a physician. With enough hard work and tenacity, you can do it.
As a first step, I'd get enrolled in a general biology class at a school nearby just to get your feet in the water of life science. Talk to the department head and tell them your plan and use them as a sounding board. Your brother being a doctor will also be a great resource.
I haven't heard a whole lot of negatives about community college, but others will surely sound off on this issue as well.
Then start checking the websites of local hospitals and fill out volunteer applications, call doctors you've had past experience with, or just cold call clinics. Get some experience in the OR and hanging out in a medical setting.
I just had my first day shadowing a surgeon last week, and it honestly got me really motivated and excited about my future.
Once you're in school knocking out prereq's and getting some clinical experience, then you can start thinking about LoR's. I'm going to try and get one from a doctor I've spent time with, a teacher I've worked under, and maybe my boss before I ditch this place.

Keep us posted!

 

[DrMidlife]

Wow, welcome to the fray. You've got quite a bit of work to do, and I think you have good reason to be enthusiastic about the possibilities. I lost the ability to feign enthusiasm as a software engineer, and I learned from my niece's birth that medicine was what I wanted to do. So you're not alone, regardless.

First, find a way to work on your not-bad-but-obviously-foreign-learned English. You're communicating effectively in your writing, but the nuances are way off. You don't want your reviewers to hesitate on trivial misuse of pronouns, etc. There are a large number of written obstacles between you and med school, and I think you have the time to beef up. In your shoes I'd find a retired high school English teacher to work with.

Look for posts here by ScottishChap regarding evaluation of foreign coursework. You probably have to retake physics in the US, unfortunately, because most US med schools require stateside prereqs. The good news is that these will be easy A's for you.

From my perspective, engineering is a HUGE benefit, as long as you don't expect anybody in medicine to appreciate or approve of it. You're going to understand the application process, the medical education process, the residency system, and how hospitals work MUCH better than your non-engineer fellows. Most folks, particularly youngsters, get completely baffled, and badly surprised, because a systems view is not something they have at their disposal.

For doing prereqs, I'd encourage you to find a relatively formal program at a university. With a foreign undergrad transcript, you are not giving admissions committees enough to work with; community college coursework isn't going to inspire confidence. Now, I would be surprised if an evening postbac program isn't available at one of the universities in Chicago, similar to Harvard's extension program. Take a look in the postbac forum for insights.

Computer science professors are considered non-science, from the med school perspective, and you should expect to need 3 science letters (bio, chem, physics, any upper-div life science). My CS letter counted as liberal arts at one school. You'll need to collect letters from your postbac science instructors. This is a bit of an art: after you get an A on an exam, approach the instructor, state your intentions, and watch carefully when you ask "could you write me a positive letter of recommendation?" If they do not immediately, enthusiastically answer, that's not your letter writer. Also, around here they're called LORs, not RLs.

Pick a Chicago hospital, find their web page, and look for volunteer opportunities. The typical premed volunteer gig is in the ER, but don't balk at other clinical opportunities. An ER will let you work nights or weekends.

Lastly, start getting your brain around how folks pay for med school, but don't let cost determine anything at this point. If the only school you can go to has a $75k/yr cost of attendance, you can still go. Now's the time to work in earnest on your green card, if that's not done yet.

Best of luck to you, and keep us posted.