Messy All But Dissertation PhD situation

[tips_you]

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Hi,
About 4.5 years ago I decided to apply to MD schools. I was working full time in finance making good money. I had a background in physical science with a M.Sc., with ~3.7 undergrad science GPA, and 3.8 for M.Sc. from a top 10 rigorous school. I had already satisfied my prereqs, and graduated 10+ years ago.
For personal reasons, after M.Sc., I found a job and worked for 5 years in Finance (mainly to help family situation with siblings and parents). I hated the work and it was unfulfilling, and had seriously considered MD for a long time, but needed to make money.

I decided to start preparing for MD applications, and enrolled in PhD in something I'm interested in (still am interested), but about a year ago funding for my position ended (actually it ended for advisor since he was deemed by department to not be publishing at a fast enough rate, and his funding came from the department -> this was all a shocking situation for me).
People at the department were sympathetic with my situation, but since I was quite invested in that project, and there was no way forward unless I start again with another advisor (~ another 3 to 4 years according to everyone I talked to), I decided to leave.

I had taken the MCAT before and scored in 90th percentile, and expect to score very high, at least about the same going forward.
My grad school GRE's were excellent (98+ percentile in the general GRE)

The entire PhD route ended up being a mess, and I'm now "All But Dissertation" since I had passed my quals and oral exam achieving candidacy, with no path forward except at least another 3 to 4 years (and who knows, it could be longer??)

I'm wondering what advice you might have for my situation. I did a lot of volunteer work while I was in the PhD for about 4 years (some of it was excellent and quite fulfilling). I just don't trust the PhD system of putting my faith in another advisor and starting a completely new project.

Here is my plan:
-starting in January, enroll in upper year biochem/physiology courses in a 4 year college and take some courses in biochem/physiology. I enjoy these subjects so it wouldn't be a problem. This will also help strengthen my recommendation letter situation since I've been out of college for 10+ years.
-take the MCAT by May 2020 (right now my practice indicates I'll again by in 90th percentile or higher). I expect to score very well.
-Do some more volunteer work and shadowing
-I expect I can get references from 3 professors that can probably corroborate my story, but just don't want to put myself on depending on that

Any advice? How much of a messy situation is this?

 

[Dave1980]

Pretty messy. Going for a PhD if you want to be a clinician is not a good move.

 

[Seihai]

Why did you enroll in a PhD program if you want to only practice medicine? See if you can get a terminal masters from your program to at least get something out of your time there, withdraw, and then actually take steps towards applying to medical school.

You took the old MCAT, not the new one. Don't expect to immediately do well on the new MCAT based on the old one. Your GRE scores don't really translate to anything meaningful in terms of applications to medical school.

 

[keolu hills]

I think you are in a good position as far as your grades and volunteer work. You would have to do well on your MCAT and try to get a terminal degree from the PhD program that you were in. Have you done any shadowing? If not, you need to do that too. Again, your grades are good.

 

[PipetteDreams]

Editing advice I wrote in a previous thread for you:

"FWIW, I'm an M2 PhD-to-MD who also decided to go down this path fairly early on in my PhD. I focused on being very productive in my PhD, finding physician scientist mentors and doing small side-projects with them, doing a lot of service that utilized my skillset (i.e., not just hospital volunteering), and focusing on teaching (as an outside professional interest to develop).

So, here's some specific advice I was given when I decided to apply. All of this is what my mentors told me, and one of them was the director of an MSTP for over fifteen years. Questions rhetorical but I'm happy to discuss:

1. You need to demonstrate 'why medicine.'

Yes, this is true for everyone. But, you're coming to medicine away from basic sciences (and, for you - a messy situation that would leave many disillusioned with science!). Many people will think you are running away from science. You need to show them that, instead, you are passionately running to medicine. It's not that you're afraid of being a lab rat, running in the R01 wheel; it's because your career would be incomplete without working to improve the health of patients - whatever that means to you.

So, think: why medicine? Once you earn an MD, do you see yourself working with patients? Why or why not?

2. You need shadowing experience.

You will not get into medical school without shadowing.

To anyone else without experience: One of my biggest weaknesses when applying was my lack of shadowing experience; I had around 50 hours in four different specialties. I also volunteered 600+ hours at a hospital during my undergrad, and collaborated on multiple projects (in clinic) across multiple specialities. Note: you should aim to shadow before you take the MCAT. Why? Because you need to show you made the decision to apply to medical school based on a deep understanding of what it's actually like to practice in medicine. Again, you're running to medicine.

Why were your previous experiences not enough to convince you to pursue an MD? Why did you take this path?

3. You need to take the MCAT.

You need a plan for taking it; it seems you do, so that's great.

4. You need to show that you love helping others.

There's a certain stigma around scientists. Faculty may think you want to use patients merely as subjects for experiments. My mentors have seen applications with this goal. They have also seen interviewers criticize applicants with PhDs, assuming that was their intent - whether or not it was true. You need to show genuine empathy and compassion towards others. Again, you are doing this to help your future patients. You are not doing it because - or in spite - of your science.

It's really great that you're volunteering - that definitely shows that you care about serving others! Do you have a history of leadership or any incidents of working as a team? Or perhaps did you engage in teaching and mentoring throughout graduate school? Anything to show that you engage with your community will strengthen your application.

Best of luck to you!"