Need advice on how to get into medical school with my current situation-Lost please help

[Newport11]

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Hi,

So I am looking for some advice on what I should do next for trying to get into medical school. I had no real help in my undergraduate with planning ahead and working toward the next step, so my situation is as currently follows. I have just graduated from Salve Regina University in May of 2015 with an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.7. During that time as an undergraduate I was diagnosed with adult ADD and was having trouble dealing with that and other situations that plagued my undergraduate. I currently work in the lifespan network of Rhode Island in four hospitals as a medical scribe for which I have been doing such since June of 2015. I also currently work has a real estate agent for the last couple months as a side job. I have volunteered at Yale-New Haven Hospital with my aunts charity since I was 11 years old. I really would like to go to medical school and become a surgeon as that is what my passion is. I am looking for help on what to do next as I know my GPA is to low for medical school and to low for special masters programs. Any serious advice would be gravely appreciated.

Thanks,
Confused/concerned hopeful future doctor

 

[WedgeDawg]

Simplest and easiest method is grade replacement --> DO

 

[Dr. Retractor]

Retake the classes you did poorly in, do well on the MCAT, and apply DO. Not saying you think this, but if you think that you can't do surgery as a DO you would be mistaken. Just saying.

 

[DoctorDrewOutsidetheLines]

Do a post-bac or a diy post bac at a private or state university as a student at large, take your science requirements for 2 years and apply broadly MD and DO

 

[DokterMom]

It's unanimous. It's your academic record that is your weak spot, and that can be fixed as outlined above.

 

[Newport11]

Simplest and easiest method is grade replacement --> DO

But is there any shot in getting into an MD school if I retake courses?

 

[Newport11]

Retake the classes you did poorly in, do well on the MCAT, and apply DO. Not saying you think this, but if you think that you can't surgery as a DO you would be mistaken. Just saying.

Thanks, but from what I have been told it is extremely hard to get into residency programs if you go to a DO school rather then an MD. Is there any shot of going to an MD school if you retake courses?

 

[GrapesofRath]

Thanks, but from what I have been told it is extremely hard to get into residency programs if you go to a DO school rather then an MD. Is there any shot of going to an MD school if you retake courses?

The best thing anybody can advise you to do is to do a search function of what the DO degree is, what it means, and the types of careers and possibilities out there and how the training for a DO works. And I don't mean spend 10 minutes searching this. If you spend 10 hours doing this over the next few weeks/months or whatever,that might be enough to give you a good perspective on what the field entails and the possibilities for a DO. And there's a fair chance even 10 hours isn't enough.

As for your GPA, re-takes and acing new classes via DIY post-bacc are the key to making your GPA competitive for DO programs. For MD, it'll require a DIY post-bacc, acing the MCAT and THEN acing an SMP. The road will be much longer. While not necessarily completely out of the realm of possibility, DO is much more feasible and realistic.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thanks, but from what I have been told it is extremely hard to get into residency programs if you go to a DO school rather then an MD. Is there any shot of going to an MD school if you retake courses?

You have been told incorrectly.

While there are some specialties that are more difficult or have fewer residency programs, there is no specialty off-limits to you as a DO.

Allopathic medical schools do not allow grade replacement (you can retake the courses). Your best bet is as advised above: retake the classes with great replacement and apply to DO programs.

 

[LizzyM]

There are 60 DO residency programs for general surgery and many more in surgical subspecialties.
Here's the link I used to search for them:
http://opportunities.osteopathic.org/index.htm

Grade replacement can get you to a high GPA very quickly because those low grades are replaced with your new grade. Med schools use all the grades in calculating and after taking more than 120 credits as an undergrad, taking 4 credit classes will add so little to the denominator that it is hard to move the needle. 120 credits at 2.7 + straight As (4.0) in 32 units (a full year of bio, chem, o-chem & physics at 4 units per course per semester) is still just under 3.0. over 152 units.

 

[Newport11]

There are 60 DO residency programs for general surgery and many more in surgical subspecialties.
Here's the link I used to search for them:
http://opportunities.osteopathic.org/index.htm

So you recommend aim for DO schools and going from there?

 

[Newport11]

So you suggest the same to aim for DO school and go from there?

 

[moisne]

But is there any shot in getting into an MD school if I retake courses?

Here's your choices:

1. Go DO route and become a doctor. (residency in certain areas are indeed more difficult to obtain - but it really depends on your scores, interview, research, grades, etc).
2. Don't be a doctor at all.

So... at the end of the day - the question you face is: "Do I want to become a doctor?"

 

[Newport11]

You have been told incorrectly.

While there are some specialties that are more difficult or have fewer residency programs, there is no specialty off-limits to you as a DO.

Allopathic medical schools do not allow grade replacement (you can retake the courses). Your best bet is as advised above: retake the classes with great replacement and apply to DO programs.

So you also suggest aim for DO schools would be my best bet?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Yes.

My partner. a DO, is a successful surgeon and I see no reason why you should ignore any of the wonderful advice you've gotten above.

I work closely with many, many specialties, and it's never been issue what sort of degree they have. The MD vs DO thing is almost exclusively premed in nature.

 

[Newport11]

Start at the AACOMAS website.
Look into how they replace grades.
You are not close enough to applying to be browsing for schools (except for entertainment and motivation).

I'm really not shopping for schools at all at the moment. I'm really just trying to get a gauge on what is probable and most realistic for someone in my current situation. I just never had help from an adviser on what to do next causing me to be unsure of where to go moving forward.

 

[Newport11]

Yes.

My partner. a DO, is a successful surgeon and I see no reason why you should ignore any of the wonderful advice you've gotten above.

I work closely with many, many specialties, and it's never been issue what sort of degree they have. The MD vs DO thing is almost exclusively premed in nature.

Thank you very much for the advice and I take it strongly into consideration. I just wasn't sure where to go or what to do next. Everyone I have talked to is just I felt had their own opinion of the situation and not really knowledgeable about what to do or what the real difference is from MD to DO.

 

[Goro]

You have been told wrong. 1/3 DO grads gets into ACGME (allopathic) residency program.

If you're boning for the MD degree, first retake all F/D/C science coursework.

Then either ace a SMP or post-bac program and ace MCAT as well. there are MD schools that reward reinvention.

Thanks, but from what I have been told it is extremely hard to get into residency programs if you go to a DO school rather then an MD. Is there any shot of going to an MD school if you retake courses?