Need some advice

[MiraLK]

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Hi everyone, I've been surfing in this forum for a while and I know many of you are very nice and willing to offer some opinions and advice... I know many people may have asked similar questions to get advice, but different cases require different strategies, so I still post here... =)

So, I have applied couple med programs for fall 2009, but did not get any interview invitations. At this point, I think I really need some suggestions and advice on how to improve my status.

Education: 2 bachelor degrees-
1 at National Taiwan University (Taiwan), 2000-2004, majored in Horticulture, GPA 3.5
1 at University of California, Irvine (CA, US), 2006-2008, majored in Bio Sci, GPA 3.69
I did most of my prereq. at NTU except physics, my science GPA at NTU was not as competitive as mine at UCI
MCAT: took twice-
21N: 9PS, 9BS, 3V
27M: 12PS, 10BS, 5V
Research: about 5 years
1 year at NTU (undergrad. research, about immunology)
1year and 8 months at teaching hospital's lab (about infectious microorganisms)
2 years at UCI (undergrad. research, about diabetes)
Publication:
1 in an international journal
1 in a school-wide journal
Extra-curricula:
1 year in 2 student associations at UCI
~90 hours at UCI Medical Center as a Mandarin Interpreter Volunteer
1 year+ at a Asian American senior service center in Santa Ana (senior health outreach work)
1 year+ at breast and cervical cancer screening events as a Mandarin Interpreter Volunteer
4 months at an elementary school in Santa Ana as an after-school tutor for Latino kids (volunteer, about 2.5h/week)
4 months at a senior care center for seniors with dementia (volunteer, 2h/week)
applying to volunteer at a free clinic as well as other medical-related jobs...
currently working in a senior service center (my job duties are more like those of a social worker)...

I have called Wayne State University, which I sent my secondary application to. The counselor I spoke with said that I would need to improve my verbal score to 8 or above, and more direct patient interaction would be needed definitely.

My questions are-
Should I apply to Osteopathic Medical Schools instead of Allopathic Medical Schools? Since DO schools tend to accept more nontraditional students, and I am a nontraditional applicant obviously...
If I want to gain my "direct patient interaction experience" through working, what kind of job should I look for considering that I am an entry-level worker in this field?
How can I get an opportunity to shadow with a MD or a DO? Throughout my three-year life in the United States, I only saw a doctor once at the Student Health Center at UCI, and I have graduated, so for now, I don't know who my "family doctor" is... therefore, I guess "asking for your family doctor to get some exposure" is probably not one of my options.... =(

I live in southern California, south Orange County more specifically. So if anyone knows any great opportunities to get some clinical experience (work/volunteer) in this area, I'll be more than thankful to learn.

Thank you for reading, and I'd really appreciate any suggestions or advice regarding my situation.

 

[ucsfstudents]

My questions are-
Should I apply to Osteopathic Medical Schools instead of Allopathic Medical Schools? Since DO schools tend to accept more nontraditional students, and I am a nontraditional applicant obviously...

[Yes, to increase your chances, I would recommend applying to Osteopathic schools. It's a great second option. However, don't give up on Allopathic school just yet]


If I want to gain my "direct patient interaction experience" through working, what kind of job should I look for considering that I am an entry-level worker in this field?

[The direct patient interaction experience means just that. Interact with patients to some capacity. Volunteer at a hospice (where you will see sick people), or at a clinic, or anywhere sick people are. Do it when you are free. What's the point of these experiences? To show that you are compassionate, that you can work with sick people. This is not a chance to show you have clinical skills... you learn that in med school. It is a chance to show that you enjoy working with and taking care of sick people. A few hours a week of dedicated time for a few months would be fine. If you're too busy, a short stint would be ok too. Just be passionate about your experience and it will shine through.]


How can I get an opportunity to shadow with a MD or a DO?

[Be proactive. Talk to your medical student friends and ask them to tell you about shadowing experiences. Talk to your premed advisor or premed friends who can point you to a popular volunteer spot. Contact the medical student groups at the medical school you're interested in and see if you can shadow them for a day.. which will then bring you in contact with physicians who you can then ask to shadow. Be creative and proactive about this. You have more resources than you think.]


Throughout my three-year life in the United States, I only saw a doctor once at the Student Health Center at UCI, and I have graduated, so for now, I don't know who my "family doctor" is... therefore, I guess "asking for your family doctor to get some exposure" is probably not one of my options.... =(

[Probably not. Don't worry. Ask around. And keep asking. You'll get there][

I live in southern California, south Orange County more specifically. So if anyone knows any great opportunities to get some clinical experience (work/volunteer) in this area, I'll be more than thankful to learn.

Thank you for reading, and I'd really appreciate any suggestions or advice regarding my situation.

[My final thoughts.... the reality is that getting into a medical school with a verbal score less than 8 is super hard. I know you've taken the MCAT twice already, and maybe more studying isn't going to help your verbal score (as it is a skill that one develops over years I think). However, if you want any realistic chance at an allopathic school, you MUST retake the MCAT for a better verbal score. I am currently doing research on factors that determine MCAT verbal score. It's such an unfortunate issue for many foreign and minority students. Remember that the verbal score correlates well with how you'll do in medical school.... and adcoms are very hesitant to admit someone they think won't be able to make it through and pass the board exams.]

Good luck! I hope it all works out for you!

 

[ChairmanMao]

I would advise you to apply mostly to DO school. I'm sorry to say this but that low verbal score will keep you out of most if not all allopathic medical schools. I'd even venture to say that it might even be too low for some DO schools (the minimum acceptable score in any subsection of the MCAT seems to be 8 for MD schools and 6 for DO schools). You can probably get into a DO school if you apply broadly enough considering that your science scores and GPA are higher than average.

As for clinical experiences. It's good that you're seeking volunteering positions at hospitals. You can probably go look on the human resources website of hospitals to find out if there are any openings for entry level positions. A lot of those jobs might involve transporting patients, lab assistant, receptions, etc those types of jobs. You might want to check to see if they are hiring any translators since it seems as though you have a lot of experience in that field and I'm sure Orange, CA has a large Chinese population. As for shadowing, is it possible for you to contact your school's premedical office or the hospital's volunteering office to ask about this? It might be hard to find a DO to shadow, but a lot of schools accept recommendation letters from MDs and other licensed professionals. See if you can get in touch with physicians during your volunteering rounds to shadow.

 

[ChairmanMao]

Also, I noticed that you did most of your pre-requisites in Taiwan. That could be a problem if your classes are not in English or if the medical schools that you applied to don't accept foreign courseworks. Obviously, a lot of students may have earned their undergrad degrees in their native countries or they may have studied abroad outside of the US. But in order to be eligible for medical school, I think they have to take their pre-requisite courses at an accrediated US college. I may be wrong on this, and you should probably contact each individual school before you apply, but I do remember the AAMC website saying that a lot of medical schools don't accept foreign courseworks for pre-requisites. The fact that you did not get any interview also seems to suggest that your courseworks did not meet the eligibility at those schools.

 

[blueflower77]

Sorry you are struggling. I feel your pain because I was also an international student all of my Bachelor's life and I know how the English part goes. I don't know if you've considered using Kaplan for your MCAT prep. I took Kaplan for the SAT (in Encino center) and they helped me out A LOT with English and testing skills. Of course, going to high school and college here helped a lot, but once suggestion I have on improving your verbal is by perhaps talking to Kaplan and see what they have. It is expensive... but raising your score by a few points might be the deciding factor on whether you can even go to medical school, so it's worth a try. I wish you a lot of luck and keep your chin up high ~ if it's meant to be - it'll happen, just keep working at it. 🙂

 

[NTF]

As far as finding a DO to shadow, try the AOA mentor exchange here.

http://www.do-online.org/iLearn/home.cfm

 

[dragonfly99]

You need more direct patient care experience.
You need to improve your MCAT verbal score to 8 or greater. Start studying.
I think it would help if you retake some prerequisites at a US university...I know it seems unfair, but the adcoms may not know how to evaluate your school in Taiwan, even if it was actually harder than a US school.

 

[J ROD]

First get that verbal to an 8.

Then, work on everything else. I would volunteer in an ER once a week for about 4hrsa the same time as working on the verbal.

DO would be a better shot but you can make MD with a better verbal.

I would also check on your science prereqs coming from overseas.