Need some insight in what route to go

[kashford2]

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First post after lurking and I have a couple questions and the post might get long but here it goes.

I love anesthesia (sounds funny without doing any shadowing) but I want to pursue this at any means.
I just need help in getting there.

I could try for MD school or even a DO school but I had a very rocky start to college getting Cs, Bs and I've even had to withdrawal from some classes. I went for something that didn't suit me. Took time off went to community for a semester then moved to University where I found something I liked learning(or so I thought). Medical Lab Science. I just graduated and I am currently employed as a Medical Laboratory Scientist( fancy term for a Med tech). I raised my grades drastically once getting into something "medical" Started getting As, Bs.

Now I don't think the work is anything like schooling. In school, we were constantly being tested on trouble shooting, looking at lab results and corresponding disease states to it. Hematology, Clinical Microbiology, Immunology, Immunology, Clinical Chemistry were all core classes that I have gained an incredible knowledge but I don't get to use it. I work in the Micro department but all the work is mundane, it was the only department I could stand during rotations, but during heme rotation I went on a bone marrow biopsy do GI/ENDO where I got to see a anesthesiologist doing work, next I went to interventional radiology on another bone marrow biopsy. I loved these places, more people to interact with and it made me feel great with nurses and doctors.

Where I am at now?
Well I am currently looking at all options. I can try for MD/DO schools (hell even PA school) but I honestly feel like I'm not competitive enough. I don't do extracurricular, no research experience, just jobs involving hospital laboratories. I am a busy father, so adding anything extra takes time away from my kids 🙁. Once my training is done. I will be moving to evening shift which is when I will start getting prereqs like physics, physiology and anatomy done with and do a lot of job shadowing. So this is very much a stretch of time away. I am 26 now and by the time I apply I would likely be 28. If accepted to med school and I pass and do a residency my oldest would be 16 when I finish. That kinda of scares me

I could try for an Anesthesiologist assistant or do an accelerated RN program, get a year of experience and then try for CRNA.

Currently live KS, but MO is a block away.
UMKC has an AA program

I do like doing something new quite frequently, my lackluster school performance was likely affected by my horrible anxiety at the time. But I've got a grasp on it now .

What are you guys/gals thoughts?
Doesn't hurt to try to reach the top, right?
Also would I be better reimbursed for CRNA or AA and whats the outlook for each? Will the RN lobbies continue to drive AA's into the ground or will they soon be able to do what a CRNA can?

I need input from someone experienced working with both as it will greatly influenced which route I take.

Sorry for such a long, fragmented post. Just stuck in a rut and want to do more with my life then sit in a chair and read cultures out everyday.
Things I am intrested it
MD
DO
PA ( would likely go for a surgical or somethign)
AA
CRNA (after acclerated RN program)
I'm just need more working with others, patient contact would also be nice. sorry for adding more. lol I need to stop

 

[gyngyn]

Start by calculating your AMCAS and AACOMAS gpas.
Calculators can be found in "Helpful Hints": https://forums.studentdoctor.net/th...-thread-for-optimal-results-and-more.1170791/

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Tell us your undergrad GPAs and we can help you. All is not lost here as you have some options.

 

[kashford2]

Tell us your undergrad GPAs and we can help you. All is not lost here as you have some options.

Ok I'll calculate it and get it to y'all tonight.

I mean is the AA profession growing or going for bust?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I have no clue about AA programs other than one of my co-workers wants to do that. My understanding is it is like a PA but strictly for anesthesia and that there are only a few programs

 

[kashford2]

I have no clue about AA programs other than one of my co-workers wants to do that. My understanding is it is like a PA but strictly for anesthesia and that there are only a few programs

ok I don't have all of my transcripts available but I am only at a 3.0 🙁 Weird as on my transcripts It came out to 3.3

I was in a bad place during my first years in college and royally ****ed it up. When I started taking my Medical laboratory science classes I got all As and Bs, and this program is told to us that its on par with masters courses. Granted I can only think they were keeping morale up when our class was down.

Well not much I can do now. I have so many credit hours taken courses wouldn't do much. I doubt going back and retaking my Cs would do anything either.

If any help, I'd likely apply to
Colorado AA school
UMKC AA school
Poss acclerated RN school around here
If I was competitive enough for med school i would choose either of the ones listed below.
oregon
washington
Colorado
UMKC
KU MED
DO school in kansas city

 

[Sardinia]

Requesting a moderator move this thread to anesthesiology or midlevel anesthesiology providers.

 

[gyngyn]

I mean is the AA profession growing or going for bust?

I certainly do not know.

ok I don't have all of my transcripts available but I am only at a 3.0 🙁 Weird as on my transcripts It came out to 3.3

I was in a bad place during my first years in college and royally ****ed it up. When I started taking my Medical laboratory science classes I got all As and Bs, and this program is told to us that its on par with masters courses. Granted I can only think they were keeping morale up when our class was down.

Well not much I can do now. I have so many credit hours taken courses wouldn't do much. I doubt going back and retaking my Cs would do anything either.

If any help, I'd likely apply to
Colorado AA school
UMKC AA school
Poss acclerated RN school around here
If I was competitive enough for med school i would choose either of the ones listed below.
oregon
washington
Colorado
UMKC
KU MED
DO school in kansas city

You are not WWAMI, so not competitive for U of W.
You are well below CO's and OHSU's 10th percentile.
UMKC admits its OOS applicants from special programs.
Without an MCAT it is difficult to calculate odds on KU, but your gpa is well below the 10th persentile (3.36).

 

[Sardinia]

@kashford2 If your main passion is in anesthesiology then you should consider being a midlevel practitioner. My personal reasoning runs that I can't guarantee your Step scores, clinical evals, and other metrics are competitive at the locations you choose for residency. Therefore, you may be forced to match into a separate specialty. This coupled with a sub-par GPA and a busy family life indicates to me that you should treat AA/ABSN/PA acceptance as your first and foremost priority with medical schools being a long-shot.

I would suggest that you either repost or visit the anesthesiologist sub-forum for more specific advice regarding this. My impression is that PAs tends to dominate within ER/Surg/Primary Care specialties. In certain states its more of a question of internal hospital politics at times depending on whether they have a precedent with working with one established group over another.

 

[kashford2]

@kashford2 If your main passion is in anesthesiology then you should consider being a midlevel practitioner. My personal reasoning runs that I can't guarantee your Step scores, clinical evals, and other metrics are competitive at the locations you choose for residency. Therefore, you may be forced to match into a separate specialty. This coupled with a sub-par GPA and a busy family life indicates to me that you should treat AA/ABSN/PA acceptance as your first and foremost priority with medical schools being a long-shot.

I would suggest that you either repost or visit the anesthesiologist sub-forum for more specific advice regarding this. My impression is that PAs tends to dominate within ER/Surg/Primary Care specialties. In certain states its more of a question of internal hospital politics at times depending on whether they have a precedent with working with one established group over another.

Thank you that's what I was leaning more towards anyway is going CRNA route.

Thank you for being honest as improving my app and 4 years of med school is quite a bit of work . Now how do I get this into the anesthesiology forum?

With an accelerated BSN I can get in now! But an AA I would have to take physics

 

[Sardinia]

@kashford2 In my first post I hyperlinked the section boards so you can access them. They are in blue.

 

[AlteredScale]

UMKC
KU MED
DO school in kansas city

Just some notes for the midwest medical schools if you are interested:

UMKC from what I can recall has a very strong preference for their 6 year med program and only take a small number into the direct 4 year program (I knew of one and both her parents went to the UMKC dental school). I would start by contacting their admissions office to see how that goes.

Since you are a resident of KS KU Med may actually be one of your stronger shots accounting you can boost your GPA and land a strong MCAT (I believe their average is a 30-32).

DO School (KCU) - The stats for the previous class (2015-2016 cycle) are a 3.6-3.7 GPA and about a 28 MCAT (or 504-505 on the new MCAT) the accepted MCAT stat was very close to or at 30). They have had some hard cutoffs in the way of GPA (>3.25) but they do make exceptions if other academic aspects of your application are strong (MCAT or cGPA).