Next Steps?

[muirite]

I am 31. I finished college 10yrs ago. I work in the hospitality field. I am hoping to get in to medical school.
I applied to 4 local post back programs for career changers. One not accepted, the next one wait listed, one said reapply next year and still waiting on the last.

What else can i do? I am not waiting one that I have not gotten a letter from it is the most competitive program I applied at. The one that i was invited to apply again reached out and explained that they need to see that I understand what I am trying to become. They said I need to get medical volunteer hours and shadowing. I don't even know where to start with the shadowing. I have tried cold calling and got nothing. I don't know any doctors at all, I see an PA when i go for my annual primary visit.

I am currently volunteering at a hospital they started me off on a surgical area helping families after 6 weeks I can switch to another area. I also volunteer at community based program for underprivileged kids. I am taking a intro bio class at the local CC now. I did the only science in college my first semester freshman year.

I want to do all that I can to raise my chances.

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[Goro]

You can do a DIY post-bac, even at a local CC to save on $. Continue Bio 2 and start Chem 1.

Your EC choices are excellent. Don't forget that you will need to shadow some doctors.

If you time this right, with summer classes, you should be ready for applying by June of 2018. Always remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[muirite]

Thank you.

I would love to do DIY post-bac. What about letters? Will they look as good from a part time bio teacher that works at a CC part time?

 

[GreenDuck12]

A letter from a professor at a cc is fine but the key is having letter writers who know you and who can speak highly of you. I wouldn't stop with bio courses after bio 2 though. With being out of school for 10 years, you are going to have to prove that you can handle the academic rigors of medical school. You can do this by taking advanced biology such as biochem, genetics, cell bio, molecular bio, etc. Be sure to ask the professors of these classes for letters of rec.

 

[blue0rchid]

You can absolutely do DIY post bac. That's what I did. Don't take courses at community college though. you would need to take them at a university (an advise from admission committee). I did take my bio1 at a CC but that was the only one. Try your best to get all A's. Pick a professor whom you want to get an LOR from early on. (I would try to pick someone that also teaches lab, like Chem or orgo, to maximize interactions). Go to their office hour, ask questions, discuss about what you want to do and ask if they would write a letter for you. This can happen years before you actually apply. After the course, keep them up to date about your progress once in a while (every semester?) so that they remember you. This also shows them you are determined.

As for shadowing, keep volunteering at the hospital. Then after a couple of months, you can express that you want to shadow a doctor because you want to apply to med school. They can arrange to help you with that. Or when you volunteer on the floor in-patient (medicine floor, cardiology, stroke/neurology), eye the doctors there and find a nice one. When there is an opportunity, express your interest in medicine and medical school. Ask him/her if you can shadow for a couple of hours. Don't impose long term shadowing. Start out with 2 hours, and at the end of those 2 hours if things go well, ask if you can make it a more long term thing, like once a week or whenever convenient for them. If that doc is a hospitalist, ask if they see outpatient and shadow them during their outpatient office hours, it will be easier on them and you. Same thing if that doc is a specialist (cardiologist, neurologist, ENT, etc).

If there is a hospice around, go volunteer there. You will get good contacts to ask about shadowing. Do not hesitate to ask. If you ask 10 docs and 2 say yes, that's good enough. Ask the PA who you are going to, see if the PA can talk to his/her supervising doc to let you shadow.

And remember that long term volunteer is better than short term. It's better to volunteer at one place 2 hours a week for 2 years than having 5 short stints at different places.

Good luck.

 

[New_Slang]

Generally if you go to any university with some kind of pre-med advisor, you could still have access to that person even if you're not in a dedicated post-bacc program. I did that and it worked out really well for me.

As advised by others, the key is getting great recommendations (meaning, get to know your profs) and I would take some classes higher than general bio. Let's be real, general bio is mitosis with some ecology and evolution. Not much of that is applicable to the MCAT so an upper-level cell bio course would be a great primer for MCAT material and Biochem, in my opinion.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

@muirite What part of the world are you in? Some folks here may be able to help with strong shadowing/volunteer programs.

 

[muirite]

Near Los Angeles, Ca

 

[italiancowgirl]

When you say you tried cold calling I wonder what that entailed for you. I would drop a "resume" tailored for shadowing around at 30 clinics sometimes to get started shadowing. - would try to ask if there was an office manager who handled shadows, I kept meticulous records of names and when I could call back. I was polite but somewhat persistent. I got tons of shadows because many students give up after asking once. It is a fine line to walk to not be obnoxious, but you can walk it. Also always make a point of asking a doctor what they would recommend shadowing (what field) and then ask if they can connect you with someone in that field. GL!

 

[CyrilFiggis]

Near Los Angeles, Ca

So I'm from LA too. I did a Post-Bacc at USC. Have you applied there?

As for volunteering, there's UCLA Care Extenders, LAC+USC Hospital, Children's Hospital, Venice Family Clinic, Marina Del Rey Hospital (if you want to scribe), and many many more. If the programs are saying that you need to understand what you're getting yourself into, then I suggest taking the next 6 months to a year to volunteer extensively in a clinical setting. During that time, get to know the staff. You'll be able to develop relationships with clinicians who can be an asset later on to help you find shadowing opportunities.

Don't worry about your lack of science work in undergrad. I was a fine arts major so I had zero collegiate science work before starting. Be patient and it'll all work out.

 

[muirite]

So I'm from LA too. I did a Post-Bacc at USC. Have you applied there?

No I applied at UCI/LA, Cal State LA, Western and Fullerton.

As for volunteering, there's UCLA Care Extenders, LAC+USC Hospital, Children's Hospital, Venice Family Clinic, Marina Del Rey Hospital (if you want to scribe), and many many more. If the programs are saying that you need to understand what you're getting yourself into, then I suggest taking the next 6 months to a year to volunteer extensively in a clinical setting. During that time, get to know the staff. You'll be able to develop relationships with clinicians who can be an asset later on to help you find shadowing opportunities.

Thanks I am volunteering at Cedars now I have no intention of moving anywhere. I plan to stay here for a while I hope to move to one of the clinics because I am most interested in undeserved community low cost type clinics.

Don't worry about your lack of science work in undergrad. I was a fine arts major so I had zero collegiate science work before starting. Be patient and it'll all work out.

Thank You for all the great suggestions.

 

[muirite]

When you say you tried cold calling I wonder what that entailed for you. I would drop a "resume" tailored for shadowing around at 30 clinics sometimes to get started shadowing. - would try to ask if there was an office manager who handled shadows, I kept meticulous records of names and when I could call back. I was polite but somewhat persistent. I got tons of shadows because many students give up after asking once. It is a fine line to walk to not be obnoxious, but you can walk it. Also always make a point of asking a doctor what they would recommend shadowing (what field) and then ask if they can connect you with someone in that field. GL!

Thank you for the idea, I think i need to be a little more persistent. I am that person who would make contact then about three weeks later try to follow up but thats as far as I went. I will also try more clinics. I tried at the public health clinics near my home and one said no and the other wants you to volunteer there first. I will keep trying

 

[YellowfinGuy10]

When you say you tried cold calling I wonder what that entailed for you. I would drop a "resume" tailored for shadowing around at 30 clinics sometimes to get started shadowing. - would try to ask if there was an office manager who handled shadows, I kept meticulous records of names and when I could call back. I was polite but somewhat persistent. I got tons of shadows because many students give up after asking once. It is a fine line to walk to not be obnoxious, but you can walk it. Also always make a point of asking a doctor what they would recommend shadowing (what field) and then ask if they can connect you with someone in that field. GL!

I have been trying to get going with shadowing too. I haven't tired cold calling but i guess i should. From what i have heard from others about out local hospitals they don't really do shadowing. So just call and ask?

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

Generally if you go to any university with some kind of pre-med advisor, you could still have access to that person even if you're not in a dedicated post-bacc program. I did that and it worked out really well for me.

Not always. It really varies from institution to institution - my own pretty well slammed the door on advising as soon as I applied for graduation.

Many of the UC's have more or less done away with in-person advising - I have a friend at UCD who advised it was more or less impossible to get to see an adviser during undergrad.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

I have been trying to get going with shadowing too. I haven't tired cold calling but i guess i should. From what i have heard from others about out local hospitals they don't really do shadowing. So just call and ask?

You really have to know somebody. I have cold called around 25 places without avail.

Its a challenge if you don't know them, its more of a challenge if you're a non-trad.

My understanding is that shadowing is a plus but not mandatory so long as there is volunteering, particularly for nontrads.

 

[italiancowgirl]

I personally got a lot out of shadowing, and I got most shadows by walking in to clinics and shaking hands then just calling and saying "hello please pick me." larger hospital chains don't tend to do shadowing (kaiser/legacy/providence) so I recommend starting with smaller clinics. I had a lot of luck with a hospital that was independent and they allowed me to get authorized with both the hospital and the doc, which made it easier to ask the docs. Also once you get one shadow, you should try and see if they can recommend you to other docs.

 

[muirite]

I found a clinic that will allow me to shadow as long as i volunteer, not exactly what I was hoping for but I cant be picky. I am pretty lucky they are open on Saturdays (the only day i can). I will volunteer two Saturdays a month at 4 hrs just answering phones. They say after 2 month I will be able to shadow in a different location. I do orientation this week and will start next.

I cold called about 45 or 50 different places and got nothing. The way i got this was that one of the people that is on the board of directors with the place i tutor kids is a Dr. I have been there for over a year and he never once said he was a Dr. I was kinda shocked when he called me and made the offer. Everyone there knows i want to go to med school. I am pretty stoked.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

https://dhs.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/dhs/moredhs/volunteerservices/
https://www.uclahealth.org/careextender/Pages/care-extender-program.aspx
http://www.venicefamilyclinic.org/volunteers/volunteer-opportunities
http://www.chla.org/volunteering-our-hospital
http://www.cityofhope.org/giving/get-involved/volunteer
http://uscvhh.org/volunteers/student-volunteers
https://thrive.kaiserpermanente.org...e-county/community-events/volunteer-services/
https://thrive.kaiserpermanente.org...-angeles/community-events/volunteer-services/
http://www.thesabanfreeclinic.org/

 

[tweezers]

http://copehealthscholars.org/prosp...al-care-extender-prepstep-health-care-scholar

^I did this program, they have lots of locations throughout Southern California (though the UCLA program is similarly named, they are separate). They frame it as a clinical internship so there's an application process, interview, and training. Once you get in there are opportunities for leadership, shadowing, networking, and letters of recommendation. Through them I have also been part of a few mass casualty emergency drills in the area, which were very cool. If you have questions about it, feel free to PM me.

http://thetwilightbrigade.com/serve

^I know someone in med school right now who trained with this program (they have upcoming training in LA in February). The training program helped find her placement at a local hospice afterwards for volunteering. She said it was really rewarding, the people involved are all great and genuine, and the admissions committee at her med school was moved by her experience there. Be forewarned, this is end of life care, so if you are very uncomfortable with that perhaps another endeavor will suit you better.