Non-Trad Career Changer? Re-Inventor? What am I/Where Do I Start?

[purplegown13]

First of all I just wanna say thanks to everyone here who provides feedback and input to others. I've been lurking for a long time and collecting bits of info, and finally decided to make my first post and get some input.

So about me- I'm mid 30s (finished undergrad in 2006 at a mid-tier University of California campus) and have essentially had two career since then. I worked for four years in politics/policy before doing a dual masters program in public policy and social work, both in top 10 programs. I worked in health policy (a state agency and then trade association) and did some clinical social work (psych assessments in a local emergency room) on the side. I obtained my clinical social work license and earlier this year transitioned to full-time social work practice, combining working in the ER and working as an outpatient group therapist. "Low" but not awful undergrad GPA of 3.4, Masters GPA of 3.8. No science unfortunately,and haven't taken the MCAT (obviously).

Two years ago, I considered going to psychiatric Nurse Practitioner school as an alternate entry student. I started the pre-reqs (A&P, microbio- unfortunately not the ones that count for med school) and did well, but then just felt like I'd be disappointed by another quick masters program, and wouldn't really get the training I wanted. I committed to being the best mental health professional I could be as a social worker. Over the past year though, I've felt more and more that I really do want to be a psychiatrist. All of my work has made me so passionate about access to mental health services, and more competent psychiatrists working in community mental health are sorely needed. I know this is where I want to be, hence my lurking on this board for a good long while before even creating an account.

I know anything is possible, and I'm gonna be 40+ anyway, so I might as well pursue my goal, so I'm not AS worried about my age as a factor. I might flame out in the pre-reqs and not even get to applying, but I know I'm a better student and learner now than I was at 20, even with a full-time job. I can only try. I do feel like I have a good case/story for why I want to do this, but I do have several questions.

1) Am I automatically a re-inventer based on an undergrad GPA of 3.4? Even though I'm going to have to do all my science pre-reqs now? Do I get any credit for an improved GPA at a non-science masters program? (Obviously my critical stats are going to be in my science pre-reqs and MCAT, I'm just wondering how much my undergrad hurts me at this point.

2) It would be much easier on my schedule and wallet to take some of the pre-reqs at our local community college. I've heard mixed things about this being ok or not, but can I start some of them at our CC at least? I need to remain employed, so I'll be DIYing my post-bacc either way. Luckily I live in a city with a large public university and an excellent community college so I feel like I do have options.

3) I see patients in the ER and as a therapist (our program is based at our local psych hospital)- is it reasonable to count this as clinical hours? I could do some additional shadowing, but getting a (likely lower paying) different job seems painful at this point. How much do non-clinical volunteer hours matter for career-changers/non-trads in general?

4) Am I at a disadvantage as an applicant for going in knowing I want to pursue psych? I honestly can't imagine myself wanting anything else. I'll stay open of course, but I feel like I want to be open about my career thus far pushing me in this direction.

Thanks for any input you can provide!

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[Ultimax]

1. You are a re-inventer because you had another career. I also had another career (nurse and nurse practitioner). It is unfortunate that graduate-level GPA does not count toward cGPA and sGPA for medical school. Even though your GPA is on the lower side, if you can A's all the science courses, I think that the upward trend is a positive thing. I had to retake all science courses because as you have mentioned, nursing courses do not satisfy medical school pre-requisite requirements.

2. Taking classes at CC is nor recommend, but taking some basic science courses wont hurt you. I took Biology I&II, Physics I&II, General Chemistry I&II and a CC 10 years ago. I did take Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Histology at a 4-year university. I had more than 14 interviews this cycle (9 MDs and 5 DOs), so I do not believe that taking basic science courses at CC is necessarily a bad thing. I do, however, recommend taking upper-division science courses at a 4-year university.

3. I am a nurse, and I list patient-interaction as clinical hours. Since you do see patients, I would list it as clinical hours as well. Doing some shadowings are needed, as well as volunteering to strengthen your community service. I am in the military, so unfortunately I did not have as much time for community service as I desired. I did list my military service as the reason why though. However, I also had medical missions to compensate for that. I would think that you should volunteer to make your application more well-rounded, even though I know that its hard since your basically independent and has other things to care for. I think that a few schools (Tulane) values community service.

4. Keep your options opened, its ok that you know what you want to do, but keep in mind that things change. I know that I want do to Interventional Cardiology, but I do play politics a bit when it comes to that.

You are never too old to pursue medicine, I will be 34 next year when I start. Plan your time wisely, and you will start med school even sooner than I do. Best of luck!

 

[purplegown13]

1. You are a re-inventer because you had another career. I also had another career (nurse and nurse practitioner). It is unfortunate that graduate-level GPA does not count toward cGPA and sGPA for medical school. Even though your GPA is on the lower side, if you can A's all the science courses, I think that the upward trend is a positive thing. I had to retake all science courses because as you have mentioned, nursing courses do not satisfy medical school pre-requisite requirements.

2. Taking classes at CC is nor recommend, but taking some basic science courses wont hurt you. I took Biology I&II, Physics I&II, General Chemistry I&II and a CC 10 years ago. I did take Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Histology at a 4-year university. I had more than 14 interviews this cycle (9 MDs and 5 DOs), so I do not believe that taking basic science courses at CC is necessarily a bad thing. I do, however, recommend taking upper-division science courses at a 4-year university.

3. I am a nurse, and I list patient-interaction as clinical hours. Since you do see patients, I would list it as clinical hours as well. Doing some shadowings are needed, as well as volunteering to strengthen your community service. I am in the military, so unfortunately I did not have as much time for community service as I desired. I did list my military service as the reason why though. However, I also had medical missions to compensate for that. I would think that you should volunteer to make your application more well-rounded, even though I know that its hard since your basically independent and has other things to care for. I think that a few schools (Tulane) values community service.

4. Keep your options opened, its ok that you know what you want to do, but keep in mind that things change. I know that I want do to Interventional Cardiology, but I do play politics a bit when it comes to that.

You are never too old to pursue medicine, I will be 34 next year when I start. Plan your time wisely, and you will start med school even sooner than I do. Best of luck!

Thank you for your kind and thoughtful response! I'm starting chemistry and physics at my local community college in the spring, so I think I'll stick with that and maybe move onto biology and the others at the University. I feel a little crazy embarking down this path, but mostly excited and hopeful. Thanks again for the input!