Non trad seeking guidance

[jserthetrainr]

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Hi everyone - nice to be here!
I’ll be straight up and say I’m a non-trad.
I’m a 27 y/o male in CA.

I completed physical therapy school in 2020, worked for a year, then applied to a big name hospital system for a specialization route in orthopedic PT this year.

I am single, no kids, no student loan debt.

I enjoy what I do. But long story short, I started to feel limited in my scope once I started my current position. I feel I can make a bigger difference in my patient’s lives by going the MD route.

Sure, I can help them with their shoulder pain, their back problems, and facilitate their return to their prior functional status. At the end of the day, though, they still have other health problems that I can’t actively take a part in. This is where this thought of med school comes in.

As part of pre PT requirements I’ve taken the majority of science course sans orgo and biochem. I have no qualms with taking these courses. From your experience, however, is it feasible to take and DO WELL in orgo I while working full time (as a PT)? Would it make sense to instead forego taking these courses and instead teach myself with resources like Khan Academy? I feel that this would not make sense in terms of MCAT preparation but I’d like your input. Other things I’m considering is like a Kaplan review course, since it’s been a minute since I’ve taken physics, gen chem, bio. I aced those classes so hopefully I’m able to relearn it fairly quickly.

I am actively seeking schools that focus more on a holistic approach to their applicants versus straight up applying to top med schools.

Please give me any other tips or things I should know about this process. I know it’s a long road ahead.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Hi everyone - nice to be here!
I’ll be straight up and say I’m a non-trad.
I’m a 27 y/o male in CA.

I completed physical therapy school in 2020, worked for a year, then applied to a big name hospital system for a specialization route in orthopedic PT this year.

I am single, no kids, no student loan debt.

I enjoy what I do. But long story short, I started to feel limited in my scope once I started my current position. I feel I can make a bigger difference in my patient’s lives by going the MD route.

Sure, I can help them with their shoulder pain, their back problems, and facilitate their return to their prior functional status. At the end of the day, though, they still have other health problems that I can’t actively take a part in. This is where this thought of med school comes in.

As part of pre PT requirements I’ve taken the majority of science course sans orgo and biochem. I have no qualms with taking these courses. From your experience, however, is it feasible to take and DO WELL in orgo I while working full time (as a PT)? Would it make sense to instead forego taking these courses and instead teach myself with resources like Khan Academy? I feel that this would not make sense in terms of MCAT preparation but I’d like your input. Other things I’m considering is like a Kaplan review course, since it’s been a minute since I’ve taken physics, gen chem, bio. I aced those classes so hopefully I’m able to relearn it fairly quickly.

I am actively seeking schools that focus more on a holistic approach to their applicants versus straight up applying to top med schools.

Please give me any other tips or things I should know about this process. I know it’s a long road ahead.

If organic chemistry is the ONLY class you are taking while working full time (and I mean a 40 hour/week work schedule), then yes, you can do well if you forego your social life that semester. Biochem can be a beast, too, depending on your professor, so don't take those classes at the same time addition to full time employment. You don't want to try to teach yourself orgo and biochem, and they're required at most medical schools anyway, so just take them at a university and get the credits. After you're done, start MCAT prep - you'll likely relearn everything pretty quickly on your own, but you can take a course if you prefer a more structured environment. You'll take the MCAT once you're within your target score range on your practice tests.

Medical schools also require extensive ECs. You already have your clinical experience covered, but you'll need at least a few hundred hours of community service as well. Leadership and teaching experience is valued. Interesting hobbies add color to your application. Research experience is nice to have, but it's not 100% necessary.

I want to address something completely aside though: don't sell yourself short on the benefits you can provide your patients as a PT. My husband started physical therapy earlier this year and it changed his life. A few months of biweekly sessions with Theresa R., PT addressed not only his running injury, but also essentially cured the low-back pain and recurrent tension headaches that have bothered him for years. He's stronger, more flexible, and his overall quality of life is markedly improved since beginning PT. It's amazing what people in your profession can do.

 

[AB92]

I took both organics and biochemistry while working full-time (40 hours per week) and got an A in all 3. I did take them all in different semesters, though. It is do-able, and I'll even say it's do-able without sacrificing work-life-school balance. I still had time to spend on exercising, my social life, volunteering, and other things I enjoy. The thing I figured out to make all that happen was compartmentalizing/being mindful. When you're studying- study. And when you're spending time doing things you love- be in that moment and enjoy what you're doing!

 

[MusicDOc124]

With being a PT looking for a broader scope (assuming here that you want to expand on current abilities), you may want to consider PM&R in the future. That said, IF considering PM&R and looking for a holistic review, then consider DO programs. There is a fair amount of overlap in OMM on it's own with what you have done in PT, and DOs fair very well in PM&R with those skills - add to that a background as a PT.

Just a suggestion to consider, that's all!

 

[Musculo]

Your story could be me! DPT with an OSC who went back to school for very similar reasons as you.

As far as orgo and Biochem I was easily able to do orgo 1 and 2 while working full time as a PT (but I had a desk job which made life easier) and I taught a class at my old PT school. Got As both semesters. Didn’t do biochem due to time but I highly regretted it. We do basic sciences first year at my DO school and it was horrible because of the shear amount of science information I had no exposure in. Taking biochem, immunology and microbiology would have helped. I made it through first year with decent enough grades. Now in 2nd year we cover organ systems and clinical medicine, so life and grades are so much better, I think bc of my PT background. Clinical medicine is a lot easier to learn bc that’s how we were taught in PT school.

As for OMM, I actually hate when ppl compare OMM to PT. While there’s definitely enough similarity that you could probably get an A with very little effort, it’s a completely different viewpoint of addressing patients as well as a different teaching method. For instance, both PT and OMM have the Texas twist HVLA. Done for very different reasons, usually pain or ROM in PT, basically a functional deficit. In OMM it’s done if patient has a flexed somatic dysfunction and preferably at the apex of the curve. No mention of what functional deficits the patient may have. OMM does have its uses and I actually hope to use it when Im an attending.

If you can stand the BS of being in school again not to mention the workload of med school, it’s definitely doable. And I really enjoy learning all the little holes that never got filled in PT school or practice. I remember asking a seasoned clinician “what is thrombocytopenia, how am I supposed to know that??!” Now I chuckle when I look back 🙂