Non-traditional applicant

[furtheremscare]

I am currently 22 years old and I am starting to contemplate medical school. I originally planned on getting a degree in documentary film, but I earned certification as an EMT as an "easy job" to pay for school. At 18, I was hired at a county EMS system, becoming the youngest employee at that service. I became there youngest paramedic at 19, and at 21, I was hired by a higher-paying, county fire-based service. At the age of 22, I was recongized as being very forward-thinking and was asked by my administration to develop new treatment guidelines for our service, despite my staus as the youngest employee. In this process, I have worked closely with our medical director and other physicians. As our new guidelines near completion I am finding that I am tired of being a paramedic, and I want more knowledge. I am becoming bored in my current position, even though that position allows me to have many more educational and research opportunities than most other paramedics. I enjoy EMS, specifically critical care, but I can't see myself doing it the rest of my life. Durring our guideline development, I found that I really have an interest for anesthesia, but I am concerned that I am too old and do not have the traditional med school background. By the time I finish pre-med, I will be turning 26. My current gpa is arround 3.5. Will my experinces in development of medical guidlines help me get into a decent med school?

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[VaBeachGrl007]

Honestly, a lot of medical schools love nontraditional students. They love people who have had life experiences and have decided to go back to medicine. If you look at the average age of incoming classes to medical school, it's around 26 or so. But you need to also do relatively well in the pre-req courses and get atleast a 27 on the MCAT.

I have been an EMT-B for about 2 years now, and every day only reinforces the fact that I have a passion for medicine. So I completely understand why you're considering med school. Go for it! Who knows, you could make an excellent doctor some day =]

 

[Catalystik]

1) I am concerned that I am too old and do not have the traditional med school background. By the time I finish pre-med, I will be turning 26.

2) My current gpa is arround 3.5.

3) Will my experinces in development of medical guidlines help me get into a decent med school?

1) I work with a doc who started med school in his 50s. See the Non-Trad Forum and you'll note the many 30- and 40-somethings completing their prerequisites and gearing up to apply to med school.

2) Others have had a far-lower GPA to beef up on realizing that medicine is their true calling. You're in a relatively good position for someone who probably has few science classes so far. Averages for those accepted are 3.67 cGPA and 3.61 BCPM GPA for AMCAS (MD) schools and 3.47/3.36 sGPA for AACOMAS (DO).

3) Your experience with patients will be excellent clinical experience to list and your guideline development activity may be leadership (if you coordinated others) or authorship, or a Special Project, depending on what you did, all of which have value in adcomm eyes.

Besides taking the prerequisites and getting excellent grades, you have more work to do in gaining the proper ECs (some of which you doubtless have but didn't mention). It would help to have clinical environment experience within a clinical mileiu. You should get involved in an altruistic activity, like some nonmedical community service, acquire formal physician shadowing of a few disciplines, including primary care (and anesthesia if you can manage it), and possibly teaching (TA/coaching/tutoring/mentoring). Research also strengthens an application. One also generally lists hobbies, sports, and artistic endeavors.