I'm a 32-year-old attorney and I'll be starting medical school this August. I was never really satisfied with my career in law and I mostly just went to law school because my dad was an attorney. A year out of law school, I injured my back and needed surgery. I became very interested in my case and everything at the hospital, etc. etc. I had no background in math/science and the last chemistry course I took in high school I got a D- in. So I took a couple classes at community college (gen chem and basic bio) to see if I could even hack it. I really liked it so eventually I quit the law office and started going to school full time while working part to full time as a nursing assistant at the hospital where my mom worked as a nurse.
I took all the basic prereqs (chem, physics, A&P, orgo, bio) at community college before moving on to a 4 year school. I originally just wanted a few upper level courses to pad my transcript but I decided to just go for a B.S. in Biology (I had a B.A. in poli sci which is fairly useless for medical school). I've been at the hospital for about 2 1/2 years. I started this whole plan around Fall 2011. I originally hoped to apply for the 2013-2014 starting class, but things kept getting pushed back. I was accepted to a great school despite having attended community college. I think I had a good excuse because with six figure debt from law school, I needed to save every dime I could by taking as much at community college as I could. It also helped that I 4.0'd all my 300 and 400 level courses at the 4-year university. I didn't do any preordained post-bacc program. I just kind of made it up as I went along.
My advice:
- Take classes at community college, but 4.0 them. And add a few upper level courses too. You have to go beyond the minimum reqs. You really need to take upper level science courses so you can get letters of recommendation from professors. Most schools require letters from professors of science.
- If you can, get an actual job at a hospital or doctor's office in direct patient care. I think this really impresses the admissions folks but more importantly it really prepares you to be a doctor and lets you experience if you really want to be one. Nursing assistant is a real easy choice. It was a 4 1/2 week course to get my CNA. I volunteered at the hospital in the emergency center, which helped me get the job as an NA.
- Shadow doctors or PAs. If you work at a hospital, this is kind of covered. However, some schools want actual shadowing separate from work. I know University of Washington says on their FAQs that even if you are, for example, an ER nurse with five years experience, they still expect you to shadow a doctor in your spare time.
- Volunteer if you can, even if it is not in a hospital. Schools are all looking for community service oriented applicants. However, I think they give you some leeway if you are a nontrad, especially if you are working a lot while doing your prereqs. I had hardly any community service and I was still accepted.
- Realize this will take longer than you think. When I started in 2011, my original plan was to apply to start in 2013-2014. I'm now two years behind, because it was simply impossible to do anything beyond the minimum prereqs in that time.
- Prepare to sacrifice a lot. My legal job wasn't very high paying but it was still more than $12/hr at the hospital. I had to live with my mo and defer my six figure debt, which will grow even more with medical school. It will be a very long time before I am debt free (or at least have it under control), before I own a house, and probably before I marry or have children, which I'd still like to do. I sacrificed my 20s to law school and my 30s will go to med school and residency. But to me it's worth it. Very much worth it. It took me along time to discover this but I know now that it's what I was meant to do. Make sure you know this is what you want. Working/volunteering/shadowing is a good way to determine that.
Feel free to ask me any questions.
