Nutrition bachelors, thinking about healthcare career change? Help!

[nutritionnerd]

Hi all,

I graduated last year with a bachelors of nutrition/dietetics and worked as a health educator for 1 year for an insurance company at a hospital. I didn’t really enjoy the behind the computer work and I’ve always loved science (I loved my major, but decided an RD is not really worth the investment, and I think I would get bored of it quite fast)

Anyway, I’ve been looking into PA school but haven’t been exposed to much of the healthcare field at all. My boyfriend is in a post-bac to get into med school. I’ve thought about med school but I’m just still not sure if that much school is what I want.

I’m in a dilemma because I do love learning and school, I want to be challenged, and I want to practice lifestyle medicine (Whole Foods plant based diet, exercise interventions, etc) and I have already attended one of their conferences in 2016 and I am super passionate about it.

I’d love any suggestions on how to move forward. I feel stuck at 23 and just don’t know what to do. I’m also concerned if I choose to go to med school because I haven’t yet taken the MCAT or anything. Just not sure what my path is.

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[phagocytosis41]

Why change , your career choice is terrible? Reexamine the reasons first and give a better reason than just science and learning and school. You can do all that in your current field.

 

[jurassicpark]

Before you decide to jump into trying to get into medical school, PA or other life-altering decision it might be a good idea to delve into the lifestyle first as you've said you've not been exposed to much of what the healthcare field is yet.

Remember, to go to med school at least you're not only going to have to make sure you've fulfilled all their pre-reqs and take the MCAT, but would also need clinical shadowing/observership/etc under your belt anyways. 23 years old is still pretty young, but make sure you do the math in terms of years and life goals as well. Getting into med school I think would be at least two years away. Med school itself would be four years. Residency would be a minimum of three years more. Just something to consider.

Why are you not going for the RD btw? In terms of "investment," my wife will be my future sugar-mamma when we retire. She's hooked up with a retirement fund, pension. I get my insurance from her. And occasional side hustles from teaching classes on weekends for 1-2 hours work she brings in more than I make in a day!

 

[pamac]

The roadblock you may hit is the patients themselves. I preach good eating habits and healthy lifestyle to my patients, and nobody takes me up on it. The ones that do don’t need much from me because they alread seek out health and wellness techniques that they can love with. As a dietician, you would be already in the best role to address the folks that come into your purview.

If you go to the effort of medical or professional school, you have to consider a return in your investment, and the money just isn't there for the niche you are hoping to carve. Take your money and become a personal trainer. You could throw good money into becoming a fringe provider like chiropractic or naturopath, and have more of a role like you see yourself wanting vs what you would in conventional medicine. Insurance doesn’t pay you for that, and patients will only want to pay for a pill or a gimmick. You don’t see many MDs ordering a salad “stat”.