Hello, I am 22 years of age and I want to become a plastic surgeon. However, I have taken a non tradition route to get in medical school and majoring in human relations. I have a 4.0 grade point average but I need to get medical hours and 4 classes. I have applied to the hospitals but getting a job there is extremely hard. Moreover, I have taken all the classes except physics and inorganic chemistry and have done really well. The problem is the school I attend it a satelight school and therefore the classes that I need to take are not offered there at that time. I am about to graduate college and I was thinking about becoming a nurse then back tracking into medical school because I can not afford to pay for the class out of my pocket. Or I could take out a loan and use that money to pay for school. Or I was thinking about becoming a emt . Being self sufficient and takin care of myself is important while attending medical school because I don't have anyone to rely on. What is the best option becoming an emt or going to nursing school.? Help
Options?
- Thread starter Sade2013
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1) It's far too early for you to think you want to be a plastic surgeon. Focus on getting into med school first.
2) It doesn't help you get accepted into med school by becoming either an EMT or a nurse. Med school admissions committees don't really care about that generally speaking. Although it might help you see whether you like the hospital environment, what doctors do, that sort of thing.
3) What primarily helps you get into med school is doing really well in the pre-med classes you haven't taken (i.e., a high GPA, especially science GPA) and doing really well on your MCAT.
4) Apply for a post-bacc program. Look for a cheap one, though you may still need to take out loans to pay for it.
5) Or if a post-bacc program is still too expensive for you, then you could take classes at a community college. However, many med schools (including the top ones) might not consider community college classes sufficient. So you won't be eligible to apply to those med schools. However, there are many other med schools which do accept community college classes.
6) You might consider posting this in the pre-med forums. You might get more answers there.
- Dec 28, 2010
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Not sure what you're asking but seems like a lot of stuff all at once and you seem too misinformed for anyone to give you any advice without writing a full guide to medical school book. You take out loans for medical school so finances don't dictate stuff but from a sufficiency POV, you may need support from others. Nurses and physicians practice in the same setting on the same patients but the fields are a night and day difference in terms of what you're doing and in terms of commitment.
Okay I was just trying to figure out what is the best options because I wanted to make sure I was financially stable to handle medical school.
Okay so I think the best option is not to go to nursing school but just go straight medical school. if I have to take out loan to get the other four reminder classes,I have left than I can do that. Thank You
- Dec 28, 2010
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I kind of see what you're asking but am not sure. You're basically worried that medical school may be too much to handle given your financial state and lack of a support system. Also, you haven't phrased things or given us the things we look for when we give medical school advice. For example, you mention 4.0 GPA but what about the MCAT? Do you attend an accredited university or a community college because some schools won't accept community college credit? Also, nurse vs. physician are very different. As a physician, you go through 4 more years of school (2 similar to undergraduate, 2 where you are in clinic integrating science with the practice) and then at minimum 3 years of residency, but I would say a large amount will go on to do anywhere from 1-9 years after that depending on field. EM/IM/Family at minimum is 7 years post-college. Fields like Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery with specialization in one area can by 16 years of school after college. What differentiates a physician from a nurse is understanding the fundamental mechanism of the disease process as well the amount of hours we work before we're certified vs. a nurse. As a physician you will be speaking with families and trying to diagnose and then give patients surgeries or medications. As a nurse, you are the first line of defense and reading the physician's notes on the EMR to carry out and execute their plans.
I went to a community college to obtain my associates degree, I am at a university now to finish out my bachelors. The school, I am attending only has certain degree programs and it nothing to do with medicine. I have not taken the mcat test at all, I am studying for the exam. I thought the becoming an nurse would help me because, that would help me out financially, and I have all the classes to become a nurse. I just need some direction of what I need to do to get on track. I feel like, I am all over the place. It like I know what I want to do but it is not coming together,
- Dec 28, 2010
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That's cool. Yeah, your question was all over the place. From a money standpoint, you don't need financial stability to apply to medical school because you can take out loans to manage cost of living and tuition but you not be able to buy everything you want. If you choose this route you'll be charged money from everything from orientation until graduation for the stupidest things but fighting over it is not worth it. If you're worried you'll take too much out, unless you want to go to a super expensive (60K+ tuition alone school) finishing earlier and earning an attending salary for an additional year will be absolutely worth it.
If you have any aspiration to be a physician focus on that alone. Visit Pre-Allo and figure out how to get that done (MCAT, research, extracurriculars, shadowing, volunteering) all need to be done. It's a multi-year process that it sounds you've only half completed. You can always transition to PA/NP/Nursing later...
Okay that what I am going to do, I will finish out my year at study real hard to get a good grade on the MCAt test.
- Dec 28, 2010
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Don't try and work concurrently. It doesn't work. If need be, work for as long as you need to earn enough to pay for your living costs and study materials but you need to focus on the MCAT. I can't tell you how many try to do too many things along with the MCAT and burn out and never apply.
Okay, I will study for the test. I am in the process of getting a tutor to help me study. I really do appreciate your help.
I'm not sure what kind of school doesn't have Inorganic Chem and Physics? You've taken Organic Chem? When they ask for Inorganic Chemistry they usually mean General Chemistry (and my school Inorganic Chem was an upper lever class). Usually General Chemistry will be a prerequisite for Organic.
EMT route could be very interesting, practical and useful. I knew a person who, initially thinking of becoming a firefighter, got EMT cert, moved on from firefighting idea and by virtue of the EMT cert got on as ER tech, became comfortable in the medical setting, and is now completing hospitalist residency. One advantage of EMT over nursing is time (and money!), especially if it's in short supply.
