Outside Medicine, which Health-Related Profession would you practice?

[Pursuing MD]

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I may not be accepted into a U.S. medical school or DO school. I have been considering podiatry, but have heard some bad things about it. What else is good besides DO or MD?

I would like to know what other health or medical related profession would you go into if you could not get into any medical school or DO school...maybe optometry, podiatry, dentistry, veterinary. pharmacy, chiropractic, or any others?

 

[burlypie]

What about being an NP, Cert. Nurse midwife, or PA? Very similar jobs, working with patients, and having a good amount of autonomy in lots of situations. I work with lots of NPs -- they're great and it's tempting to go that route.

 

[Bikini Princess]

There was a recent thread which asked this...try searching for it ? I think I would do optometry.

 

[Dr/\/\om]

I'd go to PA school.

BTW: you don't need to separate out medical school and DO school...they are the same thing. (OK, actually DO is a subcategory of medical school)

 

[Smoke This]

What about being a gigolo? That's health related, right?

 

[Pursuing MD]

Sorry if I did not mention ALL of the health related professions...but you get the idea!

 

[Pursuing MD]

What's all the hype over being a PA?

 

[Rezul]

I'd probably have gone the NP route. Many universities have accelerated BSN/MS for students that have a Bachelor's in another field. I know Pace University's program takes 3 semesters to get your BSN, then the master's section is about 2 years.

 

[dvm]

Stay in veterinary medicine.

dvm (yes I have a DVM)

 

[ChicagoDude]

My backup Plan was to either become a Nurse or possibly a Physical Therapist.

 

[silvercholla]

That's easy Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic.

 

[kathleeya]

my backup plan was public health school. i am now working on an MPH in health management and policy from the university of michigan. i'm loving it, and am reapplying to med school in the 2003 cycle.

if you're considering applying to med school again, public health is definitely a viable option. many doctors are taking off time to get an MPH nowadays, and my pre-med advisor has been extremely positive about my choice. if you are curious about public health, feel free to pm me.

all i have to say is that many people don't follow a straight path to their goals... if medicine is what you really want, don't give up on the dream!

 

[exigente chica]

I say never give up on your dream! and what's with the recent thread thing bikini princess, people are responding so chill.

 

[chopsuey]

umm....therapist, psychologist, or one of those people who explain procedures to kids and their families to help insure that they understand what's going on....(i don't know what they're officially called at other hospitals, but we have them at the hospital I work at)

 

[kathleeya]

one of those people who explain procedures to kids and their families to help insure that they understand what's going on

shouldn't that be the doctor's responsibility, or am i just being an idealist?

 

[Dr. MAXY]

What about Anesthetic Nurse? Other choices will be Dentist or Pharmacist. OR maybe apply agian, and agian , and agian. I know people who got admitted after applying for 3X.

GOOD LUCK

 

[pbehzad]

dentistry

 

[FrankMD]

Paramedic Firefighter

 

[Biodude]

I admit that I'd go PA if I didn't get into medical school. Why? Well, PA's are in very high demand, not to mention that their median earnings (around 66k) aren't too shabby. Shouldn't be hard to find a job as a PA, and I'd rather be one than a nurse because well, I know this is going to sound stupid, but yeah, I wouldn't like people to be calling me a nurse. Plus the pay is good.

But then again, nurse anesthesist is very high-paying!

Other health professions I'd try to get into if I couldn't become an MD or DO:

Pharmacy
Optometry
Physician's Assistant
Occupational Therapist
Physical Therapist
Dental Hygienist

You know, my mom told me to go into one of these instead of medical school after learning that I want to delve into the health professions, and my relatives wanted me to go to Pharmacy because it "doesn't require as much hard work and working Over Time can net you as much money as a doctor".

My mom's just afraid that I'll get frustrated and end up nowhere.

 

[Zoobaby]

Isn't it as hard/harder to get into a DVM progam than it is to get into MD?? Just what I've heard - because of a serious derth of programs or something.

I think it would be cool to be a medivac helicopter pilot. In some states I know you have to have an MD to do it, but not all.

 

[m2006]

I'd continue my career in health services research and get a PhD in Health Policy. I'd miss the clinical aspects of medicine terribly, which might cause me to consider an NP program. I think NPs have more autonomy than PAs in many cases and I appreciate the nursing model of care which is more whole-person based than the standard biomedical model. In addition, a doctorate in nursing would allow you to teach clinical nursing as well as conduct research. So that might be a possibility. Good question...

 

[silvercholla]

Originally posted by chopsuey
umm....therapist, psychologist, or one of those people who explain procedures to kids and their families to help insure that they understand what's going on....(i don't know what they're officially called at other hospitals, but we have them at the hospital I work at)

Do you mean a patient advocate?

 

[CareRx]

What about being a Nutritionist or RD? Very similar jobs, working with patients. This is my back up plan.

 

[BushBaby]

I would go for pharmacy. Half my friends are into pharmacy...it's pretty cool and the pay ain't that bad.

 

[Spidey]

Originally posted by Pursuing MD
I may not be accepted into a U.S. medical school or DO school. I have been considering podiatry, but have heard some bad things about it. What else is good besides DO or MD?

I posted this in another thread so I'll just copy and paste it here for you :0

You might wanna check out this web page:

http://www.caribbeanmedicine.com/

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, I actually plan on applying to the canadian schools I want to get into, a few in the states as backups, and finally to Saba(www.saba.org) in the caribbean as my ultimate backup. They tell me you should have a 3.2 gpa or higher to be competitive at saba.

 

[2badr]

Respiratory Therapy ( RT ) - ICU, or Clinical Pharmacy.

 

[chopsuey]

one of those people who explain procedures to kids and their families to help insure that they understand what's going on....(i don't know what they're officially called at other hospitals, but we have them at the hospital I work at)

They're called Child Life Specialists at the hospital i work at...and they're really more for the kids. I think it's actually geared towards kids undergoing care in a trauma situation because a lot is going on at once. So i guess I'd be interested in being a child life specialist in an ED.

 

[dr kevin40]

probably a scientist who does medically relevant research.

 

[Dr. MAXY]

Hey chopsuey,
Let us know what health field you decide to pursue.
GOOD LUCK

 

[peabody]

genetic counseling

 

[aquapants]

Hospital Admin.

Maybe CEO of Columbia/HCA.

 

[steiner19er]

Originally posted by Dr. MAXY
What about Anesthetic Nurse? Other choices will be Dentist or Pharmacist. OR maybe apply agian, and agian , and agian.

GOOD LUCK

i think you should be a spelling teacher, or just apply AGIAN

 

[angelic02]

I would probably apply again. If not, here is how I would go about. I would go to dental school, afterwards, get into a oral and maxillofacial surgey residency which offers a combined oral surgery certificate/MD degree. The details differ from program to program, but the ones I've seen go like this:

PGY-1 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
PGY-2 Advanced standing to MS-III.
PGY-3 MS-IV (receive MD after this year)
PGY-4 First Year General Surgery
PGY-5 and 6 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

If this was the route I took, I would probably quit the program after the PGY-3 or PGY-4.

Obviously, this only works if the oral surgery residency is affiliated with a nearby medical school.

But then again, chances are that if I wasn't accepted into medical school the first time, I would keep applying.

 

[angelic02]

Originally posted by chopsuey
umm....therapist, psychologist, or one of those people who explain procedures to kids and their families to help insure that they understand what's going on....(i don't know what they're officially called at other hospitals, but we have them at the hospital I work at)

You mean a child-life specialist?

 

[chopsuey]

Originally posted by chopsuey

They're called Child Life Specialists at the hospital i work at...and they're really more for the kids. I think it's actually geared towards kids undergoing care in a trauma situation because a lot is going on at once. So i guess I'd be interested in being a child life specialist in an ED. [/B]

exactly, angelic02.....as i posted on the last page

Dr. Maxy ["Let us know what health field you decide to pursue."] .....um, i'll be sure to keep you updated??? here's a hint, though....i'm applying to med school!!! so i'm *hoping* the answer will be doctor!

 

[TulaneKid24]

Originally posted by angelic02
I would probably apply again. If not, here is how I would go about. I would go to dental school, afterwards, get into a oral and maxillofacial surgey residency which offers a combined oral surgery certificate/MD degree. The details differ from program to program, but the ones I've seen go like this:

PGY-1 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
PGY-2 Advanced standing to MS-III.
PGY-3 MS-IV (receive MD after this year)
PGY-4 First Year General Surgery
PGY-5 and 6 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

If this was the route I took, I would probably quit the program after the PGY-3 or PGY-4.

Obviously, this only works if the oral surgery residency is affiliated with a nearby medical school.

But then again, chances are that if I wasn't accepted into medical school the first time, I would keep applying.

These programs are EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. There are so few positions. You almost have to be at the top (top 5%) of your dental school class to get one of these spots. So, this is probably a very difficult "back door" option. I have a friend in dental school who told me about this program because he is considering it. I was unaware that these programs were that hard to get into.

Good Luck to everyone.

 

[angelic02]

Originally posted by TulaneKid24



These programs are EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. There are so few positions. You almost have to be at the top (top 5%) of your dental school class to get one of these spots. So, this is probably a very difficult "back door" option. I have a friend in dental school who told me about this program because he is considering it. I was unaware that these programs were that hard to get into.

Good Luck to everyone.

That is why I plan to work harder than ever these next four years so I can get into the profession I want the FIRST time and not have to resort to my competitive second option as a last resort. Out of all honesty, I wouldn't even resort to this method if it was the last method to earn an MD on the planet...I can't even imagine myself looking at anybody else's teeth or mouth...not even for just four-eight years. If I don't get accepted into medical school the first time, I'll just keep working and applying until I do. I'll keep applying until I'm of old age if I have to....that is how important medicine is to me.

 

[angelic02]

Originally posted by Pursuing MD
I may not be accepted into a U.S. medical school or DO school. I have been considering podiatry, but have heard some bad things about it. What else is good besides DO or MD?

I would like to know what other health or medical related profession would you go into if you could not get into any medical school or DO school...maybe optometry, podiatry, dentistry, veterinary. pharmacy, chiropractic, or any others?

Veterinary medicine would be good if you liked working with animals...I would NEVER go that route because I think people are more important. There is a school (following) of medicine called naturopathic medicine or simply naturopathy. They are licensed in only a handful of states and territories. In fact, the scope of practice of the profession differs widely from one state or territory to another. Alaska licenses them but they are not allowed to perform minor operations or perform other tasks, eventhough naturopathic medical schools state that their students are trained to do said tasks. If somebody wants to go into this field, I would suggest investigating this option a little more before going into this field. The Council of Naturopathic Medical Education (which is or was accredited by the United States Department of Education) is either about to or has already lost its status as the accreditor of naturopathic medical education, according the American Naturopathic Medical Association.

Some helpful links:

www.naturopathic.org
The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians

www.anma.com
The American Naturopathic Medical Association

By the way, these two organizations have been fighting each other in the courts, eventhough they both claim to represent the same profession.

Another field you can go into is acupuncture, eventhough I don't know the educational requirements of this field.

 

[2badr]

Originally posted by TulaneKid24



These programs are EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. There are so few positions. You almost have to be at the top (top 5%) of your dental school class to get one of these spots. So, this is probably a very difficult "back door" option. I have a friend in dental school who told me about this program because he is considering it. I was unaware that these programs were that hard to get into.

Good Luck to everyone.

Absolutely competitive!!! Awhile back I had considered OMS but as you stated there are so few spots available. If this is an option you might want to consider what you would do if not accepted into the MD plan. You could opt for the 6 yr plan that does not award an MD - but that is still competitive. I believe I would only do this one if I could be guaranteed a position. So not likely for me at this point.