Plan B?

[deleted702880]

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I always thought that the question as "If you couldn't be a healthcare provider for any reason whatsoever what would you be?" My personal response is police officer because law enforcement works on very similar humanitarian principles to healthcare when not abused.

 

[deleted407021]

After a few unsuccessful cycles, I'd get an MA in counseling psychology or social work and do therapy.

 

[Afp0731]

Thank you for your words. I really do want to get in but personally if I fail any goal I won't focus on it and get unhappy over it. I will try to move on and work for something else though I would try my hardest during the attempt. I am focusing on my education and trying to make all A's. I hope that the medical sxhools will recognize that though I made a few bad choices in the past that resulted in the low GPA, I can and will focus and do well.

As far as reapplying for medical schools, this is an option that I haven't really thought of or considered but I will think about it. Thanks!

No problemo. May I ask why you would not want to reapply given a rejection? Getting into medical school is a not a one size fits all task. I know people who had to apply three plus times and people who had to apply once but at the end of the day, they all got where they wanted to go. You would be amazed at the diversity of med school of classes. Learning from mistakes, improving, and moving forward is a critical aspect of the medical field and applying to medical school is certainly no exception. Medical schools will definitely see that you learned from your mistakes but you have to prepared to prove it. That could mean getting a one-year masters, re-taking the MCAT, getting some clinic exp, etc. If this is really what you want to do, these detours are nothing to worry about. I had a bad GPA
(really bad) in my early college days but I pulled things together and made straight As for my last 2.5 years of college including retakes of any class I did poorly in. I worked incredibly hard to pull off a good MCAT score too but I still had to spend a year getting clinical experience in a hospice following my first app to become eligible at the school I wanted. Don't worry about where you have been because that wont stop you from doing what you want. The only thing stopping you is your future decisions.

 

[Afp0731]

Did the philanthropy consist of mission trips?

Not with my university, no but I did do that with independent groups. I lead in various campus organizations that raised money/volunteered for St Jude, American Cancer Society, Autism Society of X, Habitat for Humanity, etc. If given the opportunity, I would highly recommend getting involved with hospice patients or with MDA at their summer camps.

 

[Afp0731]

You don't have to teach these people, we do. Also, interviewers are trained to be polite and encouraging. The knives come out after the Adcom meeting starts.

What we're trying to get across is that:

A) it is prudent to have a Plan B,
B) It's not an admission of failure, superficiality or lack of dedication to have a Plan B
C) all applicants should enter this process with the idea that they will never be doctors (which IS the fate of the majority of applicants).
D) The mindset of "I'm going to keep on applying until I'm 60" is not dedication, it's immaturity, if not outright foolishness.
E) While people do improve or reinvent themselves, some people simply can't or won't
F) candidates who display thoughtfulness and think about what they're getting into, and have contingencies, are the kinds of people we want to accept.


"No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy." Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

In terms of applicant evaluation, You and Gyngyn do not much reflect the interviewers/adcom members I encountered at different schools. I wouldn't quite expect everyone to collectively agree on subjective ideas but I have a hard time believing that "all" of your colleagues would reject someone for such broad statement without an understanding of why the applicant feels so. I can understand that maybe a plan B shows good judgment but does a lack of one truly show bad judgment?

[/QUOTE]

I think everyone who has been through a dominantly pre-medical course of study can agree that the statistics you are implying are not so black and white. In each class, the majority of pre meds don't want to put in the effort needed but don't want to give up either for whatever reason. They apply hoping to be the exception but are not truly in the running and give up after being rejected or maybe even try again hoping for a different result. It isn't that they aren't capable but they just don't want to commit and my guess is that they like idea more than the reality of being a physician. These are the applicants who account for the large amount of rejectees. Most applicants who are actually serious about medicine and willing to commit to the process will get in eventually if not at first. Again, no disrespect, but applying with the mindset that one will never be a doctor just seems ludicrous. Obviously, no one is implying that an applicant should just keep applying recklessly. I cant help but think you are speaking with a bitter sense of sarcasm here. Anyone can improve and reinvent themselves but most choose not to. I feel strongly about this because the "cant" attitude keeps a lot of people from doing great things and sometimes, all someone needs to improve or reinvent themselves is a different perspective. I was one of those people.

I can certainly understand your sentiment about having to teach them. I like the quote too but I am simply trying to give the OP some insight and encouragement rather than argue and throw out broad ideas/stats which aren't going to give him useful perspective. Let me ask you this.. what do you consider fitting motivations to become a physician?

 

[Goro]

I think I've explained what I want to get across.

But yet you seem to think that having a Plan B is some sort of flaw. It's not.

Let's end this by saying we'll agree to disagree.





I think everyone who has been through a dominantly pre-medical course of study can agree that the statistics you are implying are not so black and white. In each class, the majority of pre meds don't want to put in the effort needed but don't want to give up either for whatever reason. They apply hoping to be the exception but are not truly in the running and give up after being rejected or maybe even try again hoping for a different result. It isn't that they aren't capable but they just don't want to commit and my guess is that they like idea more than the reality of being a physician. These are the applicants who account for the large amount of rejectees. Most applicants who are actually serious about medicine and willing to commit to the process will get in eventually if not at first. Again, no disrespect, but applying with the mindset that one will never be a doctor just seems ludicrous. Obviously, no one is implying that an applicant should just keep applying recklessly. I cant help but think you are speaking with a bitter sense of sarcasm here. Anyone can improve and reinvent themselves but most choose not to. I feel strongly about this because the "cant" attitude keeps a lot of people from doing great things and sometimes, all someone needs to improve or reinvent themselves is a different perspective. I was one of those people.

I can certainly understand your sentiment about having to teach them. I like the quote too but I am simply trying to give the OP some insight and encouragement rather than argue and throw out broad ideas/stats which aren't going to give him useful perspective. Let me ask you this.. what do you consider fitting motivations to become a physician?[/QUOTE]

 

[MrLogan13]

I would have tried another cycle and then taught anatomy since I have a graduate degree in it.

 

[Afp0731]

I think I've explained what I want to get across.

But yet you seem to think that having a Plan B is some sort of flaw. It's not.

Let's end this by saying we'll agree to disagree.






I think everyone who has been through a dominantly pre-medical course of study can agree that the statistics you are implying are not so black and white. In each class, the majority of pre meds don't want to put in the effort needed but don't want to give up either for whatever reason. They apply hoping to be the exception but are not truly in the running and give up after being rejected or maybe even try again hoping for a different result. It isn't that they aren't capable but they just don't want to commit and my guess is that they like idea more than the reality of being a physician. These are the applicants who account for the large amount of rejectees. Most applicants who are actually serious about medicine and willing to commit to the process will get in eventually if not at first. Again, no disrespect, but applying with the mindset that one will never be a doctor just seems ludicrous. Obviously, no one is implying that an applicant should just keep applying recklessly. I cant help but think you are speaking with a bitter sense of sarcasm here. Anyone can improve and reinvent themselves but most choose not to. I feel strongly about this because the "cant" attitude keeps a lot of people from doing great things and sometimes, all someone needs to improve or reinvent themselves is a different perspective. I was one of those people.

I can certainly understand your sentiment about having to teach them. I like the quote too but I am simply trying to give the OP some insight and encouragement rather than argue and throw out broad ideas/stats which aren't going to give him useful perspective. Let me ask you this.. what do you consider fitting motivations to become a physician?

[/QUOTE]

Lol I think you are intelligent enough to know that this post was not about whether having a plan B is a flaw or not but ok.

 

[Goro]

It's OK or not OK in the context of what the applicant has to say in the follow up questions. I ask further questions to gauge the interviewee's maturity level. No, I'm not sharing.

Other people may or may not feel it's lethal to not have a Plan B. gyngyn has pointed out that he think's it's prudent to have one, meaning if you have one, you get bonus points, he may not give you negative points for not having one...it's like having or not having a DO lOR for a DO school that doesn't have a strict DO LOR requirement.





Lol I think you are intelligent enough to know that this post was not about whether having a plan B is a flaw or not but ok.

 

[itsogre]

Train conductor. Local commuter or Amtrak doesn't matter much. It's a 6 figure job with great benefits as its union. Most railroad jobs are.

 

[Gandyy]

If it didnt work out for me, i'd probably go do biomedical engineering.

 

[PREDOCSIMP]

Plan A: PA School
Plan B: Nursing School then CRNA School
Plan C: DO School

Man ill be so depress if plan A and B fails. Would have wasted so much time >.>

It should be Plan A: MD or DO

DO and MD are equal degrees and have stigma of difference,however, that is within of the medical community. If your goal is to be a doctor, and think that your mom is going to think lower of you, then you are mistaken. In fact, the difference has became ever slim with the ACGME taking over things. I think that DO et Md are both perfectly acceptable options. In rebuttal to the lower match for Do's, I would like to point out that most DO schools accept lower tier applicants. Possibly, those applicants continue to exhibit the same pattern.


If you go to MD, then congratz you went to medical school!
If you go to DO, then congratz you went to medical school!

I believe, in the future DO et MD will eventually become DMD et DDS. Actually, outside of the medical community, I highly doubt anyone knows the difference between DO or MD.

 

[RTC19]

I recently started working as an EMT and just love it.

After two unsuccessful cycles, I think I would make a career out of EMS and become a paramedic/firefighter.

 

[PREDOCSIMP]

I don't think I really had a plan B going in. I acknowledged the fact that there existed a possibility that I would need one, but I didn't actually have one waiting in the wings. I think that if I hadn't been accepted anywhere after two cycles (applying DO the second time in addition to MD), I would have either gone into healthcare consulting or applied to law school.

That is funny! If I am not accepted to either MD or DO, I plan on applying to my universities law school. If anyone ask's , I will just tell them I planned on medical litigation.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

If after three unsuccessful cycle for MD / DO schools, I will apply to PA schools. I've been working as a CNA for over 5 years. If I can't get into PA school, I'm going to apply for the accelerated RN-BSN one year program and go on for my NP.

 

[MyNameWasUsed]

It should be Plan A: MD or DO

DO and MD are equal degrees and have stigma of difference,however, that is within of the medical community. If your goal is to be a doctor, and think that your mom is going to think lower of you, then you are mistaken. In fact, the difference has became ever slim with the ACGME taking over things. I think that DO et Md are both perfectly acceptable options. In rebuttal to the lower match for Do's, I would like to point out that most DO schools accept lower tier applicants. Possibly, those applicants continue to exhibit the same pattern.


If you go to MD, then congratz you went to medical school!
If you go to DO, then congratz you went to medical school!

I believe, in the future DO et MD will eventually become DMD et DDS. Actually, outside of the medical community, I highly doubt anyone knows the difference between DO or MD.

I'm not willing to make the sacrifice for medical school to be honest.

 

[allantois]

PsyD.

But it's not gonna have to resort to that 😛

 

[GoPens]

In response to OP’s question, my plan B is to try to get myself in to health policy, or some sort of position where I can make a tangible difference in health issues in my community. I’m lucky in that I already have a foundation in the public sector, so this is a very feasible plan B for me if it turns out that medicine isn’t.

Not having a plan B is very short-sighted. We can get all the good grades and schnazzy ECs we want, but once you submit your application, your fate is in the hands of the Adcoms. I don’t feel comfortable putting my future in someone else’s hands without having a plan B. Sometimes things just can’t or won’t work out.

 

[deleted647690]

Why does it seem like a lot of people have law school as a backup?
I don't know anything about becoming a lawyer or working in that field. How does it tie into your original aspirations of becoming a doctor? It seems like something completely unrelated. What kind of person makes a good law student?

 

[ZedsDed]

Why does it seem like a lot of people have law school as a backup?
I don't know anything about becoming a lawyer or working in that field. How does it tie into your original aspirations of becoming a doctor? It seems like something completely unrelated. What kind of person makes a good law student?

@mimelim might have an opinion!

 

[ifnotnowwren]

Why does it seem like a lot of people have law school as a backup?
I don't know anything about becoming a lawyer or working in that field. How does it tie into your original aspirations of becoming a doctor? It seems like something completely unrelated. What kind of person makes a good law student?

I definitely had a good 2 week serious flirtation with the idea of law school during my senior year when I was studying for the MCAT...

Ways it is similar to medicine: It's a service based field, you are serving and helping others. It requires critical thinking skills and a rigorous education. I may be wrong because I am not a lawyer but it seems like it has a high level of autonomy yet there is still team work. There are opportunities to incorporate science into it, like neuroscience law or even biotech patent law. I also think there is a perception that law and medicine are on similar "tiers" career-wise, if that makes sense?

 

[Sardinia]

Ways it is similar to medicine: It's a service based field, you are serving and helping others. It requires critical thinking skills and a rigorous education. I may be wrong because I am not a lawyer but it seems like it has a high level of autonomy yet there is still team work. There are opportunities to incorporate science into it, like neuroscience law or even biotech patent law. I also think there is a perception that law and medicine are on similar "tiers" career-wise, if that makes sense?

The truth is quite different.

 

[mimelim]

Why does it seem like a lot of people have law school as a backup?
I don't know anything about becoming a lawyer or working in that field. How does it tie into your original aspirations of becoming a doctor? It seems like something completely unrelated. What kind of person makes a good law student?

I don't think that "a lot" of pre-meds have law-school on their minds as a potential 'backup' or I think more accurately, alternative. I certainly did, but I don't think that it is particularly common. Personally, I think that there are many parallels between becoming a lawyer and becoming a physician. But, by the same token, there are a lot of things that are obviously very different.

#1 Decision maker - Everyone has a boss, but the expectation of most physician/lawyers is that they will have some level of autonomy. The expectation is that they will guide/grow their practice, much more so than most other professions.
#2 Responsibility - What you do day to day 'matters' because what you do impacts other people, sometimes significantly.
#3 Life long learning - Both fields change, at different paces and for different reasons, but the pursuit of continued education/learning is generally an expectation.

 

[PriamTRH]

I'd rather live in Los Gatos than with them!

Are you going to open them up like how Luke skywalker opened up a ton ton?

 

[NotWayneBrady]

My plan B:
Teach English in Korea for 1-2 years, come back and go to school to be an R.N.

I got into school, but I still wish I could have done teaching abroad.

 

[Citygirl44]

Nurse practitioner or Nurse anesthetist is my plan B after 2 failed cycles

 

[Turkishking]

Can you guys share your Plan B's and comment on mine? Basically, I am Psych BS and Chem BA double major but it will probably end up being a Psyc BS and a neuroscience and chem double minor. I am a rising junior now so my GPA will still change but it might end up around 3.3-3.4. I have no idea what I will get on my MCAT but I hope to apply to medical schools. If I get rejected or med. school is too expensive, I am thinking of doing my masters in Psychology and becoming a Neuro-psychologist. If I don't get into a master's program either...I have no idea what to do! What do you think?

Med school or bust.

 

[Dr.JD.House]

My plan B was to apply to Teach Across America for the interim time while I reapplied to medical school. If I would not have gotten accepted, I was thinking about pursuing a Masters in Genetic Counseling or Public Health. Not a whole lot of jobs for someone with a Biochemistry degree that doesn't want to work in a lab.