Post Doc/ Asst Prof to Med School

[Medic3408]

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Hi everyone,

I am a Post Doctoral Fellow, and would some day like to go to medical school. I also have been in EMS for 11 years, and have thousands of hours of patient contact.

I actually took the MCAT, and scored a 36 the first time. However, I applied to the institution that I currently work at, and was notified that I could not be considered because certain "conflicts of interest". I was not told exactly what that entails. They referred me to the Provost's office, but I have yet to receive any information.

However, I routinely interact and am friends with several Department Chairs, the Associate Dean of the Med school, and a Program Director. I quite often train graduate students from other labs in techniques, and I have taught several Med School lectures because of the area of my expertise. I have also began to start paperwork for new openings in Tenure track positions, but I am feeling that if I have the chance to go to Med School, I should do it. I regret all the time not going after undergrad.


I got an F31 Predoctoral grant, currently have an F32 Post Doctoral grant, and am a Co-PI on an RO3 that will start in July. I graduated with Honors for my B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. I can't think of a reason that I wouldn't be given a chance to interview where I now work. I have a house, my wife has a job, and neither of us wants to move.

Has this happened to anyone before?

Anyone know what could be done? The Dean of my School told me to "let it be". He does kind of hate me, so I am guessing that he may have torpedoed my chances. I really don't want to file Title VI papers, but my State does guarantee equal treatment for anyone regardless of age, religion, work status, ect.

 

[riverjib]

Very interesting situation! If you don't find anyone who has answers for you, you should consult a lawyer about this. Honestly, you sound like the perfect candidate. Your MCAT and academic record put you in the top of all MD applicants right now. Unless your dean has solid legal ground to stand on, it sounds like the situation favors you.

Unfortunately, the situation sounds pretty negative. Even if you gain admission, if your dean is powerful enough, you might be at a disadvantage from the start. I understand that you have a house and you and your wife want to stay where you are now. But you may have to consider moving, if medicine is what you really want.

I'd advise that you get legal advice and find out where you stand. Someone here might have great advice, but yours sounds like a pretty unique situation, and an unfair one, at that. I wish you the best of luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Hi everyone,

I am a Post Doctoral Fellow, and would some day like to go to medical school. I also have been in EMS for 11 years, and have thousands of hours of patient contact.

I actually took the MCAT, and scored a 36 the first time. However, I applied to the institution that I currently work at, and was notified that I could not be considered because certain "conflicts of interest". I was not told exactly what that entails. They referred me to the Provost's office, but I have yet to receive any information.

However, I routinely interact and am friends with several Department Chairs, the Associate Dean of the Med school, and a Program Director. I quite often train graduate students from other labs in techniques, and I have taught several Med School lectures because of the area of my expertise. I have also began to start paperwork for new openings in Tenure track positions, but I am feeling that if I have the chance to go to Med School, I should do it. I regret all the time not going after undergrad.


I got an F31 Predoctoral grant, currently have an F32 Post Doctoral grant, and am a Co-PI on an RO3 that will start in July. I graduated with Honors for my B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. I can't think of a reason that I wouldn't be given a chance to interview where I now work. I have a house, my wife has a job, and neither of us wants to move.

Has this happened to anyone before?

Anyone know what could be done? The Dean of my School told me to "let it be". He does kind of hate me, so I am guessing that he may have torpedoed my chances. I really don't want to file Title VI papers, but my State does guarantee equal treatment for anyone regardless of age, religion, work status, ect.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Hi everyone,

I am a Post Doctoral Fellow, and would some day like to go to medical school. I also have been in EMS for 11 years, and have thousands of hours of patient contact.

I actually took the MCAT, and scored a 36 the first time. However, I applied to the institution that I currently work at, and was notified that I could not be considered because certain "conflicts of interest". I was not told exactly what that entails. They referred me to the Provost's office, but I have yet to receive any information.

However, I routinely interact and am friends with several Department Chairs, the Associate Dean of the Med school, and a Program Director. I quite often train graduate students from other labs in techniques, and I have taught several Med School lectures because of the area of my expertise. I have also began to start paperwork for new openings in Tenure track positions, but I am feeling that if I have the chance to go to Med School, I should do it. I regret all the time not going after undergrad.


I got an F31 Predoctoral grant, currently have an F32 Post Doctoral grant, and am a Co-PI on an RO3 that will start in July. I graduated with Honors for my B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. I can't think of a reason that I wouldn't be given a chance to interview where I now work. I have a house, my wife has a job, and neither of us wants to move.

Has this happened to anyone before?

Anyone know what could be done? The Dean of my School told me to "let it be". He does kind of hate me, so I am guessing that he may have torpedoed my chances. I really don't want to file Title VI papers, but my State does guarantee equal treatment for anyone regardless of age, religion, work status, ect.

Your post could have been written by me (was interviewing for faculty positions and offered a position at a famous university in California). I opted for medical school. I am now an intern, but duty calls so please e-mail me for specifics. I see no conflict of interest. Did you fall out with anyone with influence at your med school?

 

[njbmd]

Your post could have been written by me (was interviewing for faculty positions and offered a position at a famous university in California). I opted for medical school. I am now an intern, but duty calls so please e-mail me for specifics. I see no conflict of interest. Did you fall out with anyone with influence at your med school?

+1

BS (Summa Cum Laude) + Ph.D (full departmental scholarship and funding) and had no problems gaining acceptance at the six medical schools that I applied to. It was my department chair that wrote one of my letters of recommendation for medical school and I had the full support of my deans.

You (the OP) need to find out what "conflicts" your provost is referring to. I am not saying that you are an automatic acceptance but I am saying that I applied to six medical schools and was accepted by all six (including the one where I was an assistant professor/researcher) without any mention of a "conflict of interest".

 

[Medic3408]

Actually, I got the letter this morning:

1) Since I have current Federal funding, supposedly I am "ineligible" to apply here because there is a *direct* financial relationship between the University and myself. That is, my F32 and Co-RO3 provide the University with substantial indirect costs. The University has a broad stake in my successes because they (and professors) are evaluated by NIH as to how their trainees perform and what positions they attain.

2) I was previously on a T32 training grant obtained by the Med School, and NIH rules stipulate that I must maintain at least 2 more years in an academic setting, which the final 2 years of my F32 will cover. They still are concerned that *matriculation* into a Medical program will nullify that, and the University will incur some of the financial repayments associated with failing to provide 3 years total in academics.

And 3) -this is good - My current status as a Medic with full Medial Command would have to be surrendered. The School policy is to not allow Med Students to work with any Medical Command because of liability issues. i.e. your medial director knows you are in Med School, so he lets you RSI a patient in the ER and you screw it up - the Med School gets sued. There is no real mechanism to *voluntarily* give up medical command for Medics in my EMS region, so until my cert expires I cannot matriculate. Unless my medical director removes it for me, but then that will make it HARD to get it back, and then eventually certify as a prehospital physician.

What a bunch of BS. Everyone and their sister know I am a Medic there, but I do not have Medical command in the EMS region where I work as a Post Doc. The University Medical Command only extends as far as their EMS region, and my status is goverend my my EMS region and my Medical Director. I don't "work" either, I VOLUNTEER. Therefore I should be exempt from the policy.

Anyone think its a good idea to file Title VI papers? So I get into school with a lawyers help, but in the end I will still be an MD. I already have a guaranteed residency where my Medial Director is, so does it matter that I tick off the fat cats at the University?

 

[QofQuimica]

Anyone think its a good idea to file Title VI papers?

No.

So I get into school with a lawyers help, but in the end I will still be an MD.

That could be an awfully pyrrhic victory, especially if they make it so hard for you to get through the program that you're only competitive to go into family practice in some forgotten corner of the country. Even if you have stellar med school credentials, they still control your dean's letter, which you will need to get a residency.

I already have a guaranteed residency where my Medial Director is, so does it matter that I tick off the fat cats at the University?

Unless you're an IMG or DO applying for prematch, no residency director can guarantee you a match. Even if this person were able to make such a guarantee, s/he may not even be the residency program director any more by the time you graduate.

Medic, you've been in science long enough to have an appreciation for how the politics works. Step away from your (understandable) indignation and think about things from a larger perspective for a minute.

First, your current career is obviously going well, and even though it's inconvenient for you, it's hard to blame the university for being reluctant to let you go halfway through. They care about their numbers just like you care about yours.

Second, there is no guarantee that a lawyer will accept your case, never mind that you'll win in court. Even in the best case scenario where you force the med school to accept you, do you really want to spend the next several years fighting a legal battle that will take so much valuable time and financial resources away from your life?

I think you have two reasonable choices that will avoid consuming your life and career: either finish off your grant commitment for the next couple of years so that you can stay at your current institution, or resign and apply elsewhere. Like science, medicine is an incestuous profession full of people with long memories. What's worse is that the hierarchy in medicine makes the hierarchy in research look like a joke. Burn those bridges at your own risk.