Problems after law school?

[MedLaw]

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I'm currently a law student in my first year but have been planning to try to enter medical school the year after i graduate (I'm 22, and yes i'm also crazy). But after reading some of the threads on this site i feel like i have made a mistake. At first I saw receiving a JD as a stepping stone to med school. Something that would give me a different background for admission into law school, and something that could serve me well as a medical doctor (working in policy and Medical Malpractice (DEFENSE OF COURSE!)) However, now I am concerned that an admissions board might see this as being indecisive and unsure of my own plans for my future.

Honestly I love law school. I wouldn't want to drop out and just try to get into medical school. Instead I want to try and work the degrees together into my future career. Will this be a difficulty for getting admitted into med school?

I've been a lurker for a while and I really value your opinions! So feel free to opine with either positive or negative comments!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

If you love law school, then I'd recommend sticking with it for now. The easiest path to take for admissions from where you are right now is to finish the degree, take the bar exam and practice for a few years. Since you love what you're doing now, I'm guessing that wouldn't be sentencing you to years of drudgery, which is how I felt. 🙂 Also, a law degree by itself has very little value for everything, even if combined with something else. To really get value out of the degree, real world experience is probably necessary.

And if you really see yourself doing primarily policy and medical malpractice work, an MD is unnecessary. I'd only eventually for the MD if you specifically want to work as a physician.

 

[MedLaw]

Thank you for the quick reply! Though i have a lot of interest in the policy side I also would like to work with patients doing clinical work.

So far, the plan is to just stick with law and to wait a few years out of law school before making any major decisions. However, i just can't get the thought of clinical work with patients out of my mind!

Again, thanks for the reply!

 

[sunset823]

Nice to see someone else with a policy-orientation on SDN, it's a rare sight 🙂 I would concur that you should finish the law degree, it can only help you in these days of complicated health care issues - also, depending on which school you're at, you could apply for a joint MD/JD program, which will save you a year and 'connect' the two degrees better

these kind of combos (MD/JD or MD/MBA) are still rare but getting more common - there is a huge need for physicians with some broader interests - so all the power to you 🙂

 

[Law2Doc]

Nice to see someone else with a policy-orientation on SDN, it's a rare sight 🙂 I would concur that you should finish the law degree, it can only help you in these days of complicated health care issues - also, depending on which school you're at, you could apply for a joint MD/JD program, which will save you a year and 'connect' the two degrees better

these kind of combos (MD/JD or MD/MBA) are still rare but getting more common - there is a huge need for physicians with some broader interests - so all the power to you 🙂

Agree with the others that finishing law school and practicing for a bit makes you an easier sell to adcoms than someone who doesn't practice, because you don't have to contend with the "career student" assertions, and med schools want someone who will finish up the MD, not someone with a track record of not finishing at another professional school. There are a ton of transferable skills from practicing lawyer to practicing doctor, but not nearly as many from law student to med student, so working as a lawyer can be helpful.

As for the "huge need" for folks with JD/MD combos, I'm not sure this is true (although I hope it is, someday soon). There is perhaps some demand in areas of policy and academics (especially ethics), and you could claim usefulness of your JD in certain hospital administrative settings. But to a large large extent if you want to find a way to combine the two degrees you have to plan to be a trailblazer -- you will need to convince employers why they need the rare combination. It's not like any employer will be actively seeking an MD/JD. There simply aren't enough of them that that is in anyone's job description. And statistically you won't get paid more for the combo of degrees; Worse, some employers might feel you overqualified for the positions because of the second advanced degree. A handful of schools have created MD/JD programs, but as of yet there is little track record as to where these folks find ways to combine the degrees. This may change in the future as the number of dual professionals hits critical mass, but as yet it hasn't. The vast majority end up using one degree or the other, not both. So as long as your goal (OP) is to work as a physician with patients, I don't think you'll have a problem.

 

[gman33]

I know someone who did a JD at night after practicing medicine for a number of years. He does a lot of work as an expert witness and I believe he did it to increase his marketability. It must have worked because he is very busy in this area. I assume it was worth it because he already works in one of the highest paying specialties.

 

[Law2Doc]

I know someone who did a JD at night after practicing medicine for a number of years. He does a lot of work as an expert witness and I believe he did it to increase his marketability. It must have worked because he is very busy in this area. I assume it was worth it because he already works in one of the highest paying specialties.

Most expert witnesses don't have JDs and do fine; there really is no added value because no lawyer is going to hire you to do the legal component of the job, i.e. his job. I suppose as a JD you may get to go to various law and bar association meetings where you could network more effectively. But 3 years of education seems like a lot of effort to meet a few more lawyers.

 

[Avant]

I agree about getting the J.D. And I don't think you need to practice to add to your application, although practice time helps.

When I applied I had practiced law for several years. But almost all my interviews started with the assumption that I was fresh from law school (so much for reading my carefully crafted application 🙄). My practice experience did help quite a bit in interviews I think, just as any significant work experience will. However, I doubt any admissions committee will fault you for having a law and policy focus early on and thus going right from law to med schools.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[Law2Doc]

I agree about getting the J.D. And I don't think you need to practice to add to your application, although practice time helps.

When I applied I had practiced law for several years. But almost all my interviews started with the assumption that I was fresh from law school (so much for reading my carefully crafted application 🙄). My practice experience did help quite a bit in interviews I think, just as any significant work experience will. However, I doubt any admissions committee will fault you for having a law and policy focus early on and thus going right from law to med schools.

Good luck! 🙂

Well, I personally found having practiced to be a huge benefit, because there are numerous transferable skills, and you have already experienced acting as a professional and working with clients (the equivalent of patients). I have also heard from a number of adcoms that said they are less receptive to folks who jump right from law school to med school (because of the "career student", and "unfocused" stigmas, and the concern that this person doesn't know what s/he wants to be, but seems to be enamored with the idea of being a professional, not a doctor). Someone who goes to law school because s/he ran out of college, and then jumps to med school when law school doesn't seem appealing, without ever practicing or working in the interval, has a much much harder sell than someone who actually worked for a while (whether as a lawyer or otherwise), mulled the notion of med school for years, and only then took the plunge. Med school is something you don't want to jump into on a whim. The less whimsical your trajectory seems the better your app will be received.

Not that there aren't a couple of folks on here who made the law school to med school jump. But they had a harder sell.

 

[Phoenix.]

Someone who goes to law school because s/he ran out of college, and then jumps to med school when law school doesn't seem appealing, without ever practicing or working in the interval, has a much much harder sell than someone who actually worked for a while (whether as a lawyer or otherwise), mulled the notion of med school for years, and only then took the plunge. Med school is something you don't want to jump into on a whim. The less whimsical your trajectory seems the better your app will be received.

Not that there aren't a couple of folks on here who made the law school to med school jump. But they had a harder sell.

However, I think that if the OP explains that their intention was getting a JD/MD from the start, and they simply started with the JD first, with an interest in health care policy and getting an MD too, I don't think they'll be looked at as a career student or indecisive. There are definitely schools that are more receptive to this, and are generally the schools that have created MD/JD programs. Hell, if you get into Mayo, you can enroll in the University of Arizona for a JD for free, without applying to UofA, without taking the LSAT, and get the JD in only two years instead of three. GWU would be another school that is hungry for applicants interested in health care policy, and they loved that I have a JD. I can imagine with the right personal statement, your JD would definitely be an asset, and if you can honestly say that you never intended to practice as an attorney, but got the JD to supplement being a physician and entering into the health care policy field, I can't imagine you couldn't make that work.

While I agree with law2doc that there are skills to be gained from being an attorney, I also feel that if your passion is medicine and health care policy, you certainly don't HAVE to practice law for a few years in order to make that happen. However, if you love law as much as you say you do, perhaps you could take a couple of years and work in a law firm that has a health care law department, or work for a group that does health care policy work (probably doesn't pay much, if anything, though). Good luck!

 

[Law2Doc]

However, I think that if the OP explains that their intention was getting a JD/MD from the start, and they simply started with the JD first, with an interest in health care policy and getting an MD too, I don't think they'll be looked at as a career student or indecisive.

I actually don't think anyone will buy that. It's not like JD/MD programs didn't exist when the OP applied to law school -- he is only a first year. And looking at a JD as a stepping stone to med school will seem poorly thought out to some. And it's hard to argue that the JD is meant as a supplement to your medical education when you are doing it first. Not that you can't try to spin it this way. But I just don't think as many people are going to buy what OP is selling.

In my mind the career changer path is still more fruitful and believable. But it probably means the OP will want to work a bit first, spend some quality time mulling the idea of med school (doing some clinical volunteering along the way) and then leverage the transferable skills.

 

[Blade28]

In my mind the career changer path is still more fruitful and believable. But it probably means the OP will want to work a bit first, spend some quality time mulling the idea of med school (doing some clinical volunteering along the way) and then leverage the transferable skills.

I agree with this. 👍

 

[Phoenix.]

I actually don't think anyone will buy that. It's not like JD/MD programs didn't exist when the OP applied to law school -- he is only a first year. And looking at a JD as a stepping stone to med school will seem poorly thought out to some. And it's hard to argue that the JD is meant as a supplement to your medical education when you are doing it first. Not that you can't try to spin it this way. But I just don't think as many people are going to buy what OP is selling.

In my mind the career changer path is still more fruitful and believable. But it probably means the OP will want to work a bit first, spend some quality time mulling the idea of med school (doing some clinical volunteering along the way) and then leverage the transferable skills.

I agree that's the best move, I just was thinking that there's no reason to spend several years of your life doing something that you know is not right for you, and that it may be a harder sell to go straight from law to med school, but that it could be done if done properly. However, I think I was just projecting a little. Clearly the OP "love law" (albeit they said "law school"), so would likely benefit from the practice of it for a few years first. 😉

If I were the OP and wanted to go straight to med school given this scenario, I would get in as many clinical AND law/health policy related activities as possible ASAP. Demonstrate your interest in the integration NOW. Perhaps you could say that you started law school because you love law (etc.), but that you became interested and subsequently passionate about the need and application of law to health care policy, and pursued that interest throughout law school. Then, when you go to apply to medical school, there will be a nice bridge that will be much more believable. Anyway, that's just my two cents if you want to try to make it work. Good luck.

 

[MedLaw]

Phoenix,

Because I am in my first year, I really don't have any decision in what classes I take. However next semester I'll begin taking the Medical/Health law classes, as well as volunteer at the local hospital (I've already spent many hours over the past 5 years volunteering in hospitals.)

CLASSES offered at the law school with health focus, or at least related to the healthcare profession.

Bioethics and Law
Health Law
Health Care Organization, Delivery, and management
Elder Law
Insurance
Administrative Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Advanced Torts

(I know some of them are a little tangential, but they would all be very useful!)

As for getting more directly involved, I've also contacted a number of doctors who are actively involved in Medical Policy and Insurance boards. Some have agreed to write a letter of recommendation for the firms that represent them and to try and get me involved in the board in anyway they can.

I suppose if I can't find a medical school interested in someone with an interest in policy I can just work as a lawyer for a few years and try to sell the career change idea.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for all the help that you have offered. It's been very helpful and given me some fantastic ideas. But by all means, if anyone else has some advice for me please either PM me or post it in this thread!

MedLaw

 

[Law2Doc]

Phoenix,

Because I am in my first year, I really don't have any decision in what classes I take. However next semester I'll begin taking the Medical/Health law classes, as well as volunteer at the local hospital (I've already spent many hours over the past 5 years volunteering in hospitals.)

CLASSES offered at the law school with health focus, or at least related to the healthcare profession.

Bioethics and Law
Health Law
Health Care Organization, Delivery, and management
Elder Law
Insurance
Administrative Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Advanced Torts

(I know some of them are a little tangential, but they would all be very useful!)

As for getting more directly involved, I've also contacted a number of doctors who are actively involved in Medical Policy and Insurance boards. Some have agreed to write a letter of recommendation for the firms that represent them and to try and get me involved in the board in anyway they can.

I suppose if I can't find a medical school interested in someone with an interest in policy I can just work as a lawyer for a few years and try to sell the career change idea.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for all the help that you have offered. It's been very helpful and given me some fantastic ideas. But by all means, if anyone else has some advice for me please either PM me or post it in this thread!

MedLaw

I doubt you will do anything healthcare related in administrative law or ADR (at my law school we sure didn't). Tort is an area you might actually want to stay away from (beyond the required courses) because it might hint at a medmal bent, rather than a policy one. Adcoms are a bit skittish about the idea that someone might go to med school and return to law to sue doctors more effectively, so it's often advantageous to steer far away from medmal and tort type stuff (regardless of the side you represent). I've known folks who added business and IP type courses to healthcare stuff to try and position themselves to work with the pharmaceutical industry in some respect, which also might be a nice tie in to medicine. And in addition to elder law, there's often juvenile law, which might be of interest to a policy type. And a good wills and trust course might give you exposure to advanced directives, living wills and healthcare proxies, which are all good to know about in terms of medical ethics.

 

[kidthor]

You might also want to check out Antitrust (one of my favorite classes) and Environmental Law!