PT student planning on transitioning to medical school

[bren58]

Hello,

I am currently in my 2nd year of physical therapy school and I am planning on pursuing medicine after I finish in May of 2026. As a direct-admit student, I chose the field of PT when I was an 18-year-old, and I am sure you know that you know nothing as a teenager. As I progressed through undergrad and excelled in my science courses, I started to fall in love with the idea of medicine and was constantly browsing YouTube "Day in the life of x physician" and "How to get into medical school" videos during my sophomore year. My dilemma at the time was that I was in a direct-admit DPT program, requiring me very little effort to maintain my status, and being the lazy 20-yr-old at the time (I am currently 23, but I feel as if I have grown a ton in the last few years) I decided to push those feelings aside and continue on my PT track. Flash forward to now, I have 4 semesters of PT school left, and I know for certain I want to become a physician. Some of my reasons include a larger scope of practice, which allows me to see patients outside of what I would see as a PT, the ability to treat patients (in terms of preventative care) before they ever need to go to PT (lifestyle change before it gets to the point where their obesity/ severe lack of muscle lead to inevitable knee/LBP), and I genuinely have enjoyed and excelled in my classes more closely related to the field of medicine (Physiology, pharmacology, neuro, pathology, imaging, etc.). Another aspect of my interest in switching is the current lack of challenge, and I don't mean this to sound arrogant, or that I am already a "skilled PT", but that I have not struggled in any of my classes, nor have I struggled with clinical experiences. In terms of general OP ortho, I have a solid foundation as I have been a powerlifter/ bodybuilder/weightlifter as well as a current CSCS (yes I know that it only means I can pass an exam, but I needed a way to quantify my knowledge), so it has been smooth sailing so far to a degree. With the lack of challenge, I am missing the "intellectual stimulation" of what I enjoyed from taking those more rigorous science classes. Along with a few other reasons I'm sure I am forgetting at the moment, I have come up with the conclusion to pursue medical school post graduation. The only negative is that I was screwed on the pre reqs due to being direct admit. In short, I will have to take gen chem 1/2, bio 1/2, along with ochem 1/2, and probably biochem. The flip side is that I am debt free, and will be debt free due to the luck of being born into my family. So, my plan is to finish school then work either full/part/PRN as PT while completing my pre reqs (will take 2 years to complete at the school I am planning on).

My undergrad GPA: 3.85 ( science is about the same)
PT GPA: 3.9
ECs: HS football position coach ~100 hours, line cook ~ 250 hours, sports med worker at my college ~50 hours, hobbies (cooking, reading, lifting)

As you can see my ECs are lacking, following the theme of being lazy throughout undergrad (I spent all my time lifting/gaming/hanging out). My current plans to bolster my ECs are: join one of my PT professor's research, volunteer to mentor a student in an underserved area, and hopefully start an anatomy cadaver tutoring program for 1st year DPT students. All of these ECs are things I am passionate about, as I am trying to avoid being a box-checker.

With the info provided, do you think I have a good shot with MD programs? Also any advice for creating a strong app, based on my current stats?

Edit: I know I do not have an MCAT, so it may be difficult to say if I am competitive, but I assume I could score in the 500-515 range based on how I do in my classes/ exams (may be a stretch)

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[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

You could have a very good shot at many MD programs. Right now, you have a 3.85 sGPA, and a 3.9 in your major field. That's very strong, if paired with a good to great MCAT(preferably great obv).

Additionally, you could be entering MD programs with a unique background in clinical practice and opportunities for your MD could be great in pain medicine and other fields.

If you don't mind, a few questions:

You've taken physiology and pharmacology, but not Gen Chem/Orgo/Biochem? Most go the other direction.

You enjoy the school experience and intellectual challenges, but life as a physician can be quite different than school. What plans, if any, do you have to spend time with physicians - clinical volunteering close to MDs or shadowing.

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ECs are a far fourth place to MCAT, GPA, and personal statement. Taking prereqs for MCAT is essential and a high score even more.

Working while studying is good - think about where or how you can work close to physicians.

You do have a pathway- a potentially very unique pathway

 

[bren58]

You could have a very good shot at many MD programs. Right now, you have a 3.85 sGPA, and a 3.9 in your major field. That's very strong, if paired with a good to great MCAT(preferably great obv).

Additionally, you could be entering MD programs with a unique background in clinical practice and opportunities for your MD could be great in pain medicine and other fields.

If you don't mind, a few questions:

You've taken physiology and pharmacology, but not Gen Chem/Orgo/Biochem? Most go the other direction.

You enjoy the school experience and intellectual challenges, but life as a physician can be quite different than school. What plans, if any, do you have to spend time with physicians - clinical volunteering close to MDs or shadowing.

------

ECs are a far fourth place to MCAT, GPA, and personal statement. Taking prereqs for MCAT is essential and a high score even more.

Working while studying is good - think about where or how you can work close to physicians.

You do have a pathway- a potentially very unique pathway

Thank you for the response!

1. So the required science/math classes to enter the PT program were:

• Anatomy and physiology 1/2 w/ lab (Both As)
• Physics 1/2 w/ lab (Both As)
• Stats 1/2 (Both As)
• "Gen Chem" 1/2 w/ lab (I got As in these courses, but they do not count as pre reqs for O chem)

I then went on to take neuroanatomy and phys as well in undergrad (A).

Now because of being direct admit, my 1st year of PT school was technically my senior year of undergrad. So the main science classes I took were:

• Anatomy w/ cadaver and palpation (A)
• Physiology (A)
• Neuroscience (B)

Pharmacology (A) and pathology (A) are both on my grad transcript, as I took them during my 3rd semester in PT school.

2. I plan to shadow physicians during the rest of my time in school when I can and probably while I am working as a PT. Right now, I have a close friend who's mother is a general surgeon I can shadow, but I do want to shadow primary care as well as a few specialties.

3. I plan to work as a PT in a hospital setting where I can work adjacently to physicians and potentially gain shadowing opportunities.

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

Thank you for this, it's very helpful.

That's great that you have a contact for shadowing and good on you for seeking to do that during your school. You should push your PT work as far as it will go with getting shadowing. Do you have any ideas about what specific specialties you want to shadow? Surgical shadowing is always good and you can learn a lot but it's good to spread out.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Focus on graduating with your DPT. Dropping out will not help any future application.

First thing you need to do is connect with an admissions recruiter at schools closest to you. You need feedback on the courses you have taken because some "allied health" courses you took to get into PT school may not make the cut for medical school expectations. Furthermore, how schools will look at your PT transcripts will be important.

No doubt you will be asked why MD/DO now. It's reasonable to talk about being fast-tracked to PT programs, but you need a stronger explanation of your purpose. PT's spend more time working with patients per appointment, and "therapy" is more satisfying than "diagnostics" which many physicians do.

Regardless, you sound like you have a good plan, and you are aware of signaling a clear transition. I would spend some time working as a PT for a while (pay down some debt if you have it).

I would also suggest shadowing some specialties that are farthest away from what you are doing when possible. Thus, it might be neat to shadow an ortho or pain med/rehab physician, but doing something in pediatrics, geriatrics, or emergency med would be a good contrast. Stretch outside your comfort zone, especially if you claim you were a bit more "lazy" in your early admission track. Be around really sick people where your PT skills have little value.

Community service and service orientation are also very important. What opportunities are available to you now in PT school (clinical and non-clinical/community-focused)?

P.S. Check out DO programs. What do you think about OMM?

 

[bren58]

Focus on graduating with your DPT. Dropping out will not help any future application.

First thing you need to do is connect with an admissions recruiter at schools closest to you. You need feedback on the courses you have taken because some "allied health" courses you took to get into PT school may not make the cut for medical school expectations. Furthermore, how schools will look at your PT transcripts will be important.

No doubt you will be asked why MD/DO now. It's reasonable to talk about being fast-tracked to PT programs, but you need a stronger explanation of your purpose. PT's spend more time working with patients per appointment, and "therapy" is more satisfying than "diagnostics" which many physicians do.

Regardless, you sound like you have a good plan, and you are aware of signaling a clear transition. I would spend some time working as a PT for a while (pay down some debt if you have it).

I would also suggest shadowing some specialties that are farthest away from what you are doing when possible. Thus, it might be neat to shadow an ortho or pain med/rehab physician, but doing something in pediatrics, geriatrics, or emergency med would be a good contrast. Stretch outside your comfort zone, especially if you claim you were a bit more "lazy" in your early admission track. Be around really sick people where your PT skills have little value.

Community service and service orientation are also very important. What opportunities are available to you now in PT school (clinical and non-clinical/community-focused)?

P.S. Check out DO programs. What do you think about OMM?

Hello,

Thank you for your response!
1. As far as the pre reqs go, I have to take all of them besides physics, so I have that sorted out.

2. While I do love spending an extended amount of time with each patient during a therapy visit, I have actually preferred the diagnostic work in school. We do a lot of differential diagnosis discussions/ problems in school, which I find exciting and intellectually stimulating, but as I experienced in actual practice, that is very rare unless the patient is direct access.

3. Some of my reasons on why medicine that I have jotted down include:

1. The ability to treat patients across the whole continuum of care

1. Want to have a deeper education and understanding of health and medicine

1. Ability to be more involved in community health and preventative medicine/ nutritional education

1. So many patients that I saw in PT could have avoided needing PT/ surgery if they had the right preventative care/ education

1. So many patients have a wide range of comorbidities that I felt passionate about understanding and treating

1. Every class more associated with medicine I found a deeper interest in compared to more traditional classes (Anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology)

1. Ability to work in a variety of settings

1. Ability to either heavily specialize or be involved in many different systems as an internal med/ radiologist/ family med physician

1. More opportunities for educational roles after career as a physician

1. Ability to leverage groundbreaking technologies in a field with patient care as a radiologist, surgeon, etc.

4. For shadowing, I would love to shadow a variety of different specialties. The most interesting field to me right now is DR/IR due to the use of some amazing technology, the ability to be involved in many different body systems, and the "detective" role of it. I would say I am also interested in emergency medicine as I do miss the high stress environment of working in the kitchen, not to compare apples to oranges, but I would be interested in shadowing there as well.

5. For community service, my main path I am going down is becoming a mentor in the BBBS organization for a child in an underserved area. This is something I am really excited about and I will be able to carry this out for at least 1-3 years, but if I go to the nearest med school I could potentially be this child's mentor for 7 years. Outside of this I will see what my program has to offer once I get back this semester.

6. I will start by saying I would not mind being a DO and I have no biases between MD or DO. The only thing is, I am worried about not matching into a residency program in a competitive field if I go DO, now I know DOs can and do match into competitive specialties, but I know that they do have a lower match rate than US MDs. I will certainly be applying to at least a few DO schools, as I would rather go DO than have to do another application cycle in the future.