Pusher to Rxer?

[Cartelguy]

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My story: 30 w/ wife n two kids. Drug rep for last seven years. Loved it initially for the combo of science and business, but lately I’ve come to the conclusion that trying to provide value to clinicians just isn’t enough. Rather, I want to be directly responsible for helping alleviating patient troubles.

Two questions: 1) Am I nuts to try and take med school prereqs while working FT in effort to live and save $? My plan is to only take one or two classes per semester for the next three years – I need roughly 12 courses. 2) Like many non-trads, I have the challenge of overcoming a less-than-optimal ug gpa (3.2 biz mktg). If I can nail a 3.7 in the post-bac science coursework and score around 30 on the MCAT will that be enough?

Thanks in advance to all who chime in!

P.S. The 3.2 is from '97 to '01. Four years of varsity football, part-time work, and partying took precedent over academics. …I wish I realized then what I realize now!!!

 

[ChandutheMagici]

My story: 30 w/ wife n two kids. Drug rep for last seven years. Loved it initially for the combo of science and business, but lately I've come to the conclusion that trying to provide value to clinicians just isn't enough. Rather, I want to be directly responsible for helping alleviating patient troubles.

Two questions: 1) Am I nuts to try and take med school prereqs while working FT in effort to live and save $? My plan is to only take one or two classes per semester for the next three years – I need roughly 12 courses. 2) Like many non-trads, I have the challenge of overcoming a less-than-optimal ug gpa (3.2 biz mktg). If I can nail a 3.7 in the post-bac science coursework and score around 30 on the MCAT will that be enough?

Thanks in advance to all who chime in!

P.S. The 3.2 is from '97 to '01. Four years of varsity football, part-time work, and partying took precedent over academics. …I wish I realized then what I realize now!!!

1. Not at all. I worked full time during all of undergrad.
2. Yes. Kill the classes and MCAT and you're golden.

The one thing you do have to ask yourself is if you're ready to move though? Even with a 3.7 in your science classes you'll still need to apply broadly. Is the fam ready to pick up and move with you? Just something to think about.

Good luck to you,

Chandu

 

[gman33]

Did you take any science courses that will count towards for BPCM gpa?
If so, make sure you know your grades. Get a copy of your transcript if you are not sure.

I'm guessing you took around 120 credits as an UG. Getting a 3.7 in another 60 credits would put your cum gpa somewhere in the 3.3 range. That along with a 30 MCAT, will not make you a competitive applicant at US MD schools. If you can get closer to a 4.0 in the post-bacc work, I think that would put you closer to 3.45, which would be a lot better. It would still be below average, but you would be in a better situation.

 

[Cartelguy]

Thx. If it's 4.0, then it's 4.0. Know of schools that look closer at sci gpa than cum?

 

[punkiedad]

Thx. If it's 4.0, then it's 4.0. Know of schools that look closer at sci gpa than cum?

Did EXACTLY what you are contemplating. Drug rep. similar ug GPA, etc....so. yes you can do it. the flexibility of being a drug rep can work in your favor. I have a wife and two kids. Did the pre reqs in 2 1/2 years taking one a semester and a couple over the summer (used vaca time broken up over the summer to fit in summer classes). I personally noticed I was so busy, my time with kids and work actually improved! Believe it or not, when you are so busy, you know every minute of your day is spoken for!

talk with some of your docs you trust......good rec. letters will go a long way to help, especially if they are form the same school you are applying. and, being a drug rep, you may already know some docs that are on a committe, or board, etc... as long as you are motivated for the right reasons (helping people instead of being around docs enough to think they are not all geniuses) and you do well in pre reqs and MCAT, I owuld not sweat it.

that being said, I wanted to go the DO route. I llied the options it offers. I agree with others, if you want MD route, may be tougher, but with your experience and potential connections, you should od fine.

one last thing, the thing that will suffer is me time 9none) and partying (none). Your priorites will be family, work, school, MCAT....the order will depend which fire is burning the hottest at the current time! You will have to give up the others. started with a guy who tried to still play hoops twice a week, watch football, etc....and he failed during OCHEM I.

So, if you are ready to commit, you should do fine. Feel free to PM me if you want more details................best of luck. you can absolutely do it if you want to.

 

[student1799]

I'm guessing you took around 120 credits as an UG. Getting a 3.7 in another 60 credits would put your cum gpa somewhere in the 3.3 range. That along with a 30 MCAT, will not make you a competitive applicant at US MD schools.

As a current applicant, I think gman33's point is well taken, although it's impossible to say what minimum GPA you really need to be admitted to med school. Currently, the average stats for applicants accepted to med school are 3.5-3.6 GPA and 31 on the MCAT. However, state residency can make a huge difference; if you live in a very applicant-friendly state like TX, FL, or elsewhere in the South, you can often get into your state school(s) with stats that are slightly below the national average. If, on the other hand, you live in a place like CA or NY (my home state), you might as well move, because the schools are highly competitive even for in-state students.

I would add that the more your GPA is below the national average, the more important it becomes to get a really solid MCAT score--the higher the better, but ideally at least low 30's. Although a high MCAT can't completely outweigh a low GPA in the admissions process, it seems to help quite a bit.

If you can get closer to a 4.0 in the post-bacc work, I think that would put you closer to 3.45, which would be a lot better. It would still be below average, but you would be in a better situation.

Here's a GPA calculator so you can figure it out exactly: http://www.back2college.com/raisegpa.htm

Thx. If it's 4.0, then it's 4.0. Know of schools that look closer at sci gpa than cum?

You'd think that schools would care much more about the BCPM [science GPA] than the overall number, but this doesn't seem to be the case. They seem to put the most emphasis on overall GPA, unless the circumstances are unusual. In my case, for example, I graduated from college more than 20 years ago, and didn't take any sciences in college. Therefore, I think adcoms have looked more closely at my BCPM, both because it's recent (postbacc program), and because it's the only real indication of my science ability.

Since your old degree is in business, you might get a little more attention paid to your BCPM as well, but that uGPA is still going to be important. Straight 4.0's in the prereq classes will certainly help.

Check out [thread=7679578]this thread, "Nontrad Secrets of Application Success"[/thread], which contains some great stories of how other nontrads got into med school, in many cases with checkered pasts.

 

[deleted248403]

Cartelguy - i too was a drug rep until Pfizer's recent layoffs. I was always planning on going back to school.

Didn't think i'd find many people on here in a similar boat

 

[Carlsbad1919]

Just a quick warning - you might want to avoid (or be able to quickly explain) any statement inferring that you are providing "value" to a physician. This might be your personal goal but a drug reps' job is to sell pharmaceuticals, not to help physicians and not to help patients. As you said your degree is in business marketing, not chemistry, so your understanding of pharmacokinetics is only supplied by your employer(s). Any aware physician will know this. Obviously you have a ton of physician contact but the information you are given by your employer and then give to a physician is biased towards selling a pharmaceutical; half of the studies Pharma pays for are not published because they have either a neutral or negative result. I'm not trying in anyway to discourage you but this is something you need to be aware of when writing your personal statement or during an interview. Best of Luck.

 

[punkiedad]

Just a quick warning - you might want to avoid (or be able to quickly explain) any statement inferring that you are providing "value" to a physician. This might be your personal goal but a drug reps' job is to sell pharmaceuticals, not to help physicians and not to help patients. As you said your degree is in business marketing, not chemistry, so your understanding of pharmacokinetics is only supplied by your employer(s). Any aware physician will know this. Obviously you have a ton of physician contact but the information you are given by your employer and then give to a physician is biased towards selling a pharmaceutical; half of the studies Pharma pays for are not published because they have either a neutral or negative result. I'm not trying in anyway to discourage you but this is something you need to be aware of when writing your personal statement or during an interview. Best of Luck.

Carlsbad. I dont want to come off the wrong way, so I will try to choose my words carefully. I have tremendous passion for what I do. I feel that is what will make me a good doctor.

When you refer to drug reps not adding value to physicians, I wonder if you are looking at it from both sides; medicine and business? It is true that companies only teach you what they want you to know. Out of context, this assumes, a drug rep never learns anythign fromthe physicians he or she talks to, as well as never does any independant research, etc.....

Additionally, I agree that many studies are funded by drug companies. These studies are expensive, and frankly sometimes blow up in companies faces, such as the PROVEIT, FIELD, etc.... If all studies had a bias though, they would not get done. someone has to fund them. Lipitor is the most studied drug around. It is a life saver.

I don't want to turn this thread into a defense of the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, most drug reps are over paid (me included), the industry is pretty greasy (some docs are no saints though and ask for extras), and there are a lot of lazy reps that just go through the motions.

So, in the end, I believe I add value to the docs. Better believe though when I am on the other side of the Rx pad, I will not have time for anyone that wastes my time and adds no value..............just my $0.02

 

[Cartelguy]

Thanks to all who’ve commented on my situation. I’m a sponge on a mission, but will remain a realist. Currently I’m trying to learn as much as I can to hopefully avoid as many “wish I would’ve known that earlier” feelings as I can!!!

…Also, forgive me as I feel the need to put a bow on the whole adding “value” sub-discussion that’s emerged. First, Carlsbad, your point is well taken. Kid gloves while articulating this one!

On the other hand, I do echo Punkiedad’s position and feel compelled to add that the two (value and selling) aren’t always mutually exclusive. For example, let’s say I share an argument with a customer I call on to move my product up in his algorithm for XYZitis. If the dr. decides to prescribe accordingly and his patients have better outcomes has he been “sold”? Did he and his patients find the change “valuable”? Perhaps both.

…the only other thing I’ll add is that my company has fully disclosed all trial results (good, bad, indifferent) for approved products for over two years now. Wish that were the case all along, but at least we’re heading in the right direction.