RN to DO/MD? Advice for building a competitive portfolio?

[deleted905115]

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Hello,

I am looking for suggestions on how to build a more competitive portfolio for applying to a medical school. A little background information on myself, I have an undergraduate bachelors degree in nursing with an undergraduate GPA of 3.304 and science GPA of 3.42. The majority of prereqs needed for applying to medical school I do have done, but I must still complete a physics class and a lab. I am beginning to refresh my knowledge at this time and prepare for the MCAT. I have worked as a heart and vascular ICU nurse for 1 year in a Level 1 trauma hospital in the large city. Before this I worked as a nurse assistant in LTC for 2 years and hospital for 3 years. I am looking for ways to improve my portfolio such as maybe I need to gain volunteer experience or research? I am looking more into DO programs than MD, if anyone knows of DO programs that are open to RN's that would be great! TIA ***I do not want to get into a debate about why I am taking this route as an RN. This is something that I truly want and I believe will be the best way to serve patients and have the proper knowledge.

 

[Faha]

Study hard for your MCAT. If you score 500 or higher you will be competitive for some DO schools. 508 and you could receive interviews at some MD schools. Where is your state of residence?

 

[deleted905115]

Thank you for your response. I live in Ohio. I would like to stay here, but of course I am open to moving to accomplish my dreams. A cardiothoracic surgeon that I work for had suggested looking into DO schools also and Caribbean schools, which I have not heard of before. He attended one, but it was accepted by the USA. Not sure how all that works, but I would prefer to stay in the continental US.

 

[Faha]

If you score 508 apply to Wright State, Toledo and NEOMED. Include OU-HCOM for DO.

 

[TurKFebruarY]

You already have great life experience as an ICU nurse, which will definitely set you apart and give you something to talk about during interviews. As it stands, the only negative from an M.D. standpoint would be your GPA being a little on the low side. Not a deal breaker, but it could hold you back from some schools. I would focus more on volunteer work instead of research. You can get more out of it for your time, as most research takes years to complete and is not a good investment if you are just looking to "improve your portfolio". Is it awesome to be published? Absolutely. But unless you already have a project in the pipeline ready to be written up, volunteer work is more worth your time. As was stated above, kick ass on your MCAT. I think you're in a good position otherwise.

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[TurKFebruarY]

Also I would be very cautious about international or carribean schools. Depending on what specialty you try to get into, that could be a hindrance in trying to secure residency spots.

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[deleted905115]

Thank you Turk for your response and words of encouragement. I will certainly be looking into volunteering, but is their any type of volunteer work that stands out? I do acknowledge by GPA is not nearly as competitive as most applicants. During undergrad I had two children and worked full time so my studies suffered. I certainly would not be working with medical school.

 

[deleted905115]

Fara, thank you for the suggestions. Wright State would be excellent, especially since that is where I graduated with my undergraduate degree and it's right down the road!

 

[TurKFebruarY]

Thank you Turk for your response and words of encouragement. I will certainly be looking into volunteering, but is their any type of volunteer work that stands out? I do acknowledge by GPA is not nearly as competitive as most applicants. During undergrad I had two children and worked full time so my studies suffered. I certainly would not be working with medical school.

I think having a family is also great to talk about and sets you apart. When I'm reviewing applicants, I look for volunteer work in settings such as free clinics, shelters, TFA, or any other underserved work. The value of this varies from person to person, but I like to see applicants who have experience working with this type of underserved population, as it demonstrates the sort of selflessness and compassion that I want in my colleagues, while also exposing them to a population that makes up a large percentage of people negatively affected by our healthcare system.

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[TurKFebruarY]

I think most importantly though is to find something you're passionate about and find a way to volunteer in that field. As I said, I value those experiences, but if an applicant can't talk about how they grew from those experiences, then it doesn't mean as much. Enthusiasm always shows in an interview.

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[FCMike11]

Same application basically. 508 MCAT with ~3.35 GPAs and 7 years of nursing. I had tremendous success with DO schools (went 85% invites for 13 apps) and some luck with allopathic schools.

Get some DO shadowing in for sure. LOR as well. I had very little for ECs (maybe 80 hrs volunteering). More wouldn't hurt but it never came up. Just have a good reason why.

PM me if you'd like to chat.

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[deleted905115]

Really? Many people have told me that they would probably frown upon the fact that I have a family to care for at this time and would question how I would handle medical school and a residency. Obviously I have thought for awhile how I would balance all these factors I certainly do not think it's impossible. If anything I would hope it would give my children some inspiration to follow what they are passionate about no matter what they face in life. I have been looking into doing medical mission trips for quite awhile now and saving money, so I hope this would look good for community service. We also have many free clinics throughout the city in my area that I will be looking into. Thank you once again for your suggestions, greatly appreciated.

 

[deleted905115]

Mike and Calivianya it's awesome to see other nurses pursuing this route! It seems to me it is frowned upon quite a bit for nurses to make such a switch unfortunately. It is very inspiring to see your post! Do you have any suggestions for how you prepared for the MCAT? It's been almost 3 years since I have taken my chemistry and math courses so I know I will need a good refresher. I'm hoping to spend the next 1.5 years studying for the MCAT, while also accumulating community service and shadowing.

 

[TurKFebruarY]

Really? Many people have told me that they would probably frown upon the fact that I have a family to care for at this time and would question how I would handle medical school and a residency. Obviously I have thought for awhile how I would balance all these factors I certainly do not think it's impossible. If anything I would hope it would give my children some inspiration to follow what they are passionate about no matter what they face in life. I have been looking into doing medical mission trips for quite awhile now and saving money, so I hope this would look good for community service. We also have many free clinics throughout the city in my area that I will be looking into. Thank you once again for your suggestions, greatly appreciated.

I had kids in med school and coming into med school, and multiple classmates did as well. There certainly may be schools where they would frown on that, but pragmatically, if they feel that way, that's probably not a school I would want to go to anyways. You don't have to mention anything about your kids in your app, and schools aren't allowed to ask about kids if you don't mention them. However, if you do mention your kids in your app, be prepared to answer the time management questions. I think in general schools are more accepting of non-traditional applicants than maybe decades past.

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