Searching for my Unicorn School

[mirandalola]

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I'm a nontrad waiting on my MCAT score (my practice test scores were 507, 511, 502, in that order), 3.72 GPA from science undergrads in 2005. I was pre-med in undergrad, resuming my training after starting a large family. I've got my AMCAS and my TMDSAS all filled out and ready to submit, I'm just scared my MCAT score will be abysmal and I'll want to study for another year and try again next year.

I'm curating my list of schools to apply to, and I keep feeling like I'm missing something (besides my MCAT score...).

Ideally, I want to practice family medicine with an obstetrics license, taking care of patients from birth to death in a rural setting. I would have kittens if I could someday serve a medical mission to some developing country.

As a mom, I've seen only a small part of how dehumanizing hospital maternity care can be, and the small part I saw was enough to show me that there are better ways to do things. I really want to receive my training somewhere that has more respect for patients than I was shown when I was in labor, but that's pretty hard to search for in the MSAR! I was hoping that the school's policy towards expectant students might illustrate their attitudes towards parents in general and mothers in particular, but that's also pretty hard to search for.

I've found a school that has an accelerated track for students who commit to family medicine from the beginning, and I've got to admit, cutting out a full year of training sounds amazing. I can google "accelerated family medicine program" and come up with a handful of schools, but is that all?

Are there any moms in medical school that can tell me how awesome their school is? Or any other non-trads who felt especially welcomed and respected at their school?

 

[theKingLT]

The unicorn school is the one that accepts you. Don't worry about finding "the perfect match", just use MSAR to make a school list that will give you the best possible chance of an acceptance. If you end up with more than one A in April, then you can worry about the better fit then

 

[Moko]

In general, I would think that most medical schools are welcoming and accommodating to their students, within reason, regardless of whether they are non-trad.

I would not choose a school purely based on the perceived patient experience -- every hospital is going to have their good and bad moments. The patient experience also remains widely dehumanizing due to many systemic factors shared across institutions. If changing this non-patient-centric culture is one of your goals, you first need to get to a position where you can make these changes, ie getting into a medical school first as @theKingLT mentioned. Good luck.

 

[993444]

...you first need to get to a position where you can make these changes, ie getting into a medical school first

I feel like climbing up the ladder on the administrative side of healthcare rather than the practitioner side would put someone in a better position to address this issue.