MD & DO Should I even try? What might my chances be?

[DynamicEnigma]

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[Catalystik]

My current cGPA is 3.36 and sGPA is 3.1. I have a C in organic 1+2 lectures (though an A in both the labs), a B in gen chem 1+2, and C in intro bio 1+2. All my other science grades are A's or A-'s as of now and I will be graduating spring 2015. I have already retaken stats (D+ to A+) and calc (D+ to B+) to try and compensate for the poor grades I received in them.

EC's aren't great, either. I have only clocked >200 hr. in microbial ecology research and I will likely not be a published author on the project I worked on. Other than that, I am considering volunteer EMT work next year.

I'll spare you all the sob story, as there are almost too many on this forum, and go straight to the point. Family matters (both in-laws and my own) have resulted in an inability to focus on school work. My wife and I have come to the realization that my priorities have been skewed by my obligations to both our families and that I need to refocus my efforts on my education.

With that in mind, my wife has received a very lucrative job offer in another town, and will likely accept it and start working the semester I intend to graduate. She would like to work the job for at least two years to get industry experience in the field she is in. This also provides us the chance to "escape" our families, so to speak, and for me to focus on a post-bacc. During my post-bacc work, I intend to retake every class I have a C in and focus heavily on EC's. It is feasible that I could pull my sGPA up to a 3.6 after a post-bacc, assuming that I get all A's in my last year of classes (which are all science classes) and get A's on the courses I retake.

I am adamant about pursuing a career in medicine (preferably medical genetics) with a research focus. I had always wanted to go MD, but I am now considering a DO as well.

Well, what do you think? Is it a plan, or should I intend to pursue a career as a researcher and go for a PH.D?

On a side note, does anybody know whether a DO would have the option of pursuing a residency in medical genetics?

What are your AACOMAS GPAs with grade replacement and no math in the sGPA?

 

[Goro]

Ace your post-bac and the MCAT and there are MD schools that value reinvention. As of right now, your GPAs are OK for DO schools. But without the relevant clinical and non-clincial ECs, you're going nowhere.

With that in mind, my wife has received a very lucrative job offer in another town, and will likely accept it and start working the semester I intend to graduate. She would like to work the job for at least two years to get industry experience in the field she is in. This also provides us the chance to "escape" our families, so to speak, and for me to focus on a post-bacc. During my post-bacc work, I intend to retake every class I have a C in and focus heavily on EC's. It is feasible that I could pull my sGPA up to a 3.6 after a post-bacc, assuming that I get all A's in my last year of classes (which are all science classes) and get A's on the courses I retake.

I am adamant about pursuing a career in medicine (preferably medical genetics) with a research focus. I had always wanted to go MD, but I am now considering a DO as well.

What's in your heart?
Well, what do you think? Is it a plan, or should I intend to pursue a career as a researcher and go for a PH.D?

yes, and you can always do a fellowship at a good research insitution, like NIH.

On a side note, does anybody know whether a DO would have the option of pursuing a residency in medical genetics?

 

[DynamicEnigma]

What are your AACOMAS GPAs with grade replacement and no math in the sGPA?

With grade replacement and math classes omitted, my cGPA only goes up slightly to a 3.4 and my sGPA goes to nearly a 3.2. Still not the best, but it is better. From what I've read the AACOMAS actually replaces old grades for GPA calculations instead of averaging the two. A post-bacc could significantly boost my chances of acceptance into a DO program it seems.

 

[DynamicEnigma]

Ace your post-bac and the MCAT and there are MD schools that value reinvention. As of right now, your GPAs are OK for DO schools. But without the relevant clinical and non-clincial ECs, you're going nowhere.

With that in mind, my wife has received a very lucrative job offer in another town, and will likely accept it and start working the semester I intend to graduate. She would like to work the job for at least two years to get industry experience in the field she is in. This also provides us the chance to "escape" our families, so to speak, and for me to focus on a post-bacc. During my post-bacc work, I intend to retake every class I have a C in and focus heavily on EC's. It is feasible that I could pull my sGPA up to a 3.6 after a post-bacc, assuming that I get all A's in my last year of classes (which are all science classes) and get A's on the courses I retake.

I am adamant about pursuing a career in medicine (preferably medical genetics) with a research focus. I had always wanted to go MD, but I am now considering a DO as well.

What's in your heart?
Well, what do you think? Is it a plan, or should I intend to pursue a career as a researcher and go for a PH.D?

yes, and you can always do a fellowship at a good research insitution, like NIH.

On a side note, does anybody know whether a DO would have the option of pursuing a residency in medical genetics?

I have received poor pre-medical advising at my current university, and I was under the impression that a DO did not have the residency or fellowship options that a traditional MD had. Your response clarifies a ton for me. I don't see any reason to prefer an MD over a DO in my situation, as I do want to be involved in medical genetics research and practice.

Although I wouldn't think it to be the case, do the clinical EC's differ for those pursuing a DO as opposed to an MD?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Goro]

Nope. The whole purpose of clinical ECs is the same for both MD and DO: to know what you're getting into, to show your altruism by helping others and showing us you really want to be around sick people. If you can see a DO in action as well as MDs, then you can compare and contrast the two....something you'd likley to be asked about when interviewing at a DO school, BTW.


Although I wouldn't think it to be the case, do the clinical EC's differ for those pursuing a DO as opposed to an MD?

 

[Catalystik]

With grade replacement and math classes omitted, my cGPA only goes up slightly to a 3.4 and my sGPA goes to nearly a 3.2. Still not the best, but it is better. 1) From what I've read the AACOMAS actually replaces old grades for GPA calculations instead of averaging the two. 2) A post-bacc could significantly boost my chances of acceptance into a DO program it seems.

1) Correct, so long as the replacement class has the same credits or bettter.
2) You could likely get into a DO school somewhere with these stats, but if you want a more-selective DO school, then the postbac would serve you well.

 

[lmn]

You seem to be very interested in medical genetics, you should really evaluate what kind of work you want to do in that field (if you're confident that it's the field you want to get into for sure) and see if a md/do or phd would be better suited to get you where you want to go/do. If you waste one or two years doing a post-bacc and medically volunteering to find out you actually want to do phd work, you've wasted all that time that you could've been involved in a research lab helping you get accepted into a phd program.

 

[DynamicEnigma]

You seem to be very interested in medical genetics, you should really evaluate what kind of work you want to do in that field (if you're confident that it's the field you want to get into for sure) and see if a md/do or phd would be better suited to get you where you want to go/do. If you waste one or two years doing a post-bacc and medically volunteering to find out you actually want to do phd work, you've wasted all that time that you could've been involved in a research lab helping you get accepted into a phd program.

That is something that I've thought about extensively, and, while I've found that I certainly do love research, I do not believe that pursuing a PH.D would be the best option for myself. There is a certain "human element" that I feel is missing from work as a primary researcher because I will not always able to see my work directly impact the lives of others, or so I fear.

Also, reading some of the postings by medical geneticists on this site has really inspired me to consider it as a career option. It seems like a rewarding field to participate in, and the work aligns with many of my interests.