Sketchy Past Need Advice!!

[Tkirchme]

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Hello fellow non- trads. First off I would like to introduce my self. I am 26 years old Active duty Army. A (68wm6) or Licensed Practicle Nurse. My question is regarding some sketchy past I had when I was around 18 and 19yrs old. I was going through a difficult time and during that time was cited for 6 class B misdermeanor offenses. 5 Minor in possesion of alchohols, dont ask how. It amazes me and I cant even remember half of them. The sixth offense is a disordely conduct. My academic past during that time frame is equally bad. It honestly seems like another life ago. At the age of 22, Knowing my life was going virtually no where I enlisted in the Army. After 15 months in iraq and a whole lot of self reflecting over the last 7-8 years. I know what I want and it is in arms reach away. Or is it? My attempt at pre-Med back when I was 18 was just a rediculous Scheme to make me feel like I was accomplishing something. So I have began to start over, taking all the college classes starting with the basics. I have decided to with a community, then in about two years when my military contract is through transfer to a four year university. Where I will finish off the Med-school science pre-reqs and hopefully apply in 2015. Which would make it over ten years since I was AND I WILL JUST SAY IT "A PUNK", For lack of a better word. My question to this blog is. Do I have a chance, considering of course I graduate with superb acceptable grades, And obtain a competitive MCAT score? Or is my past too horrific to over come? I have already tried to get my record expunged. But N.D. has no expungment law for misdermeanors. I would have to attempt at a governors pardon, which there is a slim to none chance of recieving. So I think im stuck with the record. I mean Im guilty why shouldnt I be? But will a medical board even consider me, will I even be able to get licensed. I had no problem with Recieving my EMT liscense or my LPN license. Considering TH fact that there not exactly comparable. There only Class b misdermeanors But 6! WOW! Please help I need some feed back. About to give up on this dream. It is Starting to seem like an impossible accomplishment.

 

[esafille]

I see that you posted the same thread in other forums. I'm not sure how much your past will affect you, but I'm sure with plenty of hard work you can overcome much of it. I, myself, have to overcome some past academic shortcomings, but I'm hoping that by doing well in either a formal or informal post bacc program, I can compensate for the nearly decade-old grades! 😛 I'm waiting on a couple letters of recommendation, and then I'm applying to a few post bacc programs to finish all of my pre-reqs. If those applications fail to yield a program, however, I'm looking at taking classes at the nearby state university. As an in-state resident, the tuition rates are pretty low, so that would be a less expensive alternative.

And to echo a sentiment expressed in a reply from one of the other forums, I would be mindful of grammatical errors and misspellings in any communications to/regarding these medical programs. I know this is an informal forum and all, but a few parts of your original post were a bit difficult to understand. 🙄 It seems like you were anxious to get all the information typed up, but didn't take a moment to proofread the text.

Good luck!

 

[NTF]

Tkirchme, just a reminder that it is a violation of the Terms of Service to cross post threads in multiple forums. Please refrain from doing so in the future.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Well outside of the obvious of doing well on your course work and the MCAT there are a few things you could and should do:

1) With regards to the misdermeanors I doubt that it will keep you from getting licensed but before you go to all the effort, it may be a good idea to contact your state medical board and get something in writing and contacting a lawyer who may know more than we do.

2) MCAT prep- I recommend forking over the money and taking one of the courses, whether Kaplan, Princeton review or whatever. If you really don't have the money you can get by, by buying the books and some practice exams from the AAMC.

3) Showing interest- you clearly need to volunteer at hospitals and shadow various docs to show that you know about what you are getting into. Too little of this and you will kill your chances.

4) Separating yourself from your past- While you probably wont actually be able to get any of that stuff expunged, you can distance yourself from that time in your life. I actually think that going into the military will serve you very well because people have much respect for the way the military can add discipline and turn people's lives around. You need to also take responsibility for your actions, which definitely seems like you are doing. Very rarely do we see people on this board who actually take responsibility. I commend you for that

In addition, you need to write about your past performance in your personal statement (an essay when you apply) and take responsibility and show how you have changed and how you have chosen medicine. This is really going to make or break your application and I would highly recommend getting as many people to read it as possible.

The MCAT and the classes really are not that bad. If you keep your nose to the grind stone there is no reason why you could not get in. I'd recommend you apply to both MD schools and DO schools as the DO schools tend to have lower entrance requirements and often look kindly on non-traditional students.

 

[maxwell0]

Hello fellow non- trads. First off I would like to introduce my self. I am 26 years old Active duty Army (68wm6) or Liscensed Practicle Nurse. My question is regarding some sketchy past I had when I was 18 and 19yrs old. I was going through a difficult time and during that time was cited for 6 class B misdermeanor offenses. 5 Minor in possesion of alchohols ,dont ask how it amazes me. I cant even remember half of them, and one disordely conduct. my academic past in that time frame is equally bad, It seems like another life ago. At the age of 22, Knowing my life was going virtually no where I enlisted in the Army. After 15 months in iraq and a whole lot of self reflecting over the last 7-8 years I know what i want and it is in arms reach away. Or is it? My attempt at pre-Med back wehn I was 18 was just a rediculous Skeem to make me feel like I was accomplishing something. So I have began to start over Takeing all the college classes over. Starting with a community college, then in about two years transfer to a four year university, Finish of my Med school science pre-reqs and hopefully apply in 2015. Which would make it over ten years since I was AND I WILL JUST SAY IT "A PUNK"; For lack of a better word. My question to this blog is do I have a chance, considering of course I graduate with superb acceptable grades. And obtain a competable MCAT score? Or is my past too horrific to over come? I have already tried to get my record expunged. But N.D. has no expungment law for misdermeanors. I would have to attempt at a governors pardon which is slim to none chance of recieving. So i think im stuck with the record. I mean Im guilty why shouldnt I be. But will a medical board even consider me, will I even beable to get a liscensed. No problem with Recieving my EMT liscense or my LPN liscense. Considering there not exactly comparable. There only Class b misdermeanors But 6! WOW! Please help i need some Info. About to give up on this dream. Starting to seem like an impossible accomplishment.

Dude, you honestly want to be a doctor? You need to study an elementary school spelling book before you study medicine.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Wow, that comment was worthwhile. So he misspelled some words on an internet forum in a long post. Clearly that means he could never be a doctor.

I have news for you, most of doctoring is not exactly rocket surgery.

 

[Tkirchme]

Thank you. Your reply was helpfull. I Know how to get there, I just needed some self assurance. Contacting my state board is what I am doing now. I heard a quote from another site that told me to quite dwelling on the past its not productive and it will not get me anywhere. I agree the past is the past and thats where it stays. For now I need to get my head out of my shoulders and move on with my dreams.

 

[Tkirchme]

Thank you Maxwell0. Your comment was realy inspiring.

 

[canjosh]

Wow, that comment was worthwhile. So he misspelled some words on an internet forum in a long post. Clearly that means he could never be a doctor.

I have news for you, most of doctoring is not exactly rocket surgery.

Yeah that other comment was pretty harsh...but to the OP:

Thank you for your military service--seriously--thank you. And as far as the spelling goes, yes it will annoy people, so make sure you proofread. You should especially make sure you spell important terms correctly--i.e. your job title! Licensed Practical Nurse. When you misspell your job title, it might make people question your internet credibility. Good luck!! 👍

 

[Bernoull]

Dude, you honestly want to be a doctor? You need to study an elementary school spelling book before you study medicine.

This isn't a Spelling Bee contest. The OP has clearly articulated his concerns/questions and that's good enough.

OP, first of all, what's the disposition of your charges? Guilty, not guilty, dismissed/nolle prossed? This is important to establish as a first step. You can request certified copies of the court case disposition.

Secondly, I would suggest consulting with a lawyer to see if some/all of your charges (assuming they resulted in adjudication of guilty) can be sealed/expunged etc..

Finally, goodluck, stay focused and persistent. Don't let ur past preclude a medical career, by that I mean research possible ways of overcoming ur criminal history.. beginning with the lawyer

 

[Segovia]

Here is a guy that is an excellent speller. I want him to be my GP:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfdovxnbt5c[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Evergrey]

Hahahaha that kid has absolutely no social skills. This is why you don't get home-schooled, folks.

 

[7starmantis]

Hahahaha that kid has absolutely no social skills. This is why you don't get home-schooled, folks.

Thats hilarious. Home-schooled....pfftt. dont people realize they are severely handicapping their children by homeschooling them? I mean, what are they going to become as adults, good spellers? Just stupid.

 

[7starmantis]

Oh, just for clarification, I was home schooled. 😀
Well, up until high school.