Sports Medicine Focus

[Dei gratia]

Hello, so I would appreciate any feedback and advice regarding my future in medicine.
My main interest is in sports medicine and rehabilitation and I want to make myself as competitive as possible.

I am currently in my third year majoring in honours health science, minoring in psychology, and with additional courses in kinesiology. My oGPA is 3.7, sGPA is 3.5, and MCAT 38Q.

Extra-circulars:
- Certified NLS/First-Aid&CPR Instructor 2010-2012
- Certified EMR & SFR
- Research in PNS disorders, mainly CIPA
- 20 hr/week student assistant of a chiropractor/physiotherapist 2011-2012
- 10 hr/week volunteer with mental/physical disability students 2007-2012
- University basketball team 2009-2012

What do I need to improve on in my fourth year and do I seem competitive as an international (Canadian) student applying to the States?

My 'specific' interest is in spinal injuries, PNS damage, and rehabilitation pertaining to athletes. With this little information in mind, even though I am currently focusing on a DO, what profession would be the most appropriate.
Physiatry & Rehabilitation (DO)
Sport Injuries (DPT)
Sport Medicine (DC)
*If I did a DC I would likely go into a DPT program afterwards, in order to be more well-rounded..

I've done a fair bit of research on each profession, but it's difficult to visualize what my future career will look like after all the schooling. Especially after a Physiatry residency and fellowship in sports medicine. I agree with the premise of osteopathic, holistic, and manual medicine, and I would like to incorporate that into my practice in some way. I also am not concerned with income (I'll have no student lones to pay-off) and therefore just want a hands-on and intellectual career that positively influences athletes.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I didn't realize that the science GPA didn't include all science courses, if it only regaurds prerequisite science courses then my sGPA is much higher than a 3.5. I apologise for the misinformation.

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[Catalystik]

Hello, so I would appreciate any feedback and advice regarding my future in medicine.
My main interest is in sports medicine and rehabilitation and I want to make myself as competitive as possible.

I am currently in my third year majoring in honours health science, minoring in psychology, and with additional courses in kinesiology. My oGPA is 3.7, sGPA is 3.5, MCAT 38Q, and I still have to complete the GRE.

Extra-circulars:
- Certified NLS/First-Aid&CPR Instructor 2010-2012
- Certified EMR & SFR
- Research in PNS disorders, mainly CIPA
- 20 hr/week student assistant of a chiropractor/physiotherapist 2011-2012
- 10 hr/week volunteer with mental/physical disability students 2007-2012
- University basketball team 2009-2012

1) What do I need to improve on in my fourth year and
2) do I seem competitive as an international (Canadian) student applying to the States?

My 'specific' interest is in spinal injuries, PNS damage, and rehabilitation pertaining to athletes. With this little information in mind,
3) even though I am currently focusing on a DO, what profession would be the most appropriate.
Physiatry & Rehabilitation (DO)
Sport Injuries (DPT)
Sport Medicine (DC)
*If I did a DC I would likely go into a DPT program afterwards, in order to be more well-rounded.

1) If you had planned to apply to MD schools, I'd have suggested raising your BCPM GPA, but for DO med schools, it's fine as it is. Physician shadowing is desirable, and since you are thinking of going the DO route, an LOR from a DO is required by some of the osteopathic schools, though others accept an MD letter, and some don't require either.

2) For DO medical schools, your stats are competitive everywhere. You'll have to find other forums to give perspectives on other professional schools.

3) As a medical student, you might also consider orthopedics and neurology, besides physiatry. And then there is regenerative medicine. And Family Practice is another route to becoming a Sport Medicine specialist.

You don't need the GRE to get into a med school, BTW.

 

[Dei gratia]

1) If you had planned to apply to MD schools, I'd have suggested raising your BCPM GPA, but for DO med schools, it's fine as it is. Physician shadowing is desirable, and since you are thinking of going the DO route, an LOR from a DO is required by some of the osteopathic schools, though others accept an MD letter, and some don't require either.

2) For DO medical schools, your stats are competitive everywhere. You'll have to find other forums to give perspectives on other professional schools.

3) As a medical student, you might also consider orthopedics and neurology, besides physiatry. And then there is regenerative medicine. And Family Practice is another route to becoming a Sport Medicine specialist.

You don't need the GRE to get into a med school, BTW.

Thank you for your response.

I'll focus on raising my sGPA next year, and yes I realized I placed my GRE in bad context; it was just listed on behalf of other professional school. It may be difficult to find DO references, but I'll do my best to find those opportunities. The two DO schools I'm considering applying too don't require them, but they would probably boost my application.

 

[Catalystik]

Even if the best you can do is find a DO to talk to on the phone, getting their perspectives before you go for interviews would be very helpful.