Switching from PharmD to DO?

[axelz165]

I'm a 3rd year pharmacy student planning on applying in next year's cycle. I'm an URM with a 3.0 uGPA, 3.25 sGPA, and ~3.1 pharmD GPA by graduation (all A's my final year). Currently looking for advice on what I need to increase my chances.

backstory: orphan who's parents died from HIV, went into pharmacy to help this patient population and feel DO is a better opportunity for that.

Patient Interaction: community blood glucose screenings, 2 year Walgreens Intern, 1 year of clinical rotations with 2 hours of contact each day.

Volunteering/Leadership: 3 year member of volunteer society with several leadership positions (Animal volunteer coordinator, relay for life team captain for 2 years w/ ~$30k fundraised), Historian for Breast Cancer Organization, participation in 3 HIV Community Outreach Fairs

Shadowing (so far): 5 hours surgery shadowing, 10 hours shadowing ID interdisciplinary team (MD/RPh), 40h shadowing ER interdisciplinary team (MD/RPh/RN/PA), with plans to shadow ID DO in summer.

I don't really have any research and whether I should invest time in it. I'm studying for the MCAT and I feel I'll do well on it. Is there anything I should in the following ~1.5 years to increase my chances?

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[P0ke]

You'll need a very convincing "why DO instead of PharmD" story, because adcoms will be wondering "if he/she decided to leave that career path, what's stopping them from doing the same with medicine?". IMO, this story may need a year or more of distancing yourself from pharm and doing pre-med specific activities.

 

[axelz165]

You'll need a very convincing "why DO instead of PharmD" story, because adcoms will be wondering "if he/she decided to leave that career path, what's stopping them from doing the same with medicine?". IMO, this story may need a year or more of distancing yourself from pharm and doing pre-med specific activities.

Well I'll have a "gap year" of sorts where I'll be working as a pharmacist. What sort of pre-med specific (outside of coursework) activities would we be talking about? Is there anything I could do in the following year? I have weekends free and an entire month off in july.

 

[pms_testosterone]

I slightly disagree with the above: while you will need to answer "why DO?" there isn't a need to specifically distance yourself from pharmacy. Med students come from a variety of backgrounds, including other professions, and it will be easy for you to portray the clinical experience you gained in pharmacy as an asset.

I'd recommend getting all A's from now on, and increasing your clinical volunteering. If your story is that you'd like to help HIV patients, I'd recommend volunteering with HIV patients, if possible.

Research is a time sink - don't risk your GPA by doing research during the term. If you can manage to get a research position for the summer while you're not in school, then go for it.

 

[axelz165]

I slightly disagree with the above: while you will need to answer "why DO?" there isn't a need to specifically distance yourself from pharmacy. Med students come from a variety of backgrounds, including other professions, and it will be easy for you to portray the clinical experience you gained in pharmacy as an asset.

I'd recommend getting all A's from now on, and increasing your clinical volunteering. If your story is that you'd like to help HIV patients, I'd recommend volunteering with HIV patients, if possible.

Research is a time sink - don't risk your GPA by doing research during the term. If you can manage to get a research position for the summer while you're not in school, then go for it.

Thank you for the advice. Other than inserting HIV volunteering/volunteering in general, is there anything else I could do to strengthen my application?

 

[P0ke]

I slightly disagree with the above: while you will need to answer "why DO?" there isn't a need to specifically distance yourself from pharmacy. Med students come from a variety of backgrounds, including other professions, and it will be easy for you to portray the clinical experience you gained in pharmacy as an asset.

I'd recommend getting all A's from now on, and increasing your clinical volunteering. If your story is that you'd like to help HIV patients, I'd recommend volunteering with HIV patients, if possible.

Research is a time sink - don't risk your GPA by doing research during the term. If you can manage to get a research position for the summer while you're not in school, then go for it.

I just don't see how adcoms can be convinced that he/she won't do the same thing they did with pharmacy school. You enter pharmacy school expecting to make a career in it, not to work a year in it and then switch to something else. It's not like a college major where you may or may not end up using it, its a professional school. If I were an adcom, I'd need some serious convincing that medicine is what he/she wants to do over pharmacy, and that includes years of action, not just a verbal promise. Switching from pharm school is a commitment red flag. Pre-med specific stuff like becoming a scribe, and shadowing doctors specifically. Continue volunteering, etc.

 

[axelz165]

I just don't see how adcoms can be convinced that he/she won't do the same thing they did with pharmacy school. You enter pharmacy school expecting to make a career in it, not to work a year in it and then switch to something else. It's not like a college major where you may or may not end up using it, its a professional school. If I were an adcom, I'd need some serious convincing that medicine is what he/she wants to do over pharmacy, and that includes years of action, not just a verbal promise. Switching from pharm school is a commitment red flag. Pre-med specific stuff like becoming a scribe, and shadowing doctors specifically. Continue volunteering, etc.

I wanted to go to medical school since undergrad but was pressured into attending pharmacy for various reasons.. In my second year I realized this 100% was not the profession for me, but didn't want to quit school so I figured I'd toughen it out and apply to DO school once I finished. It's been a long time coming and It isn't a thought that I've just been entertaining lightly. I'm only including work in interdisciplinary teams to show how i've evaluated the different roles each profession has had in healthcare and how it's affirmed my decisions that medicine is the true career path for me. I'm shadowing an ID DO specializing in HIV patients in the summer to get some specific Dr shadowing and hopefully, obtain a letter of rec from her. I didn't wake up yesterday saying " I want to be a doctor", i put to bed a dream I had years ago and tried to stifle it and realized that it's my true passion and I cannot be satisfied with the narrow periscope view of not only medicine, but physiology and disease states that pharmacy provides.

 

[pms_testosterone]

Tons of nurses and other professionals apply to med school - I don't think it is that unusual?

 

[princekc]

You can do it! Follow your dream!!