Transition from SF Medic to Medschool

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badswimmer

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A little about myself. I've been in the army for several years, finishing up a five year contract. I am currently a Special Forces (Green Beret) Medic, and Dive Medical Technician. At some point I'll come home from Afghanistan, and would like to transition from the military (as in get out, I hate the haircuts) into med school. I'm rocking a sweet 2.9 gGPA/ not sure the number but it's weaker in the sciences.

The one positive, is that I've currently undergone a year + of extensive and intense academic and hands on medical training in addition to my current medical experience as the sole health care provider for a small US/Afghan contingent.

I've read, through many of the post-bacc and smp posts, some of it encouraging, some of it not so much. I've been in contact with the UNCG post bacc pre med program and spoken to Dr. Cannon directly, and looked at other opportunities.

Has anyone else made a similar transition? Does my current medical experience and training do anything to mitigate my partyboy grades?

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Since you are looking into postbac I assume you've got your degree? How long ago? You're right on the cusp as far as GPA goes. Experience will get you something, but probably not enough in most schools. The postbac is probably your best bet if you're a few years separated from your degree. You could probably go formal or informal, but I'll let the folks who have gone that route answer that particular question. I'd say you definately have some GPA repair work ahead of you.
 
I'm assuming by you've been doing SF medical (a.k.a. not in training) througout your contract? The 2.9 can be an issue; but keep in mind that some schools will look favorably upon your military training (A few wanted my AARTS transcript this cycle. Whether or not they'll consider it a GPA boost is beyond me). It sounds like you're doing the right thing by keeping in contact with post-bac directors, so I'd encourage you to keep that going. A few other thoughts:

1) With the GPA where it is and with your SF experience, I think a DO school's going to look at you much more favorably than an MD school will. Nothing against the MD's or anything; they just tend to have higher stats in general, and seem to give a lot less weight to practical experience (which you have in spades).

2) Have you considered PA programs as well, or are you strictly looking at MD/DO schools? The former would give you a fair amount of autonomy, and your HC experiences would factor more heavily for PA schools.

3) Before you ETS, line up a recommendation letter from a military doc (The higher rank, the better). Having a glowing rec from an O-5/O-6 can open doors for you, especially for schools that are traditionally military and veteran-friendly.

Hopefully some of that helped. If you want any info on the application process itself (did MD and DO), I'd be happy to talk offline about it.
 
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Degree was completed in 2008, so 4 years ago, but by the time I'm looking at getting out, it will have been 5 years.
1. I have started to look into DO schools a tiny bit, I got to work with one on my ER rotation in Tampa during the SOCM course (Special Operations Combat Medic).
2. I have looked into a couple of PA schools, but not as thoroughly. It is still an option I am considering, I have yet to talk to anybody about that route, however.
3. I have actually got put on some HQ duty (really crappy way to spend time here) but it allowed me to work with the Battalion Surgeon in planning some mass casualty scenarios and basic first aid for the security forces on camp. I have talked to him about shadowing him at the hospital when we get back.
 
I have spent a significant amount of time over the last few years reading sdn but never felt necessary to post anything (mainly because I had nothing insightful to contribute). However, I think this is a topic I can speak on intelligently.

A few years ago (2008) I was in a similar situation. I was an SF Teamleader deployed overseas (5th GRP) when I finalized my decision to depart the Army and pursue medical school. I finished up my team time, left the military (2010) and started retaking all necessary courses at my state school. (I had originally graduated in 2001 with mediocre numbers).

Kept up straight As, volunteered at local VA, worked at a lab to gain research experience, and studied hard for the MCAT. Applied broadly and was accepted in Oct to a number of very highly ranked medical schools. I start this Aug at a great medical school.

Make your plan and ensure you do everything possible to demonstrate to admissions committees that your experiences have shaped you into something more than you were and you would be value added to any school.

Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.
 
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Have you done your pre-reqs? With a 2.9 gpa a SMP is going to be required, but if you rock that I think you will be in a good position. Admissions committees should look upon your military experience favorably. Not just because of the medically related stuff, but because of the "soft" qualities too; leadership, resilience, etc.

Do well in an SMP, on the MCAT, and apply broadly, and you will have a good chance. IIRC there's an SDN poster on here who was an 18D, he had a high MCAT, but low GPA and like the above poster he got into some very highly ranked schools.
 
You absolutely will need to rock the MCAT, and if you don't want to do (or can't because of your service restraints) a full post-bac program, start taking individual science courses as an undeclared student. You may be able to find some with online components, but make sure that they will be accepted by the schools that you are looking at. I also have to agree with other comments, that you are far more likely to get into a DO school over an MD school. They tend to be much more military friendly, and place more weight on life experience over straight statistics. Since you mentioned UNC, I'm assuming you will be going back to North Carolina, if so, contact Campbell University. They are very military friendly, from what I have heard they have a good relationship with the SF community there, and they are opening a DO school next year. They may be able to give you some good advice, and help you plan out your career.

Good luck to you, and thank you for your service.
 
A little about myself. I've been in the army for several years, finishing up a five year contract. I am currently a Special Forces (Green Beret) Medic, and Dive Medical Technician. At some point I'll come home from Afghanistan, and would like to transition from the military (as in get out, I hate the haircuts) into med school. I'm rocking a sweet 2.9 gGPA/ not sure the number but it's weaker in the sciences.

The one positive, is that I've currently undergone a year + of extensive and intense academic and hands on medical training in addition to my current medical experience as the sole health care provider for a small US/Afghan contingent.

I've read, through many of the post-bacc and smp posts, some of it encouraging, some of it not so much. I've been in contact with the UNCG post bacc pre med program and spoken to Dr. Cannon directly, and looked at other opportunities.

Has anyone else made a similar transition? Does my current medical experience and training do anything to mitigate my partyboy grades?
It can be done. When I got out I had a worse GPA than yours. I did 2 years of postbac work on my own and concurrently served in the guard to finish my IRR time. Kept a 4.0 the past 2 years and did pretty well on the MCAT. You need to follow a similar path I think.

When you get out, get back into school. You will need to take some more classes or if you are considering DO, retake some classes you did poorly in. Of course you should get all A's if possible. This will do 2 things: 1) Raise your GPA, 2) show admissions staff that you have 'matured' and are able to handle the rigors of medical school. There is obviously no question you can handle stress, 18D speaks volumes about your ability.

Only other thing you need to do is take the MCAT and do well on it. Hopefully >30 and you should have no problem getting into a DO school, and will have a good chance of getting into an MD school.

Last piece of advice is this: don't rush it. Get back into school, take the MCAT; but when you are going to apply, do it very early, and apply broadly. Coming from the military is great for your med school application, but it is not a foot in the door. Apply to a ton of schools.

Best of luck man
 
Another vote for:
If you go back and do some really solid work either back in undergrad or post-bac, and can effectively narrate your transformation from "party-boy" to serious student using your SF experience as catalyst, then given the right school, yes you can mitigate some of your past cousework.
 
DAMN IT I keep reading this thread title and am all "right on, another san francisco medic!!" and then am always let down you're from FL :(

anyways- agree with above. if you go back to classes and kick butt/4.0 it from here on out you'll be on solid footing for an acceptance. Especially with your awesome background/story. But if you're interested in a quicker route look into PA schools.

Cheers and keep us posted!
 
Thank you for all the constructive advice. I've got a quite a bit of work ahead, for sure. When I get back and can get the ball rolling I will post updates. Thanks again.
 
Badswimmer, I'm in the same situation as you. I had an less than average GPA getting out of the military. I've been doing everything I can to rock my pre-reqs and hopefully I can get a kick ass score on the MCAT next year. If you search within SDN theres a few threads with some really good information from prior service dudes. Good Luck.
 
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but the thread is from 2012.
 
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