Transitioning from PhD program in Anthropology to medical school

[Visoke28]

Dear All,

I am currently in my first year of a PhD program in Anthropology at one of the top schools in my field. In terms of my academic background, I have a BA in psychology and MA in anthropology, also from a very highly ranked university. My area of study is medical anthropology, with a focus in cultural competency/medical ethics/the medicalization of the body/etc. I have considered medical school over the years, but continually felt I enjoyed the non-clinical, social science research angle more than I would the actual practice of medicine. Since I've been in the PhD program however, I've developed the desire to put my background to more direct and practical use, and very much want to work directly with patients in clinical care. I'm particularly interested in working with urban/minority populations, and hope to eventually work internationally as well with Doctor's Without Borders...and possibly finish the PhD at some point in the future.

I have no background in science, and really took none of the hard sciences in college or graduate school (besides calculus and stats). Currently I have a 4.0 GPA, and my undergraduate GPA was a 3.7. I have several years of research experience as an undergrad in a biological psychology lab, and also worked for a year and a half as a case manager for infants with disabilities. I am wondering if it somehow "looks bad" applying to medical school after leaving a PhD program? I am also wondering if my age would be a disadvantage - after taking a postbac course to complete the science pre-recs, I'd be 30 when applying.

Thanks very much to anyone who has some advice!!!!!

Cheers!

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[rugbyclassical]

couple words of advice.

1) get help from a pre-med advisor (in your post-bacc program). don't attempt to do this all on your own. med school adcom require certain characteristics. it looks like you're a good candidate, but make sure that everything is kosher on your app before you submit. (eg, you need to show that you have good interpersonal skills, and this needs to be on your LOR's)

2) stay in skool during your transition. an md & a phd is a strong combination when you apply for residency. depending on the school, you may even be able to take classes during your 3rd & 4th year that you can use for your ph.d. program. you may even want to apply for the md/phd program. you may have a better shot at getting in (see #1 for advice).

3) if you are in a science-based ph.d., make sure that you do not overlook the MCAT verbal. this is a dream killer for science & math geeks.

4) you NEED experience in the med field. interviewers have told this to me point blank. they expect non-trads to "try it out first" before applying. volunteer in a hospital and, if possible, shadow a doctor. the latter is not always the easiest to do, though.

 

[QofQuimica]

I have no background in science, and really took none of the hard sciences in college or graduate school (besides calculus and stats). Currently I have a 4.0 GPA, and my undergraduate GPA was a 3.7. I have several years of research experience as an undergrad in a biological psychology lab, and also worked for a year and a half as a case manager for infants with disabilities. I am wondering if it somehow "looks bad" applying to medical school after leaving a PhD program? I am also wondering if my age would be a disadvantage - after taking a postbac course to complete the science pre-recs, I'd be 30 when applying.

Try to leave with an MS/MA if at all possible, and don't burn any bridges at your grad school. You're going to need a LOR from your advisor. Other than that, get some clinical experience, try to get As in the prereqs and 30+ on the MCAT, and go for it. 30 isn't too old at all. I applied at 30 and matriculated at 31. Best of luck.

P.S. I have compiled a group of links to multiple threads about the grad school to med school transition that you may find helpful. You can find it in the sticky at the top of this forum. (Look for PhD-to-MD and click the link, which will take you to the Physician Scientists forum.)

 

[Visoke28]

thanks for your help!
question - do you know if med schools will really pay much attention to my undergraduate and graduate GPA, as opposed to my postbacc grades, since my BA/MA focus was not in the physical sciences? Or will everything really matter equally?

 

[DrMidlife]

thanks for your help!
question - do you know if med schools will really pay much attention to my undergraduate and graduate GPA, as opposed to my postbacc grades, since my BA/MA focus was not in the physical sciences? Or will everything really matter equally?

Everything matters equally at the beginning. Once you've made it past autoscreens that look at your cumulative undergrad overall and science GPAs, and your MCAT, then subjective eyeballs get involved. And those subjective eyeballs will look at the yearly summaries of your undergrad numbers, and then your grad numbers, as presented by the med school app services (and review all your extra-curriculars, recommendations, etc). Regardless, a 3.7 is quite solid. Make sure your postbac is at that level and you should be fine.

Recommended reading: Melvin Konner's "Becoming a Doctor." Konner got his PhD in Anthro. Studied the Bushmen in Africa. Then went to med school. Never did residency. Total douchebag/whiner/*******. Read the book to find out what NOT to be like. Lesson #1: nobody asked you what's wrong with the system. (This should be the nontrad mantra.)

Best of luck to you.