Unusual question I suppose

[mdognotcat]

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[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Posting this for a friend who has no access to the internet on our native american reservation..


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hello guys. I graduated with a BS in Business and an MBA in Business, GPA 3.83 and 3.95 respectively from a brand name school (that is usually in the top-5 in rankings). I work as a cop on a Native American reservation because that is what my former Tribal Chief had wanted me to do. .


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Eventually I want to practice medicine for at least 10 years in a country like Chad, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or some other poor nation before moving back to the U.S. But I graduated several years ago and I don't feel like wasting 2 years pursuing a pre-med degree. I also don't feel like wasting more time studying for the MCAT. Because doing all that – and doing it well - takes several years and I won't be using that knowledge to treat patients any way. Consequently, and tell me if you feel that my thinking or reasoning are incorrect, I think the best course of action for me is to join a Carribean MD program that doesn't care about the MCAT or prior pre-med coursework. Can you suggest any such no-fuss M.D. programs?.

 

[apumic]

Carib should be a no-go, especially since with your GPA and school background as well as URM status you should be golden anywhere you want to go unless you pretty much flunk the MCAT (&#8804;20-25). Caribbean schools don't afford you a very good chance at US residencies (<50% chance at match) and many/most students will fail out out prior to even applying so that <50% chance is probably closer to 10-20% at most Carib schools. If you're as smart and all as you appear to be, you ought to do great on the MCAT. The extra 1-2 years or so this will take will be totally worth it down the road.

 

[JJMrK]

Carib should be a no-go, especially since with your GPA and school background as well as URM status you should be golden anywhere you want to go unless you pretty much flunk the MCAT (&#8804;20-25). Caribbean schools don't afford you a very good chance at US residencies (<50% chance at match) and many/most students will fail out out prior to even applying so that <50% chance is probably closer to 10-20% at most Carib schools. If you're as smart and all as you appear to be, you ought to do great on the MCAT. The extra 1-2 years or so this will take will be totally worth it down the road.

👍

You've got a great opportunity to go to an excellent US MD school. The MCAT will consume 3 months of your life, but it'll all be worth it in the end, and you'll be in a much better position a few years down the road.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

Your friend hasn't really thought about the financial side of things, which is a bit surprising given his impressive business credentials. On the other hand, ensuring that he is completely unprepared before entering an unsupportive academic environment is pretty dumb also.

 

[Tin Man]

First off, a degree in business isn't in any way preperation for medical school. It's untrue that the pre-med courses don't help you prepare for med school, even if the material is, for the MOST part, retaught. Knowing how things react, basic trends, and even just the skills on how to solve any basic science problem is going to be extremely important. There is a reason that Carribean schools are considered the last resort of anyone who wants to be a doctor.

Second, your "friend" needs to get the hell over himself. Just because he believes that the pre-med courses are a waste of time does not mean that it is true. Is it really a "waste" to spend two years to prepare for a good medical school? The differences in the quality of education are pretty clear between Carribean schools and pretty much all other schools. He can chime all he wants about wanting to help people in poor countries, but if he cares as much as he wants us to believe he does, he needs to bite the bullet, go through pre-med like everyone else out there, and apply to a school that gives him an education worth having. Otherwise, I'm just not buying the whole "dedication to medicine" bit.

 

[mybubbles14]

Some posters are encouraging your friend to go MD...which is what I suggest as well, but I think although the individual has impressive gpas they are overlooking the fact that they have not taken any of the pre-reqs ( if I'm reading that correctly and expressing interest in not wanting to deal with that). I don't think that going to a Caribbean med school w/o taking any sciences courses is a good idea...if they even allow that??? I didn't know there weren't any requirements. Either way, I agree that if this is something that you REALLY want to do then you should do what it takes to get there. Caribbean med school shouldn't be considered the "easy way out" as it really isn't...it should be a last resort. Tell your friend to put in the work now so that they are in the best position to apply to a US MD (or DO) school instead of doing what they consider is the easier short-cut, which likely could prove to be much harder.

 

[schrizto]

Does he have any clinical experience? It sounds like he is thinking of going to medical school on a whim.

 

[swamprat]

Your def going to need to take the pre-med courses, how can someone possibly go to medical school without taking a single science course before... thats like me going straight into the OR and attempted to operate on day 1 of medical school because I decided I want to be a surgeon. (ok a little extreme, but still)

 

[J ROD]

Get a US MD...go back and take the prereqs and then the MCAT.

get in the "required" ECs - clinical experience, volunteering, and shadowing...maybe some research, tutoring, etc.

Do a mission trip over there until you get accepted to make you happy and it will also boost your app!

 

[ScronCron]

It does not sound like your friend has thought this decision through. Basic science courses provide foundational knowledge for the coursework taken in medical school. Your friend is doing himself a disservice by not adequately preparing himself for medical coursework and also not testing his aptitude for the challenge that awaits him in medical school. Even students who major in the sciences find the coursework challenging in medical school. Perhaps not all of the DETAILS learned in prerequisite coursework are applicable to medical school, but the THEMES and CONCEPTS learned are invaluable.

My advice for your friend is to seriously consider his decision to practice medicine. Medicine is more than wanting to serve others and help people in need. It is a discipline that requires dedicated study and years of training. One of my physician mentors gave me this advice: "Pick a specialty. Do it. And DO IT WELL." I realize that your friend wants to serve the third world, but does that mean he should take his studies any less seriously? With less preparation than someone studying in the US or a more industrialized nation? He will be a better physician if he does not rush through his studies and takes the time to fully prepare himself to be a GOOD physician. What is the hurry, anyway? Why cannot a medical education be a rewarding experience? Why is time spent in preparation a waste? I think that proper time and dedication will serve both your friend and his patients well.

[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Posting this for a friend who has no access to the internet on our native american reservation..


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hello guys. I graduated with a BS in Business and an MBA in Business, GPA 3.83 and 3.95 respectively from a brand name school (that is usually in the top-5 in rankings). I work as a cop on a Native American reservation because that is what my former Tribal Chief had wanted me to do. .


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Eventually I want to practice medicine for at least 10 years in a country like Chad, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or some other poor nation before moving back to the U.S. But I graduated several years ago and I don't feel like wasting 2 years pursuing a pre-med degree. I also don't feel like wasting more time studying for the MCAT. Because doing all that – and doing it well - takes several years and I won't be using that knowledge to treat patients any way. Consequently, and tell me if you feel that my thinking or reasoning are incorrect, I think the best course of action for me is to join a Carribean MD program that doesn't care about the MCAT or prior pre-med coursework. Can you suggest any such no-fuss M.D. programs?.

 

[ButImLETired]

For what it's worth, I'm pretty much positive that there is no med school in the world that will accept a student with no pre-med coursework, no MCAT, and no experience in the medical field (the latter being the least of the problems). They have no proof you can do the work, no proof that you're on the same level as everyone else, and in general no evidence whatsoever that you even know what the heart is. So yeah. Bite the bullet and play the game, we all had to. No one will give you an MD just cause you want one and aren't willing to "waste time".

 

[TheMightySmiter]

You don't need an MD/DO to help people in African countries. I think OP's friend is better off volunteering over there in another capacity if he's not willing to put in the work to go to med school.

 

[caseofthemndays]

I completely agree with the above posters. Med school and medical practice is not something to be taken lightly, and I don't feel that any preparation I have done up to this point has been a "waste". That being said, there are 6 year European schools that don't require that sort of thing. Check out Semmelweiss. Still, it's 6 years in med school instead of 4 in med school and 2 in preparation.

 

[mdognotcat]

Actually he worked as an EMT for 16 years on the reservation, then got his undergraduate and MBA. He wants to skip the pre-med part because he's getting old and medical schools in the US may discriminate on account of age.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Actually he worked as an EMT for 16 years on the reservation, then got his undergraduate and MBA. He wants to skip the pre-med part because he's getting old and medical schools in the US may discriminate on account of age.

Check out the nontrad forum here. There's a 52-year-old former lawyer who was just accepted to med school in the States. The bottom line is that you cannot get around taking pre-reqs and the MCATs. Your friend has to go through those processes just like everyone else who wants to go to med school, no matter how old he is and how much EMT experience he's done.

 

[ScronCron]

Being an EMT absolutely does not substitute for coursework. You can be an EMT and still have little knowledge of the biomedical sciences, which is quite often the case. I had a history professor in college whose son was an EMT. She loves her son but said that she would NEVER entrust her son with anything related to her medical care.

If your friend wants to be a doctor, there's no way around completing the prerequisites and that's that. There's no shortcuts about it. Quite frankly, it is grossly irresponsible for a medical school to admit a student who cannot show proof of competency in the basic sciences (i.e. science grades and MCAT). It's a poor allocation of limited and expensive educational resources.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

Here is a typical 1st year medical school curriculum. Have your friend take a look at it to determine whether his EMT training will substitute for a solid background in basic sciences.

 

[Tin Man]

Actually he worked as an EMT for 16 years on the reservation, then got his undergraduate and MBA. He wants to skip the pre-med part because he's getting old and medical schools in the US may discriminate on account of age.

🙄

They have an astronomically higher chance of discriminating based on no MCAT and pre-med coursework than age...

 

[riverjib]

[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Posting this for a friend who has no access to the internet on our native american reservation..


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hello guys. I graduated with a BS in Business and an MBA in Business, GPA 3.83 and 3.95 respectively from a brand name school (that is usually in the top-5 in rankings). I work as a cop on a Native American reservation because that is what my former Tribal Chief had wanted me to do. .


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Eventually I want to practice medicine for at least 10 years in a country like Chad, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or some other poor nation before moving back to the U.S. But I graduated several years ago and I don't feel like wasting 2 years pursuing a pre-med degree. I also don't feel like wasting more time studying for the MCAT. Because doing all that – and doing it well - takes several years and I won't be using that knowledge to treat patients any way. Consequently, and tell me if you feel that my thinking or reasoning are incorrect, I think the best course of action for me is to join a Carribean MD program that doesn't care about the MCAT or prior pre-med coursework. Can you suggest any such no-fuss M.D. programs?.

Huh? No fuss MD programs? I'm not sure those exist, even in the Caribbean. And your friend should post here directly...it doesn't sound like you're posting for someone else when you go straight from third-person to first-person as you post...

 

[mdognotcat]

Hi Riverjib, we have a very high proportion of native american students who live on reservations. Which means many of them have no running water and no electricity, let alone the internet. The public computers, e.g. the library machines, have blocked off sites like MySpace and various discussion forums like this one. I have a computer both at home and at work. I told students that they only have to email me or talk to me and I will post their questions on this forum. Riverjib I hope you don't mind this.


Incidentally, people talk about how poor America's inner cities are. If people spend time on some reservations they will realize that inner cities are quite affluent in comparison!