Wanting to Teach Community College: Discuss on Admissions Essays and Interviews?

[MDforMee]

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I'm trying to get feedback on discussing multiple career/life goals on admissions essays and during interviews. As far as DO admissions is concerned, that is.

Why I ask is because I've called several DO schools about this question, and gotten semi-positive or neutral responses.

And, I'm concerned that DO schools may question my commitment to medicine given that I'd like to teach community college; make no mistake, I am very committed to medicine, but I would like to do something positive outside of medicine at some point in my life.

So, here it is:
I'd like to teach community college at some point in my life. For personal reasons, and since I come from a community college background, I would like to help students that have less than average study habits, poor educational backgrounds, but a desire to learn and succeed, academically. I had no study habits when I first entered community college, a poor high school performance, and no guidance from family. My first years in community college were rough, and I didn't place a high importance on grades, because I had no direction and no idea about what I wanted to do. I made personal changes, and turned a lot of things around after that point, and learned how to succeed in school through a lot of patience and dedication. I'd like to share that with other people from backgrounds similar to my own, and help them learn science; I consider the sciences the deciding factor in many people's cases on whether they'll sink or swim, since the sciences are typically where students wash out, effectively shooting their chances for transfer, professional school, or grad school down in flames.

I'll be pursuing a MS in Chemistry before medical school for this purpose, alone.

What's more, I have 1 former professor from community college that went on to get his MD, then returned to teach after some time, and knew another that was a surgeon that also went back to teach community college after practicing for some years. I would like to do the same.

What do you think? Would you be as forthcoming as what I've described, above, during an interview or on an application essay?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Bnmakr1]

No.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I'd say no. You are basically implying that CC suck and everyone there is destined to fail unless you step in and save them. Moreover, many of the professors in CC (at least mine) had PhDs that were trying to transition into the university level or they had PhDs and wanted to be right there. May pane in your CC but the better ones will take a PhD. Thirdly, if you did want to do this, but the time you got out of med school, paid off your debt, and got to a position where you could go back, you will have been away for 20 years or so. No college is going to want to take you for much. Besides, you will be so rusty in everything else that the only use you will be is something related directly to your specialty of choice. This is simply my opinion, but I would forego that angle.

 

[lobo.solo]

I have thought about doing this myself, but I don't plan to do a MS in science, so that I can do it. Since I am interested in getting trained in public health/biostats/epi, I thought of teaching a night class at a CC in something like that, even an intro to physiology class or something like that. Your intentions are noble, don't let others' negativity to affect what you think is important. Best of luck!!

 

[cliquesh]

I'd replace community college with medical school/residents

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I'd say no. You are basically implying that CC suck and everyone there is destined to fail unless you step in and save them. Moreover, many of the professors in CC (at least mine) had PhDs that were trying to transition into the university level or they had PhDs and wanted to be right there. May pane in your CC but the better ones will take a PhD. Thirdly, if you did want to do this, but the time you got out of med school, paid off your debt, and got to a position where you could go back, you will have been away for 20 years or so. No college is going to want to take you for much. Besides, you will be so rusty in everything else that the only use you will be is something related directly to your specialty of choice. This is simply my opinion, but I would forego that angle.

I agree, honestly I went to a CC when I could have gone to plenty of other great schools in my state. In the end I choose it more because I was interested in going to my competitive state school and was interested in saving money.

That being said I do have similar interests. I want to potentially be a lecturer at a state college and teach a related subject, i.e if I go into psychiatry maybe I'll teach an advanced psychopathology or neuropharmacology/ neurobiology course, etc.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I applaud what you want to do because I feel community college is a great system. However, if your goal is to be a full time faculty at a community college, they are right to question your commitment to medicine. This is because you won't be practicing medicine if you're doing this. It has nothing to do with your true passion for medicine.

As for your degree in chemistry, it will be useless by the time you decide to teach. You'll be so far apart the material that they will hire someone newer before you every single time.

If you wish to be a lecturer/adjunct for 1 class a semester, you're better off teaching anatomy/physiology and this endeavor is largely meaningless to mention in your essay. That said, stop calling schools about it. If someone called me with that, I'd seriously question their candidacy because they are basically asking me "what do I write to make you accept me?"

Best of luck.

 

[MedPR]

I'd say no. You are basically implying that CC suck and everyone there is destined to fail unless you step in and save them. Moreover, many of the professors in CC (at least mine) had PhDs that were trying to transition into the university level or they had PhDs and wanted to be right there. May pane in your CC but the better ones will take a PhD. Thirdly, if you did want to do this, but the time you got out of med school, paid off your debt, and got to a position where you could go back, you will have been away for 20 years or so. No college is going to want to take you for much. Besides, you will be so rusty in everything else that the only use you will be is something related directly to your specialty of choice. This is simply my opinion, but I would forego that angle.

+1

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[darklabel]

Admirable, but honestly, its not even worth going to medical school if you want to teach at a CC. Anyone who wants to teach at a collegiate level needs a PhD. Going for a DO/PhD or MD/PhD would be a better option and even then your specialty will be far too advance for CC to teach there. Honestly, you'll forget all the basic stuff once you're done with medical school.

The MS before medical school is completely useless. You should only do this if you want to for your own sake but nothing more. You could be a useful tutor though.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Admirable, but honestly, its not even worth going to medical school if you want to teach at a CC. Anyone who wants to teach at a collegiate level needs a PhD. Going for a DO/PhD or MD/PhD would be a better option and even then your specialty will be far too advance for CC to teach there. Honestly, you'll forget all the basic stuff once you're done with medical school.

The MS before medical school is completely useless. You should only do this if you want to for your own sake but nothing more. You could be a useful tutor though.

You could with an MS be an instructor at a CC. Likewise with an MD/DO you can teach either academic medicine or at the university level as both are doctorate degrees.

 

[MDforMee]

Thanks for the responses, so far.

It isn't an easy question, but it's good to hear feedback.

I won't outright discuss it in application essays or during interviews, I think, but having a Master's Degree is a good thing to have in my back pocket.

I do have personal reasons for wanting a Masters, too, that are unrelated to teaching community college, gaining more research experience, and what have you; for residencies, it may help me land a more competitive residency if I have an MS in Chemistry/Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry. Being a DO, unfortunately, does come with a bias, even with ACGME residencies becoming the standard.

In any case, teaching community college will be a ways off, but according to my former professor/MD, who sits on the hiring committee at the community college, he said that they'd hire an MD or DO over an MS in physio grad to teach anatomy and physio because the level of training that an MD or DO gets is above and beyond what you get at the Masters level. The other MD professor I know said that they even hired a podiatrist to teach their evening anatomy and physio class.

Interesting stuff to know.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Thanks for the responses, so far.

It isn't an easy question, but it's good to hear feedback.

I won't outright discuss it in application essays or during interviews, I think, but having a Master's Degree is a good thing to have in my back pocket.

I do have personal reasons for wanting a Masters, too, that are unrelated to teaching community college, gaining more research experience, and what have you; for residencies, it may help me land a more competitive residency if I have an MS in Chemistry/Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry. Being a DO, unfortunately, does come with a bias, even with ACGME residencies becoming the standard.

In any case, teaching community college will be a ways off, but according to my former professor/MD, who sits on the hiring committee at the community college, he said that they'd hire an MD or DO over an MS in physio grad to teach anatomy and physio because the level of training that an MD or DO gets is above and beyond what you get at the Masters level. The other MD professor I know said that they even hired a podiatrist to teach their evening anatomy and physio class.

Interesting stuff to know.

Have you considered a masters in biochemistry instead? I knew one cc adjunct with a biochem degree teaching chemistry and the lab techniques learned are probably more applicable to biological problems if you do research during MD or residency.

 

[Nymphicus]

Objectively, it is a poor use of resources to train a physician to teach at a community college.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Though a curiosity, none of you have any particular interest in you know, after you're a shriveled up prune teaching a class like intro biology? I don't know why, but I think I'd be amazing to do that. Then again as Cliq said, you could also teach medical school students/ residents.

 

[MDforMee]

Have you considered a masters in biochemistry instead? I knew one cc adjunct with a biochem degree teaching chemistry and the lab techniques learned are probably more applicable to biological problems if you do research during MD or residency.

Funny you should bring it up, yes, I've considered an MS in Biochemistry.

However, the only reason that I would tend to avoid a Biochemistry MS is because, typically, Biochemistry isn't offered at community colleges. Minimum statewide qualifications for teaching at the community college in Chemistry requires an MS in Chemistry, Chemical Physics, etc, and typically not Biochemistry.

I've actually called human resources at 2 different community colleges to confirm this, and talked with the professor (former surgeon) about this, as well. When you don't have an MS in the discipline that they want, you have to appeal. The appeal can be tricky, to hear these various people tell it.

Be that as it may, the MS programs I'm applying to include
1. Organic Chemistry MS- lots of overlap with the school of pharmacy and school of medicine.
2. Biological Chemistry- overlap with medical school
3. Pharmacology and Toxicology- name is self-explanatory (last choice, here)

My research experience thus far has been geared towards applied pharmacology, organic synthesis towards pharmacology, organic mechanisms of physiological processes (isomerizations, excitations, etc), treatment of disease based on monoamine transporter manipulation via pharmacology, and the pharmacological treatment of disease based on stereoselective medications.

Everything I've done, really, has an emphasis on organic chemistry applied toward pharmacology; toward that end, and even though I'm a biochemistry major, now, I see more benefit in studying the interactions of drugs at the cellular and protein level. The research I'm trying to do under PIs at the programs I'm applying to are mostly in pharmacological mechanisms of disease. Even though I have a strong biochemistry background, it's not what I'm really wanting to do.

 

[dsoz]

I had an A&P class at a CC last year. I have been out of undergrad for a while and I was told that I should take some classes to prove that I was not brain damaged.

The professor that I had for the lecture half was a DC (chiropractor). His DC was enough to allow him to teach anatomy. I don't know why he is no longer practicing, and I never asked. He could still tell a bunch of pre-nursing students (and me) many clinical connections for what we were learning.

I don't think that you would have a problem teaching at a CC or even at a university with a DO or MD after your name. It may even give you some credibility if it is teaching anatomy.

I am coming from a high school teaching background so teaching at some level in the future may be in my destiny. Just not at a high school for now.

dsoz

 

[darklabel]

You could with an MS be an instructor at a CC. Likewise with an MD/DO you can teach either academic medicine or at the university level as both are doctorate degrees.

If you received your MS, than went on four yours into medical school, then 3+ years residency, then decided to start teaching right after all that, do you really think the OP would remember from his MS to teach the material well enough?

I think it would be better to get the MS around the time you wish to start teaching so that the material will be fresh enough. Also OP did not mention teaching at a higher level than CC.

 

[Goro]

I have the impression you still need to figure out what you want to do. Getting a DO degree instead of an MS or PhD is a lot harder way to get into teaching. I'd rather save a seat in our school for someone who wants to treat people for the next 50 years.

I'm trying to get feedback on discussing multiple career/life goals on admissions essays and during interviews. As far as DO admissions is concerned, that is.

Why I ask is because I've called several DO schools about this question, and gotten semi-positive or neutral responses.

And, I'm concerned that DO schools may question my commitment to medicine given that I'd like to teach community college; make no mistake, I am very committed to medicine, but I would like to do something positive outside of medicine at some point in my life.

So, here it is:
I'd like to teach community college at some point in my life. For personal reasons, and since I come from a community college background, I would like to help students that have less than average study habits, poor educational backgrounds, but a desire to learn and succeed, academically. I had no study habits when I first entered community college, a poor high school performance, and no guidance from family. My first years in community college were rough, and I didn't place a high importance on grades, because I had no direction and no idea about what I wanted to do. I made personal changes, and turned a lot of things around after that point, and learned how to succeed in school through a lot of patience and dedication. I'd like to share that with other people from backgrounds similar to my own, and help them learn science; I consider the sciences the deciding factor in many people's cases on whether they'll sink or swim, since the sciences are typically where students wash out, effectively shooting their chances for transfer, professional school, or grad school down in flames.

I'll be pursuing a MS in Chemistry before medical school for this purpose, alone.

What's more, I have 1 former professor from community college that went on to get his MD, then returned to teach after some time, and knew another that was a surgeon that also went back to teach community college after practicing for some years. I would like to do the same.

What do you think? Would you be as forthcoming as what I've described, above, during an interview or on an application essay?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

If you received your MS, than went on four yours into medical school, then 3+ years residency, then decided to start teaching right after all that, do you really think the OP would remember from his MS to teach the material well enough?

I think it would be better to get the MS around the time you wish to start teaching so that the material will be fresh enough. Also OP did not mention teaching at a higher level than CC.

I mentioned the M.S detail primarily for the validating that a MS is enough to teach, not to validate the OP. And likewise I stated that an MD/DO is qualified to teach med and university level courses to point that that a CC would be enough.

 

[MDforMee]

For the good of everyone reading this, including myself, Goro's statement raises an interesting question regarding admissions committees preferences for students that talk about what they want to accomplish in their lifetimes outside of medicine during interviews.

I also say this because many doctors are authors, astronauts, Tour de France riders, and yes, community college professors, among the milieu of other special interests and passions that they pursue over the course of their lifetimes.

In these ways, and don't take this personally, Goro, I get the feeling that I may not want to tell admissions committees everything about my future plans. I get the feeling that having goals outside of medicine may be frowned upon if they interfere with my practicing lifetime.

Even if it's teaching community college once I reach retirement age.

:|

 

[Goro]

I made my comments because at our school we have a specific mission to train osteopathic doctors who will gravitate to Primary Care. I applaud your dedication, but we regularly reject people who have a poor "fit to mission" for our school.

So, knowing my colleagues, I think that you'd be better off NOT mentioning your teaching aspirations.

For the good of everyone reading this, including myself, Goro's statement raises an interesting question regarding admissions committees preferences for students that talk about what they want to accomplish in their lifetimes outside of medicine during interviews.

I also say this because many doctors are authors, astronauts, Tour de France riders, and yes, community college professors, among the milieu of other special interests and passions that they pursue over the course of their lifetimes.

In these ways, and don't take this personally, Goro, I get the feeling that I may not want to tell admissions committees everything about my future plans. I get the feeling that having goals outside of medicine may be frowned upon if they interfere with my practicing lifetime.

Even if it's teaching community college once I reach retirement age.

:|

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I made my comments because at our school we have a specific mission to train osteopathic doctors who will gravitate to Primary Care. I applaud your dedication, but we regularly reject people who have a poor "fit to mission" for our school.

So, knowing my colleagues, I think that you'd be better off NOT mentioning your teaching aspirations.

Translation: Learn toprepare well for an interview and hide intentions if necessary.

 

[Bnmakr1]

Translation: Learn toprepare well for an interview and hide intentions if necessary.

Pre-acceptance: rural medicine & family practice

Post-acceptance: ortho & derm

 

[MDforMee]

I made my comments because at our school we have a specific mission to train osteopathic doctors who will gravitate to Primary Care. I applaud your dedication, but we regularly reject people who have a poor "fit to mission" for our school.

So, knowing my colleagues, I think that you'd be better off NOT mentioning your teaching aspirations.

Your answer was what I was looking for, so thanks for answering.