What else should I be doing?

[EParker37]

Been having a mini freak out with the semester just starting up, not sure if I am on the right track or if I should be doing more to get into med school. Little background: I am 26 and have been a paramedic for 6 years, I worked part time through my UG in a busy 911 system, getting a BS in Public Affairs (Mostly soc based classes) and could have done better, finished with a 3.5 cGPA and a dismal 2.83 BCPM due to crappy grades in calculus 1 and physics 1 (never went further in either). After my UG I went into flight medicine as a CCEMT-P and FP-C. I did it for two years before deciding to take the plunge and try to go into med school. Since then, I have worked as a paramedic for a level 1 pediatric trauma facility, doing all sorts of things including working for a faculty physician on a research study. I hadn't taken any of my bio/chem classes during my UG. But due to money have been taking them at a CC. The CC in question has a good reputation for not being an "easy" credit (students have transferred to ivy league from there) and I have worked my ass off for a 4.0. Currently I have a 3.61 AMCAS cGPA and 3.61 BCPM. My main question is whether I should pursue just taking a few upper-level classes at a 4-year before taking the MCAT or if I should try and apply for a 1 year post-bacc focused science certificate? And if I should be doing any shadowing/clinical observation outside of what I see every day at work? I am afraid that my crappy science performance at my 4-year when I was a sophmore, and only taking my basic science classes at a CC will hurt my chances of getting into med school. I do plan to apply for both MD and DO programs.

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[theseeker4]

Been having a mini freak out with the semester just starting up, not sure if I am on the right track or if I should be doing more to get into med school. Little background: I am 26 and have been a paramedic for 6 years, I worked part time through my UG in a busy 911 system, getting a BS in Public Affairs (Mostly soc based classes) and could have done better, finished with a 3.5 cGPA and a dismal 2.83 BCPM due to crappy grades in calculus 1 and physics 1 (never went further in either). After my UG I went into flight medicine as a CCEMT-P and FP-C. I did it for two years before deciding to take the plunge and try to go into med school. Since then, I have worked as a paramedic for a level 1 pediatric trauma facility, doing all sorts of things including working for a faculty physician on a research study. I hadn't taken any of my bio/chem classes during my UG. But due to money have been taking them at a CC. The CC in question has a good reputation for not being an "easy" credit (students have transferred to ivy league from there) and I have worked my ass off for a 4.0. Currently I have a 3.61 AMCAS cGPA and 3.61 BCPM. My main question is whether I should pursue just taking a few upper-level classes at a 4-year before taking the MCAT or if I should try and apply for a 1 year post-bacc focused science certificate? And if I should be doing any shadowing/clinical observation outside of what I see every day at work? I am afraid that my crappy science performance at my 4-year when I was a sophmore, and only taking my basic science classes at a CC will hurt my chances of getting into med school. I do plan to apply for both MD and DO programs.

You should be fine with the pre-reqs, even at a CC, with that GPA assuming you get a decent MCAT score. Will you be ready for the MCAT before the 2015 test, or if not, have you allowed for the additional subject areas covered?

Some shadowing in a primary care setting would probably be useful to your application, and it isn't clear whether you have any volunteering; either clinical or non-clinical volunteering would be good to have.

What kind of "focused science certificate" are you looking at? A certificate isn't going to make a significant difference to your application, as long as you have the courses and grades you need. I don't think, considering your total GPA's, you will have any real problems due to your early performance. A few schools will look down on CC pre reqs, but you can get into many MD and DO schools with those credits, so I don't think a post bac is necessary.....

Your steps from here should be, first, complete all the pre reqs and any recommended courses you want to get in. Second, take the MCAT after allowing sufficient study time. Third, work on filling in any gaps in your ECs such as volunteering and primary care shadowing (this should be done as soon as you have the free time to do so without hurting your academic performance).

 

[EParker37]

You should be fine with the pre-reqs, even at a CC, with that GPA assuming you get a decent MCAT score. Will you be ready for the MCAT before the 2015 test, or if not, have you allowed for the additional subject areas covered?

Some shadowing in a primary care setting would probably be useful to your application, and it isn't clear whether you have any volunteering; either clinical or non-clinical volunteering would be good to have.

What kind of "focused science certificate" are you looking at? A certificate isn't going to make a significant difference to your application, as long as you have the courses and grades you need. I don't think, considering your total GPA's, you will have any real problems due to your early performance. A few schools will look down on CC pre reqs, but you can get into many MD and DO schools with those credits, so I don't think a post bac is necessary.....

Your steps from here should be, first, complete all the pre reqs and any recommended courses you want to get in. Second, take the MCAT after allowing sufficient study time. Third, work on filling in any gaps in your ECs such as volunteering and primary care shadowing (this should be done as soon as you have the free time to do so without hurting your academic performance).

I'll be taking it after the switch, but I took a lot of sociology/psych/public policy classes for my UG that cover most of the new sections. As for volunteering, I was a volunteer firefighter for 6 years during my UG and a little bit after. I do have some time to volunteer during the week but not sure where I should be doing that?

The focused certificate is the CBioMed at UTD, its a year long pre-med post bacc program with quite a few upper-level science classes and support to get into med school.

 

[rwmedic906]

I had a very similar background as you OP. I would suggest taking the MCAT and if its decent, applying and see what happens. What is your TMDSAS GPA? I would also suggest the MedSci program at UNTHSC. It is also a year but you get a masters degree in medical science, which, in my opinion is better than a certificate. I did this, and then was accepted to TCOM, but I have friends that were accepted to pretty much all of the medical schools in Texas after completing it. The main goal with MedSci or any post bac. work is to kill it and prove to admissions that you can handle the rigors of a medical school load. Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions, I was a paramedic/flight Paramedic for many years as well before heading down this road, so I know where you're at right now.

 

[alpinism]

Hey OP, I'm also an ex- flight medic.

Your GPA is solid now and you really don't need a post bacc unless you're going for a top MD school.

If you do want to take a few upper division courses, your best bet would be anatomy/physiology and maybe genetics/cell biology which can show up on the biology section. Other than that it won't really help for the MCAT.

Look at some of the study plans on here and come up with a personalized plan that fits your schedule. In the end, your application competitiveness will basically come down to your MCAT score. Do all the practice exams and make sure you're ready before taking the real thing.

If you haven't formally shadowed a physician, I'd highly recommend spending at least a couple days following doctors in fields you have little exposure to as an FP. There's a ton of non-direct patient care aspects of medicine that goes on behind the scenes (paperwork, social work, consults, charting, rounding, etc..) that you don't get to see as a midlevel.

Good luck.

 

[EParker37]

Appreciate all the suggestions, I'll ask around at work and see if they have a process for shadowing. I'm taking microbiology, genetics and physics right now, thinking about taking biochem and my last physics class next semester before spending a year studying for the MCAT and doing some EC stuff like research, or taking the additional classes. Sounds like I am on the right track then, just gotta keep plugging away. Interesting to see that there are so many of us ex-flight medics heading off to do more. Wish there was a better career path for paramedicine because I did enjoy and still do enjoy pre-hospital based critical care stuff.

 

[rwmedic906]

Appreciate all the suggestions, I'll ask around at work and see if they have a process for shadowing. I'm taking microbiology, genetics and physics right now, thinking about taking biochem and my last physics class next semester before spending a year studying for the MCAT and doing some EC stuff like research, or taking the additional classes. Sounds like I am on the right track then, just gotta keep plugging away. Interesting to see that there are so many of us ex-flight medics heading off to do more. Wish there was a better career path for paramedicine because I did enjoy and still do enjoy pre-hospital based critical care stuff.

I miss it too, the hardest part about medical school so far is being stuck in a class room listening to people TALK about the clinical world. Interestingly though, Critical Care fellowships have recently opened up their boards to EM residents so you may want to look in to it. Its my plan to satiate my interest in both EM and the critical care that I miss from my helicopter days.